Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Dh desperate to buy first home!

33 replies

unimum12 · 01/10/2022 18:15

Will keep it brief.
We are both in our 40's and after years of being stupid with money are finally in a place where we can hopefully buy.
At the moment we private rent a big detached four bed that is perfect for our large family and know that when we buy our budget means we will probably have to lose some space in return for owning our own home.
Our landlady is really good/fair, we pay £850 per month including council tax and even though her situation may change at the moment we expect to be here as long as we want. Any repairs are sorted that day etc.
Dh is desperate to buy now, I'm thinking that with the way everything is we are better waiting a bit?
We have a £40k deposit (20k gifted) and will hopefully buy for around 180k (low cost housing area up north)
Anyone with a crystal ball want to tell me what to do? I'm sure dh would rather buy and take the risk of housing/rates dropping and us paying over the odds just so he can be a homeowner! I on the other hand are perfectly happy to wait and think our 20k deposit we have saved is to precious to just lose if things take a turn?

OP posts:
AluckyEllie · 01/10/2022 18:19

I would hang on. Mortgage rates are very high and house prices haven’t dropped yet. Your landlord sounds amazing, the rent price and same day repairs make me jealous! What is there to be gained from buying currently except putting yourself in a position of risk? Do you have stable/secure jobs?

If he’s desperate to move maybe have a chat with a bank, get a decision in principle and see what you can borrow. Speak to a mortgage advisor and see what the repayments would be/interest rate.

emmathedilemma · 01/10/2022 18:22

If it’s to be a long term family home that you’l live in long enough to ride out the waves of the property market in the coming years then I’d probably buy while interest rates on mortgages are still relatively low. You could wait for house prices to drop but interest rates might be through the roof so what you save on property you’d loose in repayments.

mathanxiety · 01/10/2022 18:23

Hold off until the market crashes as it is predicted to in the next year.

Housing is predicted to lose 10-20% of its value thanks to current government bone headedness.

If you buy now you'll have up to one fifth of the value wiped away and paying for a house that isn't worth what you are committed to paying for it.

Your DP needs to start paying attention to the financial news.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General money
Original poster
unimum12 · 01/10/2022 18:26

AluckyEllie · 01/10/2022 18:19

I would hang on. Mortgage rates are very high and house prices haven’t dropped yet. Your landlord sounds amazing, the rent price and same day repairs make me jealous! What is there to be gained from buying currently except putting yourself in a position of risk? Do you have stable/secure jobs?

If he’s desperate to move maybe have a chat with a bank, get a decision in principle and see what you can borrow. Speak to a mortgage advisor and see what the repayments would be/interest rate.

Dh has a very secure job good pension etc so my thinking is even if we did pay the mortgage into retirement it's doable and we would still be in a better position than a lot of others 🤷‍♀️
At the moment the interest on mortgages are high anyway so even if we did fix for five years we could be paying over the odds?
I will admit that I love this house so may be making excuses to try and stay a bit longer.

OP posts:
emmathedilemma · 01/10/2022 18:28

Interests are not high really, everyone has just got used to them being so so low!!

Original poster
unimum12 · 01/10/2022 18:31

mathanxiety · 01/10/2022 18:23

Hold off until the market crashes as it is predicted to in the next year.

Housing is predicted to lose 10-20% of its value thanks to current government bone headedness.

If you buy now you'll have up to one fifth of the value wiped away and paying for a house that isn't worth what you are committed to paying for it.

Your DP needs to start paying attention to the financial news.

How likely is this to happen? Is there any reading you can recommend that I can show him? I do try and keep on top of the news but his argument always comes back to "we are paying someone else's mortgage just now" where as my argument is "we couldn't afford to buy a house of this standard in this area so can we not hold off"
As I said we don't even pay council tax so really we are living here for around £700-£750 per month with no worry about any repairs.
The house is a bit tired looking as in it could do with a new kitchen and bathroom at some point but everything works. It's just aesthetics.

OP posts:
Patapouf · 01/10/2022 18:42

If you're in your 40s I wouldn't mess about waiting for a price drop that might not come, especially when interest rates might negate any benefit of a cheaper house. You'll be limited on your length of mortgage so I would make it a priority personally.

DangerNoodles · 01/10/2022 19:02

If you're in your 40s I wouldn't mess about waiting for a price drop that might not come, especially when interest rates might negate any benefit of a cheaper house. You'll be limited on your length of mortgage so I would make it a priority personally.

This!

Don't put off any longer than you need too. Sounds like you have a good deal now, but at any time your landlady can raise the rent or decide she wants to give you notice. Rent is always going to be dead money in terms of investment.

I'm also in a cheap area of the North. Rents around here are similar to what you are paying. You may find that your mortgage is a much lower monthly payment than your rent, mine is. Defitnaltey something to think about.

beachcomber70 · 01/10/2022 19:03

I'd buy now. It's for a long term family home I assume, therefore ride out the market. Buy whlie interest rates are what they are now [if you can], they may go up. Mortgage payments on £140k shouldn't be too bad. And you'll have no stamp duty to pay. Solicitors should be quieter now too.

The housing market always goes up [and down at times] and eventually stabilises. In the mean time enjoy owning your own place, your own home. Enjoy searching.

FloydPepper · 01/10/2022 19:35

mathanxiety · 01/10/2022 18:23

Hold off until the market crashes as it is predicted to in the next year.

Housing is predicted to lose 10-20% of its value thanks to current government bone headedness.

If you buy now you'll have up to one fifth of the value wiped away and paying for a house that isn't worth what you are committed to paying for it.

Your DP needs to start paying attention to the financial news.

There are lots of people out there who wired for this mythical crash and missed the boat. It may come, it may not. Anyone who says they know isn’t someone whose opinion you can trust.

personally I’d wait a little bit as things seem hugely volatile at the moment but I’d buy now (ish) if you can afford to

FloydPepper · 01/10/2022 19:35

*waited for this crash

Dimsumbun · 01/10/2022 19:51

Rates have been too low as unpalatable as that is. Crashes have been predicted before and not happened. It really depends on if people start defaulting, interest rates, inflation, currency strengths, all sorts. I do remember the crash in 1990. My flat went from 30k to 56k to 22k, my wage at that time was 10k per annum to put it in perspective.

I would see a mortgage advisor regarding affordability they don’t just look at wages and your deposit, they look at outgoings. Because regardless of markets and what you think you can borrow you won’t know until you try. Plus any dodgy credit issues? You say you were not sensible, they look at all this. Its a six year credit check.

The one issue you do have is your age, some deals just won’t be available to you. So it’s worth genuinely finding out now.

Kennykenkencat · 31/01/2023 13:32

Have you done the calculation of how much you would have to repay given you will be on shortened mortgage length.

Personally I would rather stay where you are. Watch the market and when you think it has bottomed out I would buy a btl or 2 or 3 and continue to save and buy till you don’t need such a big house
Then sell up and buy for cash

Kennykenkencat · 31/01/2023 13:40

FloydPepper · 01/10/2022 19:35

There are lots of people out there who wired for this mythical crash and missed the boat. It may come, it may not. Anyone who says they know isn’t someone whose opinion you can trust.

personally I’d wait a little bit as things seem hugely volatile at the moment but I’d buy now (ish) if you can afford to

Show quote history

I follow housing and prices.

I think the prices aren’t as inflated as a year ago but they can fall further.

The issue isn’t so much as people not solely being able to afford their mortgage and houses getting repossessed but people just not being able to afford to live.

I used to pay £440 mortgage and an average of £220 per month gas and electric

We are in rented for a year whilst we look around to buy a house and my rent is £1450 and energy bills I just got one for nearly £700 and we were freezing
Over £2000 per month on 2 bills that used to cost me £660

No idea how this will all pan out but it has got to have an impact

mindutopia · 31/01/2023 13:50

I would start having a look now. You can engage a mortgage advisor and get an AIP. Do some rightmove searches and go to some viewings. It doesn't commit you to buying. But something may come up that's perfect.

I would think that it's less about perfect timing in terms of interest rates/economy, but more about when is a better time than others to move. If you need to live in a certain area due to schools/work/public transport, it may take a long time to find the right place, or you may find you need to move by a certain date to secure a place in time for school applications. Or before you get too old and it's harder to get a longer mortgage term.

Fwiw, we bought at the absolute height of the post-lockdown buying frenzy in 2021 and we bought exactly the property everyone was moving out to the countryside to buy (rural farmhouse with land and views in a national park). We no doubt paid well over what we would have paid if we bought the same house today. But we have absolutely no regrets. It's a wonderful home, we have a very happy life here, we got in just in time for youngest's school application. Very happy with our decision.

CrazyCorgi · 31/01/2023 14:13

With your ages, I’d buy now. It might be cheap but every month you’re wasting £850 a month paying someone else’s mortgage. How long are you willing to wait? Yes, there might be a crash but I think your husband is right. Get on the housing ladder ASAP. You never know what will happen with your landlady and she might suddenly need to give you notice.

Andanotherone01 · 31/01/2023 14:18

Interest rates have been artificially low for too long - they may from by half a percent but definitely won’t return to 2 percent. Equally there is little evidence that house prices will crash dramatically.
I’d buy as soon as you are able. Don’t forget your mortgage is likely to last 25 years and you are already in your 40s - you don’t want that into retirement

WaddleAway · 31/01/2023 14:19

I’d buy now at your ages. The sooner you buy, the sooner you start paying off your own mortgage.

LegoGoldenDragon · 31/01/2023 15:20

Can you afford to buy now? If you can then it seems risky to try to time the market when you don't have a crystal ball as to what will come.

Overgrowngrasslady · 31/01/2023 15:27

Some shit advice on here. Buy a house now. If it’s long term ir rights itself. It’s only a risk if you intend to sell short term.

people always make the mistake of renting more than they can buy and then don’t want to leave and downgrade. It’s a terrible decision. Your husband is right. Buy. You are not early 20s.

SweetSakura · 31/01/2023 15:31

I've seen so many People try and time to buy at the bottom of a crash. It rarely works out for them. I'd just crack on and buy. You are buying a family home for the long haul not an investment.

Mirroredlove · 31/01/2023 15:35

Buy now. Always buy now. Those who wait get priced out. Mortgage rates you can only fix for 2-5 years anyway so not like it’s a life sentence

BananaBlue · 31/01/2023 15:36

Don’t forget that your savings are losing value due to inflation.

We bought our forever (?) home at what is prob height of market but our mort predates interest rate rises and would be £700pm more today for the same.

I wouldn’t wait at your ages IF it’s a long term home.

BananaBlue · 31/01/2023 15:38

oh I saw something the other day, I think it was:

200k @ 4% is cheaper pm than 170k at 6%.

Houses losing value doesn’t necessarily mean a bargain.

Whirlwindinacup · 31/01/2023 15:42

We were going to buy in 2019 and then Covid happened and everyone kept saying house prices would drop dramatically and they went way up and we kicked ourselves. There were so many houses we ruled out (including the one we eventually bought) because I had such set ideas and when we were forced to think outside the box, found our perfect house after viewing at least 50 so it takes time. Start the ball rolling, keep your eye out and go with the house that feels right rather than timing it properly as that may be taken out of your hands if the landlady sells and you have to buy in a rush. No one can guess what will happen and people who panicked after buying in 2006 and the market crashing in 2008 are laughing now with the increases since.