Question about houses.

[ShyBoy]

Say when I finished university, and want to get on the property ladder without renting, there are some questions I want to ask.

What does 100% mortgage mean?

If I was earning say 15k, what is the maximum mortgage I could get?

Same with 25k and 30k (not going to get either of them :p but curious)

It's just, at uni and before you don't really think about owning your own home, but now I'm considering what am I going to do when I finish uni... and it seems a practical impossibility to buy. But renting is in a sense 'dead money' because I'm just paying someone elses mortgage. There's always the possibility to buy with other people, but then one day I still do want to have my own 'place'. Even if it's just a one bedroomed apartment (preferably with parking spot tho).

Luckily, I hope to avoid living in london for the rest of my life, so whilst I won't earn silly money, I wont have to pay it either. Just how feasible is it for someone to own their own home frmo uni these days? :(

[Guest_]

What does 100% mortgage mean?

A mortgage to the value of the property (no deposit).

[g_angel]

Shyboy - without a deposit the maximum you're likely to get on £15k is approx £45k. Without a deposit, 3 x your salary is quite often the upper limit a lender will give you. You may get a 3.5 x multiplier, but that is rare. For any salary, just apply the same multipliers.

You're going to need an 11% deposit to avoid higher lending fees, and a minimum 5% to start to get better multipliers.

I'd like to put this another way as well - which I only realised after speaking to a friend of mine who was very high up at HSBC before he retired... Dead money? How about the masses of interest you're paying to the bank? That is also dead money... Horrible to think, but so very true.

It could be the case, but you may have to go for an interest only mortgage - in which case you will need to find alternative ways of actually bringing the balance of the mortgage down. Interest only is the type of mortgage that many investors go for (myself included).

With the prices going the way they are, you're most likely going to have to get into a group mortgage, which is always slightly tricky for a long term arrangement.



G.

[Guest_]

At the rate we're going, by the time I've saved a small deposit, a shithole will cost over a hundred and fifty grand.

I'm still hoping they fall significantly (or at least stagnate until general inflation catches up).

[girl with sharp teeth]

Shyboy, I would urge massive caution into buying a property straight away from Uni. Renting may be "dead money" but it gives you a chance to cut your teeth on how to budget and how to live by yourself. It's not as easy as it looks and owning your own home gives you even more added expense and responsibility than simply renting does.

Many of my clients are young graduates who were so desperate to buy property that they massively overstretched themselves with an I/O mortgage that they have no hope of paying off.

[kangoo]

What other expenses are there when you buy a house? I don't mean stuff like buying a washer and fixing the drains, I mean to actually get the house in the first place

I was having a look online today and there were some nice looking, small-ish houses, but 2-3 decent sized bedrooms for £50-£70k. All with hideous wallpaper and flowery carpets but that can be sorted! :D

[go_away]

Def with what the other guys are saying. It might be a good idea to start your research after university so you get a better idea of the picture then, and in the meantime as GWST said, get to grips with your life and finances so it's not such a big shock when you buy.

Also, in your research, you have to think about a schedule to set things in motion i.e. getting your finances in order, your credit, the type of mortgage you want, considering university debt, getting pre-approval - there are so many things to consider before even thinking about stressing yourself with looking for a place (my partner and I are looking to buy, and trust me, it can be a pretty frustrating process). Not to mention the fact that you get strain for all the eyerolling when you see a fucking garage going for £20,000. :grump:

[girl with sharp teeth]

What other expenses are there when you buy a house? I don't mean stuff like buying a washer and fixing the drains, I mean to actually get the house in the first place Life Insurance/Mortgage Indemnity Insurance for a start. And fixing the drains and so on can be bloody expensive. You really need to have a regular amount to put away every month as a repairs fund otherwise when the roof needs retiling or the boiler blows up you'll get a nasty surprise - also you'll need to get your boiler serviced yearly and that's not cheap either. Your house insurance will go up because it is a condition of most mortgages to get the building insured as well as your personal contents.

[ShyBoy]

Well, I could rent after uni, probably in a houseshare as it's cheaper, but would eventually want to move out. I just thought, it looks to be in 5 years time that I'll be completely priced out of the market, I may never own my home because most of the accomodation in the coutnry will be owned by buy-to-let lenders.

So, more deposit the better for a mortgage then? I can get a fixed sum together, I don't need to get anything straight away. Just would like to *one day*. I'm saving £500 per term now, it goes straight into my savings account, so by the end of uni I'll have £4.5k + whatever interest (I cant remember if it was 4 or 5%. It's pretty good tho. Not tax free, mind). So say for arguments sake £5k. That's not going to get me very far, but on £15k I reckon I could rent and if I lived quite frugally, could get by on 2.5k on food / leisure / utility bills (not council tax), then whatever the cost of accomodation is + car. So in 2 years could have saved £20k. I guess that's still not going to get me anywhere substantial though.

:grump:

What do you think the job prospects are for an actuary in hungary?

[Mist]

What other expenses are there when you buy a house? I don't mean stuff like buying a washer and fixing the drains, I mean to actually get the house in the first place


Solicitor's fees.
Valuation / Survey fees.
Searches etc. (Sometimes lumped in with solicitor fees)
Insurance.

[girl with sharp teeth]

Well, I could rent after uni, probably in a houseshare as it's cheaper, but would eventually want to move out. I just thought, it looks to be in 5 years time that I'll be completely priced out of the market, I may never own my home because most of the accomodation in the coutnry will be owned by buy-to-let lenders.

So, more deposit the better for a mortgage then? I can get a fixed sum together, I don't need to get anything straight away. Just would like to *one day*. I'm saving £500 per term now, it goes straight into my savings account, so by the end of uni I'll have £4.5k + whatever interest (I cant remember if it was 4 or 5%. It's pretty good tho. Not tax free, mind). So say for arguments sake £5k. That's not going to get me very far, but on £15k I reckon I could rent and if I lived quite frugally, could get by on 2.5k on food / leisure / utility bills (not council tax), then whatever the cost of accomodation is + car. So in 2 years could have saved £20k. I guess that's still not going to get me anywhere substantial though. I think what you're projecting is very unrealistic. If you are earning £15k a year and you are house sharing then you'll be able to afford to live, and that's pretty much it.

Why the obsession with overstretching yourself to buy a property? If you can't afford one in 5 years then wait. You don't HAVE to buy a house - millions of people don't and get by fine.

[kangoo]

Solicitor's fees.
Valuation / Survey fees.
Searches etc. (Sometimes lumped in with solicitor fees)
Insurance.

How much are these likely to cost?

Shyboy, if you're buying and living on your own then don't forget you won't be needing a 3 bedroom house! Although personally I wouldn't buy until I was ready to settle down, which I plan to do next year with my boyfriend

[Guest_]

I'm not sure about the ShyBoy's perspective, but the biggest problem I have with renting is the fact that there's no stability with 6 month/1 year renewable tenancys. That and the fact that it's very restrictive (as you'd expect) what you can do with the place, and can be hard (or impossible) to make it a home.

It's useful if you don't want to stay somewhere long, but otherwise I find that it's a pain.

[Wyetry]

You also needs to consider stamp duty - which depends on the type of property your buying but it can also mount up!

But i would budget at least another £5k on top of your deposit - for "incidentals" which you cant' add onto your mortgage.

[ShyBoy]

I think what you're projecting is very unrealistic. If you are earning £15k a year and you are house sharing then you'll be able to afford to live, and that's pretty much it.

Why the obsession with overstretching yourself to buy a property? If you can't afford one in 5 years then wait. You don't HAVE to buy a house - millions of people don't and get by fine.

Want to get on the property ladder as then hopefully the rise in value of my own house should to some extent offset the rise in value of a bigger house for that 'one day'. It's not that I want to overstretch myself, but I do want somewhere to call home. £15k a year will only be my expenses? I'm surprised that money doesn't go further really...

[g_angel]

£15k a year will only be my expenses? I'm surprised that money doesn't go further really...


Mate - you have NO idea, these days :grump:

If you're earning £15k, you will take home perhaps £1k a month. Fork out rent and bills at (in London, anyway) around £450/month and that leaves you £550 to live on/pay any student debts etc.

£140 a week is NOT a lot to get by on, when you start to factor in things you may want: New TV/laptop/holiday/nights out etc etc etc

By GOD you're in for a shock...

[kangoo]

I would think that £15k would go further, because as a student I'm living on 5K a year MAX and I'm paying £250 a month for rent. Which is what you'd pay monthly on a morgage for a small place. I'd say it'd just be hard getting enough money in the first place to buy the house, and making sure you have enough for any big things that go wrong with the house

[Mist]

I would think that £15k would go further, because as a student I'm living on 5K a year MAX and I'm paying £250 a month for rent. Which is what you'd pay monthly on a morgage for a small place. I'd say it'd just be hard getting enough money in the first place to buy the house, and making sure you have enough for any big things that go wrong with the house


Things are completely different as a student.

Really it's also not the same to just quantify rent=mortgage payments either, because, unfortunately, it doesn't work out as easy as that.

How much are the fees likely to cost? Well, it varies - rough guides though -

Solicitor - maybe 400-700
Valuation / survery fees - between 250 - 1000+ depending on type
Searches - if not included in solicitor fees, probably 200
Insurance - I guess around 200-300 / year

[Guest_]

I would think that £15k would go further, because as a student I'm living on 5K a year MAX and I'm paying £250 a month for rent. Which is what you'd pay monthly on a morgage for a small place. I'd say it'd just be hard getting enough money in the first place to buy the house, and making sure you have enough for any big things that go wrong with the house

It might do in Wales. Is it still cheap?

I found it an alrightish amount around here, but houses/flats even in the warzones are extortionate.

Saving for a deposit sounds like a right twat, although if there's two of you, it should be a bit easier, as you can share a 1 bed place to rent and buying food for two is cheaper.

[g_angel]

I would think that £15k would go further, because as a student I'm living on 5K a year MAX and I'm paying £250 a month for rent. Which is what you'd pay monthly on a morgage for a small place. I'd say it'd just be hard getting enough money in the first place to buy the house, and making sure you have enough for any big things that go wrong with the house



Erm - how small a place do you think you would get for £250/a month on a mortgage?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!

One of my mortgages is interest only (investment), and is for £155,000 (I put a decent deposit down). The payments are just shy of £700 a month. They would be approx £1k a month on a repayment mortgage.

I'm sure there must be at least SOME where reasonably priced left in the country, but £250 a month on a mortgage? Without sounding too patronising or scoffing too hard, I honestly don't think so! :no:

I would like to be proved wrong, of course...

[kangoo]

£140 a week is NOT a lot to get by on, when you start to factor in things you may want: New TV/laptop/holiday/nights out etc etc etc

£140 a week spending money!! I should be so lucky! I'm looking at about £60 a week at the moment after rent, and that includes my bills!! If you want a new laptop or a holiday then you save up for it - same as I do now. Its not the end of the world. I'm sacrificing a laptop and I haven't had a holiday for 4 years to save up for buying next year. That's life. If you'd rather have a holiday than buy yourself somewhere to live and an investment for the future then more fool you


By GOD you're in for a shock...

Don't be so patronising. He's a student, I'm sure he knows what its like to have no cash!

Shyboy, aren't you in 1st year? I wouldn't worry yourself about buying a house yet, its still a long way off! I think coming out of uni is a good time to start looking to buy - although I can appriciate it may be very difficult financially. When the time comes talk to your bank etc etc and see if its doable. If it isn't, you'll just have to wait until you can afford it unfortunatly

[kangoo]

Erm - how small a place do you think you would get for £250/a month on a mortgage?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!



My boyfriend's dad pays £300 a month and he's got (what I would consider) a reasonably sized 3 bedroom done up lovely. For a small one bedroom I'm sure you could pay a little less on a morgage. But he doesn't live in the city

[kangoo]

It might do in Wales. Is it still cheap?



The valleys are lovely and cheap which is why I'm hoping to move up there next year! Cardiff is extortionate though! :no:

[Guest_]

I'm sure there must be at least SOME where reasonably priced left in the country, but £250 a month on a mortgage? Without sounding too patronising or scoffing too hard, I honestly don't think so! :no:

It's a shithole, and in Dewsbury, but http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13395208.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

52,000! About 300 quid on a mortgage.

[girl with sharp teeth]

I would think that £15k would go further, because as a student I'm living on 5K a year MAX and I'm paying £250 a month for rent. Which is what you'd pay monthly on a morgage for a small place. I'd say it'd just be hard getting enough money in the first place to buy the house, and making sure you have enough for any big things that go wrong with the house With an average 25 year length repayment mortgage at an interest rate of 6% you would have to have a mortgage of under £39K to have repayments under £250 a month.

As a student you don't have to pay council tax, which is usually an average of about £100 a month. Unless you don't mind living as a student forever - ie. living in shitholes, sharing with umpteen others, eating cold beans and so on, you will not be able to live on £5K a year. Your £250 PCM mortgage alone would be £3K a year.

[g_angel]

£140 a week spending money!! I should be so lucky! I'm looking at about £60 a week at the moment after rent, and that includes my bills!! If you want a new laptop or a holiday then you save up for it - same as I do now. Its not the end of the world. I'm sacrificing a laptop and I haven't had a holiday for 4 years to save up for buying next year. That's life. If you'd rather have a holiday than buy yourself somewhere to live and an investment for the future then more fool you

I was attempting to point out that £140 a week doesn't go a long way by throwing some variables into the equation. Sometimes you have to do that as life isn't so straight-forward and sometimes saving isn't an option if you need something. Then we get into the whole topic of credit - which is a different kettle of fish.

£60/week? Well done. Not a single person I know could live on that.


Don't be so patronising. He's a student, I'm sure he knows what its like to have no cash!

I wasn't - I was stating a fact. Also - I've never met a student able to save £500 a term as he states he is. He can't be THAT hard up, girly.

[Senor Miguel]

some good advice here, you can't just compare renting with a mortgage because there are lots of other variables - council tax, repairs, state of the general economy to name a few....i don't know where you're planning to buy but £15k/pa won't get you a crack den in middlesborough these days, sure there are lots of ways around that and you can find a subprime lender who's happy to take your money, but you have to balance your fear of rising house prices (what goes up must come down btw, just look at the US atm, there are a lot of sound economic arguments that we aren't far behind..) against the flexibility that renting gives you. if i'd bought after graduating i wouldn't have been able to jump around london to better jobs and ultimately would have been worse off financially.....enjoy your youth there's plenty of time to get saddled with a load of debt when your a bit older and wiser....and maybe by then house prices might have come back down to earth, stranger things have happened.

[g_angel]

With an average 25 year length repayment mortgage at an interest rate of 6% you would have to have a mortgage of under £39K to have repayments under £250 a month.

As a student you don't have to pay council tax, which is usually an average of about £100 a month. Unless you don't mind living as a student forever - ie. living in shitholes, sharing with umpteen others, eating cold beans and so on, you will not be able to live on £5K a year. Your £250 PCM mortgage alone would be £3K a year.


Exactly.

I haven't seen a complete property on the market for that little in years - only a few 'shells' and places that need so much work you'd need to invest many thousands to get them up to scratch...

Things just cost more when you're not a student, no matter what you do.

[g_angel]

It's a shithole, and in Dewsbury, but http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13395208.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

52,000! About 300 quid on a mortgage.


Lol - it's no palace, but it is cheap.

It's still not £250 a month though and by the time you'd done tidying it up, well........ ££££££

Add your insurances, council tax etc etc and it soon starts pushing the price up.

G.

[kangoo]

Duh I wasn't saying I was going to live on 5k a year, I'm saying I do now so surely earning 15k would be easier! I pay £250 a month now and my annual income is only 5k!

Yes £60 a week is shit but I haven't got any more money so I have no choice

Maybe I was underestimating £250 a month, but even £300 a month isn't bad - especially when there's 2 of you! I was just pointing out that there's no need to kill yourself paying a morgage because it doesn't have to be that expensive - as you can see by my boyfriend's dad. It obviously depends on where you buy and the price of the house. We're looking at 50k-60k for a house next year

I only get £1500 a term so I would definatly not be able to save £500 a term!!

[g_angel]

My boyfriend's dad pays £300 a month and he's got (what I would consider) a reasonably sized 3 bedroom done up lovely. For a small one bedroom I'm sure you could pay a little less on a morgage. But he doesn't live in the city


Is this a recent purchase? I would suggest not unless it's VERY cheap out there...??

When I started paying my mum's mortgage (she is very ill) it was only £220/month as the house had been bought years before. The house is worth about £170k now and so a mortgage on that would be about £1k on a repayment mortgage with a 10% deposit put down.

[Guest_]

I was just pointing out that there's no need to kill yourself paying a morgage because it doesn't have to be that expensive - as you can see by my boyfriend's dad. It obviously depends on where you buy and the price of the house.

Of course.

Not an option for most people, though, as it's also useful if these places are within reasonable commuting distance of your job (forget I mentioned Dewsbury, however commutable it is for me, it's still shit).

[g_angel]

Of course.

Not an option for most people, though, as it's also useful if these places are within reasonable commuting distance of your job (forget I mentioned Dewsbury, however commutable it is for me, it's still shit).



Exactly - If I was able to live in a village in the arse end of nowhere and enjoy a 15 minute commute to London, it would be most excellent... Although I wouldn't as I'm a city boy. I like the hustle and bustle. It's just sooooooooooooooooooooooooo not an option for 99% of people though once they get settled in a job as the prices are already well up there, and almost all jobs are in the big cities!

Having a 2.5 hour commute each way just isn't worth it for the sheer drop in quality of life. Trust me, I've done it for a couple of contracts, and you just end up working yourself to death. Up for work, commute, work, commute, home, eat, bed. That's all you end up doing and you're too tired to go out on the weekends. Even for the big £££ that some of these contracts pay, it isn't worth it.

It's not a case of killing yourself paying for a mortgage, but you do buy the best you can for your money. However, if you simply don't have enough money to buy anything in the first place, you're fucked.

G.

P.S. Yes, you're right, Dewsbury is shit! ;)

[g_angel]

One other question - I am not familiar with the valleys of Wales. Fair enough the houses could be cheap, but what on earth jobs are there?

[Mist]

Maybe I was underestimating £250 a month, but even £300 a month isn't bad - especially when there's 2 of you! I was just pointing out that there's no need to kill yourself paying a morgage because it doesn't have to be that expensive - as you can see by my boyfriend's dad.

I don't know, but I'm guessing that his payment is so small because he got the mortgage a while ago, and now has not much left to pay off, and for what was originally a smaller amount than you'd need to get now.

[kangoo]

Is this a recent purchase? I would suggest not unless it's VERY cheap out there...??


I would imagine about 15 years ago. But yeah, properties are pretty cheap in that town

I know desirable properties in desirable areas will cost a load more. But when you're skint and first time buying you don't get what you want! Probably get a shithole, in a shit area. But if having your own place is what you want then go for it. 15k a year will be difficult but its doable, if you can get the initial costs together

[kangoo]

One other question - I am not familiar with the valleys of Wales. Fair enough the houses could be cheap, but what on earth jobs are there?

Depends what jobs you're looking for. And 20-30 min commute to Cardiff. My boyfriend lives in Cardiff with me and works in Merthys so he's really doing it the wrong way round!!

[ShyBoy]

I was attempting to point out that £140 a week doesn't go a long way by throwing some variables into the equation. Sometimes you have to do that as life isn't so straight-forward and sometimes saving isn't an option if you need something. Then we get into the whole topic of credit - which is a different kettle of fish.

£60/week? Well done. Not a single person I know could live on that.




I wasn't - I was stating a fact. Also - I've never met a student able to save £500 a term as he states he is. He can't be THAT hard up, girly.

That would be my scholarship :p I didn't want to let myself waste it, as I don't know when (if) I'll ever see that kind of money again. The rest is the usual student loans malarky, which for me I end up with £6400 a year (I get a bursary from the uni as well you see). Divide that by three (terms) that's £2100, near enough. - £800 accomodation (with bills included).

So, for a term of 10 weeks thats £1,300. I have a rough weekly budget of:

£20 - groceries
£30 - takeouts / going out / pubs / anything really (though in reality I'm a bit sad and don't spend anywhere near this, I like staying in :p, so I normally shove my occasional train / bus use in here too)
£10 - phone

Which is £60 a week.

Anyway, won't be living in London, no way. York, more likely :D. Hehe. Depends if I can get a job though, actuaries are well paid, but I may be looking at one of the smaller firms. Not sure yet. Norwich Union are in York actually, they say their starting salary is £22k. Minimum of a 2:1 though and then you have to actually pass the interview. So yea, I'll be working in a mcjob till I manage to get a job as an actuary, which may never happen as it's incredibly competitive (there are a fair few camb grads with 1st wanting to become one).

So to get a mortgage of £100,000, what are the usual figures you need?

[g_angel]

[QUOTE=ShyBo

So to get a mortgage of £100,000, what are the usual figures you need?[/QUOTE]


Jumping straight to the mortgage figures, I would say to be comfortable on a £100k mortgage, a 4 x multiplier is the highest I would go to. That would equate to approx £22k a year if you put a deposit 5-10% down. You should slip under the stamp-duty threshold at £100k, but York is actually pretty pricey, if I recall!

You would need to put down a deposit to get a decent multiplier, or you're back to 100% mortgages, which you would need to be earning around £33k to hit the £100k mortgage mark.


With regards to your boyfriends Dad's mortgage: a mortgage of £300 15 years ago... Well, let's just say it would be a LOT more than that now if going on house price!!! You can't compare the past and the present in this context.

[ShyBoy]

Jumping straight to the mortgage figures, I would say to be comfortable on a £100k mortgage, a 4 x multiplier is the highest I would go to. That would equate to approx £22k a year if you put a deposit 5-10% down. You should slip under the stamp-duty threshold at £100k, but York is actually pretty pricey, if I recall!

Yea york is pricey, hopefully get somewhere cheaper in commuting distance and maybe one day...

who knows? :) Just know I love york and would love to live near / in it. Ooh, a penthouse flat on the river.... probably only half a million or so :p (random guess).

I could row to work :D

It's not that I'm worried about buying a house right now, not at all. I just thought maybe it would be prudent to think in advance of what exactly it is I'm going to do when the time comes. So, rent in scummy accommodation, work lots of overtime, find some mates, move out, get promoted, get paid more, meet someone, get our moneys together, put a mortgage down on somewhere little, work more, then if baby comes along -> continue working in said house till they leave home then retire.

or else -> both get promoted, move into bigger house.

I don't want kids till I'm 30 :p on paper it just seems to give you more opportunities to do stuff...

[kangoo]

With regards to your boyfriends Dad's mortgage: a mortgage of £300 15 years ago... Well, let's just say it would be a LOT more than that now if going on house price!!! You can't compare the past and the present in this context.

Me and the man have been talking about buying a lot lately, especially after the landlord situation (bitch) and his friend is here, just said you can get a morgage in pontypridd for £300 a month - he's bought recently too.

[Guest_]

I could row to work :D

I was going to say that you should price in a boat if you live in York.

[Loopi]

Hey ShyBoy. Good to see you're planning ahead but don't wish your life away. I bought a house earlier this year but I'm really glad that I rented for a couple of years first. Renting at Uni is just not the same. I really don't know what it is but everything seems to cost so much more once you're outta there.

Just to give you a picture of the housing market at the moment. At the time I bought my house, I was earning 23,500. Whilst I could get a reasonable mortgage, once I budgeted for bills and going out and all the rest of it, the max that I was prepared to spend was about 65,000 on a house. I got my house for slightly less than that but it is in Nottingham (ask Phil and Kirstie about the place), in a shit hole (albeit not one that is well known for its gang warfare!), terraced and ex council. It's two bedroomed and had no double glazing or central heating when I moved in. I pay just over £400/month on a 100% 3 yr firxed rate mortgage.

In York, http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6290778.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy , that's what you get for over 20,000 more.

Don't be disheartened by this BUT don't feel that you have to rush out and buy a house as soon as you finish Uni either. xxx

[kangoo]

http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/agent.aspx?agentid=6085&opt=prop&pid=432921

God knows what its like but 30k! double glazing, although gas central heating not tested :lol:

http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/agent.aspx?agentid=7909&opt=prop&pid=575252
2 bedroom. all those houses are pretty much the same size and layout so you know what you're getting

This one looks alright :)
http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/agent.aspx?agentid=6061&opt=prop&pid=430987

Just to show you CAN buy cheap if you're willing to compramise on area. Lucky for me that's the area I want to live in! :D

ETA: the last one looks pretty small, but you could move in and live without doing too much to it. Also its skinny but looks quite long! You can get much bigger houses for similar prices but they tend to be done out pretty horrible (seen 1 with yellow and brown walls), but I'd want to redecorate anyway to make it mine so wouldn't bother me!

[g_angel]

Just to show you CAN buy cheap if you're willing to compramise on area. Lucky for me that's the area I want to live in! :D


:lol: :lol: :lol:

Compromise? I don't think that's *quite* the correct term to be using here!!!!

I have no idea where that is bar being in Wales - of which I can guarantee there would be no/little work for me there.

Yes, you can buy cheap - but that area (and many others of a similar ilk) are just not an option, never mind a compromise, for most people.

[kangoo]

Its 20-30 minutes commute to Cardiff where I guarentee there's plent of jobs!

But yes, if you want to live in a nice house in the city then you'll be paying 3 times the price. I don't want to live in the city though

[ShyBoy]

Hey ShyBoy. Good to see you're planning ahead but don't wish your life away. I bought a house earlier this year but I'm really glad that I rented for a couple of years first. Renting at Uni is just not the same. I really don't know what it is but everything seems to cost so much more once you're outta there.

Just to give you a picture of the housing market at the moment. At the time I bought my house, I was earning 23,500. Whilst I could get a reasonable mortgage, once I budgeted for bills and going out and all the rest of it, the max that I was prepared to spend was about 65,000 on a house. I got my house for slightly less than that but it is in Nottingham (ask Phil and Kirstie about the place), in a shit hole (albeit not one that is well known for its gang warfare!), terraced and ex council. It's two bedroomed and had no double glazing or central heating when I moved in. I pay just over £400/month on a 100% 3 yr firxed rate mortgage.

In York, http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6290778.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy , that's what you get for over 20,000 more.

Don't be disheartened by this BUT don't feel that you have to rush out and buy a house as soon as you finish Uni either. xxx

Hey Loopi thanks :)

I will probably rent first, as it seems its fairly impossible to jump onto the housing market. But I'll try and save up some of the money first so I have some cash in the bank, while I'm renting. I don't have to live in york the town, it is reaaaallly expensive, but ideally I'd like to find work up here, and so be within 45 mins commuting distance or so.

But yea, all very preliminary, I didn't have the foggiest about mortgages, or any of it really. Just want to find out information really. :)

[Kermit]

I work as a conveyancer, and my firm's legal fees are £550 + VAT for a simple freehold purchase. Searches cost £300, Land Registry fees and SDLT form preparation adds another £300. Stamp duty is 1% of property value for any property over £125,000 (or £150,000 if the house is in a "disadvantaged area" which attracts stamp duty exemption. On a £125,000 house you'd be forking out £2,500 just in legal fees. Then you have mortgage valuation fees (£400), mortgage product arrangement fees (£200). If you borrow over 90% of the property's value you will usually attract a Higher Lending Charge of about £2000.

Property prices are still quite cheap in the Welsh valleys, the two-bed terrace houses I'm working on in that area are typically going for about £70,000-£75,000 in decent condition (in places like Merthyr Tydfil). But there's a reason for that.

We have a combined income of about £33,000 gross, and we don't have the money for luxuries like new laptops and long holidays. We're not starving or owt, but we're not living a luxury lifestyle, and that's with a £95,000 mortgage on a favourable product rate (4.85% fixed until December 2010) which is not available on the market now.

[katchika]

It is possible to buy on a salary of 15K. My colleague who earns the same as me has just bought a 2 bed flat in a nice part of Birmingham. The way he did it was to move back home for a while, therefore not paying rent, or at least paying a minimal amount compared to renting privately.

Then he got a graduate mortgage with HSBC with his friend. It's incredibly difficult (impossible actually) to get a mortgage by yourself.

[Jarvey Of Suburbia]

Every time I see this I see "question about horses".

What have they got to do with home, money and law??

[kangoo]

Ahh Kermit legal fees sounds like a bitch! If your house isn't over 150k then you don't pay stamp duty is that correct?

Yeah the valleys aren't regarded as the most desirable place to live by many, but like all places there's good and bad parts. I personally think the valleys are beautiful, my boyfriend used to live in pontypridd, the back of his house was literally on the side of a mountain looking out over the valley, the view in the morning was breathtaking. There is a problem with jobs but its easier to commute to bigger towns, and to Cardiff so house prices are rising! Which is why I wanna get in there fast!!

[Kermit]

Ahh Kermit legal fees sounds like a bitch! If your house isn't over 150k then you don't pay stamp duty is that correct?

We aren't the cheapest firm by any stretch of the imagination, other firms may do it cheaper. My house was done by a firm in Carlisle and we paid £650+VAT all in, but then we did know the owner of the firm.

Stamp duty is not payable below £125,000, and above that it is 1% of the purchase price. Above £250,000 it is 3%. Some areas are "disadvantaged areas" and have a stamp duty exemption in order to get people to move there- in disadvantaged areas stamp duty is not payable below £150,000.

Some lenders will pay the legal fees for you and add it to the mortgage, Halifax do it for first time buyers.

[kangoo]

Some lenders will pay the legal fees for you and add it to the mortgage, Halifax do it for first time buyers.

Ahh that would be much better, what with the deposit and the legal fees it would take us ten years to save all that up!

Is the deposit about 10%? I'm sure I read that, but my boyfriends mate got a mortage for 70k on his wage of 15k a year, and he only had to pay £3000 deposit. How did he manage that?!

ETA: halifax only want 3% deposit (for first tiem buyers at least) and with me and my boyfriend earning 14k a year we could borrow up to 110k - that's not bad

I'm confused between a repayment morgage and an interest only morgage - and which is best?

[Kermit]

A repayment mortgage is always best, as you actually pay back the loan as well as the interest on the loan. With an interest-only mortgage you only pay the interest- at the end of 25 years, you still owe the lender the amount of money you originally borrowed. This is why interest-only mortgage appear cheaper- you're not paying the money you borrowed back.

The traditional deposit to the vendor on exchange is 10%, but a traditional mortgage is only for 75% of the property's value. These days this isn't so common, a typical first-timer-buyer contribution to the purchase price would be about 5%. Some lenders do loan to 100% of the property value, but these products don't have a good interest rate.

For comparison, we provided £5000 for our house, which cost £100,000. We got a really good deal with the conveyancing, and we got an excellent mortgage product for our circumstances. Ours is repayment, fixed rate at 4.85% until 2010, and comes in at about £600pcm. We also had kind parents:)

[kangoo]

On Halifax it said you can only borrow 95% of what the house is worth. So that means you pay the other 5% as a deposit? And I couldn't find anywhere that said they'd add legal fees to the morgage. So the more you can fork up to pay outright, the better the deal you get on the morgage right?

On a repayment morgage for halifax on a fixed rate of 5.49% monthly payments were just less than £400 a month. How come thats a lot less than yours? Or have I worked it out wrong :(

This is so confusing!!

[Kermit]

The deposit is technically the amount that you pay to the vendor when you exchange contracts to secure the property. Traditionally this is 10% of the property value.

You would need to contribute at least 5% of the purchase price from your own savings for the mortgage products from Halifax. That's typical of most lenders. If you contribute less than 10% of the purchase price usually you have to pay a Higher Lending Charge, which is usually around £2000 and is usually added to the mortgage balance.

I suspect you worked it out wrong, it looks like you ticked the interest-only one. I put my details into their online calculator and it came out pretty much spot on what I pay to my lender, Coventry Building Society, who I've been really impressed with.

Interest-only mortgages aren't a good idea, as you need some way of paying back the capital. People used to take out endowments, but they've been proven to be shite.

If you are serious about buying a house you need to take solid financial advice from an independent financial advisor. Beware IFAs, though, as many of them receive a commission for products sold and they don't always sell the best product for you. Read the small print and don't take their word as gospel.

[kangoo]

Hm it gave me £300 a month for interest only and £400 a month for repayment morgage. That was for 25 years, I don't know how long yours is for.

ETA: maybe I got it wrong because I didnt know what this was :What interest rate would you like an illustration on (not the APR)? I put 5.49%

ETA again: I only put in to borrow £65,000 because we won't be looking to spend more than £70,000 on our first house. To borrow £75,000 repayments are nearly £500 a month

[Kermit]

We borrowed £97,000 (after HLC), so that's why our payments are higher!

You really won't get much for £70,000, even in the valleys, I'm afraid. Any house you do get will need work doing to it.

[kangoo]

You really won't get much for £70,000, even in the valleys, I'm afraid. Any house you do get will need work doing to it.

Do you reckon? :( I think this one looks pretty good for a first buy
http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/agent.aspx?agentid=6061&opt=prop&pid=430987
And most of the 2 bed terraced houses seem to be 60-70k and I'm sure they're not all in terrible condition. Most of the ones I've been looking at are decorated hideously old fashioned but don't seem to be in bad condition

For example this one
http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/agent.aspx?agentid=6061&opt=prop&pid=455934&photo=4#photo
Lovely wooden floors, nice big rooms. would need decorating but seems in fair condition

Do you mean work as in new carpets and decorating to look nice? Or do you mean work as in sorting out damp, roof fixing, central heating etc?

Please don't take this as argueing with you as I really value your opinion - you seem to know a fair amount and havr your head screwed on...I'm just trying to work out whats affordable to buy etc!

[Kermit]

The second one is at auction, so its a guide price rather than the actual value. It also means you don't get the same protection as you can't do full inspections before committing to purchase.

£65,000 for a one-bed terrace isn't too bad, but it shows that you don't get much for your money.

[kangoo]

Ah do you think it would go for a lot more? I wouldn't buy at auction but they all seem to be similar prices

[Loopi]

Ah do you think it would go for a lot more?
Watch 'Homes Under the Hammer' - that should give you a good idea about properties at auction. You can get good bargains but often there are hidden complications. As Kermit said, you can't inspect the property properly before committing to purchase which is always a worry.

[kangoo]

Ah, a lot of them seem to be going for similar prices to that one on auction - but we wouldn't buy on auction anyway

Kermit, you're right - you don't get a lot for your money...but the way I see it, we're paying £550 a month now for a small flat that we can't even live in without pissing off the landlord. It only consists of 4 rooms, two of which are tiny and grotty. Paying £400-550 a month on a 1 or 2 bedroom house that we can make our own and will be bigger than this flat anyway makes sense, and we'll be investing not just pissing our money down the drain on a flat that we don't even like living in :grump:

[Kermit]

Oh definitely, that's why we bought our house. Our mortgage payment is £555, (but we're making overpayments as we have a bit of spare cash), which isn't much more than we were paying for a flat, and at least we don't have to beg permission from some tight-arsed infertile Scottish cunt to change a light bulb.

[kangoo]

It definatly makes sense, just getting the initial cash together will be hard :(

[Guest_]

It definatly makes sense, just getting the initial cash together will be hard :(

Yeah, that's the big problem. Especially when prices are said to be rising so quickly (I'm sure it's not the same rate everywhere, though).

I suppose it's a case of cutting back for a few years. You'll need to find a way of not getting bored of baked beans/other cheapie food, though.
Turnips are also economically viable ;)

[katralla]

£60/week? Well done. Not a single person I know could live on that.



plenty do

[g_angel]

plenty do


Yes - just not people I know. Which is what I said.

[katralla]

well, I'd like to think they could if they had to...

[g_angel]

well, I'd like to think they could if they had to...


Perhaps.

[katralla]

maybe.

whoever suggested it- bah! now I keep reading 'question about horses' too

[Kermit]

A couple should be able to live on £50 a week. Even with London prices it shouldn't be much more.

Of course your idea of what a "necessity" is increases with salary- if you're on £60,000 a year you get a whole lot more "essential" luxuries for your money. Which is fine, you earn them, but it does skew views somewhat.

We live very comfortably as a couple on half that salary.

[g_angel]

A couple should be able to live on £50 a week. Even with London prices it shouldn't be much more.

Of course your idea of what a "necessity" is increases with salary- if you're on £60,000 a year you get a whole lot more "essential" luxuries for your money. Which is fine, you earn them, but it does skew views somewhat.

We live very comfortably as a couple on half that salary.


:yes:

I would say that my views are certainly skewed a bit...

I cannot quite fathom £60 a week to live on - and I don't mean that in a bad way.

[kangoo]

If you had to you would. End of

[g_angel]

If you had to you would. End of


No, it's not.

I would always find alternative means to supplement any income. Simply put, I wouldn't settle for that.

[kangoo]

How can you do that when you're studying?

[g_angel]

How can you do that when you're studying?

I'm not studying.

I was referring to myself - but that is one reason why I chose not to go to University. I refused to be out of cash.

When you're a student, there is always the option of taking on a job/extra job, changing to a better job or taking more hours in the job you have (if available) to supplement your income.

Very rarely have I ever come across a student SOOO strapped for time that they wouldn't be able to at least do SOMETHING to bring in some £££ if they so had to. It's just a case of getting off your arse and MAKING things happen.

[kangoo]

Actually I work 2 shifts a week at a bar, 3 when I have the time which isn't that often as I'm in my 3rd year and I'm pretty busy. My loan only just covers my rent so yeah I'm skint. And probably will be for the year or 2 after I graduate. Its not that unusual to be on a budget of about £60 a week

[Kermit]

:yes:

I would say that my views are certainly skewed a bit...

I cannot quite fathom £60 a week to live on - and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Once you have money its hard to imagine going back.

We used to live as a couple on about £30 a week, after bills, and it wasn't too good. I can't imagine going back to that now we're earning as much as we do. If we started to earn as much as you do then we'd probably see our life now as the epitome of poverty.

If you're earning the money there's nowt wrong with spending it. The problems come when the money isn't there yet the spending is. A lot of GWST's clients at work seem to earn a decent wage, yet demand to spend more than the earn. They "make" money on the Mastercard, and then only come for help because they don't want to pay it back.

Students can earn more money, but there's a limit as to how much you can earn before your studies suffer badly. Girls are alright, though- they can take up stripping :lol:

[g_angel]

Once you have money its hard to imagine going back.

We used to live as a couple on about £30 a week, after bills, and it wasn't too good. I can't imagine going back to that now we're earning as much as we do. If we started to earn as much as you do then we'd probably see our life now as the epitome of poverty.

If you're earning the money there's nowt wrong with spending it. The problems come when the money isn't there yet the spending is. A lot of GWST's clients at work seem to earn a decent wage, yet demand to spend more than the earn. They "make" money on the Mastercard, and then only come for help because they don't want to pay it back.

Students can earn more money, but there's a limit as to how much you can earn before your studies suffer badly. Girls are alright, though- they can take up stripping :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Very true!!

I know quite a few strippers. Some of them it's their full time job, but many of them it's to get them through their studies. Thing is, they (usually) earn superb money, and so I can't think at what point many of them would want to jack it in once they *are* qualified!!!! :lol:

Totally with you on your other points, too. It's all very well earning a figure, but if you're living outside your means, then you're a fool. Especially these who think an IVA or bankruptcy are easy ways out of the mess you've gotten yourself in.