To not be excited about buying my first home

[Beafortea]

I'm a first time buyer and have been saving for 15 years for a house deposit. I've viewed about 12 places over the past couple of months. And I'm so disappointed and disheartened by what I can afford. I'm considering an offer on the best flat of the bad bunch I've seen so far, but I'm not remotely excited about buying it or moving in. It needs so much work and is in a slightly rough area with nothing much going on. Other than having two bedrooms I've compromised on everything else I would have liked (no parking, no bike storage, no balcony or communal garden/outdoor space). The bathroom will need gutting immediately, it's vile. The kitchen will need doing as soon as I can afford it. Oh and the communal/entrance stairwell smells of urine.

Isn't moving into your first home meant to be exciting and happy?

that sounds utterly absurd. So you're going to get yourself a 30 year liability to a bank for something that may be worth nothing down the line? Come on now.

Be smart. Get a decent place to rent, keep saving money, and wait. Going by history the housing market will crash and then you can afford something nice.

It's not an asset until you own it outright, people forget this. It sounds like you're driving towards this life goal set by someone else's expectations.

Go to Yorkshire and rent for a few months if you fancy it. You can move back if you hate it and you’ll likely add to your savings or have a nicer rental on the same budget.

or do location, location, location?

@girlmom21 it was more to give an idea of what is available

What about when the teaser rate expires and they crank the price higher for the mortgage ?

My first property wasn’t exciting or glam. It was small, had a bloody awful kitchen and ‘not what I was used to’. BUT I made a bloody fortune on it and it gave me a massive step up and helped me immensely in buying my lovely next home. First property should be a head not heart purchase -provided you can see opportunity with it crack on-if you don’t feel there is opportunity with this flat then you need to reassess

Keep looking. When I was buying my first place, I made a list of what I wanted and was very clear on what I could compromise on and what I couldn't. It took me a while but I found something that worked for me. You do have to work within your budget but there are so many different types of properties out there, don't buy something where your heart will sink every time you have to go home because the cost of that is just too high. Keep going, and something will come up.

I think you should carefully consider shared ownership before you rule it out.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119565596#/?channel=RES_BUY

I appreciate you know people that found difficulties with shared ownership but I think if you make sure the property is somewhere you would like to live then you can enjoy living in a more pleasant property than you could otherwise afford, and you can build equity which won't happen if you continue to rent.

You said that your friends found their shared ownership properties hard to sell but the selling process does take longer I believe as you often have to offer it to the provider first and buyers need to be eligible. That's the nature of it. It sounds like your friends did sell though. You might even find a property that you are happy to stay in for a very long time.

What about somewhere like milton keyens, wellingborogh, Northampton?

Excellent transport links and you'd get a lovely 1 bed flat for £250k. Maybe even a small 1 bed house.

I've just been watching old episodes of 'secret location' and would suggest you widen your search area/lengthen your commute to get a nicer property for your investment.
Have you considered new build? That usually feels exciting.

Have you looked at Herts? good travelling times & service to London & prices seemed good when I looked a few years ago?
& I'm not suggesting Stevenage, but I think a lot of trains heading north stop there, which would avoid travelling back in to or through London. DF lived in Baldock for a while, & I like Letchworth & Welyn.
I think you're right to avoid ex-council and shared ownership (everyone I've known that's gone down that route has found selling & escaping a nightmare).
Flexible and hybrid working should give you lots more options than if you had to travel to London five days a week.

If you plan to live alone, a second bedroom for an office isn't a must. Look at one bed places where there is enough space in the living area for a desk.

Yes. I would also look at Herts. I reckon there will be some decent ones. I did a quick search in a 10 mile radius from my north London home and there seem to be a number of options. I would keep on looking. Understand that you need to compromise but you need to feel vaguely positive about your home.

Here's one I'd take a closer look at.

One did sell eventually, for less that they should have got, one couple have been trying to sell for nearly two years with no luck, and the other couple have an issue with their ground rent (I think) and need to raise £20k to fix it before they can sell.

Shared ownership here well before they even hit right move.

Also it's a terrible time to buy, I would wait 6 months if I were you. (Sister owns an estate agents)

*sell

I’m a pessimist so never get excited about anything. What’s been interesting about properties I’ve bought is the things I was most worried about turned out to be no issue, and things I hadn’t foreseen were actually the bigger problems.

I do agree you should feel a general ‘this is right for me, I can see myself living here’ even if you are nervous. If you don’t it might not be the right place for you.

How about the Midlands? Derby is a nice(ish) city and you can get a detached for £250K, 2.5hrs drive from London

There's no point at all wasting your money on a piss hovel. No one else will just it from you. It sounds revolting. Pull out and wait for something better.

Sounds like a silly plan OP

first of all, you don’t need 2 bed, so if your budget is limited going for nicer more pleasant 1 bed makes much more sense

you also have a bit more freedom with location

so for heaven’s sake find something you like

when DH and I wanted to buy or first home, we started out wanting a 2 bed in a nice area. We became realistic and went to a more rough area and got a 1 bed instead. Beautiful flat though, and shared garden, and good transport links do easy to go out and have fun

it was such a nice place to live

you can do better

I personally wouldn't do it, as it kinda sounds like it's already making you miserable. Having a safe place to call 'home' is a part of good mental health and if you dread going home because of the neighbours or the smell etc, there's no joy in that. Unless I had an exit strategy on a property, I'd always choose quality of life over 'investment'.

The other option is that you do just view it as a short term investment rather than as a home. If you have the funds, get it, do it up, sell it (no doubt for a good price) and use that to get something you really do want. But you'd need the funds to do that and it would only be survivable if you could do it in say less than a year.

But if you're really looking for a 'home', then you'd be better off continuing to save and keeping an eye out. New properties pop up every day. You never know what's going to turn up next.

Have you looked at shared ownership? Like part rent part buy. Much more popular now as more accessible.

Do you really need 2 beds? Wouldn’t a much nicer 1 bed with some outside space be better? Though maybe you intend to rent our bedroom 2 to help with the mortgage

I’d drop to a 1 bed in a nicer area.
You don’t need 2 and you can create an office space in the corner of a room, and have a good quality sofa bed for visitors.
Location is important.

Definitely do this!

Don't buy the flat. Look at places on the East Coast mainline which will work with the Leeds - London requirements.