Is buying a house a good idea?

Slinky · 26 March 2018 at 8:32AM

Mickygg wrote: »

Just remember when buying a house there are always on going maintenance costs. Boiler breakdown, leaking guttering, blocked drains the list is endless and all costs time and effort to fix.

Renting is easier but in the long term the huge benefit of buying is not paying and rent once mortgage is fully paid. I persinally don't want to be paying rent all my life.

You will get all the same sorts of issues in a rental property, and sometimes the landlord will pay to fix them.......... and sometimes they won't.......... and unless you cough up to sort them, you'll be stuck with them.

At least if you have problems with your own property you're not stuck with somebody elses priorities in getting them sorted!

Out,_Vile_Jelly · 26 March 2018 at 10:21AM

I travelled a lot in my 20s, lived in London when all my friends did, and bought when I was 35. Saving for longer meant I bought a 2 bed house with garden and didn't have to muck about with a starter flat.

I would advise only living in London a year or so before assessing your priorities in terms of salary, career and lifestyle expectations. If you can't afford to save much, it may not be worth it.

Also, if you constantly compare your life to your friends you will be constantly disappointed. Took me a while to learn this!

cashbackproblems · 26 March 2018 at 11:06AM

firstly, a 10k deposit in Bristol for a single buyer Is not going to buy you anything, have you even looked at prices in your area? Unless you go for a rip off shared ownership etc.

Crashy_Time · 26 March 2018 at 3:53PM

jonnygee2 wrote: »

I'm 31 and just buying my first house.

A big consideration for me is that I was renting, so about 30% of my take home pay is currently going on rent. When I buy, my mortgage payments will be similar, and about 25% of these will go to the bank as interest, but the other 75% (about £600 a month) will go into equity, effectively a form of saving, instead of someone else's pocket. It's true house prices could fall (or even crash!) but overall the risk vs reward works out, and long term house prices always go up.

In terms of your long term finances, buying a house is normally the most sensible option (closely followed by increasing pension contributions imo). With very low interest rates (I just got 2.1% on a FTB mortgage!) and no stamp duty, this is a good time to buy. Eventually, I'll need to retire, and when I do I'll want to have some money to live out the rest of my life, and I don't have any inheritance or other magical sources of money to do this with.

That said your question seems to partly be 'should I think about long term finances or just spend money now and make myself happy'. I think that's a personal question only you can answer. I've spent the last 5 years on an extremely limited budget whilst saving for a deposit but have been relatively happy anyway so it hasn't been an issue. I've been travelling and going out, just very economically. If saving for a mortgage means you will have to live in a hovel and eat potato soup for the next seven years it might just not be worth it. If you're in for a huge inheritance in 15 years time, for example, you might as well just travel the world and enjoy yourself now.

So did you fix interest rates for the life of the mortgage then? Well done. Savings are something you can access immediately or at short notice if needed, equity isn`t savings.

Crashy_Time · 26 March 2018 at 4:00PM

Slinky wrote: »

You will get all the same sorts of issues in a rental property, and sometimes the landlord will pay to fix them.......... and sometimes they won't.......... and unless you cough up to sort them, you'll be stuck with them.

At least if you have problems with your own property you're not stuck with somebody elses priorities in getting them sorted!

IME even "difficult" landlords, and again IME they are an absolute minority, will cough up for repairs when it is things that need to be fixed, even more so with all the regulations etc. nowadays. When you take on a mortgage you are paying to fix everything, and going without if you can`t afford it.

qwert_yuiop · 26 March 2018 at 5:53PM

Davesnave wrote: »

.....And why did nobody tell me about them?

Can we move there? Do you need a visa?

Davesnave · 26 March 2018 at 6:53PM

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

Can we move there? Do you need a visa?

For me, it's all academic, as the ageing process has already taken its toll.

What I need to find is a country where ageing is reversed....or maybe become a mouse.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-successfully-reversed-dna-ageing-in-mice

sv722 · 26 March 2018 at 7:05PM

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

I travelled a lot in my 20s, lived in London when all my friends did, and bought when I was 35. Saving for longer meant I bought a 2 bed house with garden and didn't have to muck about with a starter flat.

I would advise only living in London a year or so before assessing your priorities in terms of salary, career and lifestyle expectations. If you can't afford to save much, it may not be worth it.

Also, if you constantly compare your life to your friends you will be constantly disappointed. Took me a while to learn this!

Yes my original plan was to stay for a year in London and then move back to Bristol, however my fixed term contract got extended to 2 years. I also have the chance to take a permanent position but i do not see myself living in London all my life and so i'd rather quit before i get too entrenched in the life here.

Also is it easy and possible to buy a house in one city whilst living in another? I've been here six months and so i only have 6 more months before it becomes a whole year.

Crashy_Time · 26 March 2018 at 10:52PM

sv722 wrote: »

Yes my original plan was to stay for a year in London and then move back to Bristol, however my fixed term contract got extended to 2 years. I also have the chance to take a permanent position but i do not see myself living in London all my life and so i'd rather quit before i get too entrenched in the life here.

Also is it easy and possible to buy a house in one city whilst living in another? I've been here six months and so i only have 6 more months before it becomes a whole year.

Take a chance and make a wild guess for yourself, it is more character building than asking an internet forum

Buying into the London bubble now will be the worst decision you ever make IMO, but posters will line up to tell you otherwise no doubt. Not sure why anyone would attach themselves to London with a big property debt TBH? Travelodge is dirt cheap if you must visit the place occasionally

buggy_boy · 27 March 2018 at 12:30AM

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Take a chance and make a wild guess for yourself, it is more character building than asking an internet forum Buying into the London bubble now will be the worst decision you ever make IMO, but posters will line up to tell you otherwise no doubt. Not sure why anyone would attach themselves to London with a big property debt TBH? Travelodge is dirt cheap if you must visit the place occasionally

I think the OP was looking to buy in Bristol not London, I have to agree London had a huge bubble and is now falling, Bristol is relatively strong and did not have anywhere near the sort of gains of london especially some of the outlying towns....

Your biggest cost in London will be accommodation and I have have to commend you for having a good head on your shoulders, London is a great experience but IMO you are right that you don't want to stay there too long as its a harsh environment that can make you hard.. Try to save money where you can, you can still go on holidays, some of the best holidays ive had have only cost around £400-500 including spending money... You should enjoy your youth but always remember the sooner you start to save regardless for a house or a pension or whatever the longer you have to save so the easier it is...

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Is buying a house a good idea?

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