Buying a house..., GRRRR Options

[NWNREADER]

If you are 'only' qualified for a £129k mortgage then you are going to have to save a lot more than a £10k deposit to buy anything in Newbury that is 'good to go'. Plus, the market for cheaper places is fairly silly with cash buyers, investors and such like grabbing anything they can - even places with obvious defects.
The other trap is a lender being prepared to stump up the readies for a house that needs work. They may value it at less that the asked/offered price....
If your basic pay (which the mortgage offer is based on) is not good then without a big deposit you are a bit strapped in this area....

[Turin Machine]

I know, I just had to pay £185k for another place in Thatcham that needs at least £15k spending on it before I can rent it out, prices round here are going through the roof vis a vis purchase price against return.

[NWNREADER]

No disrespect, but 'Buy to Rent' does not help the 'Buy to Live In' situation. The price you are prepared to pay has an eye to ROI, so is higher than a simple occupier. Typical rents are then not far short of the mortgage payment the buyer would've made, but prevents them saving to get ahead.

Simplistic, but if those wanting to make profit stepped back those that want a home might succeed......

[Strafin]

I have said it before, and I will say it again, no individual should be allowed to own more than one home. You want to be an investor, set up a company. There are far too many well off folk looking out for themselves and using housing to fund their lifestyles and tax avoidances!

[nerc]

I have said it before, and I will say it again, no individual should be allowed to own more than one home. You want to be an investor, set up a company. There are far too many well off folk looking out for themselves and using housing to fund their lifestyles and tax avoidances!

If people want to invest their hard earned money to invest in other properties then good luck to them.
The returns on this type of investment are far better than stocks and shares and certainly more secure.
How can you say they are investing to avoid tax is a rather silly statement.

[Strafin]

If people want to invest their hard earned money to invest in other properties then good luck to them. Absolutely, I have not said they shouldn't
The returns on this type of investment are far better than stocks and shares and certainly more secure. True
How can you say they are investing to avoid tax is a rather silly statement. I said too many are investing as individuals, when really investment of this type is a business interest and should be taxed as such

[Andy Capp]

Buy to rent is understandable, and is likely to be something I would do given the opportunity, but considering the issues we have with housing we should consider making it less attractive. Perhaps a law giving housing association first dibbs on homes valued by an independent arbitrator before they go on the open market; there will be many homes they would not be interested in.

[NWNREADER]

The bottom line for the rental market seems to be set by the current level of housing benefit. Every property is 'worth' that as a minimum, so anything 'better' is more expensive incrementally.
Properties with sitting tenants are cheaper than those for occupation by the purchaser (look at the market).
Houses you would not live in yourself, but are 'ok' to rent out, are cheaper than houses that are good to move in to.
Places with 2 separate 'living rooms' actually have an extra bedroom to rent. All those potentials push the prices up for people wanting to buy a first home.

Housing as 'business for profit' is valid, but it has a downside when it alters the natural market.

Just my ill-informed opinion....

[On the edge]

I have said it before, and I will say it again, no individual should be allowed to own more than one home. You want to be an investor, set up a company. There are far too many well off folk looking out for themselves and using housing to fund their lifestyles and tax avoidances!

I'd agree with that. In fact in Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell commented that poor rented housing, endemic in the 1930s, wasn't really due to rapacious landlords. More often than not, it was a little old lady who had managed to buy three houses, lived in one and lived off the rent of the other two. As a consequence never had enough money to keep any of them in good repair.

[Exhausted]

I'd agree with that. In fact in Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell commented that poor rented housing, endemic in the 1930s, wasn't really due to rapacious landlords. More often than not, it was a little old lady who had managed to buy three houses, lived in one and lived off the rent of the other two. As a consequence never had enough money to keep any of them in good repair.

Fair enough, but when she pops her clogs then there are three cheap houses on the market.

[On the edge]

Fair enough, but when she pops her clogs then there are three cheap houses on the market.

Good one!

[nerc]

I have said it before, and I will say it again, no individual should be allowed to own more than one home. You want to be an investor, set up a company. There are far too many well off folk looking out for themselves and using housing to fund their lifestyles and tax avoidances!

Strafin,

This what you originally said and then you change things again.

Wake up and smell the coffee

[NWNREADER]

Fair enough, but when she pops her clogs then there are three cheap houses on the market.

Not so, as two have sitting tenants and hers will likely need refurbishing....... So will be bought as buy to rent

[The Optimist]

As an example I left for work at 6:45am and have gotten through the door less than 10 minutes ago. That is not an uncommon working pattern considering I'm actually a 9-5 kind of guy. Those precious hours I spend on my car are what stop me from going completely insane.

What you have here is an indication of a strong work ethic and I suspect that this will at some point see your earnings rise to a level that you can afford a little more mortgage and cast a wider net for properties.

The fact you have 10k saved is pretty impressive given you have a passion that it would be very easy to spend that kind of money on. Adding to this as much as possible can only help your house hunting.

More and more people are having to rent throughout their twenties and it seems you're in the same boat. If there is a positive to this it's the sign that banks are not dishing out huge mortgages and are being a little more considerate of what is affordable. A huge driver of the economic problems were caused by stupid interest only mortgages and aggressive selling. Plenty of people lack basic common sense but thankfully you don't.

Everyone is different, but when my friends were buying a house in the mid 2000's I realised I couldn't afford it so waited 4-5 years and kept saving. I eventually bought in 2009 and still living here today and enough room to live here for years to come as we grow our family.

Tough as it is, likely the best advice right now is to keep doing what you're doing and at some point the savings + earnings will translate to an affordable mortgage for a house you want rather than what you have to settle for and be unhappy with.

Good luck to you!

[Strafin]

Strafin,

This what you originally said and then you change things again.

Wake up and smell the coffee

What's changed, and what do you mean by "wake up and smell the coffee"?

[Turin Machine]

I have said it before, and I will say it again, no individual should be allowed to own more than one home. You want to be an investor, set up a company. There are far too many well off folk looking out for themselves and using housing to fund their lifestyles and tax avoidances!

Cue Demonic laughter!!!!!

[Biker1]

what do you mean by "wake up and smell the coffee"?

No idea!
Methinks he/she has been to too many board room meetings!

[On the edge]

Not so, as two have sitting tenants and hers will likely need refurbishing....... So will be bought as buy to rent

And the cycle starts again.

Seriously, 'buy to rent' is a big issue, particularly if we want a decent supply of affordable homes. One of those get rich quick schemes that seem great in theory. Remember, the only place you can go is the tenant. Agreed, rather a lot of money can be made if you are an agent or a solicitor.

[badmummajamma]

What you have here is an indication of a strong work ethic and I suspect that this will at some point see your earnings rise to a level that you can afford a little more mortgage and cast a wider net for properties.

The fact you have 10k saved is pretty impressive given you have a passion that it would be very easy to spend that kind of money on. Adding to this as much as possible can only help your house hunting.

More and more people are having to rent throughout their twenties and it seems you're in the same boat. If there is a positive to this it's the sign that banks are not dishing out huge mortgages and are being a little more considerate of what is affordable. A huge driver of the economic problems were caused by stupid interest only mortgages and aggressive selling. Plenty of people lack basic common sense but thankfully you don't.

Everyone is different, but when my friends were buying a house in the mid 2000's I realised I couldn't afford it so waited 4-5 years and kept saving. I eventually bought in 2009 and still living here today and enough room to live here for years to come as we grow our family.

Tough as it is, likely the best advice right now is to keep doing what you're doing and at some point the savings + earnings will translate to an affordable mortgage for a house you want rather than what you have to settle for and be unhappy with.

Good luck to you!

I think this is very sensible.

I'm rapidly approaching the ripe old age of 30 and was fortunate to be able to buy a house this year after fretting about it for a decade. By waiting, saving and putting in a lot of elbow grease, I skipped the flat/one bedroom stage (and all the wasted fees and stamp duty) and have gone straight to a 3-bedroom place that I wont outgrow in five minutes.

However, I have only been able to do this because my long-term girlfriend and I now felt that we were in a position to pool our resources and buy something together.

The fact that you've got 10k saved up is an excellent start, but until you're ready to pair up and pool resources (which should double your deposit and mortgage amount) my advice would be to try and live for as cheaply as possible (I lived with my parents between the age of 26 and 29), enjoy living somewhere where the burden of looking after it rests with someone else and continue to add to that pot.

Then, once you've found that special someone, put your cash together and buy somewhere that needs a little fixing up - within your ability and time to do it yourself. You'll hopefully increase your equity (although this isn't gaurnateed) and it'll help you on the next step up the ladder.

[Andy Capp]

The fact that you've got 10k saved up is an excellent start, but until you're ready to pair up and pool resources (which should double your deposit and mortgage amount) my advice would be to try and live for as cheaply as possible (I lived with my parents between the age of 26 and 29), enjoy living somewhere where the burden of looking after it rests with someone else and continue to add to that pot.

Then, once you've found that special someone, put your cash together and buy somewhere that needs a little fixing up - within your ability and time to do it yourself. You'll hopefully increase your equity (although this isn't gaurnateed) and it'll help you on the next step up the ladder.

I don't think he's managed to find the right guy yet!