Should I Buy My First House Now?

[mp04]

Hi

I want some advice on whether or not i should buy my first home now or wait and hope for a crash.

if i was to buy now what should i buy a 2 bed house or a 2 bed apartment or would i be better off renting or staying at home?

[Impartial]

Hi

I want some advice on whether or not i should buy my first home now or wait and hope for a crash.

if i was to buy now what should i buy a 2 bed house or a 2 bed apartment or would i be better off renting or staying at home?

No.

[Scarecrow]

It depends on where you are, and how ridiculous prices are there. Also on how much of a deposit you have, your income and how secure your job is. Chances are it'd be daft to do so now, but there are so many variables.

I wouldn't bank on a crash, but again it depends where you are and the kind of flat/house you're looking at.

[ajh]

Hi

I want some advice on whether or not i should buy my first home now or wait and hope for a crash.

if i was to buy now what should i buy a 2 bed house or a 2 bed apartment or would i be better off renting or staying at home?

You should wait unless you expect prices to rise. There doesn't have to be a crash to make waiting the better option, stagnation will do if the cost of buying exceeds the cost of renting.

If you decide to wait, you would be usually be far better off financially staying at home.

[Rachel]

Hi

I want some advice on whether or not i should buy my first home now or wait and hope for a crash.

if i was to buy now what should i buy a 2 bed house or a 2 bed apartment or would i be better off renting or staying at home?

Up to you, you're the only person that can make that decision. You have to make an informed decision and come up with the answer on your own like the rest of us.

[ronnie]

Prices cant rise much more so renting for several years can do no harm and may save you a fortune.

[AteMoose]

if you buy now, only make silly offers 20->30% below asking price,

according to home.co.uk the average selling price is 20% the average

asking price anyway.

If you buy, buy something you will be happy staying in for the next

10 to 15 years, something big enough for you and your family, efficiently

insulated, and in a location where you can get work and can stop using the car.

You can limit your risk by going with a long fixed morgage, so if interest rates

rise you wont be stung and the debt will get painlessly eroded.

Edited August 7, 2006 by moosetea

[Cuckoo]

You should definitely buy now befoe you miss the boat!

[munimula]

Hi

I want some advice on whether or not i should buy my first home now or wait and hope for a crash.

if i was to buy now what should i buy a 2 bed house or a 2 bed apartment or would i be better off renting or staying at home?

this has become easier to answer with the latest interest rate increase.

As it did in 2004, this increase should put a cap on house prices at the current level, perhaps even start some falls in some areas.

It is what happens next. Further increases in interest rates are very likely to lead to falls in house prices.

Therefore the advice to 'wait and see' has never been better.

[expatowner]

You should definately not buy now, another cheaper boat will come along soon enough.

[dnd]

You should definitely buy now befoe you miss the boat!

No-one is going to 'miss the boat' as the market will ALWAYS come up with new ways to buy a house

If you buy now - with current products (ie mortgages) - your ass will belong to the bank for most of your working life

That's not a position I'd like to be in....

[Qetesuesi]

if you buy now, only make silly offers 20->30% below asking price,

according to home.co.uk the average selling price is 20% the average

asking price anyway.

If only!!!

[Scarecrow]

No-one is going to 'miss the boat' as the market will ALWAYS come up with new ways to buy a house

If you buy now - with current products (ie mortgages) - your ass will belong to the bank for most of your working life

That's not a position I'd like to be in....

That's the position most homebuyers have always been in though, isn't it?

[OzzMosiz]

You should definitely buy now befoe you miss the boat!

hmmmm I thought that boat set sail 4 years ago

[Cuckoo]

No-one is going to 'miss the boat' as the market will ALWAYS come up with new ways to buy a house

If you buy now - with current products (ie mortgages) - your ass will belong to the bank for most of your working life

That's not a position I'd like to be in....

its such a load of rubbish. Your ass does not belong to the bank , you are investing in in asset and whilst interest payments are high for those who are very highly geared, the benefits of home ownership far outweigh renting.

I threw £40k+ away renting for many years before i saw sense & reality and bought a place. Some of the reason was because i thought renting was fun and it didn't matter, some of the time i was saving up. Don't waste your money renting if you can possibly help it and buy as soon as you can were words of advice i wished i'd taken ! Still happy to have bought my own place now, and i just feel so sorry for renters.

[dnd]

That's the position most homebuyers have always been in though, isn't it?

Not @ 50% take home pay...

its such a load of rubbish. Your ass does not belong to the bank , you are investing in in asset and whilst interest payments are high for those who are very highly geared, the benefits of home ownership far outweigh renting.

A house is NOT an asset until it's paid for - it's owned by the bank who take money out of your pocket every month until then

If you lost your job it would be a massive drain on your finances - it's not an asset - it's a liability until it's paid for...

With front loaded mortgages your not going to even start to repay the capital for years...

Edited August 7, 2006 by dnd

[Scarecrow]

Not @ 50% take home pay...

anyone who takes out a mortage which takes up half of their salary is crazy. However, even those who do won't be paying that same % for 'most of their working lives' unless they're daft enough to keep getting even bigger mortgages.

[Guest The_Oldie]

its such a load of rubbish. Your ass does not belong to the bank , you are investing in in asset and whilst interest payments are high for those who are very highly geared, the benefits of home ownership far outweigh renting.

I threw £40k+ away renting for many years before i saw sense & reality and bought a place. Some of the reason was because i thought renting was fun and it didn't matter, some of the time i was saving up. Don't waste your money renting if you can possibly help it and buy as soon as you can were words of advice i wished i'd taken ! Still happy to have bought my own place now, and i just feel so sorry for renters.

You wouldn't work at a firm of property consultants would you?

[Cuckoo]

Not @ 50% take home pay...

A house is NOT an asset until it's paid for - it's owned by the bank who take money out of your pocket every month until then

If you lost your job it would be a massive drain on your finances - it's not an asset - it's a liability until it's paid for...

it is not owned by the bank! it is yours once you've bought it. sure you have to make payments but it is yours legally and in any other way.

i get so sick of this myth being peddled by people.

also, many people today, myself included take out unemployment insurance which pays your mortgage whilst you're out of work.

like any other decisions in life there are ways of minimising the risk & you're exposure, a house purchase as risky or daft or sensible as you want to make it, not judged against some mycthical market indicator or benchmark. Go with your instinct.

[dnd]

anyone who takes out a mortage which takes up half of their salary is crazy. However, even those who do won't be paying that same % for 'most of their working lives' unless they're daft enough to keep getting even bigger mortgages.

IIRC a paper recently had this as the front page story - it's happening now on a large scale...

it is not owned by the bank! it is yours once you've bought it. sure you have to make payments but it is yours legally and in any other way.

???

Yep, that's what I said...

also, many people today, myself included take out unemployment insurance which pays your mortgage whilst you're out of work.

Please let us know how you get on with claiming on this 'insurance' - have you read the small print?

IIRC they only pay out for a limited time - IMO if your over 40 and your made redundant - forget it...

Edited August 7, 2006 by dnd

[boo]

if you

1. Have a decent deposit (20%)

2. Can afford the repayments

3. Plan to stay there for at least 5 years

4. Are in a job where your wages are likely to increase

Then go for it, its your decision (proabalby the biggest financial decsion you are ever going to make)

Personally I am wating until the end of year just to see what is going to happen with interest rates and their subsequent affect on the market

[Scarecrow]

IIRC a paper recently had this as the front page story - it's happening now on a large scale...

According to social trends 36, in 2004 FTBs spent 22% of their income on mortgage repayments, while previous owners spent 20%. The majority of people aren't overstretching themselves.

In 1994 this was over 25% due to the higher interest rates.

[dnd]

4. Are in a job where your wages are likely to increase

...and with current inflation levels your probably talking around 10%+ per year minimum just to stand still...

[Cuckoo]

IIRC a paper recently had this as the front page story - it's happening now on a large scale...

???

Yep, that's what I said...

Please let us know how you get on with claiming on this 'insurance' - have you read the small print?

IIRC they only pay out for a limited time - IMO if your over 40 and your made redundant - forget it...

they pay out for a year, correct. but i'm in a skilled professional job which is pretty safe and has good prospects for re-employability is nearly always relatively easy so the protection it affords is all i probably need.

[boo]

...and with current inflation levels your probably talking around 10%+ per year minimum just to stand still...

agreed, make that

4. A job where your wages WILL DEFINATLEY increase