Buying a house (and renting)

[Buffalo]

100%?! Yeesh, unlucky Red, especially when you had 60% ready to go.
Seems stressful, just do what I did - buy a new build

[Grumpy David]

The Financial Times: Housing development in England under threat as electricity capacity nears limits

New housing development in London and the south-east of England is at risk as electricity networks near capacity and upgrades are stalled, according to experts, despite the UK government forecasting increased demand for power almost a decade ago.

Electricity demand has fallen in recent years as homes have become more efficient, but it is forecast to rise as drivers adopt electric vehicles and homeowners install heat pumps, placing additional demands on local networks.

Three boroughs in west London have paused development because there is no spare capacity for new connections to the electricity grid until 2035, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

A foreseen problem and yet no electrical infrastructure improvements have taken place.

[Red]

Going to put an offer in on another house today after we were beaten on the last one. Not as nice as the last but has potential, and is £50k less. More chance here, less competition for it - the house has no parking (not just no personal parking but no streets without double yellows for at least a five minute walk - not ideal as we have a car but something we're willing to compromise on), it needs modernising, it's a weird layout, quite strange and ramshackle overall. Includes basement coal store full of coal with a chute up to the pavement where the previous owner (deceased) had all his coal delivered. BUT it's big, it has a garden (half of which is a steep bank down to a stream - very overgrown and possibly unusable, but the bit at the top is nice), it's an end terrace, it's been fully double glazed with uPVC sash windows (it's 1880s in a conservation area), it has central heating, has an outbuilding with plumbing and electricity.

Doesn't feel as much of a slam dunk in terms of wanting it compared to the last place but I think it is worth a chance. There's a lot to like. It's also very central to the town we want to live in.

[Stugene]

Going to put an offer in on another house today after we were beaten on the last one. Not as nice as the last but has potential, and is £50k less. More chance here, less competition for it - the house has no parking (not just no personal parking but no streets without double yellows for at least a five minute walk - not ideal as we have a car but something we're willing to compromise on), it needs modernising, it's a weird layout, quite strange and ramshackle overall. Includes basement coal store full of coal with a chute up to the pavement where the previous owner (deceased) had all his coal delivered. BUT it's big, it has a garden (half of which is a steep bank down to a stream - very overgrown and possibly unusable, but the bit at the top is nice), it's an end terrace, it's been fully double glazed with uPVC sash windows (it's 1880s in a conservation area), it has central heating, has an outbuilding with plumbing and electricity.

Doesn't feel as much of a slam dunk in terms of wanting it compared to the last place but I think it is worth a chance. There's a lot to like. It's also very central to the town we want to live in.

that coal is gonna come in handy in the next few years

[Robbo-92]

So bit of a bumbling, long winded post to ask a question or two if I may, as this seems like the right thread for it!

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve probably picked an awful time to actually think of moving out of my parents (well, I’ve definitely wanted to for ages, but during Covid wasn’t going to be viable with how everything was going), but I’m kind of ready for my own space despite being in the situation of having a standard retail job and being on my lonesome making the whole situation kind of harder from a monetary point of view. Obviously I’ve been paying board, helping out around the place and topping up my deposit in the eternal hope house prices might stagnate or even start to decrease a little but I’ve just been watching house prices go up, people have bidding wars over said houses, energy prices soar while the general cost of day to day living just goes up to. As I said, I’ve probably picked an awful time to give this some proper thought for the first time in a good few years, doubly so with the looming threat of a recession.

But to my questions anyway,

- Should I get a decision in principle before I even start looking for a place? Does this show better intent when you actually go to look at places? How long does a decision in principle kind of last for? Not that it’s at all likely, but I guess it’d need a whole new one filling out if I got a new job?
- Monthly outgoings is the bit where I’ve talked myself out of it so many times in the past, so how do I get a reasonable picture of how much any theoretical monthly outgoings could be? Obviously mortgage is partly down to deposit and how many years its taken over? Building & contents insurance I guess I can just get a rough estimate off a comparison site with a properties post code? Obviously council tax I can just look for on the council site. But the big one is energy/water bills, how on Earth are you meant to know how much it’ll roughly cost for a property before you actually live there? Would the estate agent be able to give a rough idea via the current occupants? Or is this just a huge amount of guesswork and you just won’t know till you’ve moved in and got your first few bills through? This is the biggest area of concern with how much energy bills have risen and they don’t look like they’ll be stopping anytime soon
- Final question, am I crazy for giving it some proper thought in this uncertain economic climate? Sounds maybe pessimistic but I’d feel like a massive disappointment (to myself) if I finally moved out and then had to move back in after a few months if it just wasn’t viable.

Yeah, bit of a ramble, sorry

[Herdanos]

Where are you looking to buy?

[Curls]

Bumbling post

Hi Robbo.

My first advice? Leave the country to somewhere cheaper and rent and then buy there

My second advice, get a DIP yes. Why don't you fill it in for these guys, they can provide free advice too based on your situation. They only charge if you buy through them.

https://www.landc.co.uk/

[satriales]

6th house we put an offer on. 5k over asking, we wouldn't even need a mortgage as it's not much more than our current house. Was rejected, they went with cash buyer who offered less. Seems like if you're in a chain then you have no chance.

[Curls]

Is this all over the country, or just in the SE?

[speedboatchase]

So bit of a bumbling, long winded post to ask a question or two if I may, as this seems like the right thread for it!

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve probably picked an awful time to actually think of moving out of my parents (well, I’ve definitely wanted to for ages, but during Covid wasn’t going to be viable with how everything was going), but I’m kind of ready for my own space despite being in the situation of having a standard retail job and being on my lonesome making the whole situation kind of harder from a monetary point of view. Obviously I’ve been paying board, helping out around the place and topping up my deposit in the eternal hope house prices might stagnate or even start to decrease a little but I’ve just been watching house prices go up, people have bidding wars over said houses, energy prices soar while the general cost of day to day living just goes up to. As I said, I’ve probably picked an awful time to give this some proper thought for the first time in a good few years, doubly so with the looming threat of a recession.

But to my questions anyway,

- Should I get a decision in principle before I even start looking for a place? Does this show better intent when you actually go to look at places? How long does a decision in principle kind of last for? Not that it’s at all likely, but I guess it’d need a whole new one filling out if I got a new job?
- Monthly outgoings is the bit where I’ve talked myself out of it so many times in the past, so how do I get a reasonable picture of how much any theoretical monthly outgoings could be? Obviously mortgage is partly down to deposit and how many years its taken over? Building & contents insurance I guess I can just get a rough estimate off a comparison site with a properties post code? Obviously council tax I can just look for on the council site. But the big one is energy/water bills, how on Earth are you meant to know how much it’ll roughly cost for a property before you actually live there? Would the estate agent be able to give a rough idea via the current occupants? Or is this just a huge amount of guesswork and you just won’t know till you’ve moved in and got your first few bills through? This is the biggest area of concern with how much energy bills have risen and they don’t look like they’ll be stopping anytime soon
- Final question, am I crazy for giving it some proper thought in this uncertain economic climate? Sounds maybe pessimistic but I’d feel like a massive disappointment (to myself) if I finally moved out and then had to move back in after a few months if it just wasn’t viable.

Yeah, bit of a ramble, sorry

You never know, there could be a fall in prices soon, or at the very least more amenability from sellers if you underbid. That being said, probably not a great time for mortgage interest rates. Might not be worth going ahead with say, a five-year fixed rate mortgage if you think rates might drop in the next two years. So the upside is potentially getting a deal on a property but getting screwed on the initial interest rates. As for the Qs, hopefully I can help somewhat:

- I bought a flat last year. I used Habito to find the best offers in my circumstances and got a decision in principle very quickly. Iirc, they last for months, so that shouldn't be an issue. It'll give you peace of mind and let you know what is the right price range you should be looking at, so I'd recommend it.
- In my flat, I pay monthly mortgage, council tax, water, energy, and internet bills. Twice a year I pay a service charge and annually I pay contents insurance and building insurance. Energy will be guesswork in your case but a general rule I recall reading was to not have all of your regular outgoings accounting for more than 38% of your net pay, so maybe try to factor in a worst case scenario and budget from there? Also, don't forget to factor in legal fees and stamp duty.
- It might depend on your age profile. I'm 37 and have a 29-year mortgage. Had I bought a few years from now, I would likely have to pay more for a shorter mortgage length or have to alleviate that by putting down a larger deposit. I think if you have all the necessary approvals, you've factored in a conservative estimate for payments and regular outgoings and you think you'll have enough savings post-purchase, go for it.

[Oblomov Boblomov]

This is so easy for me to say, as I already own a house, but I would be looking at the inevitable disaster of 2023 and not buying now when prices are at all-time highs and a recession is essentially already underway. If the government doesn't take action that genuinely helps people (remember, the government is made up of very right-wing, awful twats) then mortgages are going to be defaulted on and the system is going to come crashing down.

But then again, it might not happen. Even if it does, the government will just bail the banks out again and perhaps house prices won't take much of a hit. They could even keep doing what they've been doing for years now and rising faster than inflation. Sorry, not very helpful, I know.

[Moggy]

It's impossible to say when is the right time to buy a house. In boomtimes prices go crazy, but a downturn doesn't always mean house prices collapse. Or at least not collapse as much as they should. We keep saying house prices are unsustainable, but that's been said for decades now!

2023 is looking to be an awful year though. If houses prices are ever going to collapse, then it's looking like being now.

Some estate agents won't show you around properties unless you are "serious", so it's probably worth getting a decision in principle. You can get one from L&C very quickly just by filling in details online.

https://www.landc.co.uk/mortgages/mortg ... principle/

[Lex-Man]

The other issues in a downturn it's going to be a lot harder to get a mortgage so unless you're a cash buyer it might not be possible and even if you can get on the interest rates might mean you end up paying the same amount for the house anyway. I really hope house prices don't crash cause I think it'll make civil unrest a lot more likely.

[Moggy]

The other issues in a downturn it's going to be a lot harder to get a mortgage so unless you're a cash buyer it might not be possible and even if you can get on the interest rates might mean you end up paying the same amount for the house anyway. I really hope house prices don't crash cause I think it'll make civil unrest a lot more likely.

We are getting to a stage where people can't afford to use electricity and soon won't be able to afford to eat.

The country will already be in flames before any house price crash causes any unrest.

[Lex-Man]

The other issues in a downturn it's going to be a lot harder to get a mortgage so unless you're a cash buyer it might not be possible and even if you can get on the interest rates might mean you end up paying the same amount for the house anyway. I really hope house prices don't crash cause I think it'll make civil unrest a lot more likely.

We are getting to a stage where people can't afford to use electricity and soon won't be able to afford to eat.

The country will already be in flames before any house price crash causes any unrest.

You're probably right. But mortgage rises will pull in a lot more people into the problem zone.

[Robbo-92]

Right, I’ll make my first point of call being getting a DIP then, is that site linked fairly solid then? Preparing mysefuil to Never heard of it before is all. As for stamp duty as a first time buyer (and certainly wouldn’t be anywhere near the limit to pay duty) I’d be exempt I think? Unless the rules are changing for 2023?

@ Curls, If I didn’t have all of my fairly small family nearby I’d probably consider moving country, or at least a fair way away. It does make me wonder where our country is going in the future though.

@Speed/Ob Bob/Moggy, I’m not expecting there to be a drop in prices, just saying it’d be nice if there was in a way, although the looming recession could obviously cause issues in other areas as you’ve pointed out. I don’t think I’d be able stick to the rough 40% of wages on bills doing it on my own though

Where are you looking to buy?

Going to be in the Doncaster area most likely, I’d be trying to avoid some areas though

[Moggy]

Right, I’ll make my first point of call being getting a DIP then, is that site linked fairly solid then? Preparing mysefuil to Never heard of it before is all.

L&C are a mortgage broker. I used them when I moved and thought they were great.

[Robbo-92]

Right, I’ll make my first point of call being getting a DIP then, is that site linked fairly solid then? Preparing mysefuil to Never heard of it before is all.

L&C are a mortgage broker. I used them when I moved and thought they were great.

Thanks, just realised I’d started typing out a sentence in that quote and never finished it

[No:1 Final Fantasy Fan]

I have to sell my flat right now. I have joint ownership with my sister as she had invested in it but doesn't live here. Now she wants to sell so I guess I also have to allow it and go back to renting myself.
Reason she wants to sell include:
- Rising energy bills
- Rising mortgage interest rates next year which is also when my two year fixed term ends which is currently at 1.98% so she doesn't want to end up pay more.

Just posting here as I think I cannot say no and have to agree amicably to sell? As I cannot force her to continue paying her part if she doesn't want to anymore. The tenant we have only covers half of the mortgage payment so my sister is paying extra for all the bills herself.

Anyway the conversation was only casual one last week regarding selling but today she texted me to say she has booked the agent in to come take photos of the flat next week.

[Red]

You would have to buy her out, I guess.