Buying a house (and renting)

Kezzer wrote:Not really looking for specific advice, just trying to write down my thoughts and see if they make sence (so if you disagree or think I am stupid please let me know!)

I am considering skipping the renting together stage with my gf and just buying a house together as she recently was offered a job where she will need to drive and it is going to be next to impossible to find a flat with parking for 2 cars in Reading.

You don't want specific advice but I'm giving it anyway - I've got a couple of friends who rent a house together in Kennet Island, they both have cars, so maybe renting somewhere with multiple parking spaces isn't as difficult in Reading as you might imagine if you look at houses as well as flats?

Also personally I am at the "own house together" phase with my girlfriend (after renting together for two years) and have several friends who are the same, so yeah I think that's pretty normal.

Last edited by Kezzer on Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

To be honest I think I scretly want advice, so I appreaciate everyones thoughts.

Kennet Island is okay, but everything is so far away/no local shops etc, I guess I am spoilt by living right in town atm. (I am also bitter that I was going to view a place there with the intent of putting in an offer only for it to be stolen from under me!

)

Same issues with Greenpark, nice place, just not a lot there (that and the slight smell of poo coming from the water works)
Really its a case of which trade offs are more important.

Thanks fellow Reading-er :wub:

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Kezzer** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:11 pm

Lex-Man wrote:Don't knock live in a tent together, until you've tried it.

we could just live in our cars?

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Moggy** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:12 pm

Kezzer wrote:
Lex-Man wrote:Don't knock live in a tent together, until you've tried it.

we could just live in our cars?

I've heard that Jawa has a car park he's happy for people to live in.

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Lex-Man** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:22 pm

If you are buying together it might be worth putting down how you'd want to settle things if you break up. I think it's worth doing but can be tricky, I bought with my brother and we have a contract about what happens in various situations. That said I own the whole house legally and he owns nothing so I can just run away with all the money if I want.

People have similar issues renting though. I know people who have had problems when renting when they broke up, A couple of people I knew were renting a one bed flat together and broke up about three after signing a one year contract and ended up living together for nine months because they couldn't afford to move out.

Kezzer wrote:Kennet Island is okay, but everything is so far away/no local shops etc... Same issues with Greenpark, nice place, just not a lot there

Same friends used to live in Green park and yeah that felt very isolated with nothing around. Kennet Island is not as bad, although it's still a bit that way, but I met my friend in town yesterday and he walked in from Kennet Island along the canal rather than driving and said it wasn't too bad.

I get what you mean about having local shops though. Newer developments are all like that, it's why I don't like them as much (but then I don't drive!)

Lex-Man wrote:If you are buying together it might be worth putting down how you'd want to settle things if you break up. I think it's worth doing but can be tricky...

We bought as tenants in common and signed a Declaration of Trust that our solicitors did for us (for like another £100...) which I think is pretty standard.

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Red** » Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:52 pm

Against all the odds we've had a cash offer for my partner's flammable cladding flat, and it's not completely unreasonable. Accepted it - fingers crossed it all goes through.

I've been informed that the mortgage provider aren't willing to lend on the flat I'm trying to purchase until the cladding is removed from the top 2 floors of the building - and while this work has started it wont be finished until around Feb.

Need to speak to my solicitor, and then the broker is going to see if other providers might be more lenient but it looks like this might be the end of the road for this journey for me. I'd be surprised if the seller is willing to wait that long, and they could probably find a cash buyer in that amount of time.

The market around here is terrible, and there's nothing on rightmove I even want to have a view of let alone think is worth pursuing. And the rental options are terrible too. I think I'm going to be stuck at my mums for quite some time, unless I get a better paying job - as this is already one of the cheaper areas in the country. Pretty strawberry floating gutted, I really wanted my own place and this seemed a pretty good way to achieve that. Guess I'll just have to see how the next few days go, and go from there.

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Dual** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:42 am

It might feel gutting now but I think you've dodged a bullet there tbh.

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Moggy** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:57 am

I agree with Dual, it's horrible now but there could have been really big issues in the future with the cladding replacement.

Do you have to live in that area? Could you look a bit further afield?

Cladding

Leaseholds :dread:

Yeah, stay the hell away from that sort of thing if it falls through. You'll be stuck there for a long time.

Moggy how's the offers coming along?

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Moggy** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:22 am

Victor Mildew wrote:Yeah, stay the hell away from that sort of thing if it falls through. You'll be stuck there for a long time.

Moggy how's the offers coming along?

I've accepted an offer from somebody who has a decent deposit (60%). He's also aware of the issues in the communal hallway. Currently waiting for his full mortgage approval and any surveys that his mortgage company or he wants to carry out.

So far so good, but I'm a paranoid mess so am convinced it'll fall through and I'll be stuck here forever.

Sounds alright, especially if he already knows about the stuff that put the other one off.

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Jenuall** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:24 am

Yeah that sounds pretty positive. How's it looking on the other side with your purchase? Are they still happy to wait?

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Moggy** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:31 am

Yeah it's positive, I'm just not counting my chickens this time. He's aware of the issues but I have no idea what a surveyor will tell him.

The other side is still ok, she threatened to remarket her property last week as she noticed my flat was still on the market, but she was cool once I explained I had accepted the offer and it was just that the estate agent hadn't updated Rightmove.

MP bloke has sold his house for a cool £400k. Poor guy, he's only got that, his home across the road from it and a measly MP salary to survive on now

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Jenuall** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:12 pm

Maybe we can have a whip-round for him, poor love

PostRe: Buying a house (and renting) by **Moggy** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:20 pm

Victor Mildew wrote:MP bloke has sold his house for a cool £400k. Poor guy, he's only got that, his home across the road from it and a measly MP salary to survive on now

Have a heart, he only earns a minimum of £82k a year. :cry:

*humble photo in front of closed coal mine*

Buying a house (and renting)

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