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Original poster

GDG (or anyone else) Did you bridge to purchase your house?

20 replies

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 12:37

GDG I remember at one point you were trying to sell a property but had already purchased your new one (I assume!). Did you have a bridging loan? If so, how long for and was it crippling?

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laudaud · 10/04/2007 13:00

We considered a bridging loan and then considered renting first property out so managed to get 2 mortgages - fortunately had some saving for deposit on second property.

Before we managed to sell first property DD started at nursery (the equivalent of another mortgage).

If your first property doesn't sell for a while it could become crippling.

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 13:03

Thanks.

Building Society have agreed to lend us money for new property and we can rent out our current property but the fiqures are mightly scary! Dh does earn enough to cover it all, but we would be living hand to mouth for a while. I am scared it all goes tits up.

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Gobbledigook · 10/04/2007 13:08

Fimbo - we didn't actually need to bridge because the house we were buying, and moved into, belonged to my mum and dad.

We obviously continued paying the mortgage on the house we moved out of but we didn't actually purchase the new house until the old one sold.

We paid mum and dad's mortgage on the one we moved into as they had already bought their next house and had another one they were in the process selling too.

So we effectively had '2 mortgages' but I suppose we were really 'renting' the new house until we sold the old one.

It all got very confusing and it was very stressful as it was a lot of money to fork out (although actually the size of our new mortgage on the new house is pretty much the same as what we were paying for the two).

Anyway, I waffle. No, we didn't need a bridging loan. Isn't the interest very high? If I could afford to do it and I was desperate to get into the next house I would do it. Only if I was confident about selling the old one though.

It's a nightmare isn't it?

laudaud · 10/04/2007 13:09

could you change to an interest only mortgage for a while? When you start looking at the numbers it is very scary. We did it because we were afraid of losing the second property. It's all worked out fine in the end and we are now planning an extension .

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 13:16

Ah thanks GDG. Its a frigging nightmare. I have seen the only house in this area that I like (need to stay here because of the schools) but we potentially need to sell first. I am supposed to live in an area where houses are like gold dust. There is nothing wrong with the house apart from the small garden, but I am kind of inbetween, too expensive for a first time buyer but probably not quite big enough for those on the next rung up. It will sell eventually but I want the house I have seen now, if I hadn't seen it then it wouldn't be bothering me so much about not selling.

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Gobbledigook · 10/04/2007 13:17

Arrrggghhhhh!

How likely is it that the house you want will go quickly? Have you been to look at it - has there been lots of interest?

Is yours on the market yet?

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 13:22

Laud, yes the figures are based on interest only. My head says to go for it, but dh is more cautious than me!

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Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 13:26

Yes, our house is on the market. We are getting viewers and have had an offer but the people who want ours have to sell theirs and having seen theirs it is not going to sell anytime soon - you know carpets that you could vom on and you wouldn't notice!

The house we want is quirky and may not suit everyone's tastes and it is not currently quite how we want it. But the plus side is it has 1/3 of an acre garden (yay-trampoline heaven!!!) and potential to expand the house. (GDG you would not believe how many people have commented on next door's trampoline now! They have moved it slightly over anyway to let the grass underneath it grow!)

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Gobbledigook · 10/04/2007 14:44

Really?! What are they saying about the trampoline?!

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 14:51

It's just the same really "ooh they have a trampoline next door I see". In the next breathe you are just waiting for the "I bet they're noisy" comment. I don't have a conservatory and they all want one! "Ooh there is enough room to put a conservatory here - we love conversatories sit all day in ours". Pah!!

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Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 14:53

conversatories?????????????

Conservatories even! LOL

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exbury · 10/04/2007 15:04

FWIW, we did this - it was effectively one huge mortgage based on 2 houses and us paying interest only. There was an arrangement fee but the interest rate was the reasonable.

We did it because we were selling a straightforward house in an estate and buying a v. individual house in the middle of nowhere - and we reckon what it cost us in fees etc we saved by being in a better negotiating position with our vendors.

And if you want a happy ending, we only had both for 5 weeks in the end and the mortgage company gave us half of the fee back as a result.

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 15:07

OOh that's encourgaging Exbury. My dh is very very cautious with money, whereas I am more "just lets go for it".

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mrspink27 · 10/04/2007 15:09

We thought of a bridging loan when it looked like we had lost our buyers in October... good job we didnt though it would have crippled us as we are still no closer to moving as there has been a problem further up the chain... so didnt matter in the end. DH works in finance and is very cautious about them. I guess it depends if you have luck on your side.

fishie · 10/04/2007 15:10

somebody rang up moneybox live on r4 about bridging loans yesterday (i am soooo sad) anyway they recommended that so long as you have equity in the first house to remortgage and make sure there are no early repayment penalties, it's cheaper and you are in a better position if anything goes awry.

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 15:16

Is your move still on then Mrs Pink?

Thanks for that Fishie - all applies to us, we can afford it but it just seems so much money going out every month.

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mrspink27 · 10/04/2007 15:40

Oh Fimbo... its such a long story! I wont bore you with all the details but very briefly our house went on market in early Sept, we had an offer and accepted it, we put in an offer on a fab house which both DH and I fell totally in love with. All going well, then buyers lost buyer, got new buyer, move scheduled for 1 week before xmas, 1 week before buyers buyer dropped out. Agonising christmas. New buyer for us, all set to move Feb 14th day of exchange our buyer dropped out (turned out she had 2 properties she was buying with 2 seperate solicitors and chose the other- was for buy to let). Agonising half term. Our original buyers now have a buyer and we have a complete chain again... nothing has happened for 5 weeks... I am surrounded by boxes and empty bookshelves, my life is on hold, I am utterly fed up and still very concerned that a cash buyer might come in and scoop our gorgeous house to be away...

There... that was the brief version. I have to say it has been 7 months of hell, a roller coaster of its happening, its not happening, its happening tomorow, next week, its not happening... etc etc etc

I still dont beleive its going to happen and I think I will be in limbo for a while yet. Not till I have shut the door of the house to be behind me with the keys in my hand will I believe its real!

NadineBaggott · 10/04/2007 15:57

God what a nightmare Pinky!

I also have house buying/selling horror story but I won't bore you with it, but I know where you're coming from!

you have my sympathy

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/04/2007 16:02

Oh Mrs Pink, I feel for you, I really do, how awful and stressful. When we bought the house we are currently selling there was only 2 houses in the complete chain. It is such a crap system for buying and selling. I wish there was some way of just giving your old house to the building society and you could go out and then buy the one you want. Of course in a perfect world and all that. Good luck with it all. I am sure in a couple of years time, you will look back on this with a wry smile.

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mrspink27 · 10/04/2007 17:59

It'll all work out one way or another. Just glad we didnt take out the bridging loan!

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