Best time to buy

[wife2DZ]

We are in renting and now ready to purchase.

we plan to ask our landlord if he will sell us the house we are in as it’s ideal.

Theres very little around the area we want to stay in but will consider the next town along where there are a fair few. It would mean a school change but quite prepared to look at that option for the right house.

we plan to ask the landlord in the next month or so and if he is planning on selling then move forward. Houses are taking around 6 months to complete in our area from keeping an eye out. So unless he sells to us where potentially it could be quicker we are aware it may take a good few months.

obviously we are first time buyers and ideally want a no chain but we aren’t in a huge rush, we just need to buy before next summer ideally.

our tenancy is safe for the next 10 months thanks to the new renters right act so we have a bit of time and don’t need to panic buy

There isn't a "best time to buy" at a population level.

It is down to a coming together of

• when you have your ducks in a row

and

• when a property you like and can afford becomes available and the vendor accepts your offer

Obviously you can ask your Landlord, but is there any indication they are likely to want to sell ?

If you have your deposit saved and your MiP lined up then I would start viewing properties now. Most sales take about 5 months from when an offer is accepted anyway. For your first property buying it seems sensible to have viewed several properties to get the 'feel' of places and be really sure of what is important to you when standing in a property rather than thinking what is important just from on-line viewing. IME, the 'feel' is really important.

OP, I agree with @Freshrain . Go and view a lot of properties, even those in paper that you dismiss but fit at some level.
you’ll be surprised and it will massively help you define what’s important to you and give you a good feel for price/value too.

id also encourage you to be brave and view a few out of area.

Yes start viewing. The market is usually good in sept because people list houses post summer hols so you nay see some good options come up next few weeks. There isnt a right time really because buying a house is about opportunities alligning. Your ready to buy and someone else is ready to sell. Good luck

Prices for property are softening in most places now. Its likley to get worse over the next year at least. Property is likley to loose money faster than the rent you pay so wait, and keep saving. Look again at whats happening in 3 months. Then continue to wait if things still look dire.
A controversial opinion I know but its what I see happening in the short term.
On the other hand if you have a Landlord that will sell to you cheaply, now is probably also the cheapest time for mortgages that we will see for several years.

The traditional times for buying and selling seem to have gone by the wayside, certainly in this area, because houses are languishing on the market for months, if not years. It’s been particularly difficult this year. As a first time buyer, you’re in a good position, so go and look at anything that meets some of your criteria.

I would ask your LL ASAP because if you delay and then he says he doesn't want to sell, you will have to start looking elsewhere later than you otherwise would have.
It costs nothing to ask but likewise, if does no harm to look elsewhere. You never know, you might find somewhere you like even more than your present place.

Whatever you do, don't assume you are doing your LL a favour and saving them lots of money buying without EA involvement.
We offered to our tennant and they were really keen to buy but offered the asking price minus what they had paid in rent over the previous 3yrs. We declined and put on the open market, by the time they saw the writing on the wall and offered the asking price, we had gone to B&F and agreed on a price significantly above (desirable house in popular location).

Be aware that if your landlord went through an agency to find you then there’s likely a clause that they’d have to pay them a commission if they sell to you. And don’t expect a bargain, though it would be very convenient for your landlord if they were considering it. But if my tenant suggested the same I’d expect to get normal valuations. As for timing? There isn’t an optimal time to buy other than when you are ready to, though there may be an optimal time for the landlord to sell taking into consideration their tax position but only they know that.

All very helpful thank you, as soon as we get our MIP updated we plan to ask the landlord via the letting agency.
we have no way of knowing if he plans to sell or
not but we are happy where we are and it’s our first choice, if it’s a no or we cant negotiate a price as we will want a good price still then of course we will look around.
The thing is the house is in a lovely small village where we are settled and my Little one is just starting school but with that said it doesn’t mean we will pay over what we want, the most important thing is becoming home owners and getting out of renting.
if he wants to sell to us we will go ahead but if not then shall start viewing from now onwards
there is literally nothing I love, I will view a couple of possibilities but one is top end of the budget but will definitely be open minded

Wouldn’t expect a bargain and yes would expect that there is a clause
but our previous landlord gave us a sec21 and we luckily found something and then his house sat empty for 5 months so only he knows if wants to sell or not. It’s definitely worth asking

Would never thought to ask to take off the rent - what a cheek !

We don’t have lots of time due to ages in mortgage so we need to move somewhat quickly, but we have a few months to see if 1/ our landlord will sell and 2/ wait to see if anything comes to market without moving to the next town if we really don’t want to. The new year would be ideal
but we will see what the landlord says as would be happy buying here

I agree with @DrySherry that house prices are falling in a lot of areas and that this is very likely to continue. As you are FTB and using a mortgage, you need to research carefully and be aware of this.

That’s very interesting

I have a question in relation to falling prices

There is a house in the next town along so would involve a school move but it’s slightly more house than we currently have, marginally but only has one bathroom. Currently we have an en-suite, family bathroom and a WC downstairs so the one bathroom is definitely an issue - we would plan to install a downstairs WC straight away as en-suite is not an option as would involve an extension which is possible in the near future maybe but certainly not straight away. We haven’t even viewed but we plan to but the only thing that has put me off is the price is the roof of our budget.
the house is 395, and currently we think we can get around 320k so although the MIP figures work we want to stay around 320

is it worth viewing and if we like then offer around the 320?

there is also another house but is 400k so don’t think that’s worth viewing with our figures

the house has been on the market since December it went on at 385, was reduced to 360
and now 349

I'm confused, is the house £395 or £349 ?

Sorry - current house we are renting approx market value £320k

House we have seen in the next town is £349k
It’s gone from 375, 360 and now been lowered to 349. Our MIP is for 350 but trying to look around 320 due to the monthly payments on our mortgage ( started later on in life )

£320k would be a feasible offer - from a ftb for a house thats on at £349k.
It absolutely worth viewing and trying that offer if it suits you. No way of knowing if you would get it - but an offer within 10% of asking (in this case that would be an offer of £314k).
You need to ignore the origional market price - because nobody was interested enough to buy it. Forget what it started being marketed at thats irrelevant.
I would start at 314 and then increase to your max of 320 personally. Give it some time between initial offer and the increase though. At least a week.

Ah perfect thank you - will definitely view
just didn’t want to waste anyone’s time viewing something out of our price range
I suppose things like adding an extra toilet and making those adjustments are our requirements not the vendors but it’s a 3 bed mid size detached house with a garage and off road parking so one toilet just seems crazy for a family
or maybe we’ve just got used to 3?!

Definitely worth viewing. They haven't reduced the asking price that much yet. I agree with @DrySherry, if you like it, offer what you think it is worth and can afford to pay.

You can always make a cheeky offer on houses that are out of budget the worst they can say is no, and they may come back with a counter offer that might be more acceptable. I wouldn't rely too much on prices falling, it tends to result in people just not selling unless they are really desperate and then scarcity pushes prices up again.