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Is buying a house a good idea?

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Comments

  • buggy_boy
    buggy_boy Posts: 657 Forumite
    lookstraightahead wrote: »
    I bought a flat at 22 and had to rent it out as I moved jobs. This was a bit of a nightmare to manage and I remember wishing I hadn!!!8217;t got that ball and chain. Then things were ok for a while and I bought s nice cottage with my first husband. Then I got divorced which meant I had to buy him out. Then tge house depreciated in value oh and then, because it was an old house, not only could I not afford the mortgage, I could not afford the repairs. So I sold, in loads of debt, have been renting and hopefully will be buying again soon, this time I hope my life will be straightforward.

    I think buying on balance is a good idea but you have to be aware of things going wrong in life too. Property can be a great investment, a secure home, or can swallow up everything.

    Good Cautionary tail, it is so important you can afford any borrowings you take out regardless of what might happen no matter how much or for what you are borrowing... Hope you get back on your feet, sometimes life throws you a swerve ball and you have to dust yourself off an carry on, sounds like you are doing that so well done...

    The alternative is Crashy...
  • sv722
    sv722 Posts: 26 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    pinknsparkly wrote: »
    These are my thoughts:

    1. how much money do you have in emergency savings other than your HTB ISA? Because don't forget that you can take money out of a HTB ISA if necessary without penalty. You can't do that with a LISA
    2. what price property would you be considering buying? (i.e. is it under the £250k out-of-London limit that you can use a HTB ISA for?)
    3. how likely are you to stay put in Bristol for a reasonable length of time? If for less than 5 -10 years, then buying may not be the best plan for you anyway. Do you require/desire the flexibility to move to another city/country for a job?

    If I were in your situation, I would consider keeping my money in the Help To Buy ISA at the moment, for the following reasons:
    - you can withdraw the money without penalty if you need the money in an emergency or decide not to buy and to use the money for something else instead.
    - if you want to buy a property for less than £250k, then you will get the same bonus from either ISA
    - if you decide that you definitely DO want to buy a property, then you can at a later date transfer your HTB into a LISA.

    Really consider the pros and cons of buying a property. Several years ago I was in a position to buy, but elected not to as I wanted the flexibility to move if necessary. This turned out to be the absolute right decision as my now husband moved in with me after completing his PhD and was completely unable to get a job (doing anything, shop work, bar work, graduate work). Having the ability to look for alternative work/study options without the complications of a mortgage to take into account made what could have been a majorly stressful situation only quite stressful instead!

    I moved to London 6 months ago to start a graduate job and i am originally from Bristol. I really miss it and want to go back. I can see myself living in Bristol for a long time cos here transport and rent are expensive.

    I'm considering a property less than £250k outside London. I have about £1000 in savings in case of trouble, plus about £4.5k in the HTB.

    I don't have a partner and don't see myself ever getting one so i'll probably end up buying alone.
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    buggy_boy wrote: »
    Really from the bloke that does not believe in supply and demand... You have been bleating on about the low sales volumes and I have been trying to tell you unless you see more unsold stock it makes little difference which you argue.... Now you think the only reason for the house price increase is a lack of stock...

    Make up your mind or is it a case of whatever suits your argument at the time?

    Typical HPC'r stats say house prices are rising then they are not to be trusted... stats say house prices are falling then they are the only stats to believe.


    So we agree that less and less houses hitting the market means that there is less and less demand for houses?
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    As I predicted.....


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43724002
  • Aylesbury_Duck
    Aylesbury_Duck Posts: 13,989 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    So we agree that [STRIKE]less[/STRIKE] fewer and [STRIKE]less[/STRIKE] fewer houses hitting the market means that there is less and less demand for houses?
    Fixed that for you.
  • MobileSaver
    MobileSaver Posts: 4,234 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    So we agree that less and less houses hitting the market means that there is less and less demand for houses?

    Crashy, I sometimes wonder what planet you are on?!?! This is another of the fundamental flaws in your and the HPC loonies thinking; you see property as a commodity to be bought and sold on a whim.

    The majority of UK households are owner-occupiers, this means the property is the owner's home. Most people don't decide to go through all the upheaval of moving home simply because other people want to buy a home. They decide to sell/move for lots of personal reasons such as moving for work or family, demand from others isn't even on their radar.

    One of the obvious reasons for fewer houses coming on to the market is the uncertainty around Brexit. Pretty much everyone now realises that, in the short term at least, we are all going to be worse off thanks to Brexit but no-one knows the degree of worse-ness; it's not surprising therefore that people are less likely to risk all the costs of moving and/or taking on bigger mortgages when there's a danger they could lose their job or be much worse off financially over the next few years.
    Every generation blames the one before...
    Mike + The Mechanics - The Living Years
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    MobileSaver wrote: »
    Crashy, I sometimes wonder what planet you are on?!?! This is another of the fundamental flaws in your and the HPC loonies thinking; you see property as a commodity to be bought and sold on a whim.

    The majority of UK households are owner-occupiers, this means the property is the owner's home. Most people don't decide to go through all the upheaval of moving home simply because other people want to buy a home. They decide to sell/move for lots of personal reasons such as moving for work or family, demand from others isn't even on their radar.

    One of the obvious reasons for fewer houses coming on to the market is the uncertainty around Brexit. Pretty much everyone now realises that, in the short term at least, we are all going to be worse off thanks to Brexit but no-one knows the degree of worse-ness; it's not surprising therefore that people are less likely to risk all the costs of moving and/or taking on bigger mortgages when there's a danger they could lose their job or be much worse off financially over the next few years.


    So we agree that the "Supply and Demand" and "Not building enough houses" memes were false?
  • MobileSaver
    MobileSaver Posts: 4,234 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    So we agree that the "Supply and Demand" and "Not building enough houses" memes were false?

    Um, no, the very opposite. How blinkered are you to extrapolate those gems from what I said?!?!

    You do realise that "Supply and Demand" refers to the price of something and that it does not mean supply is based on demand or vice versa? :o
    Every generation blames the one before...
    Mike + The Mechanics - The Living Years
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,470 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Photogenic
    lookstraightahead wrote: »
    I bought a flat at 22 and had to rent it out as I moved jobs.
    Had to? Couldn't you just sell it?
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    MobileSaver wrote: »
    Um, no, the very opposite. How blinkered are you to extrapolate those gems from what I said?!?!

    You do realise that "Supply and Demand" refers to the price of something and that it does not mean supply is based on demand or vice versa? :o


    Fewer houses are coming to market because fewer people want them at high prices, so the previous "demand" was artificial demand, is that it?
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