OK, is anyone about to or in the process of buying a house 'in the current market'

[wendylanguage]

Just interested really ... on one of my 'FED UP WITH RENTING!' obsessions and am desperate to buy and feel settled. Last night we moved all our furniture into DD's bedroom and moved her in with DS because I am so sick of the mould on the walls in our bedroom - covering the walls, keeps coming back despite cleaning it off and it smells horrible.

I want to buy a house! but am sick of all the sensible people telling me to wait til it's cheaper. what if we can get one which is 30% cheaper than September 2007 price? Will that be sensible?!

We're going to see a mortgage advisor tomorrow, so sick of renting too !
We've recently been accepted on part-buy shared ownership scheme.
Prices are falling fast in my area - it is exciting to look on the net and see things you could not have dreamt of affording even last year, and becoming closer to reality.
We have never owned, so it is all new to us, and I'm quite scared about it, as I am self-employed, so we really need to be sure we can afford things if I lose work.
dh is looking for better job as well.
Good luck to you whatever you decide !

We have relocated and sold our house in March 08 after moving in December 07. We were lucky to sell at a good point in the market, we got a good price for our old house. I feel lucky we sold and lucky we got a good price. now I feel lucky prices are coming down too. But I feel unlucky in that I just want to live in my own home again. Chatkins, there's no feeling like it! Being able to do what you like and it be yours, it's fab.

You sound like you're in the best position then, you sold before they started falling, so can probably afford to buy something better at a cheaper price ?
I would hate renting even more if I had previously owned, it must be so frustrating!
I guess its sensible to wait to see how much further they fall, but if you can afford it now, why wait ? Eventually prices will come back up again, so it doesn't matter that much does it ?
I;m just glad me and dh didn't go ahead and struggle to buy in the last few years, like many friends of ours did. They are struggling so much now, and their houses are worth less.
Can't wait for tomorrow, it feels like we are finally getting the ball rolling ! Have soooo many plans and ideas if I ever get to own my home !

well, apart from that we have relocated 100 miles and it's much more expensive here. Sold 4 bed detached for £175 at peak, here they were £300+ at peak!
Hope it goes well tomorrow, anyway, and teh advisor is positive. I'd be interested to know what sort of offers they suggest!

me too, and I've already found a house I really really want, just want to find out if its possible for us or not !
Hope you find something soon, I'm sure you won't be renting forever.

Wendy,are you actively looking for a house? Yes prices have fallen, yes they will probably fall some more but if I were in the situation you've described I would want out of renting.

Go for it! You're not happy where you are and you will more than likely get a good discount with the position you're in. Frankly, I think a house should be "home" first and foremost and not just be viewed as investment potential.

Sounds like you'll be far happier having your own place again.

thanks Grab that's my gut feeling too. We have offered 30% below peak on a house we like which needs lots of work, but she won't accept she has gone 20% lower than peak now but still a bit too much for us as it needs work doing to it. Can't and don't want to move out of catchment, am in process of applying for DS's Reception place. Don't want a put on house, because I'd prefer not to move again. It's getting so we are thinking we would rather move to another rented than stay here, but none in catchment are suitable (except the one we have offered on, which is also up to rent!)
It's a pain!
what's your situation Grab?
Good luck on mortgage advisor Chat

Wendylanguage, I am in the same position (almost) as you - also renting in a mould-ridden house! Went to see a house on the weekend which I loved, but could only afford it if we offered 30% under the asking price... also needs a lot of work doing to it... so I am sat here trying to pluck up the courage to phone the ea and make the offer... don't they say if you aren't embarrassed by the offer then it's not low enough

I had this conversation with my brother yesterday. He didn't listen to me and sold up a few years ago when things were going up. He's been renting for ages and ages and started talking about buying in Spring of last year. I told him to hold off as I was convinced they were going down. After a slight wobble where he did put in an offer he has held off.

His area has been slow to come down but they are finally. Talking it through he has decided to get his finances in place for March/April and to look round then. He is going to try to get something at 30% lower than the 2007 peak price. He knows that there is a chance they might go lower but as long as it is something in his budget, where he will want to stay for a good few years, then he will be happy as it is about having a home more so than an investment really at the end of the day.

Am in the same situation. We have always rented and want to buy. We have been accepted on a key worker scheme cos i am a teacher. Have seen a few houses - and yes we live in a nice area and are also in the process of getting 1st dd into the school here - and one ex council house that i have posted on here about before that the owner is keen to sell but we are going to wait til spring i think. DH works in the car industry and has been told he will be doing 4 day weeks for a while at the beg of next year. The house we are in at the moment is also mouldy and damp. I have also been changing furniture around so that nothing is touching any walls. I am fed up of renting too. Have moved about 12 times since i was 19 - am 35 now and long for a real home.

how did it go Chatkins?

Wendy, we were in rented for about 8 months between house moves. Liked the fact that we had a great landlord and anything that went wrong, we just called up and he sorted it. No hassle. But, never felt settled.

We moved into our "forever" home two years ago and have been doing it up for 18 months and still not finished. Lived with the builders for 12 of those 18 months and yet couldn't be happier.

Have you seen anything else worth a look? Just been on the radio that house sales went up again last month. Average sales now 7 per month, per agent, up from 5 in August! Not a lot is it. But maybe the seeds of recovery? Who knows!

Unlikely to be seeds of recovery - just that August is always much quieter than rest of year.

yes Hana, but unfortunately there's nothing else in catchment and we're applying for DS's Reception place. It's a small catchment area but oversubscribed school.

Thanks Hana! And everyone else for your words of wisdom.

would do if we could sell ours but no one out there buying it seems

We've been trying to buy and sell, and nearly did - but the whole chain collapsed on Monday when our buyer pulled out. People are panicking, not surprisingly, I suppose.

I hear you, life happens when it happens and not when market forces dictate. I think someone on Location said as much the other day...people still need to move, kids go to school, people die, ergo property moves are made regardless.

Not a lot going on around here, though, think we're going to lose the house we'd set our hearts on

Good luck, if you feel like buying (and especially as you have already sold) why not look and see whats possible? If you're going to stay there for the medium to long term, you can't lose!

Sorry to hear about your chain collapsing Eilbean, we were lucky to sell when we did.

We have offered on a couple of houses but sellers won't budge on price.

I'm in same situation as Wendy, we sold our London house just in the nick of time and we are renting in West Midlands. Prices are falling but we have been looking since august and we noticed (doing research) most people are selling for top prices and there are huge premiums for detached houses, while semis in nice areas can go for 160K in ok condition, we are talking 300-400k asking prices or more for four bed detached. Then you walk in and they need complete regutting as they are owned by old people who are hoping to downsize and bag the cash. We have found nothing to buy yet, despite having the money in the bank, it's really dispiriting. A handful of houses have been reduced,though, so today we went to one and I was so desperate to buy I was about to go for it, but my partner pointed out that it's too far from town centre (I don't drive). It was a lovely house but in the wrong location. I'm so desperate we have included bungalows in our list, but to no avail yet. We are renting a nice house but most of my furniture and stuff is in the garage as there is no room here.

Hi goldenpeach, it's good to hear from someone who understands my feelings! Do you often get that 'where's x?' - oh, it's in the garage in a box? conversation. I feel like my life is on hold.

We marked the boxes but I don't dare to touch them. We are cluttered in the house because most of my furniture didn't fit in. Ceilings are high but doors and stair access are narrow so they don't fit. Parts of my life are on hold (I cannot do proper crafts and gardening as craft stuff is in garage and I cannot plant stuff in a garden of a rented house). Lots of my old plants in pots, awaiting our move.

Elibean, exactly the same thing happened to us last month. We have found another buyer but the offer is 5% lower than the last one and the house we want isn't budging on the price (they have already come down a massive amount on the original asking price though).

We have decided to suck up the additional loss as it is our dream house and we need to move. I'm about to have another baby and DS needs to register for school fairly soon. Who knows what position the housing market will be in if we wait another year.

A house should be a home not an investment and you have to think about your quality of life, not squeezing the maximum out of the market.

Or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself .......

I agree with fruit stick.
we've just had an offer accepted on a lovely house, as we are sick of renting after only 3 months. I feel as though there's only so long we can put our life on hold for.

I am sure that property prices will fall, and we will lose money in the short run (although we have negotiated 15% from what was already a fair asking price), but our family needs a home.