Buying a house within 9 months - baby on the way!

PRINCESSKERRY

There is a well known bank still offering 95% mortgages but for how long who knows.

I can understand your situation with starting a family, I would start saving quickly then. If you know you can afford it start saving, prices will still be dropping in the meantime.
Personally I thnk there is more choice then ever, the market down here is literally flooded with property and you can afford to pick and choose.
Like another poster added though bear in mind you will need solicitors fees, removal costs etc, so you will have to save an extra 3 - 4k on top of your deposit.
Likewise it is looking like up to 10% off a house price is the norm at present though you can get drops of up to 20 - 25% though I would think 30% is pushing it, it would have to be one desperate vendor.

SquatNow

happytails wrote: »

Not on about the baby in the rented house, im bothered about the possibilty of the landlord saying she wants us out, she's selling.

Which of the following 2 is less stressful:

• Paying £600pcm rent with the remote possibility of being forced to move and the threat of eviction if you don't pay your rent
• Paying £1200 mortgage plus insurance plus maintenance costs with the risk that if you don't pay not only will you be evicted you'll also be in crippling debt for upto 10 years... but being able to paint the walls brown/black.

happytails wrote: »

I would rather have my own house that i know im not going to get kicked out of

It's not really yours it's the banks until you make the last payment. That's why they keep the deeds!

happytails wrote: »

that i can actually decorate and have it how i want it

And you think you'll be able to afford to redecorate after you've paid for everything else? Also, try an remember you can redecorate a rental place if you want, you just have to paint it back to magnolia (or whatever god-awful colour the landlord painted it) before you leave.

The simple fact is this:
You are about to have a baby. babies are f**king expensive. However much you think it is going to cost, it will be more. You can't afford to buy a house.

Even if you can find a bank willing to lend you the money, you simply can't afford it. Even if you could make the payments, you'de be stuck in negative equity in a month or 2 and you'de be stuck there forever.

happytails

SquatNow wrote: »

Which of the following 2 is less stressful:

• Paying £600pcm rent with the remote possibility of being forced to move and the threat of eviction if you don't pay your rent
• Paying £1200 mortgage plus insurance plus maintenance costs with the risk that if you don't pay not only will you be evicted you'll also be in crippling debt for upto 10 years... but being able to paint the walls brown/black.

Well for me, the first one. Dont know your position but if i was to get kicked out of my rented home for no reason i wouldnt be best impressed. The latter would only happen if we f**ked up - therefore would be our own fault we were in that situation.


It's not really yours it's the banks until you make the last payment. That's why they keep the deeds!

Aren't you the bright spark! What i was trying to get at was that im actually not paying off someone elses chuffin' mortgage - im re-paying MY mortgage, for MY house.


And you think you'll be able to afford to redecorate after you've paid for everything else? Also, try an remember you can redecorate a rental place if you want, you just have to paint it back to magnolia (or whatever god-awful colour the landlord painted it) before you leave.

I cannot redecorate - its in my contract. Also why waste money doing my landlords house up only to move somewhere else We plan to have some savings aside to redecorate - you know, actually have money to make it our own home - who said i was planning to redecorate the minute i move in??

The simple fact is this:
You are about to have a baby. babies are f**king expensive. However much you think it is going to cost, it will be more. You can't afford to buy a house.

Really hope i can prove you wrong with this one! Yes babies are expensive - but you're saying everyone with a baby in rented accom cant afford to buy a house? IT ISN'T IMPOSSIBLE

Even if you can find a bank willing to lend you the money, you simply can't afford it. Even if you could make the payments, you'de be stuck in negative equity in a month or 2 and you'de be stuck there forever.

^^^ you can guarantee that can you?^^^ i dont think so!

Ive read alot of threads on here with your postings on and they are never very helpful. FACT: We want to buy a house before baby gets here (personal preference)
FACT: As mentioned in my first post i knew people like you would completely miss what i was asking (best way to move now not if we should move now or not) and go off on one about how babies and houses are expensive and how no one can afford them. Not everyone is going to get stuck with negative equity, some things have to be done, and for me moving house before the baby is one of these things!
FACT: I do not just see a house as financial gain/loss - i look at them as somewhere to bring my family up - My family is more important to me than the possiblility of saving a few grand if we wait.

Just want to point out, finding another rented 3 bed semi in this area (if landlord said 'out') would be very difficult with a young child and 3 german shepherds - as you can appreciate not many landlords are willing to accomodate us - living on the streets is not ideal for a baby - im sure you'd agree.

For the people who have actually given me some advice regarding the questions i asked - THANK YOU :rolleyes:

Sarah

littlesaint

happytails wrote: »

im bothered about the possibilty of the landlord saying she wants us out, she's selling.

She could sell to you, if you were happy to buy the place. If not, you could rent a property that you would be happy to buy in an area you could afford. If LL decides to sell, you could put in a cheeky offer and they might be more willing to reduce - no agents, no void period. If not, you'll have more time to save up.

wriggly

We started looking at houses when my wife was 4 months and moved when my wife was almost 8 months pregnant. It's not that bad, especially since we paid the removals firm to pack everything.

And babies aren't so expensive - they're just as fascinated by a cardboard star or a soft teddy or the curtains as they are by some huge chunk of plastic beeping out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

lonestar1

With the state of the current market I would only look at houses with no chain. You can get an offer accepted but if the person selling to you hasnt found somewhere else to buy it may be a lot longer than Feb before they can move

Oh and Whilst you may be able to afford to lose a few grand can you really afford to lose tens of thousands ?

Hope you have somewhere nice and comfy for when the little one arrives

neverdespairgirl

wriggly wrote: »

And babies aren't so expensive - they're just as fascinated by a cardboard star or a soft teddy or the curtains as they are by some huge chunk of plastic beeping out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I agree you don't need to spend a lot on "stuff".

The big expense, though, is usually either the mother stopping work, or paying childcare to carry on. That is expensive.

BettiePage

Prudence/Bruno, stop spamming the boards.

Peeps, don't click any of his links unless you like umbrella related !!!!!!.

kodokan

happytails wrote: »

Right, i have posted on here before about saving a deposit. Circumstances have changed and we're expecting a baby :jtrouble is we want the house before the baby arrives (28/2/09) This means sacrifising the 10% deposit we wanted to put down and putting a 5% on down. I know alot of you will think that is bad and i know where you are coming from, but our family and our needs are more important than saving a few grand - to be frank.

Anyway, if we want a house by Feb 2009 when do we need to be looking/putting offers in etc and actually getting a mortgage?

Also, we wanted a 3 bed but as we are pressed for time and money so were thinking of getting a 2 bed with a decent garden and look to get an extension in a few years time? what are your opinions on this - bearing in mind we need a house by Feb?

We can realistically save £500 a month or more plus OH may be able to get upto 4k on a private project ( this will really help us obv! )

Help and advice will be appreciated

Thanks

Why not go and see if you can get a mortgage, with a hypothetical 5% deposit and your salary? It won't take more than an hour to sit down with a lender and get one of their vague 'agreement in principle' things, and won't cost anything. Then you'll know if it's even possible (I think others have already covered off whether it's 'desirable').

Convert 2 to 3 bed house - well, usual caveats, it may be difficult to find this sort of place in your area; I'm not sure that a 3-bed house in a 2-bed area would have the same resulting value as an original 3 bed house; don't forget to work out how the extension will be funded. But the biggie, that may not have occured to you, is the screaming nightmare that will be trying to do a building project on this scale with one or more small children. Moving the bedrooms around repeatedly, periods with no water or no kitchen, having to try and keep a toddler from killing themselves in a series of interesting ways involving power tools, foundation ditches, everything getting covered in dust when you're at your most aware ever about sterile surroundings...

You can't imagine how little time you suddenly have when the baby arrives. One of you has to pretty much constantly supervise the child for years.

Why not just get a fixed contract where you currently live, to avoid being turfed out? Wouldn't that be simpler? And painting is usually perfectly possible - I understand that you naturally want to decorate at least the baby's room.

HTH, and good luck

kodokan

neverdespairgirl

kodokan wrote: »

having to try and keep a toddler from killing themselves in a series of interesting ways involving power tools, foundation ditches, everything getting covered in dust when you're at your most aware ever about sterile surroundings...

Very good point. Our son (3 this week) is amazingly imaginative about trying to find new ways of killing himself. You can't safely leave a toddler alone for very long at the best of times, and on a building site, it would be hard.