Have we done the right thing?

[SJ99]

DH & I have been renting and saving for ages and have now found a property we like and had offer accepted on Monday. We have paid under the asking price and well under the price paid for the last property sold on that street.

Reasons we bought in this uncertain market is that it means: DS will be in right catchment area for the schools we want him to attend; we will have 60% mortgage so not overstrectehed ourselves; we expect to be there at least 7yrs; interest payments will be cheaper than our current rental; rental agreement terminates in a few mths; no chain for either party so should be quick purchase.

So why do I still feel anxious about projected price falls? We do expect the property value will fall but as we want the stabilty of having our home. We also want to have another child in coming year so preferably want to avoid 2house moves (into another rented property and then into boiught accom down the line).

Help, does this make sense?

Sounds like you have the classic jitters virtually everyone gets when they are starting to buy a house. Don't worry, it sounds like you are doing fine and have thought about the pros and cons properly. Enjoy your new house!

If you love it can affor dit and plan to stay as home then enjoy it and forget 'the market'It is a terrible time to buy though but I am looking too!I hope you got a good reduction

everyone seems to b v worried at the moment, but it doesnt sound like you are likely to fall into negative equity and you are planning on staying there long term so i wouldnt worry about it.

hope the move goes well!

xx

It is usual and normal to feel scared when making such a huge decision. I would just say that if it doesn't work out, you are on the ladder and you can move. Good luck with the move.

If you're seeing this as a long term investment and the costs are affordable then it sounds totally reasonable. Yes, you could probably buy at a lower price in 6-12 months, but if the hassle-factor outweighs that for you, then go for it!

The only thing you might want to factor in is covering the mortgage payments if you/DH lose your income temporarily, now you don't have the security net of your savings. I'd be taking out mortgage payment protection insurance if I was reliant on a single income.

Thanks all for your reassurance, I think I just needed to hear these words from someone else!

Good point Brummie, will look into that as you're right we no longer have our savings to fall back on if anything happens to DH job

What kind of Mortgage are you getting? I think your situation sounds really good, so long as you know where you are with the repayments. Something like a fixed or variable rate Mortgage would mean your repayments won't go up too soon for a couple of years. You probably know all that

I bought a house late last year with a similar amount of equity and am glad I bought when I did. Get in now I say, a lot can happen in 5 or 6 years and house prices will rise again.

They will rise again but not to equivalent levels in 5 yrs.

As long a you can live in this house till the market pucks up again, you'll be fine. and 60% mortgage puts you in a strong position. you are doing the right thing imo.

picks up.

It's not a terirble time to buy at all. It's a buyer's market. We've had to reduce or asking price by £17k today. last year we could have sold for well over the original asking price.

Don't worry about possible property price falls! You're not planning to sell are you? And even if you did, the house you bought would cost less too.

The whole house prices fall thing is of most concern to Daily Mail reading older people looking to cash in their nest egg I feel

I have bought a house 5 times now in my life ( I am quite elderly at 45)
every single time it gave me the total creeps /jitters.
I seem to have a radar for house price "crashes" , always buying at the supposed peak and worrying I have paid too much.

I have always sold on at a profit.

Please dont worry.
House buying is very stressful due to the huge sums involved, at ANY point in the up/ down price swing..

This whole house price thing is largely daily mail imagined.
I hope you will be very happy in your new home and congrats on your purchase.

As long as you haven't paid over the asking price then you're fine. In many ways its a good time to buy since people are now realising that they do have to reduce their asking prices. There are some good bargains to be had.
(Unfortunately we can't find one at the moment!!)

Keep an eye on prices though. By the time you come to exchange in about 3 months time the prices may have dropped dramatically in wich case you might want to think about renegotiating the price.

SJ99 thought I would write a few words of encouragement. We put an offer in on a property exactly 8 weeks ago and will be moving into our new property tonight.

We are also first time buyers and I do know what you mean when you say that you are worried but just like you we thought that this would be the right time for us to do it and we got the perfect property at the perfect price.

I believe that everything will work out fine for both yourselves and us and that we will be happy in our new houses. We are also planning on staying for at least 7 years.

Hope this helped.

Yes it does thanks Good luck with your move. I know long term it makes sense to go ahead with the move, it is what we want and fits in with our circumstances atm. It is just so scary at the same time!

Mortgages aren't the best right now but there are some reasonable deals, we'll try and go for 2yr term. That is this wkend's job - selecting a mortgage from the ones we've found.

Hadn't thought about renogiating the price nearer completion unless survey /valuation comes up with anything to indicate we should do so, isn't that a bit naughty?!

Maybe a little unethical but people will be doing it all over the place once the prices really start falling. And your sellers may well do it on their purchase anyway.

The question is whether you can live with yourself. Personally I can if it saves me some money which I can use for my family.

Be careful with 2 yr fixes although there aren't many tbh but the fees are usually high and if you add that to your monthly payment over 2 yrs you can be worse off

Our two year fixed rate of 4.2% ended in January
Why didn't we fix for five years?