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Miklo

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About Miklo

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  1. Miklo

    Brighton

    I've pulled out of the purchase. I'm going to rent, and save the differential. Thanks to everyone for their comments - they were incredibly helpful.
  2. Miklo

    Brighton

    You're very polite, and the advice is much appreciated. ;-) I'm really not happy about risking my mother's property - it was very much her idea. I have gone along with it because everyone involved sees it as effectively zero-risk. I'm now staring at the precipice and don't like the view. But like everyone else who turns to this board, I'm surrounded by people who see property as a rising balloon that must be grasped. I want to believe otherwise, not just for myself, but for this whole desperate country. I really appreciate the feedback. It's giving me the strength to plan an exit from this situation. I'm currently investigating Cletus's advice on retaining the mortgage and investing it in risk-free bonds.
  3. Miklo

    Brighton

    She has a freelance income, but it is winding down. She could not meet the repayments. If I couldn't keep them up, we'd have to sell the flat, and I'd have to swallow the remaining debt, assuming the house has lost value. No-one I speak to seems to take this scenario seriously. And when I say "swallow the remaining debt", I don't know if or how that's even possible. My mother could probably liquidate £15-20K, but if the lender called in more than that I presume she would lose the house. I don't treat this blithely, which is why I'm posting. But again, nobody - including my mother - is treating this as a possible scenario. It's a modernish block tacked onto a Victorian terrace. 10 or so flats inside. Lease 109 years. Service charges currently £600/year. In a few weeks she's 65. It's a 12 year mortgage. Our understanding is that she's too old to be offered another mortgage again.
  4. Miklo

    Brighton

    You're quite right, and I hope I didn't sound whiny. But you only deal with the pressures you're under, however weak they seem to others. I'm finding it difficult behave rationally, which is exactly what is feeding this boom. Brighton's a lovely place. Horses for courses. But overpriced - yes, indeed.
  5. Miklo

    Brighton

    My urgency is for one reason, and not a good one: the mortgage is my mother's, as I can't get one (self-employed < 1 year, no deposit). If we pass on this, she won't get offered again. The alternative for me is to rent in Brighton, save the difference between the rent and the mortgage (Christ, slowly learning), and buy when I've saved a deposit in 3+ years. That assumes a crash. No crash, and I'm screwed. That is why everyone, apart from the disembodied voices on this board, is telling me to take this opportunity. I feel incredibly edgy.
  6. Miklo

    Brighton

    After 15 years of renting I've finally snapped and started looking at flats in Brighton. Most EAs were obviously very breezy, and there was the usual disdain for my budget (£135K). It was all studio flats at that price, the onebeds start at £140/145K. When I shoved my crystal ball at them, most took the line that the studio flats and onebeds are most immune from price fluctuations, as they suit both FTBs and downsizers. They are the 'bread and butter', as one put it. They couldn't see any trigger for a downturn. One agent took a different line, saying that everything is overpriced, and the cheaper flats will start levelling off by the end of the year. No-one could see a crash: one argument was that the ratio of wages to mortage payments is not comparable to the late 80s, and also that interest rates will not be allowed to go to 8/9%, as that would screw everybody. I couldn't argue; I don't understand finance. Most of what I think I know has come from this board, and consequently I'm getting very jittery about the whole operation. I hate this mess. I hate living in a country where everything is a commodity, and the society is a casino. I hate my own envy and desperation. I just want to live somewhere I can paint the door and put up shelves.
  7. Hi. I arrived at this site after reading Will Hutton's article in the Observer. I feel like I've been sleepwalking. I'm 24 hours away from signing a mortgage on a £135,000 bedsit in Brighton, and I'd appreciate your comments. I know this is old ground to you, but I'd just like to explain my situation. I'm 35, been renting all my life. While my friends took to the 1990s with alacrity, I was drifting, and wishing it was the 1960s. By the mid 2000s I'd wised up, getting good work (internet) but still without any serious savings. My friends had kids and big houses. I'd grown to hate the property market for the way it fostered speculation, greed and envy -- including my own. I was feeling so disenfranchised I couldn't even visit my friends in their London houses. And now I've snapped. My mother has offered to secure the £135K against her home. She's concerned for my wellbeing, and sees it as an investment. I'm freshly self-employed, and can't get a mortgage of my own. I can pay the mortgage now, but a 9/10% interest rate will be difficult. If I pass, she won't get another mortgage offer (too old). I've held out so long, pissed so much money up the wall -- I'm tired of not having a place of my own. It feels like my last chance. But am I crazy? It's hard to turn this opportunity down, but I'm beginning to wonder if I might be making the worst mistake of my life. I'm not trolling, and I don't need to be told to RTFM - I've been reading this board and other financial sites for the last eight hours. But I have no-one who can offer me sensible financial advice, and I'd appreciate anything you have to say. It might give me the strength to take a course of action that everyone around me would think is nuts.
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