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Original poster

WWYD? House buying related

15 replies

MooChops89 · 16/06/2022 05:30

Landlord is selling the house we rent.

By some miracle we've managed to get a deposit to buy (we were never considering it before now) and are likely to be approved for a mortgage.

LL has had 2 similar valuations and if that's the price she decides to sell for and we bought it, the mortgage will be £450 more than we pay for rent at the min. The house needs modernising but it'll be a long time till we can afford to have any work done. However it does mean we don't need to move, DD is about to start primary school so we'd rather stay in the area.

However now I'm thinking of looking into shared ownership or help to buy on a new house - less deposit to borrow, brand new house, paying just over what we're paying now.

Seems a no brainer to me but DH is dragging his heels a bit as he can't be arsed moving but nobody ever enjoys that part do they, plus with DD starting school we'd have to make it across town to take her / pick up and potentially move her to a new school which makes me feel guilty but the pros are definitely outweighing the cons for me.

Is it as simple as that? Is there any reason why going for the new build might be a bad idea and it would be better to stay in our current house?

OP posts:

A580Hojas · 16/06/2022 05:49

An extra £450 a month is a lot to find? Especially when utility bills are about to go through the roof.

Otoh who would be doing the school run? How would that work with your jobs?

lassof · 16/06/2022 06:12

it's not usually so much more to buy than rent. Is your rent particularly cheap? How many years is the mortgage for?
If you decide on another house, will you have to move in the meantime, and how much will that rent be? How long would it take to buy?
Are there any newbuilds you would be able to buy?? (all sold, here!)

I think you're right ... if you are going to buy, look into it properly first at least

DenholmElliot1 · 16/06/2022 06:20

I'm puzzled too. It's usually cheaper to buy, not more expensive. How much is your rent currently and how much is the property being sold for? Is there a chance you've got your figures wrong?

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Original poster

MooChops89 · 16/06/2022 06:59

Current rent £680 so pretty cheap for a 3 bed, huge garden.
Selling for potentially £260,000 - 5% deposit £13,000 then monthly payments of £1060-1160 a month.

New build shared ownership - 140,000 for a 50% share. 5% deposit £7,000 - Mortgage 450ish, rent 320

There's a cheaper one on the same development available too.

I work 2-3 shifts a week so would do school run on my days off and MIL would do it when I'm working.

No idea how long it takes to buy a house but she is looking to sell ASAP so worst case 2 months.

Going to speak with a mortgage advisor next week to work out what would best suit us.

OP posts:

ItsSnowJokes · 16/06/2022 07:14

I wouldn't buy a shared ownership unless I had no other option. You have 100% of all the maintenance, have to pay the rent and then have the hassle of buying more ownership if you want to in future. Also a pain in the bum to sell on if you want to move. Some of them you can never own 100% so you will forever be paying rent on the property.

Why don't you see what else is around on the open market?

HappyHappyHermit · 16/06/2022 07:22

If you like it I would go for the house you are in. You will own it yourselves and there won't be a chain to worry about. Also, if LL sells to you they will be saving on EA fees, so you should ask for that as a discount as you will be making their life very easy too!

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 16/06/2022 07:22

Echo the others. I wouldn’t buy a shared ownership unless it was my only option.
My BIL is trying to sell one at the moment and is going to lose fortunes on it. Even in this market. If you can afford to own outright that is definitely a route I would be going down

SausageAndCash · 16/06/2022 07:31

Buying outright is much better in the long term.

Would staying closer to the school make it easier to up the number of shifts you do? In the near or medium future?

Are you planning for more kids that will put extra pressure on your spending?

carefullycourageous · 16/06/2022 07:32

If you think the house is genuinely worth £260k, and you think the mortgage payments would be affordable for you, and you really like the house/street, then I agree with your husband - why would you move somewhere else?

If any of these do not apply, then you should look for something else.

However like others above, if possible I would prefer to own my own house rather than use shared ownership if possible.

TitInATrance · 16/06/2022 07:33

If the house needs a lot doing, is that valuation based on a viewing or just typical price for a house on that street? You will need a proper mortgage valuation, get her to agree what happens if it’s lower.

I agree with DH, and wouldn’t touch shared ownership for the reasons already given. Moving is an expense, as well as a hassle, and you will already have stamp duty and fees to find.

WeAreTheHeroes · 16/06/2022 07:36

The LL may not save on EA fees if there was an agent involved in setting up the lease - it entirely depends on the terms agreed between the LL and agent.

I wouldn't buy a shared ownership property for the reasons outlined already. Plus new builds can go down in value initially, especially if more houses are being built around them. What term mortgage are you looking at? You could go for a longer term to bring the term down. Also look at a fix for a number of years as interest rates are highly likely to go up.

lassof · 16/06/2022 07:40

That's a really cheap rent, so if you have to move anyway you will be paying a lot more!

It's also a large mortgage and a small deposit. Are there cheaper, smaller, houses available?

Look at your mortgage term - you can go beyond retirement age - ours was a 30 year term. Costs more but is a lot less per month.

lassof · 16/06/2022 07:40

I would avoid shared ownership though

Whinge · 16/06/2022 07:42

Op have you had a look at what else is on the market? I agree that shared ownership is a bad idea in your situation, but I also don't think the current house is the right choice either.

RagzRebooted · 16/06/2022 07:47

We are in a similar position, only LL isn't wanting to sell imminently unless to us, so less pressure. We could potentially afford this house (like yours it needs work, 20k probably) but would not be able to get anything else locally without moving schools and ours are in exam years. Which if we were going to do that, I'd move further and get more for our money. DH wants to buy this house mainly so he doesn't have to move!

I was tempted by shared ownership as wouldn't be much more than renting or mortgage, but having looked into it I would only go for that option if we could definitely not buy normally. For reasons others have said. If you do what it, depending on area there's a lot of competition for them. However terms have changed for the better regarding paying for repairs so you're not immediately liable for costs in the first few years any more and can staircase easier and in smaller amounts (each time you do there are fees though).

Either way, our rent is cheaper than a mortgage on this house would be, because we've been here 10 years and it hasn't gone up much (plus it's very shabby) and average rents locally are £600 more than we pay!

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