What's the housing market like at the moment?

[50's chick 10]

I will be looking to buy around easter time and will be in a similar situation as I will have a 25% deposit. I thought I would be able to find a mortgage with a deposit like that but haven't looked into it yet - does your colleague have bad credit history or anything or am I literally not going to be able to get a mortgage?

 

 

don't worry you'll be able to find one. i got one on a self-certificate cos i'm self-employed and as long as i'd got 25% deposit it was fine. i'm quoted 5.2% at the moment but it's a tracker so should come down before i even move in

 

find a good mortgage broker ...i did see a few doom and gloom ones who told me i could only borrow 70k (cos that buys a lot these days eh !!!) in the end my broker got me a deal on a 135k mortgage

 

good luck c x

[espadrille 10]

i'm moving back to sheffield and i'm buying

 

while i do agree that people can be better off renting short term in a falling market i have decided to jump back on the property ladder after 12 months off. what it has meant to me is that even after shelling out 12k in rent (i live in london at the moment) i'm still around 15k better off because of the drop in house prices since i sold. had i been staying in london i'd actually be 50k better off as flats on the street i live on have fallen in price by a whopping 65k ..and thats in a very desirable (posh!) area.

 

i guess i've just had enough of not being able to do my own thing, and i have gone in with a very low offer of 19k below the asking price and had it accepted. i guess it's all relative to where your sitting and what your sitting on ...buy if you want a home to keep, don't bother if its an investment or short term place to stay i reckon

Good for you.As I said it really is a buyers market

[Dimitri 11 10]

don't worry you'll be able to find one. i got one on a self-certificate cos i'm self-employed and as long as i'd got 25% deposit it was fine. i'm quoted 5.2% at the moment but it's a tracker so should come down before i even move in

 

find a good mortgage broker ...i did see a few doom and gloom ones who told me i could only borrow 70k (cos that buys a lot these days eh !!!) in the end my broker got me a deal on a 135k mortgage

 

good luck c x

 

Cheers. Ive looked into it a bit more and should be ok to get one but the rates for FTB's aren't too good at the mo. Im waiting a bit anyway so i'll see what happens.

[Phylis 10]

Cheers. Ive looked into it a bit more and should be ok to get one but the rates for FTB's aren't too good at the mo. Im waiting a bit anyway so i'll see what happens.

 

Dimitri as has been said to you many times already if you keep waiting you will never buy. You will end up like Sham who will never buy again as he is waiting for the bottom of the market. No one can predict the bottom. If you keep waiting you will miss the bottom then wont buy cause prices are getting higher.

 

If you plan on buying a home to live in and cherish why wait. Have you looked at properties for sale and viewed properties. How do you know your perfect home isnt waiting for you?

[Danny_Boy 10]

Cheers. Ive looked into it a bit more and should be ok to get one but the rates for FTB's aren't too good at the mo. Im waiting a bit anyway so i'll see what happens.

 

Dimitri its a catch 22 for first time buyers the rates will only start to get better when the house prices start to go up again, so its a no win situation the best advice I would offer is buy while house prices are still dropping on the shortest term rate you can get and then when house prices start rising again you can take advantage of a better re-mortgage rate in a couple of years. If you see a house you like dont put it off for too long or you might miss the boat.

[Cyclone 10]

Dimitri as has been said to you many times already if you keep waiting you will never buy. You will end up like Sham who will never buy again as he is waiting for the bottom of the market. No one can predict the bottom. If you keep waiting you will miss the bottom then wont buy cause prices are getting higher.

 

If you plan on buying a home to live in and cherish why wait. Have you looked at properties for sale and viewed properties. How do you know your perfect home isnt waiting for you?

 

Missing the bottom isn't a big deal. So long as you don't buy when the market is falling then you've done the right thing.

Buy soon after it starts rising again, just don't get caught out if it bounces.

[Dimitri 11 10]

Dimitri as has been said to you many times already if you keep waiting you will never buy. You will end up like Sham who will never buy again as he is waiting for the bottom of the market. No one can predict the bottom. If you keep waiting you will miss the bottom then wont buy cause prices are getting higher.

 

I will buy and I realise there is not going to be a magic moment when it suddenly becomes obvious that it's the perfect time to buy. Nothing at the mo is changing my opinion of waiting 'til around April time to reassess things and that is the earliest I will buy.

 

If you plan on buying a home to live in and cherish why wait.

 

I think I will save cash by waiting so that is what I am going to do.

 

Have you looked at properties for sale and viewed properties.

 

I look all the time but haven't viewed any as I have no intention of buying just yet. I'll be in a good position by April and as ive said that will be the very earliest I will buy.

 

How do you know your perfect home isnt waiting for you?

 

How do I know it isn't going to come on the market at a more affordable level in 6-12 months? For me a 'perfect home' is only going to be a reality if I win the national lottery. Ive seen plenty that interest me but not for the price I want. If I find one I like that has a few problems, i'll sort them out (or pay someone to sort them out). Most areas have identikit houses for street after street so it isn't going to matter a great deal which one I get. Patience is a virtue.

[Dimitri 11 10]

Dimitri its a catch 22 for first time buyers the rates will only start to get better when the house prices start to go up again, so its a no win situation the best advice I would offer is buy while house prices are still dropping on the shortest term rate you can get and then when house prices start rising again you can take advantage of a better re-mortgage rate in a couple of years. If you see a house you like dont put it off for too long or you might miss the boat.

 

If you have a decent deposit you can get a better rate and I save each month so my circumstances are different to some other FTB's.

 

I don't intend on waiting and waiting for ever and am not greatly fussed about missing the bottom but my circumstances make my decision a no-brainer - 1, im saving every month 2, prices are coming down every month 3, I can't actually afford the area I want to buy in (I will shortly though, barring a disaster) 4, I like beer and am off for 2 weeks at xmas so the last thing I want on my mind is the hassle of buying a house when I could be relaxing with a pint or 14:).

[Cyclone 10]

How do I know it isn't going to come on the market at a more affordable level in 6-12 months? For me a 'perfect home' is only going to be a reality if I win the national lottery. Ive seen plenty that interest me but not for the price I want. If I find one I like that has a few problems, i'll sort them out (or pay someone to sort them out). Most areas have identikit houses for street after street so it isn't going to matter a great deal which one I get. Patience is a virtue.

 

This is the reality of house buying that Phylis doesn't seem to appreciate.

Very very few people see a house and say "I must have that".

 

Most people look for an area and a budget, they find several houses, they look, they rule out some, they find others acceptable. They make an offer, some people might be lucky and get the first house they offer on, more often you don't.

This house is about the 5th or 6th that my SO bid on, we looked at at least 10 I think.

It's in the area she wanted, it was a price she could accept, but if it didn't work out we'd have many more that fit the same criteria.

I think this is especially true of starter homes, this was never going to be a dream home, it's just a first home and sure, we've made it ours and we've done it up, but before we did that, it was just a house.

[Danny_Boy 10]

If you have a decent deposit you can get a better rate and I save each month so my circumstances are different to some other FTB's.

 

I don't intend on waiting and waiting for ever and am not greatly fussed about missing the bottom but my circumstances make my decision a no-brainer - 1, im saving every month 2, prices are coming down every month 3, I can't actually afford the area I want to buy in (I will shortly though, barring a disaster) 4, I like beer and am off for 2 weeks at xmas so the last thing I want on my mind is the hassle of buying a house when I could be relaxing with a pint or 14:).

 

All very good reasons to wait (especially the last). Just wanted to point out that rates wont change for first time buyers until house prices are on the up again unless you have a big deposit at least 20%.

[Cyclone 10]

moneysupermarket.com shows FTB mortgages with a 10% deposit for 5.69%

Double the deposit and it drops to 4.25%

Triple it and it drops to 3.49%

 

So saving up that large deposit would appear to be key to getting a good rate and if prices are falling in the mean time, all the better as the actual mortgage will be smaller when you take it out, further increasing the LTV ratio.

[Dimitri 11 10]

This is the reality of house buying that Phylis doesn't seem to appreciate.

Very very few people see a house and say "I must have that".

 

Most people look for an area and a budget, they find several houses, they look, they rule out some, they find others acceptable. They make an offer, some people might be lucky and get the first house they offer on, more often you don't.

This house is about the 5th or 6th that my SO bid on, we looked at at least 10 I think.

It's in the area she wanted, it was a price she could accept, but if it didn't work out we'd have many more that fit the same criteria.

I think this is especially true of starter homes, this was never going to be a dream home, it's just a first home and sure, we've made it ours and we've done it up, but before we did that, it was just a house.

 

Yes I agree and think it is a bit of a fantasy to be thinking about getting a 'dream house' especially for an FTB. The 'whooah' factor is going to be there for me and other FTB's anyway due simply to the fact it will be our first house and a big thing. Like you say once you've got the house, do it up and decorate it how you want it. It's again a matter of patience.

 

The area I am looking it isn't even my dream area but due to the reality of life and money it's the best I will (hopefully) get in the near future. From keeping an eye on the area ive seen that there have been enough similar houses that I would go for so I am encouraged by this (and the fact some are coming down in price). The latest addition to the houses that could realistically fall into my price range is the lowest starting price I have seen yet so a good sign (although it could obviously be an anomaly or whatever).

 

I fully accept that I might be disappointed about getting knocked back with offers and deals falling through so am not deluding myself that i'll get what I want straight away. Im also not ruling out losing a bit of cash if deals fall through which is another reason waiting a bit is a good idea for me.