Buying your first house in the UK in 2007

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we had similar with ours, just stupid little things like the previous owner had run an extra plug socket off the cooker fuse so the bloke who was fitting the kitchen wouldn't reattach it, so i had to get a sparky in who took one look at the fusebox and said "you'll be having a new one then" and bang, there goes £500...

CarsmileSteve, Monday, 11 June 2007 12:47 (sixteen years ago) link

we are contemplating moving again, but the whole thing gives me the screaming effing abdabs.

CarsmileSteve, Monday, 11 June 2007 12:47 (sixteen years ago) link

i keep being told not to buy a new build - why is this? i'm currently renting a room in a 20-year-old ex-yuppie new build and it's by no means falling apart. new build advice/experiences would be appreciated, also some justification from the nay-sayers (gareth?).

CharlieNo4, Monday, 11 June 2007 12:48 (sixteen years ago) link

:) I like it my gaff too - I just wish I could spend more time enjoying the place rather than reworking it. After the kitchen and the garden, you know there'll be something else (carport? Shed?). This is the lot of the cash-strapped homeowner, I suppose. Little-by-little, make it your own, do as much as you can yourself.

Michael Jones, Monday, 11 June 2007 12:51 (sixteen years ago) link

charlie, i think 20 year old is probably not too bad, it's the brand new stuff that is:

a. tiny
b. gardenless
c. built by poles for 20p an hour

if a house/flat is edwardian it's clearly built to last ;)

CarsmileSteve, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:29 (sixteen years ago) link

What do you guys think of this?

http://www.bradleys-estate-agents.co.uk/properties-sales-brdrps-EXE060293-1181220400

I know you're not going to know the area, but... it's very central, quite busy, but two floors up and the lower, quieter and of a busy street wioth lots of pubs and boutiques and so on at the top end. If you know Bristol it's like a mini Park Street equivalent.

What would be the problematic issues you'd look for with this property?

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:36 (sixteen years ago) link

Build quality on most of the new builds in our village is very poor, possibly that's why people caution against one?

Gareth's advice seems good.

Smaller house in better area is much better than larger property in undesirable area. Whatever it is that makes the underirable area so is something you'll have to live w/for a good few years.

Pashmina, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:37 (sixteen years ago) link

DUDE, it's above a tat shop, BUY IT!!!

CarsmileSteve, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:39 (sixteen years ago) link

i'd certainly look carefully at the state of the sash windows, on the second floor they wll be a BUGGER to replace. wonder why there's no pics of the bathroom...

also, is there a window in the kitchen? it almost looks like there isn't...

CarsmileSteve, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:43 (sixteen years ago) link

Also, check where the Chinese next door vents its kitchen.

Ed, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:44 (sixteen years ago) link

The kitchen is open-plan with the living space, so windows at front. We're looking at it on Wednesday morning, and also this one; http://www.bradleys-estate-agents.co.uk/properties-sales-brdrps-BNH070414-1181552579

Jonesy take note of what's downstairs...

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:50 (sixteen years ago) link

Re. the tat-shop one; the first-floor one, almost same dimensions but laid out differently (living smaller, second bedroom larger), is also on the market, but at £152,000. The area's undesirable because there's a Walkabout bar 300 yards up the road which is frequented by squaddies and students, and a gaggle of other pubs too. No allocated parking, put residents permit parking nearby. Very convenient for town, campus, train stations, etcetera.

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:53 (sixteen years ago) link

Has no-one really not said location, location, location, yet?

Think about when you want to sell it on. Which may seem daft but put yourselves in the shoes of the seller now. They're probably playing up the 'quiet' aspects. When we sold our last house all everyone asked us about noise and neighbours. People want a bit of a quiet (at least some of the time). The houses in our road keep on going up and people keep buying 'em because it's a quiet cul-de-sac with a field at the end, and despite the fact it's in an unfashionable part of the unfashionable east midlands.

Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:53 (sixteen years ago) link

The second one is above a hi-fi shop so expect noise during shop hours obv. The first one seems to belong to a surfer dude. I don't know if this is good or bad.

Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:57 (sixteen years ago) link

Also ask them why they're moving. Then sue them later when they lie.

Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:59 (sixteen years ago) link

The first one is on a lease. I've never bought anything on a lease. Does it matter?

Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:01 (sixteen years ago) link

I can probably match the hi-fi shop for noise, if needed.

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:01 (sixteen years ago) link

But they'll be playing all those over-compressed CDs!

Tom D., Monday, 11 June 2007 14:04 (sixteen years ago) link

Not when I live upstairs, they wont.

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:06 (sixteen years ago) link

also living above subway = entire flat smelling of proving bread forever (a bad thing, in my opinion)

CarsmileSteve, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:08 (sixteen years ago) link

That's a good point.

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:10 (sixteen years ago) link

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-14595761.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:11 (sixteen years ago) link

Aye, we've spotted that one. It's a possibility. What does 'offers in region of' mean, at a practical level? 10% less?

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:15 (sixteen years ago) link

I can probably match the hi-fi shop for noise, if needed.

I hope you like Hotel California, Diana Krall and Sting. You'll be hearing them a lot.

Michael Jones, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:22 (sixteen years ago) link

I hope they like Rita Lee and Acoustic Ladyland.

Scik Mouthy, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:25 (sixteen years ago) link

id make sure your mortgage multiple isnt excessive, id get a longer fixed rate as you'll only have to spend ££ arranging another fix in 2 years otherwise, and theyll say when you spread the arrangement fee over 25-30 years its nothing, but its only to get you the initial period, so its actually spread over 2 years - also if you take a fixed rate out of less than 5 years, id make sure you could pay the mortgage if interest rates were 10% instead of 5.5%

id make sure you have the facility to overpay the mortgage to bring the capital down, but i wouldnt necessarily do that. rates are going up and yours will be fixed, so you might be better putting hte rest of your money in high interest savings, then overpaying in bulk periodically

This fills me with fear. The idea of me sitting around with loads of spare money and saying "what on earth shall I do with this? i know - i'll overpay some of the mortgage" just seems like a wild fantasy, probably involving the lottery.

I've just gone for a variable rate again for another two years because the fixed rate ones are much more expensive than the (discounted) variable ones. I know interest rates could go up, in fact they probably will go above 6% some time this year, but until they do I'm better off, and they probably won't go much higher than that, and they might go back down again some time next year. If they went up to anything remotely like 10% I'd be completely fucked, but then surely nearly everyone would be? It would be even worse than the meltdown at the start of the nineties.

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:38 (sixteen years ago) link

Don't spend the entire budget on the house/flat: you *always*need to spend more money on repairs and such. Everyone I know (incl my parents) have miscalculated on this aspect.

nathalie, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:46 (sixteen years ago) link

What does 'offers in region of' mean, at a practical level? 10% less?

i think it depends on the place. all this crap about gazumping is overplayed, if it was going to go quick, it would already be gone, right? you'll have to judge - to me, looking at other stuff around ex4, that one seems well priced, but there could be reasons for this. but dont forget you can pull out or lower your offer post-survey, so your not committed

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:54 (sixteen years ago) link

they probably won't go much higher than that, and they might go back down again some time next year. If they went up to anything remotely like 10% I'd be completely fucked, but then surely nearly everyone would be? It would be even worse than the meltdown at the start of the nineties.

DINGDINGDING well spotted

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:55 (sixteen years ago) link

^^ just because it'll fuck a lot of people up doesn't mean it won't happen

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:56 (sixteen years ago) link

...but when we had the crisis in the early 90s, first of all inflation was much higher than it is now (and had been higher throughout the 80s than it has been for the past decade or more) which meant that banks had to have higher interest rates, and secondly we were locked into the ERM and had to follow German interest rates (or something).

Now we're in such a long period of low inflation that people have been getting their knickers in a twist about inflation hitting 3%. The Bank of England are supposed to keep it within a certain range - if they think it's going to go too high then they'll raise interest rates.... but only within reason, surely? I can't see a meeting of the committee sitting down and saying "well, what with the increased problems with energy costs, and some exhuberant pay deals, I think on balance there's a danger of inflation overshooting the Chancellor's targets again so we need to double interest rates and trigger a massive recession the like of which this country has never seen leading to half of the nation having their homes reposessed."

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:05 (sixteen years ago) link

whats 'within reason'? and do the inflation figures count the one thing that has inflated the economy most of all - houseprices?

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:08 (sixteen years ago) link

you're probably right that they wont go anywhere near like as high before (but i also wouldnt be fooled by things like '6% is the new 10%')

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:10 (sixteen years ago) link

There is no way they are going to go anywhere near 10%, I bet my house on it.

I put this here as a challenge to future generations to look it up and say "Ha! You were wrong, grandad".

Seriously though even if it does go up a bit - hang on in there. There are a few of us on here who have lived through this, a friend of mine was in so-called "negative equity" for a few years but stayed put and is now sitting on a goldmine.

Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:22 (sixteen years ago) link

Literally, they found gold in his backyard...

Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:22 (sixteen years ago) link

Did he live in Them Thar Hills?

C J, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:25 (sixteen years ago) link

The choice I had to make the other day was between a variable one which is currently 5.38% (actually lower than the base rate - I don't understand how this is possible) on a discount for two years and the equivalent two-year fixed rate deal which was 5.78%. I went for the variable. If interest rates don't change at all for two years I'll be much better off with what I've chosen. If they go up by half a percentage point in the near future and stay there for the rest of the two years I'll be slightly out of pocket, but no problem. If they go up by a whole percentage point and don't come back down, it'll be annoying and costly, but not the end of the world. If they go up by four whole percentage points I will be fighting tens of thousands of other people to get to the tastiest morsels at the bottom of other people's dustbins. Most predictions I've looked at say there'll probably be another couple of rate rises within three months or so, then things will probably stay as they are for a year, then maybe start to come back down after that.

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:56 (sixteen years ago) link

if they get ahead of inflation instead of chasing it, then yes, but they seem reluctant to do that for fear of knocking the housing market over (cake and eat it syndrome)

696, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:06 (sixteen years ago) link

Bumpity.

Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 14:03 (sixteen years ago) link

jesus, buying a house is absolutely fucking terrifying. this thread, while extremely helpful (thankyou) is not making me any less shit-scared.

CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 14:11 (sixteen years ago) link

have you been to see the one i linked yet? that looks good, compared to the others on there

696, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 14:24 (sixteen years ago) link

inflation is way above 3% people, jesus.

That one guy that quit, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 14:30 (sixteen years ago) link

Is that one above the shop near the station/ Imperial?

Not the real Village People, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:44 (sixteen years ago) link

inflation is way above 3% people, jesus.

-- That one guy that quit

which is why i wouldnt bank on interest rates stopping at 6

696, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:24 (sixteen years ago) link

My latest fix lasts till December 2009 so fingers crossed it'll peak and drop back before then.

leigh, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:27 (sixteen years ago) link

inflation is not above jesus

blueski, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:53 (sixteen years ago) link

Nor is above 3% any more, if you use the Consumer Price Index as the measure, which I think is what Nasty, Brutish & Short was referring to - it's been the official one, for which the Bank of England has targets, since 2003.

Alba, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 20:10 (sixteen years ago) link

I remortgaged just before Christmas and got a fixed-rate deal and BOY am I glad. Think the interest rate has risen four or five times since (I've lost count).

If you're looking for an up-and-coming area, find somewhere that has a Blockbuster and no other chain stores. This worked for me (actually it was Global Video but what the hey) and my flat is worth quite a bit more than it was in 2003.

Having said that, the thing I value most is having neighbours I know and get on well with. It's really nice to have a chat over the privet and be all domestic like. So do try to find out what the neighbours are like.

The two things I wish I'd known before I moved in are:
- My bedroom is 25m from the main route of all the Orange walks, so I get woken by ye pipes and drums early every weekend at this time of year
- I may have had the budget to fix the rising damp the survey picked up, but I really didn't have the energy and am still recovering after all this time. I wouldn't ever take on another flat knowing there was major work to do (I guess you can't help the odd bit of surprise fixing).

Madchen, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 22:26 (sixteen years ago) link

Nor is above 3% any more, if you use the Consumer Price Index as the measure, which I think is what Nasty, Brutish & Short was referring to - it's been the official one, for which the Bank of England has targets, since 2003.
I know desperately little about these matters, but our wise business desk bod tells me that this is only so low because the CPI excludes just about everything to do with property -- rent, mortgage payments, house prices. If they were included, you'd get a much more accurate picture of inflation. Which, he says, is soaring.

"Do I buy a house just now," I asked
"In markets the time to sell is when the last bear turns bull," I think he replied. "Tthe time to sell your house is when the last cynic starts buying. The people that have held out that long waiting for the crash buy, there's nobody left to prop it up, it crashes".
"Does that answer my question?"
"No. But if you do buy, be prepared to have to stay there a while, paying a bigger mortgage. The price always goes up, in the long game"

stet, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 01:43 (sixteen years ago) link

that pretty much covers it (not convinced about rents rising though - i pay less rent than i did 5 years ago - market is saturated with places to rent because of buy-to-let)

as far as i can tell the official inflation figures are basically kind of meaningless, considering they dont include the most inflationary thing of all. but because cheap imported bits of electronic tat stay cheap apparently inflation is low;) and you can pretend inflation is whatever you like, but markets won't be fooled, and this is why you shouldn't bank on interest rates staying as incredibly low as they are right now

i think hes kind of right about it being a pyramid scheme (hence rate cut of 2005 to bring more people into the game), but its also the fact that prices can only be high if people have money to spend, and people only have money to spend if banks lend them those sums. banks tighten their belts and theres less money, and therefore less buyers, and prices come down.

yes when it happens people are going to be stuck where they are, not able to move (with many having to let go because of being overextended). im still not entirely convinced that property 'always' goes up in the long run (as people mix up real and nominal prices)

as stated upthread, the real problem now is that a crash can have severe repercussions for the uk economy, seeing as it appears to be basically propped up by credit fuelled consumer spending, which will stop immediately

696, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 04:48 (sixteen years ago) link

Oh wow! Congratulations. Looks fantastic!

kv_nol, Thursday, 27 September 2007 12:04 (sixteen years ago) link

It looks great - and echo the congratulations.

Slightly envious that when I got my first flat in the 90s, I moved in with a CD/radio 'beatbox' and an air-mattress - no computers, no widescreen TV, no expensive stereo, no over-filled wine-rack.

Bob Six, Thursday, 27 September 2007 13:20 (sixteen years ago) link

four years pass...

Nearly five years later, we're selling.

http://www.naomijryan.co.uk/content/sale/st-leonards6.ashx

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Saturday, 14 April 2012 18:14 (twelve years ago) link

Good luck! I love maisonettes. Our experience with our crazy neighbours who share our building means we're determined to get an actual house next. Where are you looking to move to?

kinder, Saturday, 14 April 2012 18:18 (twelve years ago) link

Still in Exeter, and ideally just around the corner. We'll probably not be able to afford that, though, so will almost certainly head a mile or so further out.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 15 April 2012 05:47 (twelve years ago) link

Our wine rack was never that full again.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 15 April 2012 05:48 (twelve years ago) link

We got offered asking price. Which we didn't expect.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 19 April 2012 19:27 (twelve years ago) link

Good stuff. Tbf, based on those pics you got the place looking great whilst you were there. How's the house search going?

that mustardless plate (Bill A), Thursday, 19 April 2012 20:16 (twelve years ago) link

I like the idea of this thread as a form of time travel. If I read the whole thing I will know exactly how to buy a house in the UK in 2007.

aonghus, Friday, 20 April 2012 00:29 (twelve years ago) link

We've viewed six so far, with another five or six booked to view over the next few days. Em is in love with one of them but it's at the top of our budget... It is a very nice house though, and one we could stay in for a decade or more. It'd take teenage kids. (We have no kids right now!)

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 20 April 2012 05:09 (twelve years ago) link

Just done various phonecalls and we've now officially accepted, providing we can find somewhere to bid on in a timely fashion! Which shoudn't be a problem.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 20 April 2012 09:07 (twelve years ago) link

Crazy madness.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 20 April 2012 09:25 (twelve years ago) link

Congratulations! Go for the one you love I reckon.

Ismael Klata, Friday, 20 April 2012 09:30 (twelve years ago) link

Oops, this whole thread is excellent, I'm all ashamed of my glib contribution now. Will memorise for future reference.

Ismael Klata, Friday, 20 April 2012 09:35 (twelve years ago) link

There's one more that I'm viewing tomorrow morning (Emma's working) which I've got high hopes for, but I've booked a second viewing on the one we fell in love with for Monday morning, and told them we've had an offer accepted. Which made the agent excited!

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 20 April 2012 09:36 (twelve years ago) link

But yeah, I reread much of this thread yesterday, and it is really awesome.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 20 April 2012 09:36 (twelve years ago) link

congrats

diafiyhm (darraghmac), Friday, 20 April 2012 09:39 (twelve years ago) link

Just been re-reading loads of my posts on this thread from 5 years ago which I have no memory of making. In case anyone's been on tenterhooks for 5 years, I can reveal: my gamble on variable rates paid off massively as interest rates fell to the floor and stayed there, and Ned T Rifle was right - there was no way on earth they were ever going to rise to 10%.

Let's Talk About Socks (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 20 April 2012 12:28 (twelve years ago) link


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