AIBU telling DB to carefully consider his first house purchase

[madnessIsay]

DB & SIL are finally in a position to buy, great news. They are looking at 2 bed new build apartments or 2 bed ground maisonettes in south London. Budget of 580-600k which is approx 30% of their income. They are looking at TTC in 3 years & I have pointed out to them that whilst what they are looking at gives them good transport links, high street etc they need to look at school catchments & think about where any children may sleep. They think they will sell in 3-4 years so it won’t be a problem. I suggested that they should perhaps buy a 3 bed or small house further out so they can stay put if needs be or if not buy elsewhere & rent it out & continue renting here. Am I raining on their parade?

TurquoiseDress ha ha so did my mother, wish they would downsize & share the wealth!

SundayGirls yep by chance here too, didn’t consider schools & luckily if all worked out.

Am smiling at the advice to buy a flat as a FTB and then aim to sell quickly and that this is evidence of careful planning. Bought mine in 2006, having planned to sell in 2008/09. Finally sold it at the end of last year after waiting for a decade for it to recover as much value as possible post-crash. Still only got 88% of the cost that I'd paid for it.

The best advice I have ever been given, is do not ever buy a property that you wouldn't be prepared to live in long-term if circumstances demanded it. You could lose your job, the market could crash, there might be a massive incinerator built 600m from your doorstep that knocks £££ off the value - all sorts of things.

Friends of mine bought their dream home; HS2 is now planned for their area. Close enough to devalue their property but not enough for them to qualify for compensation. Fortunately they don't need to move, but if they did they would be in a very precarious financial position.

I actually think your advice was quite sound. With Brexit swirling us ever closer to an economic recession, collapsing markets and house prices I think they'd be better off getting something to last them longer and to meet their future family needs. I'd not be wanting to buy again in a couple of years.

But that said I'd be careful about butting in and offering unwanted advice. No one likes it - particularly from someone already safely on the property ladder.

I read somewhere that the less moves you can make to your dream/ultimate house, the better, money-wise. It doesn't make sense to keep moving around.

Absolutely this. In terms of legal fees, survey fees, stamp duty, removals costs, EA fees and the money that you lose when your vendors change their mind about selling (happened to us 3 times!)... All in all it cost us over 10 grand in additional costs - and we didn't move to an expensive area or buy a highly priced house. I cannot imagine how people afford to do this every 2-3 years - not to mention the stress. It nearly broke me, to the point where I won't ever move again unless I don't have a choice.

Exactly Bouledeneige if this was 5 or 6 years ago I likely wouldn’t have given this advice.

I read somewhere that the less moves you can make to your dream/ultimate house, the better, money-wise. It doesn't make sense to keep moving around

I totally and utterly agree.

Back in the day/decade ago I think it was easier to move up as there was rapid house price inflation so you had all this "monopoly money" so to speak which funded your onward purchase, your savings could be put towards paying stamp duty.

Also, because prices were much lower 10+ years ago, stamp duty was not the crazy amount that it is today.

Today it's a massive thing to just try and scrape together a measly deposit let alone putting money aside for stamp duty.

That's my (simplistic) view anyway.

I agree, shame I wasn’t born 10 years earlier.

In the kindest possible way OP, butt out! They asked for your advice/input not for you to tell them what they have to do. You are way over-invested and projecting here. You're also coming across very 'I've bought a home so I know ALL about the property market'. Well no, you don't. You know about your experience in the property market.

You're 'pushing them towards a garden' why? What difference does it make to you if they live in a swanky block with a concierge? You don't have to live there. Seems to me you just want them to follow the exact same path you took and anyone who does it differently is wrong.

You can talk about property rising, falling, stamp duty etc but no one knows where the market will be in 3-4 years. Judging by this thread no one really knows where it is right now. Seems to me it's the same as it ever was, up in some places and down in others, up for certain kinds of properties and down for others. In a few years it'll be all switched around. If the conditions aren't favorable to them to sell in 3-4 years then they'll dowhat others do and stay put until they are favorable.

All this business about 2-beds being difficult to sell is clearly not true, there will always be people wanting 2-beds in London. Always. This is about them buying their first home not you buying yours. Again, butt out.

Your heart is in the right place OP. Unfortunately people have to make mistakes, learn from them, and find out for themselves. Give them your opinion then keep out of it.

Totally agree about doing minimal moves up the ladder in London. The transaction and stamp duty costs are enough to pay a small deposit. Dead money.