To buy a home I know I don’t really want purely to get on the property ladder and buy better in a few years?

[Auramigraine]

Evening all

Would really appreciate some advice.....

Currently live in a property rented, have done for a few years now. The landlord is happy to sell and we have been given a valuation which is easily affordable for us, BUT I would by lying if I said I would want to stay here in the long term.

The home is lovely, but I no longer like the area, a few people have moved in very close to me and they have been trouble. I don’t want to go into details, It’s not that I don’t feel safe, I just can no longer picture bringing up my children here.

Property’s I like are about 20k over what we could afford. Would you carry on renting for now until I can afford the property’s I want? Or would you buy this purely to get onto the ladder and sell in a few years (fully aware however some things in the area may put buyers off but judging the sold houses round here at the mo they are selling well)

Thought I would well be on the property ladder by now and it’s starting to make me feel desperate.....

Any advice? X

When you say a few years how many are you talking? Especially with Brexit I don't know that I'd be investing in a property I'd want to leave in 5 years or less as you can't rely on the property prices increasing in that time. Don't forget you'll also have to pay stamp duty, solicitor's fees, estate agent fees (when you see again).

I think the lesson of the last forty years is always get a toehold sooner than later. The general trend in house prices is always upward.

Brexit has put a question mark over short term prices, though, so if you're in an at risk area, maybe play for just a little bit of time just now to see if a crash is likely?

As I'm the process of selling a house at a loss, I'd say be wary. Nobody has any idea what will happen with Brexit or what effect it will have on house prices. Negative equity and needing to sell is a shit position to be in.

Oh, and I bought ten years ago. Not everywhere has recovered from the crash in 2008/09.

I would say don’t buy if you are looking to move away fairly soon because once you will lose the freedom to move quickly that you currently have, buying a property could mean you are stuck with it for much longer than planned.

Why not start looking to buy in areas where you would like to settle ?

We did and don't regret it. We stayed for about 18 moths and then moved into a more suitable rental while renting out our original home.

This helped us immensely through built up equity when we purchased our "forever" home (about 6 years later), and we were able to keep the rental as an investment.

Just wanted to add a BUT....

If you know you're in a position to buy this house then you're in a position to buy others too. Make sure that you do your research and buy the best property for your circumstances. For example the property with the most potential for gains in a short period of time even if its in a inconvenient location for you.

If you've got the skills and spare over you might consider a better property that needs some TLC also.