Buying a House

[Joe]

Also, another method used to determine affordability is to calculate what the ratio of the total mortgage payment is to your monthly income**. The current recommendation is 28%, but the recommendation seems to have slowly increased over the years. When I first looked at buying a house, the recommended ratio was 20%.

** Example: Monthly gross income $5,000. Monthly mortgage payment: $1,500. To calculated the ratio: divide $5,000 by $1,500. In this example the ratio would be 30%...which is too much (1,500/5,000).

The OP is in the UK, and I have no idea what their tax laws are. But when I have seen such formulas in the US, they have used the net cost of owning the home. Since mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible on one's income tax, the monthly value of these deductions is subtracted from the total mortgage payment before calculating the ratio.

Important: Use your total monthly mortgage payment in the calculation!!! This includes interest, principle, property taxes***, home owners insurance, and anything else that is included in the total monthly payment (they will also include the cost of default insurance if you don't meet certain criteria). Do NOT make the mistake of assuming your payment is solely principle and interest.

(Emphasis added.)

I think that should be mortgage principal, not principle.

 

[shyvas]

Viewing cancelled, it's been sold

What a disappointment Aery.

Are you using a sole estate agent or making request via several different ones. It looks like they are proposing properties which are under offer which you should be made aware of.

I think that it is a good idea to view as many houses (within your price range) as possible before ideally find your dream home. Have you considered trying to find a list of houses that are for sale directly by the vendor ?

 

[AeryFairy]

What a disappointment Aery.

Are you using a sole estate agent or making request via several different ones. It looks like they are proposing properties which are under offer which you should be made aware of.

I think that it is a good idea to view as many houses (within your price range) as possible before ideally find your dream home. Have you considered trying to find a list of houses that are for sale directly by the vendor ?

We're using property websites to find houses, so sometimes when we find something it's already been on the market a while and when we call they've already had offers in (or are close to it).

Haven't seriously considered 'direct from vendor' properties though, might see if I can find that info.

As for all our viewings on Saturday - it went really well. We found our dream home! But it's not one we viewed. And it's not for sale. We were walking back from a (disappointing) viewing and looking around the neighbourhood, and spotted some houses which were tucked away. We walked towards them a little and found a beautiful street full of gorgeous properties that seem to be everything we want. So we looked it up online, found some old listings for properties on the road, and not only are they amazing, they're in our price range We're still going to look at other things, but we're hoping one will come on the market.

 

[shyvas]

We're using property websites to find houses, so sometimes when we find something it's already been on the market a while and when we call they've already had offers in (or are close to it).

Haven't seriously considered 'direct from vendor' properties though, might see if I can find that info.

As for all our viewings on Saturday - it went really well. We found our dream home! But it's not one we viewed. And it's not for sale. We were walking back from a (disappointing) viewing and looking around the neighbourhood, and spotted some houses which were tucked away. We walked towards them a little and found a beautiful street full of gorgeous properties that seem to be everything we want. So we looked it up online, found some old listings for properties on the road, and not only are they amazing, they're in our price range We're still going to look at other things, but we're hoping one will come on the market.

That is a positive step. However, I have not met one single person ( unless they are stinking rich) who purchased their dream home when buying their very first property.

Have you ever considered going to auctions, or building your new home ? Leave no stones unturned and keep calling the estate agents even if they don't call you. Why not pop a note through the letter box of the houses that you mention that seem ideal ? Place an ad in the local newspaper asking potential vendors to contact you if they are selling etc.

BBC - Homes - Property - Buying a property



BBC - Homes - Property - Buying at auction


First time buyers' property guide - Telegraph

Good luck!

 

[Second Summer]

We're going to a viewing on Saturday for a 2 bedroom maisonette in the next town over, which is closer to where I work. It's mostly on the 1st floor, except for the entrance hall and a study room(!) which are on the ground floor. It also has a nice garden with a summer house! It's in a decent area of the town, I think, but the town itself is .... well, it's described by one member here as "the Gdansk of Oxfordshire"

The one drawback is we don't particularly like the town, but mostly for one reason - it's home to a coal power station. While it's a blight on the landscape - reminds me of the tower in Mordor, I have to wonder how healthy it is to live there.

Another problem is that the estate agent expects a lot of interest, so a lot of people will come to the viewing, and will probably want to buy. We have obviously no experience with this sort of thing. I guess we'll have to pretend to the other potential buyers that we're not at all interested, and then make a bid anyway.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I was being nosy and I took a peek on Rightmove to see which one you meant. It looks lovely. I hope you get it. Maisonettes are usually better than flats as you get your own front door. The only thing that puts me off flats rather than houses is the service charge.

 

[shyvas]

I was being nosy and I took a peek on Rightmove to see which one you meant. It looks lovely. I hope you get it. Maisonettes are usually better than flats as you get your own front door. The only thing that puts me off flats rather than houses is the service charge.

Off to have a look as I'm hooked on property that is for sale.

 

[shyvas]

I can't find it.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Off to have a look as I'm hooked on property that is for sale.

If we didn't have the dogs I would be tempted by something like this.

Rightmove - Error

Beautiful views and a lovely building although I wouldn't like to see the service charge! I would begrudge paying a quarter of a million for a one bed flat even though it is actually bigger than the two bed house I'm in now.

ETA it says error but the link works for me.

 

[shyvas]

If we didn't have the dogs I would be tempted by something like this.

Rightmove - Error

Beautiful views and a lovely building although I wouldn't like to see the service charge! I would begrudge paying a quarter of a million for a one bed flat even though it is actually bigger than the two bed house I'm in now.

ETA it says error but the link works for me.

That is a beautiful flat and area. I wouldn't like at it in that manner as the price of property isn't only the number of bedrooms it contains. Location, views, and the sq metres is also an important factor. My flat has one bedroom and costs nearly 1/4 million € !.

 

[KLS52]

If we didn't have the dogs I would be tempted by something like this.

Rightmove - Error

Beautiful views and a lovely building although I wouldn't like to see the service charge! I would begrudge paying a quarter of a million for a one bed flat even though it is actually bigger than the two bed house I'm in now.

ETA it says error but the link works for me.

Wow, that is really nice.

My daughter has been trying to sell her house for two years and finally has a buyer. She bought it in 2006 and paid top dollar for it, so sadly, with today's market, they are taking quite a hit on the sale. But she wants out so they are going for it.

 

[Second Summer]

My daughter has been trying to sell her house for two years and finally has a buyer. She bought it in 2006 and paid top dollar for it, so sadly, with today's market, they are taking quite a hit on the sale. But she wants out so they are going for it.

I suppose if the price is low now due to the market, then it doesn't matter if she's losing money on selling it, as long as she buys something else at a good price. Once the prices go up again, she will have recovered her loss. Well, something like that.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Another problem is that the houses we have been looking at are either slightly smaller than the one we have now (little fisherman cottages) like this

Rightmove - Error

It's a tiny little house and it's nearly £300k, or they are absolutely huge and built for families. I have de-cluttered so much that we would have empty rooms which seems ludicrous that we would have to heat and light rooms we don't need.

 

[shyvas]

Another problem is that the houses we have been looking at are either slightly smaller than the one we have now (little fisherman cottages) like this

Rightmove - Error It's a tiny little house and it's nearly £300k

or they are absolutely huge and built for families. I have de-cluttered so much that we would have empty rooms which seems ludicrous that we would have to heat and light rooms we don't need.

The sitting room is a bit too small. However, prices are much higher if the town is by the sea. If you go a couple of miles inland the prices drop.

 

[Moll Flanders]

The sitting room is a bit too small. However, prices are much higher if the town is by the sea. If you go a couple of miles inland the prices drop.

That is the issue as we need to be one mile or less from a train station as my husband works shifts so he needs to be able to get into work at night and early in the morning so he doesn't want a long walk to a station, which I completely understand. I was looking at the houses further out and you can get a three bed detached house with swimming pool for our budget. Gah. I find it really hard to make a decision.

 

[shyvas]

That is the issue as we need to be one mile or less from a train station as my husband works shifts so he needs to be able to get into work at night and early in the morning so he doesn't want a long walk to a station, which I completely understand. I was looking at the houses further out and you can get a three bed detached house with swimming pool for our budget. Gah. I find it really hard to make a decision.

I didn't realise that you had to buy property within walking distance of a station. I'm sure that you could still find something but would have to compromise on something on your wish list.

Buying property isn't an easy task and you really have to look hard. Don't rely on estate agents to bring something on a platter.

 

[Second Summer]

We went to look at that maisonette today. It was decent enough. Kitchen was small-ish, but with built-in washer, dishwasher, refrigerator and freezer. One bedroom was quite small. Living room was medium-ish, and one bedroom seemed fairly big. The study was small and the floor was just concrete. The garden wasn't directly adjoinging the house, but it did have a summer house and a shed, so there would be room for our junk.

The neighbourhood looked decent too. There was a nice playground next to a big green, a leisure centre, several schools, shops etc. The town is actually quite nice, I thought (except for the power station).

There were several other potential buyers at the viewing. Bidding starts on Monday.

I would obviously have preferred a terraced or semi-detached house over a maisonette, but that could prove difficult.

 

[shyvas]

We went to look at that maisonette today. It was decent enough. Kitchen was small-ish, but with built-in washer, dishwasher, refrigerator and freezer. One bedroom was quite small. Living room was medium-ish, and one bedroom seemed fairly big. The study was small and the floor was just concrete. The garden wasn't directly adjoinging the house, but it did have a summer house and a shed, so there would be room for our junk.

The neighbourhood looked decent too. There was a nice playground next to a big green, a leisure centre, several schools, shops etc. The town is actually quite nice, I thought (except for the power station).

There were several other potential buyers at the viewing. Bidding starts on Monday.

I would obviously have preferred a terraced or semi-detached house over a maisonette, but that could prove difficult.

What are you planning to do ? I suppose that the bidding process will mean that the price will go up. I've never seen property ( except for at auctions) go through this kind of sale.

 

[Second Summer]

The one drawback is we don't particularly like the town, but mostly for one reason - it's home to a coal power station. While it's a blight on the landscape - reminds me of the tower in Mordor, I have to wonder how healthy it is to live there.

It appears that the coal- and oil- burning part of the power station has closed down, and they are now only burning natural gas! I knew part of the facility had been demolished, but I didn't realize it was no longer burning coal. Well, that might change some things!

 

[shyvas]

It appears that the coal- and oil- burning part of the power station has closed down, and they are now only burning natural gas! I knew part of the facility had been demolished, but I didn't realize it was no longer burning coal. Well, that might change some things!

It looks like a lovely property and the town is not to far from two major cities. Just think of the lovely dinners and cocktails that you'll enjoy in the back garden during the Summer months.