Topic: The 'Eeeek...buying/saving for a house' thread

[The G in Gerrard]

It’s hard to pin down specifics without doing a deep dive, but some of the more promising points centre around the following:

Increased corporation tax

A ‘standard of living contract’ between the government and the public (essentially a promise to nationalise parts of energy and travel, as well as inflation-containing measures, banning zero-hours contracts, definitive ban on selling parts of the NHS away and selling of high street spaces to developers)

Linking nationalised energy to UK production to create more jobs and diminish dependence on overseas markets

Everything else though seems built around pledges as opposed to anything tangible. They do still have to come out with their manifesto though. We’re heading for a decade-long recession and whilst Labour won’t magically stop that from happening, they will hopefully stop the slide rather than welcome and encourage it as the Tories do.

Didn't Tories try increased Corporation Tax and then reneged on it?I'd be surprised if Labour follow that route.

It's a shit show ain't it and younger population and people wanting to move up the property ladder are fucked.

[Drinks Sangria]

Said in the other thread I had to jack it up to 25 years and will pay £275 a month more than I do now. I also need to start overpaying to get it back to the lower term which means in terms of disposable cash I’ll be down £500 a month.

That’s shit, it really is. I think a lot of us are lucky in that a £100/£200 rise a month can be stomached even if it’s not great, but £500 a month is terrible. That would be crippling to myself and my partner of my rental also stop yielding money. Any social life or activities done for enjoyment would go out the window. We would literally just be working and going home so I really do feel for people in that position. Unless you’re wealthy, £500 is a lot of money.

Didn't Tories try increased Corporation Tax and then reneged on it?I'd be surprised if Labour follow that route.

It's a shit show ain't it and younger population and people wanting to move up the property ladder are fucked.

We’ll see what they commit to in their manifesto and what they actually commit to if they get in. I’ve read a few articles recently saying that more than the boom in the 90s and early 00s, this last boom coupled with economic collapse will ruin the property market for first time buyers.

I mean my first ever mortgage was 1.8% on £79k lending. That was only a little bit over £100 a month in interest on a £400 a month mortgage. Manageable, services the debt and enabled me to still have a standard of living whilst taking first steps onto the property ladder. If the interest levels on mortgages go to 8% as predicted, that’s £526 a month just on the interest for that same property and same lending. That’s more than my entire mortgage was. You’ll be looking at £700 a month mortgage for small houses that are probably not suitable for a family. It’s sickening. There has never in my lifetime been a worse time to be growing up.

[The G in Gerrard]

We were fortunate that our current mortgage deal runs until 2024. Can push that to the side and not think about it.

Want to move to larger property but keeping current property to rent is a mind boggling exercise.

Unless kids are lucky to be well off or get financial assistance from parents then I can't see how they will afford houses in the future.

Do you trust any manifesto?

[Drinks Sangria]

We were fortunate that our current mortgage deal runs until 2024. Can push that to the side and not think about it.

Want to move to larger property but keeping current property to rent is a mind boggling exercise.

Unless kids are lucky to be well off or get financial assistance from parents then I can't see how they will afford houses in the future.

Do you trust any manifesto?

If we’re using any of the last two governments as a yardstick absolutely not   

Unless there’s a huge turnaround in the next few years, excusing those with help from their parents, 99.9% of kids aged probably 13 - 21 at the moment will only know home ownership much later than traditionally or not at all.

[The G in Gerrard]

If we’re using any of the last two governments as a yardstick absolutely not   

Unless there’s a huge turnaround in the next few years, excusing those with help from their parents, 99.9% of kids aged probably 13 - 21 at the moment will only know home ownership much later than traditionally or not at all.

Very true.

We are fortunate to be with a good combined salary and still it isn't easy for us. God knows how others will achieve anything.

[bradders1011]

We moved in a month ago and I've just received a letter from HMRC with a bill for "Land Transaction Return" tax. The amount billed is the same as the itemised Stamp Duty line on the completion statement from my solicitor.

Is this the same thing and I need to contact HMRC that it's been paid or is it something over and above stamp duty I need to pay?

[Craig S]

We moved in a month ago and I've just received a letter from HMRC with a bill for "Land Transaction Return" tax. The amount billed is the same as the itemised Stamp Duty line on the completion statement from my solicitor.

Is this the same thing and I need to contact HMRC that it's been paid or is it something over and above stamp duty I need to pay?

It is the same thing, i would contact your solicitor.

[bradders1011]

It is the same thing, i would contact your solicitor.

Cheers, they're sorting it.

[west_london_red]

We moved in a month ago and I've just received a letter from HMRC with a bill for "Land Transaction Return" tax. The amount billed is the same as the itemised Stamp Duty line on the completion statement from my solicitor.

Is this the same thing and I need to contact HMRC that it's been paid or is it something over and above stamp duty I need to pay?

Same thing happened to me, I suspect the solicitors were sitting on the money to earn some interest before sending the money to HMRC.

[Mark Walters]

Same thing happened to me, I suspect the solicitors were sitting on the money to earn some interest before sending the money to HMRC.

This also happened to me with a solicitor I used more than once.  At the time (2015), the seller's solicitor had complained about him transferring money late.  He'd mentioned it to me at the time and I thought "why are you telling me this? What's it got to do with me?".  I think the complaint went all the way to the top because this year I was refunded over £800 from the solicitor with no explanation at all!

[CraigDS]

Isn’t money like that meant to be held in a separate client account and interest earned on it reverted back to the client? So sitting on the money shouldn’t make them anything.

[owens_2k]

If a property is owned by two separate people, say a ground floor retail unit owned by person A and the flat above it owned by person B. Who is responsible for maintenance to things like the roof?

[Graeme]

I’m presume there was a leasehold on the property which covered responsibilities?

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Can anyone offer some advice?

Went to see a place a few weeks ago and really like it. Thought it was reasonably priced compared to others in the area. We know it’s the worst time to buy and advice we have been given is varied - a mortgage broker told us to hold off 4-5 months if we can (we can as we might see a price drop and interest rates drop). Two others told us to go for it as it’s affordable, despite the interest rates. The reason why we spoke with three is that a friend told us to steer clear of our initial broker from personal experience and passed on the details for his. Husbands boss also passed on details of his broker so we had a chat with him. We were upfront with those two brokers about how far down the line we were with the original broker - mortgage in principle, looking at products etc

Long story short, estate agent of this place we liked told us an offer had been made and rejected - it was 94% of the asking price. My head was telling me that this was his way of telling us what his client wanted for it and he was trying to get them more.

He told us there weren’t many other viewings planned. He called me back twice since we saw it and I was honest - people are telling us to hold off and see what happens in 2023, but to keep me informed if any offers are made.

That was 2 weeks ago my last conversation with him. I don’t know what prompted me but tonight I’ve had a look to see if it’s still available and what do you know, it has been reduced by 7% - less than this rejected offer.

The people in it, as far as we can believe the EA, have just had another baby and want to upsize. I queried if they had found somewhere or were looking and he said that had seen a few options and as soon as they sold, they’d put offers in.

We do want this place. And it is affordable even with the rates so high. We’d look to do a 2yr fixed and hope rates come down a little by then and hopefully we’d be at the point we’d be used to paying that much so could start overpaying.

But… what would we offer? They’ve knocked 7% off. They paid 92% of its current asking price for it so still stand to make some money.

Go straight in at 7% and hope they accept? Or try and knock it down a bit more?

Still a bit concerned by this phantom bid. If they went back to that bidder to accept, they’re either gone or have said no and hope to low ball some more?

[CraigDS]

Ultimately if you’re saying the finances work for you it comes down to the house. If it’s exactly what you want, where you want, etc. and you’re not making many sacrifices in what your “ultimate” aim was to buy then go for it. Can always chance a sneaky offer because at this time of year I doubt many offers are flying in, esp if they’ve reduced it under the previous offer (which suggests they’re well out of the picture).

[reddebs]

I agree with Craig.

If the house is what your looking for, price, size and location then go for it.

I'm not sure I'd even go for a short term fixed mortgage either as most experts are saying rates will come down soon.

Always go for a cheeky offer as you can always up it if they don't accept. 

Best of luck 👍

[redbyrdz]

If you want it and can finance it, do it. The main thing should be that you want to live there. Of course nobody wants to pay more than they have to, but honestly if its somewhere you see yourself living for a while, go for it. Too many people act as if they were just buying to sell again soon.

[west_london_red]

I’d go in slightly lower than the asking price almost out of a point of principle, even if it’s only a couple of grand but in the grand scheme of things it’s all peanuts when you consider how much a house costs, what you’ll spend in repayments etc over the long run so if you want it go for it, don’t wait another 4-5 months for something else because you may not get something as good. If prices do tumble people won’t want to sell and the market will just dry up but personally I don’t think prices will fall as much as people are saying either.

[The G in Gerrard]

How's housing market at the minute?

[Slippers]

How's housing market at the minute?

Generally,no idea.

Lots for sale where we are but nothing's moving and everything's still horribly overpriced.

[rob1966]

How's housing market at the minute?

Some are selling/some aren't by ours. People from Honk Kong buying houses to rent out is a new one by us, they're paying asking price even though no one else is looking at the house.

[The G in Gerrard]

Some are selling/some aren't by ours. People from Honk Kong buying houses to rent out is a new one by us, they're paying asking price even though no one else is looking at the house.

Honk

Generally,no idea.

Lots for sale where we are but nothing's moving and everything's still horribly overpriced.

Down South where new builds seem to continue. Prices remain high. No significant difference.

[rob1966]

Honk

Ha ha, I totally missed that

[Slippers]

Honk
Down South where new builds seem to continue. Prices remain high. No significant difference.

We're supposed to be getting seventy odd houses on the site of a school that was demolished last year,but they seem very reluctant to start work.

[Mark Walters]

Down South where new builds seem to continue. Prices remain high. No significant difference.

Prices are high but houses are taking longer to sell and many are being reduced from their original asking price.  Estate agents are greedy and owners always think their bang average properties are worth more than they actually are! But now that mortgage rates are high sellers are discovering that people can't/won't pay for properties that are not worth the monthly repayments.

[The G in Gerrard]

Ha ha, I totally missed that

Made me laugh more than it should

[The G in Gerrard]

We're supposed to be getting seventy odd houses on the site of a school that was demolished last year,but they seem very reluctant to start work.

Where's that?

Prices are high but houses are taking longer to sell and many are being reduced from their original asking price.  Estate agents are greedy and owners always think their bang average properties are worth more than they actually are! But now that mortgage rates are high sellers are discovering that people can't/won't pay for properties that are not worth the monthly repayments.

We stopped looking for a while now and have quick looks but houses don't seem to be falling in prices, flats are.

[Slippers]

Where's that?
We stopped looking for a while now and have quick looks but houses don't seem to be falling in prices, flats are.

We're down in Pembrokeshire.

Loads of flats for sale here,the majority of them are holiday homes.We have a three bed one down the road from us going for £430k,needless to say it's been on the market for a while.

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Prices are high but houses are taking longer to sell and many are being reduced from their original asking price.  Estate agents are greedy and owners always think their bang average properties are worth more than they actually are! But now that mortgage rates are high sellers are discovering that people can't/won't pay for properties that are not worth the monthly repayments.

I mentioned a bit of my experience above with seeing a place we had viewed and liked reduced just before Christmas.

We have since had an offer accepted that we were really happy with - at one stage last summer they wanted 45k more.

However, the bank’s valuation put it at 20k less than what we offered, due to market state - the property itself was fine.

We went back to negotiate and eventually got another £15k knocked off because they are desperate to sell.That’s a 60k reduction from what the seller wanted 5-6 months ago.

It works out well for us, as even though we need to pay another £5k out of our pockets, we have the place for less, but more equity in it and of course then mortgage payments are reduced.

Had they not come down to the valuation price we would have pulled out as we wouldn’t have been able to make up the £20k in cash ourselves. But I think this is an indication of what could start to happen - sellers are still thinking about the price of their property before this shake up, not wanting to come down much in asking price as they thought they’d get X amount 6 months ago and then when they do find a buyer, valuations may be off.

Definitely seeing lots more come on the market here but definitely still overpriced.

We are fortunate our seller are desperate to sell.

[Mark Walters]

We stopped looking for a while now and have quick looks but houses don't seem to be falling in prices, flats are.

I guess I should caveat that by saying that I've been keeping an eye on the market in the area in which we bought our place last year.  So 3+ bedroom, with a price range of 600k to 1.2m, mainly in West Herts and Bucks. In our search area you'd be surprised how little £1.2m gets you! So while flats may also be falling in price, it's not something I've looked at.

[.adam]

I mentioned a bit of my experience above with seeing a place we had viewed and liked reduced just before Christmas.

We have since had an offer accepted that we were really happy with - at one stage last summer they wanted 45k more.

However, the bank’s valuation put it at 20k less than what we offered, due to market state - the property itself was fine.

We went back to negotiate and eventually got another £15k knocked off because they are desperate to sell.That’s a 60k reduction from what the seller wanted 5-6 months ago.

It works out well for us, as even though we need to pay another £5k out of our pockets, we have the place for less, but more equity in it and of course then mortgage payments are reduced.

Had they not come down to the valuation price we would have pulled out as we wouldn’t have been able to make up the £20k in cash ourselves. But I think this is an indication of what could start to happen - sellers are still thinking about the price of their property before this shake up, not wanting to come down much in asking price as they thought they’d get X amount 6 months ago and then when they do find a buyer, valuations may be off.

Definitely seeing lots more come on the market here but definitely still overpriced.

We are fortunate our seller are desperate to sell.

Nice!

Just an aside, in case you have any concern about paying more than what the lender values it, I found myself in a similar(ish) situation.

We got into a sealed bid when we bought our place ~8 years ago. We ended up paying ~£10k over the asking price. The bank would not lend us this so we had to find the extra cash ourselves.

It has since increased in value significantly and we've paid off a good chunk of the mortgage, leaving us with plenty of equity.

It's definitely worth doing if you're happy to stick around and make inroads into the mortgage.

[The G in Gerrard]

I guess I should caveat that by saying that I've been keeping an eye on the market in the area in which we bought our place last year.  So 3+ bedroom, with a price range of 600k to 1.2m, mainly in West Herts and Bucks. In our search area you'd be surprised how little £1.2m gets you! So while flats may also be falling in price, it's not something I've looked at.

I live in Buckinghamshire. Prices here are outrageous.

[Mark Walters]

I live in Buckinghamshire. Prices here are outrageous.

Oh totally.  Our search area actually only went as far as Chesham and Amersham so not into the expensive areas of the Chalfonts just because we already know that prices there are outrageous.

[The G in Gerrard]

Oh totally.  Our search area actually only went as far as Chesham and Amersham so not into the expensive areas of the Chalfonts just because we already know that prices there are outrageous.

Anywhere in Buckinghamshire is ridiculous. Even Aylesbury prices wise.

That's why we've looked at Kent area or other side of London.

[reddebs]

Just had the flat valued at £16k more than we paid for it a year ago and at £75 per month rent more than we're currently getting 😊

[The G in Gerrard]

Just had the flat valued at £16k more than we paid for it a year ago and at £75 per month rent more than we're currently getting 😊

You must be delighted

God knows how flats are depreciating in value in Buckinghamshire area where I am.

[Elmo!]

My flat is likely gone down 10% since I bought it 3 years ago.  :'(

[reddebs]

You must be delighted

God knows how flats are depreciating in value in Buckinghamshire area where I am.

Surprised and delighted. 

Even after what we've spent on improvements it's still about a £10k increase, not that we're planning on selling.

How come they're depreciating where you are? 

[reddebs]

My flat is likely gone down 10% since I bought it 3 years ago.  :'(

How come mate?  Are people just not buying flats anymore?

[Mumm-Ra]

How come mate?  Are people just not buying flats anymore?

subsidence perhaps