... to feel that our housing situation will continue to be a bit of a catch 22

[Bennifer]

Ok, so I know this is a bit of a rant and a whinge, but I can get so depressed about our housing situation.

Family housing probably costs around £180-200k in my area. They were probably around 90-100k ten years ago. Had we have bought before around 2003, we'd probably have a smallish mortgage. However, because we haven't, we have to pay £800 a month on bills, and therefore can't save a great deal, and therefore would need a big mortgage. However, house prices don't seem to be falling, and so we're getting older with no security. I could cry sometimes.

I sympathise and we're luckily in a slightly more fortunate position. We sold dh's house just when prices were going up. We bought a wreck of a house (only a 3 bed terrace, nothing spec) but had it have been ok, it would have been about £150-£160k at the time, however we paid £100k and used the proceeds of the house sale (about £38k) to do up the house while we lived in it. It was hard, it wasn't done to make nmoney, this is our home and we have no intetnion of moving and it's no Grand Designs house! However, we have our home with a mortgage of about £80k. At the time, I was horrified at borrowing £100k, but looking at our mortgage now it feels like a miniscule amount to what some people have.

I dread what faces our children becauseno matter how many times the press state that the housing prices will fall, it's never really going to happen, or on such a smnall scale that the price drop will be insignificant to what people need to borrow and shell out every month.

We have a mortgage and I wish to god we hadn't bothered. Each month is more of a struggle to pay the bills and the mortgage, we have arrears, the constant threat of reposession and we are paying far more than if we'd have stayed renting. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Ho hum, we all have shit happening if we own or not.

I find it very frustrating too. It IS a catch 22! I find renting particularly dejecting at the moment with rapidly rising rents and evermore demanding or unstable landlords. It may have something to do with the area I live in (SE) but with no opportunity to get a mortgage its impossible to buy and so its impossible to break the cycle of increasing rent and lack of security. I also feel that owning a home is an important financial leverager for an adult, as a contribution to a pension, something to pass on to the children or as a mean of raising capital (against equity or by downsizing) should something happen (illness, loss of jobs, etc). I just hope it wont take me decades crawling onto the ladder.

Its obviously a simple supply and demand issue, if there aren't enough first-time-byers then the supply dries up because those higher up in the chain can't sell but I'm not sure banks should hand out money like they used to either. I just wish housing was more affordable I guess.

Sorry to hear of your trouble BimboNo5. Having the treat of repossession is obviously nothing to be desired but I think in most cases mortgage repayments are lower than rents. None of us can ensure ourselves against a loss of income, however, and if that's what has happened to you then I'm also very sorry for that. I hope it improves for you soon.

I totally understand how you feel, but this is one situation where the grass isn't always greener.

Home owners, many of whom own more of a mortgage than they do a house, don't have complete security either. They still have to find hefty mortgage payments every month, and if they can't, they run a big risk of losing their home. Same as you do renting. But home owners also have to find thousands to replace/maintain the boiler, the water tank, the white goods, the roof and gutters, the windows etcetc.

There is loads that a home owner has to pay for that a renter doesn't have to worry about, so try and see the positives to renting, beacuse I honestly don't see that owning is all it's cracked up to be.

I honestly don't see that owning is all it's cracked up to be.

but why pay someone elses mortgage and have nothing to show for it, somewhere you can be chucked out of if someone else decides to. At least at the end of a mortgage, you own something If you rent, you just chuck money down someone elses drain

Have you ever looked into a rent to buy scheme? We have done that now. Basically, the people we bought from had to sell (and weren't able to) and we HAD to buy (but couldn't afford to) SO....we are paying rent on where we live, plus another £300 per month which gets saved towards a deposit. We put down 5% of the asking price as a deposit and agreed on the house price. We now have 5 years to get a mortgage and buy the house. Which means if the market goes up and the house is worth more than what we've agreed on then we are in immediate good equity. That's just our agreement, but I know there are several different ways of doing this. I could give you our EA's name as she specializes in this if you want?

Banana, that would be good.

I appreciate that if you bought recently, and had to sell, you might be in real trouble, and so I can understand the grass isn't greener. I know we have our health, so we can't really complain. I just sometimes feel quite down about it

It's New Leaf Homes. We used Vivien (the owner). She is based in Surrey but has properties all over :) Hope this helps!

newleaf-homes.com/

I know that FredBare, and that would be the benefit to owning, I was just trying to say that there are negatives to it as well. Same as there are positives and negatives to renting.

I hear you OP. £1100 rent... big bills, no savings...

We live in a nice area in SE. Every time I think about moving somewhere smaller/less desirable area I just can't face it. My children are going to go to good schools, and they have a nice garden to play in but I'm pissed off that we missed the boat and can't put this towards our own house. If we had our earnings 10 years ago (and had met each other back then), we'd be on the ladder.

I do console myself with the knowledge that the children are safe and happy though.

What banana said. There's also a few other shared ownership schemes too that's worth researching

I am in a shared ownership catch 22... Bought on shared ownership 5 years ago - we can't sell our flat (without going into negative equity anyway), can't rent it out (as we only own 50% and housing association says no), so I drive a 100 mile round trip to work (and have done since I got my current job 2 years ago...)

But chin up and carry on...

Yep we had shared ownership too. HA were difficult to deal with. We had all the responsibilities of owning, with hardly any of the benefit. Any improvements made? Yes it was 75% theirs. Any problems? 100% ours.

We had to pay service charges - no idea what for (there was nothing communal about our house). The whole thing stank really. At least we did sell it at a bit of a profit so weren't in negative equity - that really does stink.

Well, I'm stuck in a 2-bed coach-house, with 2 kids and 2 dogs (plus me and DH). I would like to get out of here move and buy a 3 bed minimum (pref 4 bed), but have no deposit, and we're in -ve equity by quite a bit. Plus we have shed-loads of debt we're chipping away at

DH has drawn up a plan that (hopefully) clears our secured loan and unsecured debts within 3 years, then we can either extend up into the attic, or else move. Then DH threw a minor hissy fit as I'd like a DC3...! Sooner rather than later too! :o

Actually, I do love this little place - DD was born here, and I want to try and keep hold of it so that we have a starter property for either DD or DS. But economics probably won't allow that :(

Shared Ownership Shared Equity etc
Be wary of it. And I say that as a 'success story' with it. It DOES have its place and for some people, like us, it is worthwhile. However, even if you are financially good, you need to go into it with your eyes wide open, as frankly, the whole system is a mess with mortgage lenders, solicitors and the housing associations themselves not having a clue about them. It worked for us, though we did suffer a bit due to house prices going down.

We are in a very fortunate position and despite loosing money on our half of the house, we managed to staircase to own the full property this week. Our personal circumstances are unusual in that our combined income has gone up considerable in the 4 years since we bought - when we looked at the figures with how the housing market has crashed we were shocked though and realised how unlikely people actually are to be able to staircase unless the market picks up considerable.

I think they are a good idea - but are in massive need of greater regulations and the government doing more to support and help shared ownership tenants. As it stands the whole system isn't user friendly and really works against owners.

Pros (few but important)

1. They are great in nice areas which you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. If its lifestyle you are after they definitely have a plus. I can definitely see the benefit in terms of good schools.
2. It gives you a step onto the housing ladder and allows you to build up equity rather than 'waste' it on rent. (Though of course, if the house price goes down you may have even bigger problems).
3. It gives you greater long term security as its YOUR house.
4. If you haven't got a large amount of money to put down as a deposit, it gives you and extra option.
5. It can be cheaper than renting.

Cons (and there are many!)

1. Don't compare one shared ownership scheme with another. They are all so different so cant easily be compared! The devil is in the details.
2. Get a specialist solicitor (or a damn good solicitor) even if they cost slightly more! Our saving grace has been we've had a decent one, who has known whats going on even when no one else has. They will help you read the small print and know what you are actually buying!
3. Don't believe the sales pitch. After dealing with people who sold ours, we know for a fact they have no idea what they are selling themselves and are just after figures. Take responsibility and do your own homework too.
4. Check out who runs the housing association that rents you the property. Are they not for profit? How much experience do they have? Avoid privately run for profit ones and stick to charitable or not for profit schemes.
5. Housing Associations are run by morons. Just varying degrees of stupidity and incompetence. They are difficult to deal with.
6. SERVICE CHARGES!!!! Check them out. Particularly if you are looking at flats. Pay attention to how easily they can be raised. Your rent may have limitations but your service charge may not.
7. How much of the property can you buy? 100% or a fixed maximum percentage. It affects how attractive the property might be in the future and what your options might be.
8. Shared Ownership can be more difficult to sell. It has a bad rep in the press and people are more wary about them as they don't understand them. Its worth considering how much demand for low cost housing there is in the area. If there are a lot of alternatives, maybe think twice.
9. You can not sub-let your property. If you can not sell and need to move you are in a really difficult position as your options are more limited than if you own your whole property. Consider how likely your personal circumstances are to change. Are you planning on having or extending you family?
10. Even mortgage lenders are useless with shared ownership and are often unaware of certain issues. If you are getting a specific shared ownership mortgage you will also be paying higher rates of interest too.
11. You can end up paying the same in rent and mortgage combined than a mortgage would be on the full property.
12. Staircasing and selling on is a minefield. There are hidden extra charges and fees at every step compared to normal ownership. You don't have full control over the sale price or valuation as it has to be agreed with the housing association. Legal fees are higher as the process is more complicated. If you staircase, watch out for your mortgage - we ended up being mis-sold a mortgage with fees assistance as their solitictors did not cover costs. Its worth asking your mortgage company repeatedly at every opportunity about how they deal with shared ownership, is this suitable for you etc etc. We had our housing association trying to pass off some of their legal fees to us. If you are a first time buyer, even if the total value of the property is less than £250k, you will be liable for some stamp duty at some point if you staircase.

Please don't be completely put off by what I've said. Take horror stories with a pinch of salt but realise what the problems are, so you can avoid them. If you are able to save and maybe look at buying outright in 5 years it may well be worth being patient though. They aren't necessarily a magic solution.

Like I say, its worked for us, but they are a pain in the backside at times.

We privatley rent a 2 bed flat with 3 DC's £900 a month.... average 3 bed here is around 250,000 so we would need 25-35k depsoit + solictors fees etc..

DH earns 1600 a month and he works bloody hard for it, with 3 kids under 5 i cannot work as with no family help it would cost ALOT more than my wages to pay for nursey/wrap around care (didnt plan on 3 - twins ... 2 we could have managed just..)

So were stuck paying somone elses mortgage - We are on the council housing register although keep being asked if we want to be removed as it is extreamly unlikley they can help us, on avarage they is 2/3 x 3 bed houses come up at fortnight.

Never mind snotty twin snugles make up for it right?

It's so bloody awful, either way.

I worked three jobs to save up for a deposit for my home. After being married for just five years, with two very young DC, my (Ex)H fucked off during his 2nd affair and during the ensuing divorce I had to pay him quite a lot of money to be free of a charge on the house.

Since then I am stuck with all the costs of repairs, from the windows leaking to the boiler breaking and the damp continually rising. I can't afford to pay these costs; but I can't afford not to work in order to pay the other basic bills. But while I work I don't qualify for grants on my house...

I think in the medium term interest rates will go up so will mortgages so buying becomes more expensive than renting which should bring the prices down. I think rather than a big crash to bring them down there may be a small crash then no movement (so fall in real terms) - but I don't think they'll ever be cheap again.
I think people have got to be realistic - you may have to move from nice areas/buy a smaller place than you want and maybe think about timing/size of family more.
On a different note I think people have to realise that renting isn't that bad - I have been renting for 5 years and I've lost count of the number of people telling me to buy/that we are losing money etc. Rent is no more lost money than is paying interest on a mortgage and not being in a stagnant property market doesn't lose money. We've been able to move which we couldn't have done if we owned our place..

We're a bit stuck to, bought our 2 bed house in nice ares (SE) when we where both working. 2 DCs latter and I'm a SAHM becasue quit frankly we couldn't afored for me to work righ now. But DH salary isn't big enough for us to get a bigger morage to bye anything bigger. But we did choice to have children.

I thank our lucky stars that a) we live in a nice area with good schools b) we dont have any other dedt so aren't panicking about all the current bill rises. It is gettin tight though.

We'll be renters for life.