Help for someone buying a house foolishly - UPDATE

rachnbri

My sister is desperate to buy her own house. She has just qualified as a nurse and has been promising herself for the last 4 years that as soon as she qualifies her and her boyfriend would buy a house and start a family.

Well that time has now come and I'm seriously worried about her. A distant relative of her boyfriend has gone into a home and the family are trying to sell the house. The house is a 2 bed end terrace in Nottingham - in an area which isn't really awful, but isn't too great either. House prices there have been artificially inflated (IMHO) there for the last 18 months - 2 years because of the trend of having to own, but the area is largely made up of social housing and shared ownership.

My sister, despite saying that she wanted to buy a 3 bed due to the (hopefully) impending family and needed off road parking etc is now being pressured into buying this house which doesn't have any of her requirements. The rellies tell her it's been valued at £125000, which I reckon is wildly optimistic and she's not seen (or asked for) any evidence of the valuation. They said they'd sell it to her for £110000.

She's seen a mortgage adviser today and been told that she can get a max of £100000, so they've gone back to the family and told them this and they are now thinking about it. They will of course snap her arm off - there's no way they'd get that on the open market - the house is a typical old person's house and needs so much 'modernisation' it's untrue!!

She is not looking at what else she'd get for her money or whether she should really buy at all at the moment.

For example - there's a gorgeous 4 bed corner house up the road from me for less money, but she won't even look at it. I live on the border of an area which doesn't have the best reputation but actually is a great place to live - the local primary and secondary school are ranked in the best 100 in the country, there are loads of community initiatives which are benefiting the area immensely, there's a huge regeneration project and the young professional people who are moving into the area (such as myself ) are pulling it up massively - my area is one of the few in Nottingham where prices are still rising!!
My sister would never consider living here, ever, because of the historical reputation - she's a crashing snob!! The fact that her car has been broken into twice and keyed numerous times, someone tied fireworks to her cats tail and her kitchen window has been jimmied a couple of times doesn't alert her to the fact that her area isn't great - none of those things have happened to me living in a 'rough' area!

She has been told that her mortgage repayments for the mortgage she is looking for would be similar to mine on a £72000 mortgage!! Even that has not rung warning bells!

Obviously I care about my sister and I really don't want her to end up in a big pile of home ownership poo - but I don't know what else to say to her to convince her either to wait or look elsewhere.



Update - post #16

maryotuam

She is an adult and you have already done all that you can. Maybe suggest to her that she shops around for a bargain with small purchases. Buying a house is a huge purchase and it might serve her well to shop around before she commits herself.

Although it sounds like she has shut her ears to whatever you say.

ModernSlave

Is there anyone you know she respects a lot? Perhaps someone other than a family member - a work colleague, old friend or financial professional? It sounds as if she's used to ignoring your advice (siblings usually are).

If someone like that isn't available, why not suggest going to an IFA for some advice? I'm sure someone on here can recommend a good one in your area.

Have you looked at her area on propertysnake? A few price drops may show her the light.

Finally, you may just have to let this one go. You can take a horse to water...

space_rider

I`m guessing she is working at one of the 2 hospitals in Nottingham. She could get this for much less than her relatives house and its within walking distance from City Hospital. This needs some work as it looks as if it`s been repossessed and someone has taken out the radiators, boiler and even the water tank. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19876772.rsp?pa_n=3&tr_t=buy

theGrinch

if you buy at the right price, it is never foolish. in rising markets people can easily get carried away.

spuds_2

You can check what similar houses on the same road sold for on a number of sites:

http://www.nethouseprices.com/

http://www.ourproperty.co.uk/

http://www.houseprices.co.uk/

It's great looking up what your mates paid for their houses. It may give you an idea what houses on the same street are going for and whether she is getting a bargain or not.

There are also lots of mortgage calculation tools, like this one on the Guardian site:
http://guardian.lcplc-online.co.uk/wizard1.aspx

nelly_2

Isnt it !!!!!! when you can see someone you care about embarking on a stupid and blinkered mission

My advice is to take a step back and leave them to it, people very raerly listen, they tend to think you have an agenda.

A_Nice_Englishman

I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like your sister and her boyfriend have no deposit saved and are looking for a 100% mortgage. Is anyone offering these any more?

If I was her, I would say "sorry, I can't afford £110,000 but sell it to someone who will pay £125,000 and give me the £15,000 as a deposit on a house we can afford".

poppy10_2

Leave well alone - if you get involved it will only lead to friction. I understand you want to stop her making a silly mistake, but at the end of the day she is an adult and can make her own decisions.

With the banks tightening up their lending criteria, the decision may well be taken out of her hands anyway. She will need a hefty deposit, and the bank will want to do their own valuation and won't lend more than 95% of this. So chances are she on't be able to buy it anyway.

bluejake

What a stupid cow. Why are some people so intent on self destruction? I agree with the previous posters - some have to experience pain before they learn a lesson - they cannot be helped. Not nice to watch them but maybe it will result in a wiser person in future.:idea:

rachnbri

Oh well - the offer's been accepted (surprise surprise) and she's going ahead. I think she's got a few nasty surprises ahead but there's no telling her.