Buying my first house.

[PaulJC84]

Alright guys I think this summer I may buy a house with my mate.

Its not 100%for definite, depends on my mate as he is in the Army so his circumstances could change.

Am going to buy with a mate as the house prices are pretty high just now and will then get a house in a better area than if going it alone.

So was just looking for some advice really on this as its all going to be new to me.

Cheers.

 

[Aldo]

The 1 thing I am dreading is buying us a House, Like you say the prices are ridiculously high, but it's always good to get on that housing ladder.
I guess make sure everything is contracted between you and yor friend-everything 50/50 in writing, in case you ever fell out you would get equal amounts back etc

 

[Geordie Mike]

Talk to all your mates and get a solicitor they recommend - took us 2 years to buy in Aberdeen, and had to switch solicitors in the end to one who seemed to almost bend the rules. Start scanning the property pages now, you can make offers subject to survey too. Try to hit things as soon as they are on the market, as if there are no notes of interest if you make the right offer you can get in sharpish (though this could be hard with your mate in the army). Northern Rock have a good 125% mortgage which helps negate lack of deposit/offers over stuff, and you're not tied in - the APR is slightly higher though, so you need to remortgage asap off it.

Also found that builders were interested in all the houses that needed work, so no chance there.

If you want to avoid the whole offers over thing, look for a new build flat/house maybe - you might have to hold it a few years to get an increase in value depending on how many are being built. If it's like Aberdeen they are putting them up all over the place, and I think Glasgow is suffering from having too many flats built to quickly from what I read.

Biggest problem we had was getting annoyed by the ridiculous offers on a closing date, then giving up thinking it was impossible. Actually got our place under valuation as there were two identical sized houses that went up on the same Friday 3 doors down from each other. Went to look around both and one was all modern decor, the other had pink walls with blue carpet and a cr@p garden. Spoke to the solicitor on the Monday am and a closing date of Tuesday pm had been set on the nice one; made an offer on the garish one and only had to up by £2k.

Good luck!

Mike

 

[Rev-head]

Northern Rock : yes

Get an IFA through your solicitor they are free and they can do all the donkey work for you regarding number crunching and policys

Cover yourself when buying a place as when you move in there is always something needing doing and it always cost money so have a slush fund to mop up any items

When viewing properties dont be frightend to ask awkard question ,check out Neighbours,Water supply ie pressure ,central heating,all the sockets in the house ,water leaking ,
Know he is your mate but when you both buy this place it is a contract that both of you are entering so be sure you are covered if things go tits up for him
Good Luck

 

[Mart]

Also on the questions bit, remember to find out what the council tax band is, as this will be another monthly payment, which can be quit high.

 

[neil.c]

I don't envy you just starting on the property market but as interest rates are low look at your repayment and not at the sum you are borrowing.
If you can get a decent deposit you could get a lower interest rate, which would reduce your repayments still further

 

[PaulJC84]

Its ok for me at the moment as i have the cash in the bank to buy the house as my dad is going to lend me the pennies as i am still in uni so no need for a mortgage just now.

Its a long story but dont think i am spoilt etc as its instead of paying maintainance to my mum. So i will be borrowing it for a year and he will know the interest he loses off the amount he would have to be giving me each month.

I will however get a mortgage when i start working.

My friend however will need a mortgage but has a healthy deposit of around £10k and will be borrowing about £60k for his half. He also will have another £10k for like furniture fees etc.

Cheers for the advice guys keep it coming.

I hate this offers over system we run here in Scotland. I mean why do people not just ask for what they are wanting!!!

 

[TDI-line]

Good luck Soup.

 

[nickel101]

i get the keys to my first purchased house today!!!

my advice, get some good financial advice, as said above, and look at around the market.

I was quite lucky, cos my girlfriend spotted the house we are buying the day is went on the market.. just keep looking and you could find a bargain.

Northern Rock are the mortgage lenders we went for and seem to be pretty reasonable.

 

[confusionhunter]

Hi Paul,
Where are you buying? I have some good contacts in the edinburgh/West Lothian Area......IFA's Solicitors etc.....
Cheers.
Mark.

 

[PaulJC84]

Alright Mark.

I will be buying in East Lothian i think.

Probably Haddington or just outside.

Cheers.

 

[necroeire]

From the situation here in Ireland all I can advise is get on the ladder as soon as possible as the damn prices are still climbing.

 

[The Slug]

Well i think we're comin to a big ressesion, with interest rates gonna climb very shortly and house prices will have to drop and if u have a good 10% deposit you'll get a cheap interest rate even when they eventually go up. Plus with the fact most ppl have Credit up to their eyeballs...i can see alot of repossesions comin too..my 2p's worth.

 

[dickys3]

Well i think we're comin to a big ressesion, with interest rates gonna climb very shortly and house prices will have to drop and if u have a good 10% deposit you'll get a cheap interest rate even when they eventually go up. Plus with the fact most ppl have Credit up to their eyeballs...i can see alot of repossesions comin too..my 2p's worth.

Yeah I feel like this may happen also! I've heard that interest rates are gonna shoot up and already people are maxed out on their spending.

I think the next few years will be very interesting!

 

[Geordie Mike]

Do you think there will be a north/south divide here too - typically northern properties have been seriously lagging the southern ones.

 

[kris_tdi]

im looking to buying a property at the moment, problem is finding anything much under 150k thats not in a complete scuzz hole.

 

[fasteddie]

Looks like you have a lot of advice around the legal side with your friend but I have to agree with Slug. Interest rates are rising across the world, The US are still raising, the Euro Zone have indicated raising rates. Japan (who have had a 0% policy for years now) is also making noises that interest rates are rising. This will mean that with inflation also rising here in the UK the interest rates will inevitably rise here. The net result of this is that the people will not be able to pay the prices asked for housing as the mortgage payments will be that much higher, people who have maxed out their savings will be paying more, as house prices level off people will not be able to borrow more money against their houses and eventually house prices will drop, consumer spending will take a hit and then we are in a full blown recession. This will happen, the only question is when.
You said yourself it is too expensive for you to buy on your own, you are not the only one in this situation, if this continues, who is going to replace the first time buyer, at the moment it is the buy to let investor who can pay these "entry" prices, however as interest rates rise it will not be economical for them either.

I'll get off my soap box now, read all of the information and make your own decision, this is not meant to be a scare story, some of what I have said is my opinion, some of it is fact - at the very least make sure you and your friend can pay the loan back if interest rates rise in the future or fix it for as long as you can (well your friend can, it looks like you will be applying for a loan in a few months/years time - the rates will be higher then)