does buying at the top or bottom of a market really matter?

boinging_2

LillyJ wrote: »

I wasn't quoting for goodness sake!

People think negative equity is financial suicide. It isn't ALWAYS but is in other cases.
If you aren't over stretching yourself, and you buy now, you may have saved money by waiting (but for some personal circumstances mean waiting isn't the best option) but you aren't automatically going to become homeless or suddenly be unable to pay the mortgage just because prices drop.

So yes, if you can wait, you might save money, and for a lot of people, especially in the South East, and where rents are very much lower than mortgage repayments this will be the sensible option.

If you can't wait (or don't think it is right for you) and you have a deposit, secure jobs, and are getting a sensible multiple and are planning to stay for 5-10 years then you can buy if you want to! (which is the category I fall in to at the moment.) If the payments are the same as your rent you aren't going to have to cut back on spending either (in fact as we rent at this price AND have been saving for a deposit, we are going to overpay quite considerably).

I am just trying to put things in to perspective that there are worse things that can happen in life than your house being worth less on paper than it was when you bought it if you are comfortable with your payments.

As people CONTINUOUSLY point out, your house doesn't have an actual value until you sell it.

I get everything you say. I just couldn't bring myself to pay tens of thousands of pounds more for something today than I would have to in a couple of months time....

But hey that's just me and I am a "moneysaver" after all.

LillyJ

boinging wrote: »

I get everything you say. I just couldn't bring myself to pay tens of thousands of pounds more for something today than I would have to in a couple of months time....

But hey that's just me and I am a "moneysaver" after all.

That is fine obviously, and I wish you luck, but I personally don't think that we will see falls of "tens of thousands" on the average house in a "couple of months". But time will tell!

I kinda use your logic when I buy electrical items, which is why I don't have an iPod or a flat screen tele, cos I keep waiting for them to go down!

Reds-on-Sea

LillyJ wrote: »

That is fine obviously, and I wish you luck, but I personally don't think that we will see falls of "tens of thousands" on the average house in a "couple of months". But time will tell!

I kinda use your logic when I buy electrical items, which is why I don't have an iPod or a flat screen tele, cos I keep waiting for them to go down!

me too hehe! I'm sooo meticulous when buying anything, I always shop around everywhere/wait till prices have dropped/REALLY justify to myself that I need it...I totally get where you're coming from too.

In answer to the original post. The answer to "Does it matter" lies with the beholder. What matters to one may not matter to the next. Person A might want to buy that house at the top of the market, because they can afford it/are in love with it/simply becasue they need a house/stability right now whereas Person B might not have the reasons above and simply want to get a good deal, even if they have to wait for a few years. (BTW, whoever said about 10s of thousands of pounds drop in a few months - ahem... we'll see eh? :rolleyes: ) Paying more or less for a house isn't wrong - it's a choice. I've only been on the forum a few weeks (I like it here btw) I'd be interested to know what everyone was saying when house prices were on the UP? Was it all "buy you fools - BUY NOW!!!"? hehe.

neverdespairgirl

Reds-on-Sea wrote: »

Admittedly nobody's going to be spending 20k a year on rent,

I've got some mates, a couple, who spend £42k a year on rent (-:

Reds-on-Sea wrote: »

personally, I wanted to live in a nice 3 bed house, to get on with my life, instead of being stuck in a flat for the next 2 or 3 years. It was just TOO long to wait (for me). I want to start thinking about kids/future/etc.

That seems to me part of the great British property fallacy - that by renting you are stuck, not getting on with your life, not thinking about kids or the future.

I'm 30, so is my partner. We are both in professional jobs, and have a 2 year old son, and <gasp, horror"> RENT!

LillyJ

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I've got some mates, a couple, who spend £42k a year on rent (-:




That seems to me part of the great British property fallacy - that by renting you are stuck, not getting on with your life, not thinking about kids or the future.

I'm 30, so is my partner. We are both in professional jobs, and have a 2 year old son, and <gasp, horror"> RENT!

But neverdespairgirl you are lucky in that you have been able to stay in the same rented house for 10 years and you have a good landlord. It isn't so easy for a lot of people. There is nothing wrong with renting in the slightest, it is the landlords that can often make it a miserable experience. One of the best "landlords" IMO ( I am sure others will disagree) is the council. My grandparents council house is maintained to a very high standard, they have security, can keep pets, are allowed children, can paint/hang picture etc. There are private landlords like this too but they are hard to find sometimes!

On the subject of the high rents, my parent's next door neighbours went to Saudi for a year with work, and charged £4.5k a month rent for their house in the UK. A couple with 2 small kids rented it, so your friends aren't alone neverdespairgirl!
If you think of the wages people earn if both have high earning professions, then the percentage spent on rent will not be much different to a lot of people on a low income (in a lot of cases probably less).

neverdespairgirl

LillyJ wrote: »

But neverdespairgirl you are lucky in that you have been able to stay in the same rented house for 10 years and you have a good landlord. It isn't so easy for a lot of people.

In central London, where most of my mates live, landlords seem very good. I've not known anyone have serious trouble, and most people have stayed in the same place for a while. My closest mate, who live 2 mins' walk away, has lived in her flat for 4 years.