Saeg advice from the property experts required
Discussion
OK, briefly. I want to buy a larger house as I have a 14 month old child and "need" a bit more room.
My position is this. I live in the North (near York) and currently live mortgage-free in my own 3-bed semi and am looking for a 4-bed detached around the £300k mark.
There are a few houses that would suit that have been on the market since at least last year and some around the £350k area that would more than be adequate.
My question is this - should I look and plan to move now or wait until the New Year when the downturn has had time to develop a bit further. Especially given the slackness around this time of year in the housing market.
Also - is it out of order to put a sub-£300k offer on a £350k house?
Cheers in advance
My position is this. I live in the North (near York) and currently live mortgage-free in my own 3-bed semi and am looking for a 4-bed detached around the £300k mark.
There are a few houses that would suit that have been on the market since at least last year and some around the £350k area that would more than be adequate.
My question is this - should I look and plan to move now or wait until the New Year when the downturn has had time to develop a bit further. Especially given the slackness around this time of year in the housing market.
Also - is it out of order to put a sub-£300k offer on a £350k house?
Cheers in advance
Most commentators seem to be suggesting that interest rates will start coming down now. I appreciate that that doesn't necessarily improve the availability of funds, but it has got to have a positive effect on house sales.
If you want to move, can afford to move and can sell your own home for a price you can live with in a timeframe you can live with, then what's happening in the market is irrelevant to you.
Decide in advance what the maximum you'd be willing to pay for a house is and then pitch well below. An opening offer of £285k on a £350k property starts a discussion.
If you want to move, can afford to move and can sell your own home for a price you can live with in a timeframe you can live with, then what's happening in the market is irrelevant to you.
Decide in advance what the maximum you'd be willing to pay for a house is and then pitch well below. An opening offer of £285k on a £350k property starts a discussion.
Edited by V8mate on Monday 6th October 07:47
Captain Volvo said:
OK, briefly. I want to buy a larger house as I have a 14 month old child and "need" a bit more room.
My position is this. I live in the North (near York) and currently live mortgage-free in my own 3-bed semi and am looking for a 4-bed detached around the £300k mark.
There are a few houses that would suit that have been on the market since at least last year and some around the £350k area that would more than be adequate.
My question is this - should I look and plan to move now or wait until the New Year when the downturn has had time to develop a bit further. Especially given the slackness around this time of year in the housing market.
Also - is it out of order to put a sub-£300k offer on a £350k house?
Cheers in advance
Being mortgage free is a fantastic position to be in with a recession around the corner.My position is this. I live in the North (near York) and currently live mortgage-free in my own 3-bed semi and am looking for a 4-bed detached around the £300k mark.
There are a few houses that would suit that have been on the market since at least last year and some around the £350k area that would more than be adequate.
My question is this - should I look and plan to move now or wait until the New Year when the downturn has had time to develop a bit further. Especially given the slackness around this time of year in the housing market.
Also - is it out of order to put a sub-£300k offer on a £350k house?
Cheers in advance
Sit tight for now and put up with the "overcrowding" for a while, then watch what takes place. It's far too unpredictable a market at the moment and remember your property has to sell as well, doesn't it?
I bet there are lots of members on these boards who wish they were in your position right now.
I bet there are lots of members on these boards who wish they were in your position right now.
We are at the stage in the cycle where sales have pretty much dried up. As a result all indicators of price are inaccurate because you can only measure asking prices (which are irrelevant because nothing is selling at those prices) or actual sale prices (where the volume is so low that they are meaningless).
In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don't remember a falling property market. In the early 90's houses were selling for 30 or 40% below their peaks - I bought a house for £110,000 in 1994 that had sold 2 or 3 years previously for £175,000. The house I moved from to do that sold for £65,000 when the identical one next door had sold for £95,000 not that long before.
In this market it is quite reasonable to expect that the house with an asking price for £350,000 will sell somewhere in the £225,000-£250,000 sometime in the next couple of years.
In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don't remember a falling property market. In the early 90's houses were selling for 30 or 40% below their peaks - I bought a house for £110,000 in 1994 that had sold 2 or 3 years previously for £175,000. The house I moved from to do that sold for £65,000 when the identical one next door had sold for £95,000 not that long before.
In this market it is quite reasonable to expect that the house with an asking price for £350,000 will sell somewhere in the £225,000-£250,000 sometime in the next couple of years.
Captain Volvo said:
johnnywb said:
Captain Volvo said:
am looking for a 4-bed detached around the £300k mark.
Won't even get me a reasonable two bed flat down here.
Stupid London.
You say you are mortgage free, so you have a good chunk of equity to put into any move. If you're planning to move and then stay put for a while you have less to worry about.
Your concern should be the falling market; what will the place you buy be worth in 12, 24, etc months time? You can combat this to a point by making a silly offer on something, the worst they'll say is no. I know a number of people who are now getting desperate to sell as they ahve to remortgage and won't be able to afford the new payments. This is only going to get worse.
Your challenge is going to be selling your place. That's more difficult to deal with, but it's possible if you're realistic.
If i were you, i'd sit tight for a little bit and see what happens. The indicators are that things are going to get worse before they get better. aMaybe put your place on the market? You can decline offers all day and if you got a good one you could then take it and find something, ro rent in the interim? - i know that isn't ideal, but it could be done.
siscar said:
We are at the stage in the cycle where sales have pretty much dried up. As a result all indicators of price are inaccurate because you can only measure asking prices (which are irrelevant because nothing is selling at those prices) or actual sale prices (where the volume is so low that they are meaningless).
In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don't remember a falling property market. In the early 90's houses were selling for 30 or 40% below their peaks - I bought a house for £110,000 in 1994 that had sold 2 or 3 years previously for £175,000. The house I moved from to do that sold for £65,000 when the identical one next door had sold for £95,000 not that long before.
In this market it is quite reasonable to expect that the house with an asking price for £350,000 will sell somewhere in the £225,000-£250,000 sometime in the next couple of years.
"In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get."In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don't remember a falling property market. In the early 90's houses were selling for 30 or 40% below their peaks - I bought a house for £110,000 in 1994 that had sold 2 or 3 years previously for £175,000. The house I moved from to do that sold for £65,000 when the identical one next door had sold for £95,000 not that long before.
In this market it is quite reasonable to expect that the house with an asking price for £350,000 will sell somewhere in the £225,000-£250,000 sometime in the next couple of years.
I'm going for the latter
Cheers - yes, current house "worth" about £150-160k (valued at £175k in January) so new mortgage will be <50%. I'm not too bothered about what my house is worth in a couple of years as I plan the next move to be my last until I move to the coast into a mobile home to watch the sea for a few years. Obviously noone likes to overpay but it's a home rather than just an investment to me.
Keep the advice coming as I don't intend to take any professional steer on this and will stake my family's financial future on the guidance given on an anonymous internet forum (PH - seriousness matters.....).
Thanks again.
Keep the advice coming as I don't intend to take any professional steer on this and will stake my family's financial future on the guidance given on an anonymous internet forum (PH - seriousness matters.....).
Thanks again.
Edited by Captain Volvo on Monday 6th October 08:41
Captain Volvo said:
Cheers - yes, current house "worth" about £150-160k (valued at £175k in January) so new mortgage will be <50%. I'm not too bothered about what my house is worth in a couple of years as I plan the next move to be my last until I move to the coast into a mobile home to watch the sea for a few years. Obviously noone likes to overpay but it's a home rather than just an investment to me.
Keep the advice coming as I don't intend to take any professional steer on this and will stake my family's financial future on the guidance given on an anonymous internet forum (PH - seriousness matters.....).
Thanks again.
The economy is going right into the toilet. Even with the $700 Billion that we threw at our banking system, that's going to prevent, hopefully, a complete collapse of our markets as compared to a serious beating.Keep the advice coming as I don't intend to take any professional steer on this and will stake my family's financial future on the guidance given on an anonymous internet forum (PH - seriousness matters.....).
Thanks again.
Edited by Captain Volvo on Monday 6th October 08:41
Things don't look a hell of a lot better in the UK.
You have no Mortgage. Cash, as they say, is King. If I were you I would stockpile as much folding paper with the Queen's face on it as I possibly could.
Figure you sell your place for £140k, and you get this house for £295k. That's £165k you have to come up with. On top of that, the £295k house may well be worth £230k in a couple of years, I certainly don't see it going up in value, so theoretically, if you look at history as an indicator of the future, this £295k house could lose £75k. But your house, if it loses 25% might lose £35k.
This means if you wait a couple of years, you save up another.. I dunno.. what's the mortgage payment on £150k, £1k a month or so? SO you save up another £24k over the next 2 years by not buying said house now.
This is what I would do myself, lose another £35k on my house, but buy the other house for £75k less putting me up £40k or thereabouts, net. And you have another £25k in savings.
Result.
NoelWatson said:
siscar said:
We are at the stage in the cycle where sales have pretty much dried up. As a result all indicators of price are inaccurate because you can only measure asking prices (which are irrelevant because nothing is selling at those prices) or actual sale prices (where the volume is so low that they are meaningless).
In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don't remember a falling property market. In the early 90's houses were selling for 30 or 40% below their peaks - I bought a house for £110,000 in 1994 that had sold 2 or 3 years previously for £175,000. The house I moved from to do that sold for £65,000 when the identical one next door had sold for £95,000 not that long before.
In this market it is quite reasonable to expect that the house with an asking price for £350,000 will sell somewhere in the £225,000-£250,000 sometime in the next couple of years.
"In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get."In time either volume will start to creep back as credit becomes more available and interest rates come down or prices will really fall as repossessions and desperation sellers sell for whatever they can get.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don't remember a falling property market. In the early 90's houses were selling for 30 or 40% below their peaks - I bought a house for £110,000 in 1994 that had sold 2 or 3 years previously for £175,000. The house I moved from to do that sold for £65,000 when the identical one next door had sold for £95,000 not that long before.
In this market it is quite reasonable to expect that the house with an asking price for £350,000 will sell somewhere in the £225,000-£250,000 sometime in the next couple of years.
I'm going for the latter
Captain Volvo said:
There are a few houses that would suit that have been on the market since at least last year and some around the £350k area that would more than be adequate.
Seeing as you are looking to move, and in a buyers market, I'm not sure "houses that would suit" is the way forward. I look for "Houses I really like" so you and the family can move in, and live there long term, therefore ignoring the property market beyond your own mortgage. Sriously the number of people we have spoken to lately who are worried about the value of their home, and yet have no intention of moving, no intentionof relaeasing funds, and a mortgage that is virtually equal to an unsecured loan is unreal. Have you checked you can afford the mortgage? And you can borrow the sum required? If you are currently mortgage free, have you runthorough all the options?
Captain Volvo said:
Also - is it out of order to put a sub-£300k offer on a £350k house?
Quite acceptable, I think the saying is "if the first offer doesn't embarrass you, its not low enough"Scotal - yes, mortgage affordable and agreed by bank. I agree, a lot of the people I've been speaking to are worried about their house value and have no intention of moving at all so it's largely irrelevant.
The broad consensus seems to be to hold on, save up and then put a really low offer in when I'm good and ready and find the perfect house.
As ever the advice on here is, indeed, sound and considered.
Or, shall I remortgage my own house and buy a Ferrari........
The broad consensus seems to be to hold on, save up and then put a really low offer in when I'm good and ready and find the perfect house.
As ever the advice on here is, indeed, sound and considered.
Or, shall I remortgage my own house and buy a Ferrari........
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