Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Anyone in the process of buying and worried about current climate?

27 replies

motherbird · 17/09/2007 19:25

We are in the process of buying a new house - we were more or less forced to go to asking price a month ago and the chain is now complete and we are about to start spending out on legal fees, survey etc. But - OMG at the papers today! It's all looking v shaky with the whole property market and am now v worried about a potential crash. I am pregnant with our second child and things are going to be tight as it is - our fixed rates come to an end in spring next year. We need a bigger house and this was going to be our "forever house". BUT as mentioned, worried about how we might survive were rates to go too much higher! Have bargained for having to go to 6% but not much more than that! Is anyone else in a similar position? What would you do?

OP posts:
Gobbledigook · 17/09/2007 19:27

No, I personally wouldn't be worried.
The same hype was in all the papers back in 2004/2005 when we were buying and selling but it didn't put me off.

If it's your 'forever house' then just go for it if you can manage the repayments.

WideWebWitch · 17/09/2007 19:29

Come and join us on house price bores thread.

I think it depends. If there is fat in your budget, i.e. you could spend less or earn more IF you HAD to then I'd go ahead. Also if it is the house of your dreams and you don't care if it goes down in price, go ahead. Is there potential to rent out a room if you had to?

What equity do you have? If you have put down a reasonable amount then again, I wouldn't worry.

We were about to buy, made an offer at 15% less than asking price 2 motnhs ago, was rejected and they came back last week asking if we'd go up another bit. I reckon they'll end up settling for much less tbh but it WAS A house that was flooded so we pulled out partly due to that/insurance, partly due to concern over prices.

We are hoping to get a bargain next year and in the meantime are stockpiling cash and reducing existing debt (all on 0%)

fireflyfairy2 · 17/09/2007 19:29

The property market is about to fall in a shit heap accaording to my builder Dh.

He has friends who work for a local company building houses, who have had to go to Scotland & England for work. [We're in NI]

There has been a new estate built in our village too & there's now a sign up saying the building contractor [or the company I suppose] will give you £600 a month for the first year to help pay the mortgage if you buy!!

Dh has started applying for jobs, he's OK at the minute as he's self employed but it's not looking too good now that all the big companies are paying men off.

WideWebWitch · 17/09/2007 19:35

also check out www.propertysnake.co.uk/ and www.nethouseprices.com/

LittleMinx · 17/09/2007 21:39

OMG I just looked at property snake and saw one of our properties on there....... i have to say the property we are marketing that is on that site may have dropped by 10k but that is only because the NEW price is the price we valued it at in the first place....it only went on the market 10k higher as that is what the client insisted it went on, despite us stating it wasnt worth that so i would take that site with a pinch of salt

WideWebWitch · 17/09/2007 22:53

The Guardian today

pinkteddy · 17/09/2007 22:59

I think if you are in it for the long term then you will be fine. House prices may drop and may continue to drop for a few years but over the long term they will rise again. We live on an island with limited space and housing - there will always be a demand for property IMHO. With regard to interest rates, I am not sure what will happen, best idea is to fix for as long as you can. I suspect with an election due in next 2 years at most they will not go sky high but I could be being naive!!

NKF · 17/09/2007 23:06

I think house prices have to fall. Not just because of Northern Rock but because they are insanely high and too many people are having to borrow very high multiples of their salary to afford places.

I think it would be better overall if house prices fell. There would be suffering of course but there is suffering now. It's not good to have key workers priced out of places, it's not good that many people in their late 20s and early 30s have no chance of buying. And I can't feel sorry for the BTL people.

Soaring house prices are just another form of inflation. If it was bread or petrol, we'd be screaming for a halt to the madness.

Sorry. I should probably on the house price bores thread.

noddyholder · 18/09/2007 11:25

If you are taking on your max debt and planning to move again soon-ish then I think now is a bad time to buy(sorry) But if it is your family home and you can afford it and plan to stay put then you can ride the storm as it were because I think there are definitely drops coming but in the long term property rises with inflation

anniemac · 18/09/2007 14:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

anniemac · 18/09/2007 14:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LittleMinx · 18/09/2007 19:38

well said anniemac!

amidaiwish · 18/09/2007 19:50

you're buying a home not an investment
if it's where you want to be then GO FOR IT...

when i bought my first flat in 1996 i was told it was overpriced and we were "at the top of the market" ha ha ha. i sold it for double the value 3 years later.

anyway, you are very lucky to be in a position to afford your "forever house" pg with a second child. just do it.

MadLabOwner · 18/09/2007 20:01

Anyone got any advice for me? We sold our lovely house in April and are now renting, waiting for building work to be completed on my father's house - when that is done we will move into his house (he will move into a converted old stable next door) and live rent free (yes he is a very nice father to have).

In the meantime we were thinking of using the cash we made from our last house and buying somewhere near my father's house to live in short term - 6 months or so - and then use as a holiday let. All is going fine , and we have found a decent cottage to buy to use as a holiday let, but I'm getting cold feet and don't know if I want the cottage or money in the bank! I know it is a nice problem to have (ooh, cash in the bank or another house...let me think...) but does anyone have any advice?

LittleMinx · 18/09/2007 20:24

where are you thinking of buying madlabowner? if its a popular holiday resort i would say go for it. if it was a buy to let in a non holiday town i would say dont do it at this current time, but if its in a holiday resort you will always be able to rent it out. hope that helps.

MadLabOwner · 18/09/2007 21:03

The cottage would be in a touristy area in Yorkshire, lots to see and walking/cycling etc, great for families and active people. We did think of a buy to lets, but felt we had rather missed the boat and should do holiday lets instead - more work but hopefully more money

anniemac · 18/09/2007 21:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

IlanaK · 18/09/2007 21:23

We are selling our flat (or trying to!) in central london and have decided not to buy. We do not have a mortgage so are going to put the money in the bank and use the interest to rent without toucing the capital. We just can't afford to buy anywhere nice in this market. Its a gamble because if prices rise further, we will be priced out of the market (unless we take out a mortgage) but on the otherhand, we are not losing any of our capital so can wait things out.

This all hinges on us finding a buyer of course!

dinny · 18/09/2007 21:24

remember the market is cylical

LittleMinx · 18/09/2007 21:29

i would personally go for the holiday let in yorkshire

anniemac · 18/09/2007 21:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

smallwhitecat · 18/09/2007 21:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

bran · 18/09/2007 21:37

I don't think a fall in house prices will necessarily have much effect on holiday lets MadLabOwner. Provided you don't need capital growth within the next 5 years you should be ok.

Motherbird, if you are buying a home that you are never going to leave ('never' meaning more than a decade) then I really wouldn't worry about a short-term fall. You also have to consider the costs of not buying the new house, eg finding suitable house to rent, paying for extra removals etc, wanting to be settled before the birth.

There are cases where it would be worthwhile taking a gamble and not buying, if you were moving to a new area and didn't know exactly where you wanted to live or if you thought you would need to move again in a relatively short period of time.

The last time we moved the place we were buying fell through but we still sold our house as it was a good price. Then we rented in Docklands as we weren't sure if we wanted to live there long term or not. The interest on the money from our house sale covered a lot of the rent and when we did decide to buy again we were in a very strong position as we weren't in a chain. But we didn't have a child then so it was easier. The next time we move (to Dublin) we will probably sell up here and rent there as the stress of having a multi-country chain is more than I can face.

anniemac · 18/09/2007 21:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

anniemac · 18/09/2007 21:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn