Unsure if to continue with house purchase

[bellyislikejelly]

Contracts are through & we now wait to exchange.

This will be my first ever house purchase meaning i am spending my life savings for the deposit + stamp duty leaving me with 0 in the bank.

We currently are in rented but in rented with savings.
Not sure which option is best right now.
Im not sure anyone really does

How secure is your employment?
Are you planning on living in the home before selling for a while?
Will you have any savings left after you complete?

Sorry, you did say zero savings. I think I’m any situation leaving yourself with zero is really risky.

How likely is your work to continue? Do you think if we are still in lockdown at Christmas your company will still need you?

How much is your rent vs how much lower is your mortgage going to be?

Not a chance, house prices will significantly drop, why would you buy at the peak of house prices?

I wouldn’t. We have a deposit saved for a first property but going to see what happens. I think there’s a possibility of a house price crash and we can’t risk negative equity.

No...bad idea. The housing market will go down.

Have you exchanged contracts?, if so and you pull out it will be very costly for you.

"Have you exchanged contracts"

Answer is in the very first sentence.

I personally wouldn't! .. but my job is at risk and I believe the house market is about drop, at this current time I'd rather have savings in the bank...

No. Pull out now.

Can you ask for a delay on exchange? Is that a thing?

Employment seems secure as can be in the current climate for both me + DH.

I would say come December we would still be needed.

The mortgage repayment would be higher than our rent but only just.

Im sad that we have worked so hard to save for this moment, sad that we finally found our home + we now have to face the fact its possibly over.

I know there are bigger things to feel sad about before im helpfully reminded

There is going to be a massive economic fall out from this pandemic.
I remember the early 90’s recession when recessions were rife.
Either pull out OR reduce your offer considerably, I would usually consider this a dickhead move at this late stage, but we are living in volatile time. You didn’t know this nightmare was going to blow up when you made your original offer.

*reposession

I would certainly continue with your purchase.
As pp said you will lose money if you pull out.
A house is an investment which maybe would go down in the short term but will eventually even out.

Renting is dead money so buying is always better.

Good luck 😉

Analysts are allready saying that we are in a recession, possible depression coming up, very bad time to buy and get straight into negative equity as a ftb.

I disagree with people. Renting loses you 000s every month. This will be your home and may well be for 25 years. You wont have landlords inspecting it or telling you how to decorate. It’s totally different. However, if it’s a place you planned to make a profit on by reselling in a few years, then obviously that won’t work.

Completely agree with @wiffywaffle
This is your first home and I assume you plan on living in it for a long time, so definitely for you it is the right time to buy. Like you said your mortgage won't be that much higher than your rent, why pay towards something that isn't yours when you've found the house you've been looking for.
Doesn't matter if house price is going down if your hoping to live in your new house for a long time as it won't affect you, and trust me house prices will only go down by a little and come back up very quickly. Do what's best for you

Even if the market does take a dip, that's only a problem for you if you plan on selling it in the short term. And it doesn't sound like you are. The market will recover eventually. Given that the mortgage is only just over your current rent, in the medium/long-term you're better off riding out the storm and paying the mortgage.

We pulled out of ours today at a very late stage.

I would pull out. These are incredibly uncertain times. If house prices crash you have no idea how long they'd take to recover, and you are only confident of employment for 9 months. Renting can mean throwing away a lot of money. Or it can mean hedging your bets. Right now, unless you are employed in a very secure sector I'd hang fire.

If this is the house you want to be your home then given your circumstances I would take it.
After the virus has decreased we will not be back to normal as there will be big economical ramifications.
If you rent and your landlord goes bankrupt,yes house prices may fall but where will people live meanwhile?Or rents go up as landlords try to recoup lisses.
Home owners maybe in negative equity for a while so will stay put.Some maybe affected by job losses but there will be opportunities as businesses start up again and the gaps close again.
Either way if you can have a house now with stable jobs then when it's over you can relax and avoid the upheaval.