Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

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

Buy a flat with no mortgage, or wait for a nicer one

13 replies

Unmute · 12/08/2021 10:10

I'm on a temporary contract, so I don't want to get a mortgage when I might be unemployed soon. I have enough cash to buy an ex-council flat in a not very attractive but perfectly safe area.

If I got a permanent job on my current salary I could get a mortgage and afford a much nicer place, probably a semi-detached house with a garden (I have a dog so this would be a huge bonus). But this might be a year away (or longer, who knows) and my cash is currently sitting in the bank gaining no interest while I pay half my salary in rent (to my parents who own the flat I'm living in, which is a whole other issue and something I'd like to stop asap).

The nice and not nice areas are very close together, so ds (17) wouldn't have to change school or travel far.

What would you do?

OP posts:
Wheretobuy · 12/08/2021 10:14

I would buy the flat. It’s a no brainer to me at least. You don’t know what’s around the corner.

FawnFrenchieMum · 12/08/2021 10:37

I'd buy the flat, your unlikely to lose money on property and you may gain money. You can also save the money you pay in rent for the next year or so to either pay the fees to buy a nicer place or as additional deposit towards the mortgage. Seems a no brainer to me, unless its a really really awful place to live.

Original poster
Unmute · 12/08/2021 11:40

Makes sense. I am leaning towards making an offer on a place we're viewing for the second time today. I guess we can always move again in a year or two, and even if my deposit hasn't increased, I'll have saved loads in rent. Maybe I should do a walk around the area at night and see how I feel

OP posts:
Womaninthemirror1 · 12/08/2021 19:09

I agree, in your shoes I would buy the flat, save the rent, then move to a bigger home with a mortgage once you get a permanent job. Does seem like a no-brainer to me too, unless the flat would be difficult to sell on for some reason? x

WhatAWasteOfOranges · 12/08/2021 19:14

I say wait and buy the house. Flats are really out of favour at the moment after lockdowns and are proving hard to sell in some areas. You’ve got added complications of leases/ upstairs/ downstairs neighbours and with a dog - can be quite tricky. You’re also at the mercy of the management company if windows/roof need replacing etc - on a council block this can be very £££

A house will be freehold and you’ll not run the risk of someone downstairs banging on the ceiling everytime your dog barks when the postman puts a letter through the door.

Solicitors costs/ surveys/ movers/ stamp duty all add up so even if you buy now to sell in a few years it could be hard to make money on a flat when most buyers these days are looking for a garden…

Original poster
Unmute · 13/08/2021 09:12

I agree, a house would be much better for us and it's definitely the goal long term. But we're currently in a third floor flat with no outdoor space, and I could afford a ground floor flat/maisonette with private patio front and back and a shared area of grass out the front. We had another look at one yesterday and it's fine, not great, but livable.

I am worried about my cash losing value since interest rates are so much lower than inflation, but I think my main concern is that I'm just desperate to have my own place and not have my parents as landlords any longer.

We moved back to the UK a year ago after selling a beautiful house in NZ, and it feels like I've taken such a step backwards.

OP posts:
spooney21 · 13/08/2021 17:11

As an aside do you qualify for a first time buyer ISA?Would be better than your money sitting earning no interest.

Original poster
Unmute · 13/08/2021 17:27

I don't think so. I have owned a house, just not in the UK.

OP posts:
Wolfcub · 13/08/2021 17:38

I would buy the flat.

Bollindger · 13/08/2021 17:42

Buy the flat.
Get the better job, rent out the flat when you find a house you do like and profit that way.

IJustLikeBiscuitsOK · 13/08/2021 22:36

Going against the grain here, but I would hold out for the house and try to see if there was any way I could get a permanent contract. At the moment, with covid so fresh in everyones mind, I would be worried a flat may be trickier to sell, and if you find a property you love, you are no longer in the bonus position of no chain, and if your flat took a long time to sell, would the others be prepared to wait? I can see merits in both, but personally, if I at all could, I'd wait. Moving is so much stress to do it so quickly within a few years of moving in too

Kite22 · 13/08/2021 23:07

If it is really only a year away, I'd buy the house, without question.
Flats tend to come with service charges - which can be ridiculously high, and, if not, you have little control over how they might change. They can have difficulties with leases. They can be difficult to sell on.
If you were saying "In 8 years time I might be able to get a flat" then I'd think differently, but for the sake of 12 months it seems a no brainer to me to hold on for the house.

It might well be worth you getting some investment advice for your money now though. I agree interest is completely rubbish at the moment, but you presumably (if you can buy a flat outright) have a decent sum of money, and that means you would be able to keep pace with inflation I'd have thought.

LopsidedWombat · 13/08/2021 23:42

I'd wait and go for the house if it really will not be much more than a year until you can afford a house. I was looking at flats in late 2019/early 2020 with a view to buying and then moving on to a larger property in 5-7 years. A surprising number of them are still on rightmove! So I'd be worried about reselling if you hope to not be there long. Maybe a ground floor flat with outside space would be a different story though, I was looking at city centre apartments with balconies.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page