Cold feet about purchase - FTB

[stroopwaffle]

I'm starting to get very nervous that we are about to make a terrible financial decision.
We have been struggling to buy our first house for years. We are finally in a position to buy in our town where our children go to school and 90LTV mortgages have been axed 😩.
So we decided to soldier on and buy with an 85% mortgage in a cheaper town close by. Found a house we could afford in a nice street with parking (which is v.rare).
We had an offer accepted at 198k and asking price was 210. Great.
However, it means a longer commute for DH (2hrs!) although he will likely be going in just 2-3 days per week.
We are scraping together every last penny from this pay check and next to afford solicitor's fees and as such we can't afford anything other than basic valuation - so no survey! And we know from a chat to the neighbour that the property has damp (next doors had no dry course which we are attached too).
I'm so desperate to put an end to renting that I thought we should just plough on and buy anything we can incase the banks next scrap 85% LTVs.
Are we mad considering a likely house price crash?

I feel for you OP but would urge you to reconsider and stay out. A full survey is essential, especially if there is suspected issues with the place, including damp. Repairs are expensive. Just and example, a small leak in a roof could cost £500+ just to lift the tiles, put new felt on then put the same tiles back on. It sounds like you will wipe yourselves out making this purchase. That's fine if it was a property without any issues and move in ready etc. But it doesn't sound like that is the case.

My advise.....stay put for now and see what the market does over the coming months then reassess in the new year. You don't want to buy somewhere now, wipe out your savings then see a decline in property prices outting you in negative equity for the next 10 years.

I would wait. If you are worried I would always say follow your gut reactions. If anything were to go wrong you have no spare cash and that would be so stressful.

If you're struggling to scrape the money together for solicitor's fees, I really wouldn't risk buying a house without a survey. If something is wrong with the house you'll really struggle to get it sorted. I agree with PP, listen to your gut.

Wait, carry on saving, something will come up where you really want to be. 90% mortgages might be available by then too.

HSBC are still offering 90% mortgages - it's not every lender that's stopped. Can you see if you can get reapproved with a different lender? Use a free mortgage broker like London and Country.

I think you should pause or change track, as at the moment you're taking a big risk without a survey.

Oh man I really don't know what to do. I was so excited to finally get a mortgage offer. We had to pull out of a purchase 4 years ago because DH lost is job. He also lost his next job and we were finally getting back on our feet!
I figured we would just run dehumidifiers and save up to fix the damp. If anything else went wrong it would just have to go on credit or wait (and I am hoping to work when schools go back).
If due to the recession DH gets laid off, we would actually be better off with the mortgage (is 650 per month compared to 1000 in rent....)

We spoke to a couple of brokers who said we would be unlikely to get a mortgage (due to DH being on a visa, new to his job etc etc) so I ended up reading through the lending criteria of every bank I could think of to find one who might accept us and applied direct to them

If due to the recession DH gets laid off, we would actually be better off with the mortgage (is 650 per month compared to 1000 in rent....)

I was about to join the don’t-do-it brigade but then you posted that, I don’t know either OP, sorry that’s no help! We are FTBs now too going ahead at the moment but lucky to have a comfy savings cushion for 85% LTV so we can do all the survey and extra checks and will still have some cash after the sale for immediate needs.

2 hour commute is a killer though, that would be a deal breaker for me personally.

Have you done a pros/cons list together with your DH?

2 hours one way?

Has your DH done such a long commute before? The fuel costs really add up and it's exhausting. DH does 2 hours 20 minutes to work but only twice a week and it really tires him out.

I think you would be mad to buy without a survey. I bought a fairly new house in excellent condition a few months ago and they surveyor found several small faults (broken garage door opener, out of date fire alarms and cracked drainpipe. They vendor fixed them all which more than paid for the cost of the survey. But I also wouldn't buy a house with damp issues either, but YMMV.

Don't do it, if you're having doubts you may end up regretting it.

Don't think that you would get a mortgage without a survey. If work needs to be done the cost should be taken off the price of the sale or done before you move in. So the survey will pay for itself if there is damp. It's expensive to run dehumidifier.

DHs commute is already 1.5hrs one way so we are adding on a drive to the station rather than walking around the corner. He has done the longer commute before when we were living with family so he knows what he's in for.
We have had the full mortgage application approved - the bank did an online valuation and did not send anyone out!
My Dad has good experience of doing big renovations with his own homes and has offered to help where he can.
We decided last night we are going to go ahead and hope for the best. We would regret it more if we were stuck renting for another few years. Best case scenario we will be able to move closer to train station in a couple of years

Best of luck Stroopwaffle. I bet you're relieved to have made the decision. Enjoy your new home

Enjoy your new home.

Good luck with the move @stroopwaffle! Hope it all goes smoothly for you