bob Posted September 2, 2013 Posted September 2, 2013 Also, i love not having to worry about stuff breaking. Boiler snuffed it? Cry to estate agent! Toilet blocked? Phone the landlord! If i owned the place, i would have to put money aside to deal with stuff like that, or claim on home insurance.
MoogleViper Posted September 2, 2013 Posted September 2, 2013 Toilet blocked? Phone the landlord! You'd phone the landlord if you blocked the toilet?
jayseven Posted September 2, 2013 Posted September 2, 2013 I've always been too afraid to call teh landlord up about broken stuff :P I never really thought about the 5-year thing (or knew it existed!) but I think if I had a home then I'd have something to send teh rest of my life into orbit around. If that makes sense. I remember when my dad told me he'd lived in 9 places. Nine, I thought, aged 11, but I've been in this one place for over a decade! Why bother!... since then I've had 9 postal addresses in the following 15 years. But I think it's supposed to settle down! Peope move because of new jobs or new girls (or boys) or new rats infesting the place. If you have a decent place you can afford and a job you've been in for a while, then why not stay and pay less? I'd thrip but I'm drunk and I'll make a mistake.
bob Posted September 2, 2013 Posted September 2, 2013 You'd phone the landlord if you blocked the toilet? I phone the landlord; he phones the plumber. Obviously if i want to talk about rent, i phone the electrician.
nightwolf Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I've always called the landlord/landlady as soon as something breaks. It saves so much stress. My new landlady is great for that sort of thing, even if it takes her a little while to fix it (stuff like the heating gets fixed same day, but y'know things like 'oh the door isn't shutting properly). I put my second yt video out last night and people like it! I'm giving into my human aspects and becoming thrilled when people tell me its good.
nightwolf Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 (edited) I've always called the landlord/landlady as soon as something breaks. It saves so much stress. My new landlady is great for that sort of thing, even if it takes her a little while to fix it (stuff like the heating gets fixed same day, but y'know things like 'oh the door isn't shutting properly). Edited September 3, 2013 by Shorty
Murr Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 We were pretty lucky when getting our 2nd house. Heather originally had a 2 bedroom house that she bought at £96,000 5 years ago. When she sold that last year in order for us to get our current house she sold it for £125k, Instant profit. I'd saved up £15k myself, and very very nicely my parents gave us £20k. Our current 4 bed house was £172k. We put down £50k deposit, got a mortgage of £120k, and used the rest to get a new kitchen (Which is sexy as fuck) currently pay £640 a month and will have the house paid off in 24 years. We're managing at the moment, but saving £500 a month for this wedding (which is getting ever closer) once that is out of the way we can then start over paying our mortgage monthly (to a certain point without a fine) just to speed things up a bit.
Shorty Posted September 3, 2013 Author Posted September 3, 2013 Thread ripped like. We nearly bought a house about 1.5 years ago, even put in an offer. Although we went intentionally low and the house was really nice, we weren't expecting to get it but still that's as close as we've come. Mortgage rates are at an all-time low, now is the time to get one, although house prices are starting to go back up. My parents paid between 11-14% most of the time they were paying theirs off, now you can get 2-3% mortgages. However the amount you need to put down in order to be paying less than rental figures is still huge. There are other options, for example the government has an incentive scheme at the minute where you put up 5% on a new build and they lend you up to 20% which you don't have to repay until the house is sold. Anyway we wound up spending all of our savings on a holiday next month so mortgage is out of the window for many years now... There was another house we definitely could've gotten but my other half didn't like it. After she said no, the price dropped and dropped and it eventually went to auction. It had a flat roof and wasn't in the nicest area, which was the offputting part. But it was also really nicely done up inside. I guess it was a bit of a bachelors pad, the owner was an electrician and had installed all this amazing custom lighting, had one of Sheffield's Epic Views™, had all been refurbished with a great kitchen, and most interestingly was an upside down house (from the road you went into the top floor, with a living room/kitchen/diner, then went downstairs to 3 bedrooms/bathroom).
Jon Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 A lot will depend on where you're buying. Up here, you'd have have to be buying a beast of a house to be paying more a month on the mortgage than if you were renting. Renting is ridiculously expensive round here.
Charlie Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 To get a fantastic place I'd want to live in for the entirety of the mortgage it would cost £300k easily. I could probably afford about 8k worth of rent a year and still save about 4-5k. If there were two of me, we would need to save for about 6-7 years to afford a deposit of 10% for a 15-20 year mortgage. However I could look at living 5 miles away and save probably £50-80k, and even perhaps afford to save up for a deposit in 4 years, and afford to pay for it myself. ... Realistically the answer is clearly be patient and do more. I think that most people don't buy a property thinking they are going to live in it for the next 25 years. Buy a property and have a relatively cheap mortgage that you can afford to pay off, save a bit more and then sell 10 years down the line for a profit and then you can afford the dream home.
Eenuh Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I think that most people don't buy a property thinking they are going to live in it for the next 25 years. Buy a property and have a relatively cheap mortgage that you can afford to pay off, save a bit more and then sell 10 years down the line for a profit and then you can afford the dream home. Really? Most people I know buy/build a house with the intention to live in there for the rest of their lives. My parents have been living in theirs since it was built and only plan to move out when they become too old. My sister has built her house with the intention of spending her life there (two extra bedrooms in case there are kids on the way). My three friends have all bought a house as well and they say they all plan to live there, no plans of moving anywhere else. Maybe it is different here, but in Belgium people will usually make sure that the house they are buying or building has the things they need. Like one of my friends, the house she bought was old and needed lots of work, so she has slowly been rebuilding/renovating it to suit her needs.
Mr_Odwin Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Really? Most people I know buy/build a house with the intention to live in there for the rest of their lives. My parents have been living in theirs since it was built and only plan to move out when they become too old. My sister has built her house with the intention of spending her life there (two extra bedrooms in case there are kids on the way). My three friends have all bought a house as well and they say they all plan to live there, no plans of moving anywhere else. Maybe it is different here, but in Belgium people will usually make sure that the house they are buying or building has the things they need. Like one of my friends, the house she bought was old and needed lots of work, so she has slowly been rebuilding/renovating it to suit her needs. In the UK it is typically different. It's a property ladder because a lot of people start at the bottom with a small property, build up some equity (pay off mortgage, house increases in value), then buy a bigger property, and so on, until they finally climb the ladder to the house they're willing to stay in. Though honestly, I'm happy with my house, and I see us living there forever. It's the second house we've bought so our ladder was more of a step.
Eenuh Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I guess it is different, in Belgium we like to build our own houses. We even have a saying for it, which roughly translates to "being born with a brick in your stomach", meaning that you really want to build and own your own house. It seems to be the thing everyone wants at home heh.
Charlie Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Just had a very quick look at a mortgage calculator. They say if I have a deposit of £10,000, with my current circumstances, I could borrow around £100,000. That's actually far better than I thought. There are some 3 bedroom properties available for that in an area that would be all right to live in in Glasgow. With a 5% interest rate for 25 years the payments would be £584 a month. Renting out the other 2 rooms for £300 a go I'd actually be making money as I wouldn't need to pay rent myself, instead putting it into the property fund for repairs or whatever. Brb... buying a house.
Dog-amoto Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 My mortgage will be paid off in 6 years. I'm quite lucky as I bought my house in 2000 before all the prices went silly. So I paid £30000 for my house which I think is worth £90k now. Am thinking of buying again, with my girlfriend we could get a mortgage of £250k so could buy a pretty decent house in a nice area round here. No idea how people afford houses down south though.
Rummy Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 (edited) Just had a very quick look at a mortgage calculator. They say if I have a deposit of £10,000, with my current circumstances, I could borrow around £100,000. That's actually far better than I thought. There are some 3 bedroom properties available for that in an area that would be all right to live in in Glasgow. With a 5% interest rate for 25 years the payments would be £584 a month. Renting out the other 2 rooms for £300 a go I'd actually be making money as I wouldn't need to pay rent myself, instead putting it into the property fund for repairs or whatever. Brb... buying a house. Could barely get a decent 1-bed with that down here, plus leasehold without a doubt I'll make a bigger/better post on this whole subject later. Renting is the no-ties, free-to-roam ideal. If more people rented then house prices probably wouldn't be as expensive :P I don't know. I mostly just like the idea of paying less money per month and slowly accruing assets. Actually I think there's a big part of inflation due to buy-to-let investors; knowing many folks can't get on the ladder those with money buy and rent out etc. Many many many properties I see on the market for sale(smaller/cheaper properties that I'd be after) seem to be vacant and/or chain free already - suggests to me they've been rented out. I'm totally with you though, I want to buy rather than rent(something I've never done) and almost did earlier in the year. It's just, as you say, very hard without two of me unless I make some heavy compromises in what I go for. Edited September 3, 2013 by Rummy Automerged Doublepost
Platty Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I live in London. I'm screwed on all fronts. I have some savings but to get a mortgage it will wipe me out and I would be in a crappy studio flat or something tiny that costs 200k. Me and the missus can rent bigger quite comfortable at the moment and spend our moneys doing fun things like Holidays. Would like to own of course but just not doable for us down here unless you want to live in a stabby area. We could live slightly out of London which is fine but both work in London and the train costs are ridiculous. Would rather spend that money living closer in and cutting down commute time. Some of the house prices you guys get 'up north are ridiculously cheap though. *packs bags*
Charlie Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Could barely get a decent 1-bed with that down here, plus leasehold without a doubt Tbh, that one flat I saw was a fixed price £110,000. Scotland usually goes for the "offers over" which means that it could be way more than that. It wasn't the largest flat but in an alright area. Obviously looking around you could probably find something really nice if you moved out of town a bit. At this stage in my life, it's not something I want to do. I think that I am going to start saving a bit of money for a mortgage though. See how I get on putting away £100 a month for the moment. Not a lot of money but it is a start.
Mr_Odwin Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Just had a very quick look at a mortgage calculator. They say if I have a deposit of £10,000, with my current circumstances, I could borrow around £100,000. That's actually far better than I thought. There are some 3 bedroom properties available for that in an area that would be all right to live in in Glasgow. With a 5% interest rate for 25 years the payments would be £584 a month. Renting out the other 2 rooms for £300 a go I'd actually be making money as I wouldn't need to pay rent myself, instead putting it into the property fund for repairs or whatever. Brb... buying a house. There's an amount that you can legally take on rent before you have to pay tax on the income, and have to fill out a form. It's probably worth doing for the amount of money you'd get, but be aware that it's not tax free. https://www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/the-rent-a-room-scheme
MoogleViper Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 (edited) (e.g. live with parents and have full time job...easier to save) If I was on my wage and living at home I could fairly easily save ~£1000 a month. However when i'm paying ~£7000 a year in rent/utilities, that's not really possible. I currently manage to save around £300 a month, which doesn't really amount to much, especially as I'm looking at buying a new car now. Really? Having £100,000 in the bank you could get a killer mortgage and be more than secure if you have a steady income. House prices are on the up so now would be the time to buy. It was an old Serebii joke. Heather originally had a 2 bedroom house that she bought at £96,000 5 years ago. When she sold that last year in order for us to get our current house she sold it for £125k, Instant profit. I don't think that word means what you think it means. Edited September 3, 2013 by MoogleViper
Daft Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Not going to lie, I feel pretty good. In the past year and a half I've managed to save £20,000...and I took six months off in the middle. I only moved out last month so it'll be harder to save quite as much. But I live in London, where house prices are physically sickening. Also, I might have another period off work, too. So who knows.
Charlie Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 There's an amount that you can legally take on rent before you have to pay tax on the income, and have to fill out a form. It's probably worth doing for the amount of money you'd get, but be aware that it's not tax free. https://www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/the-rent-a-room-scheme Tbh I hadn't actually thought about it but I did know about it. Going by my previous rough workings, £600 a month for a year is £7200. So I'd be paying tax on around £3000 of that income. Without working that out, I think I would still probably work out well. At any rate, it's not something that is going to affect me any time soon unfortunately. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. The Rent a Room Scheme lets you earn up to a threshold of £4,250 per year tax-free from letting out furnished accommodation in your home. I'm sure they have thought about this but what happens if its unfurnished?
gaggle64 Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 If you can provide previous addresses for the last 3-4 years then you should be fine - they can run a credit check on each address. I did do that during the order process. My mum's boyfriend pointed out since I've never used a credit card it's probably because I don't technically have a credit history. Seems surreal but makes a sort of sense for today's society. Anyway, my mum's going to pay for it and I'll pay my mum so it's all gravy.
Charlie Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I did do that during the order process. My mum's boyfriend pointed out since I've never used a credit card it's probably because I don't technically have a credit history. Seems surreal but makes a sort of sense for today's society. Anyway, my mum's going to pay for it and I'll pay my mum so it's all gravy. I've got a credit card for this reason. Build up a good rating by purchasing only things I would otherwise on it and then paying off on time every month. It's also useful to have in case there are any emergencies.
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