Cube Posted October 1, 2021 Posted October 1, 2021 Mine simply went from a resounding "no" to actually getting a mortgage, but that was through an independent financial advisor finding a company for us. Also, my vendors are having trouble with the chain. One of the properties was converted into flat/holiday let and is classed as different properties, and getting it re-classed as one property could take 8 weeks. However, our vendors have been looking at non-chain properties and have viewed some, and are potentially putting an offer on one. Even though we have said that we are in a situation where we can wait (although we've said that ideally we want to be in before Christmas), they are concerned about us looking elsewhere and pulling out. The estate agents have advised that if they stick to the original plan, we are likely looking at mid-December, but if one of these other properties pan out for them, then mid-November.
Goafer Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 23 hours ago, bob said: I don't know why people push to get the absolute maximum mortgage they can afford. We have some friends who got a ridiculous mortgage on a 5 bedroom house that cost them the absolute limit of what they could afford, and aside from the fact that they have no money left each month to do anything, they have no flexibility at all with salaries, childcare etc. Both of them hate their jobs, but neither can do anything about it because they have no buffer at all. My wife and I probably went too far the other way tbh. We live in a tiny hobbit hole of a house, but either one of us could lose our jobs and we'd be ok paying the mortgage on one salary. Yup. Me and my partner were on very low wages at the time. Our house cost £135,000 and the most we could borrow was about £160,000. We've both changed jobs since then and both earn quite a bit more now. Whilst we're not rolling in money, we're pretty comfortable because the mortgage was set up when we were so "poor". We don't live in a bad area either. I'll admit, we did get lucky with our house though. It's a weird pocket of absurdly cheap houses, mainly because they're ex MOD. 3 bedroom house on the edge of the Cotswolds though, so can't complain. Couldn't even get a flat in the nearest town for what we paid.
Raining_again Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 On 01/10/2021 at 12:58 PM, bob said: I don't know why people push to get the absolute maximum mortgage they can afford. We have some friends who got a ridiculous mortgage on a 5 bedroom house that cost them the absolute limit of what they could afford, and aside from the fact that they have no money left each month to do anything, they have no flexibility at all with salaries, childcare etc. Both of them hate their jobs, but neither can do anything about it because they have no buffer at all. My wife and I probably went too far the other way tbh. We live in a tiny hobbit hole of a house, but either one of us could lose our jobs and we'd be ok paying the mortgage on one salary. ^^ ding ding ding I feel like living standards have got to a crazy crazy high - i'm on my own, i really don't need 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms to clean lol.
nightwolf Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 4 hours ago, Raining_again said: ^^ ding ding ding I feel like living standards have got to a crazy crazy high - i'm on my own, i really don't need 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms to clean lol. Yup, we're in the Cambridgeshire area, so I'll let you all see how pricey it is, never mind Cambridge centre itself. We bought a house at 260k, a 3.5 bed (downstairs has a study that's big enough for a single bed bedroom), which is more than fine for two people - we've just finished renting on a 3 bed 2 bath so we know its more than comfortable for us. A friend has a 5 bed house, doesn't plan for kids. Has a half a million pound mortgage. I nearly died hearing it - why do you need that? Their partner doesn't earn nearly half as much as they do, so it ultimately feels like overkill. The mortgage repayments make me shudder looking at them . In better news, we managed to rip out the terrible DIY walled bookcase they had made, you can see from the photo just how badly it was done because of how many wall plugs all in random places.
Raining_again Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 jesus wept, those plugs are horrifying. Realistically even most families dont need more than a 3 bed semi. Theres definitely a culture where i live of going over your means and being in absurd amounts of debt (most cars around my town are <3/4 years old.) My mum used to clean for people that lived in ridiculously huge houses for absolutely no reason at all other than materialism and being able to show off. Even having a cleaner was a huge status symbol even though they paid her literally pennies lol
nightwolf Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 26 minutes ago, Raining_again said: jesus wept, those plugs are horrifying. Realistically even most families dont need more than a 3 bed semi. Theres definitely a culture where i live of going over your means and being in absurd amounts of debt (most cars around my town are <3/4 years old.) My mum used to clean for people that lived in ridiculously huge houses for absolutely no reason at all other than materialism and being able to show off. Even having a cleaner was a huge status symbol even though they paid her literally pennies lol Having a cleaner is something I've considered simply because my partner has dust allergies and keeping on top of that is practically a full time job in itself. I think I'd much rather have a normal/small house and pay for services, than have a 6-7 bed house and need those services because your house is too big. Also yes that wall made me cringe, we'll be making a nice box for the fuse box and sorting out the wires/holes, but it shows just how bad of a hack job the "bookcase" was. EURGH.
Raining_again Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 someone applied polyfilla with a butter knife in the house i bought..... and the doors were hung by the same skill level
Goafer Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 Our house was a proper dump when we bought it. Our living room had what we effectionately named Catpiss Corner. The house had been vacant for a few months when we got the keys, but Catpiss Corner was so saturated that the carpet was still wet when we took it up. The previous owner had also sealed the attic, presumably to stop the tenant from smoking weed up there, as we found a bong and other items when we finally got it open. Thankfully, there was room in our budget to redecorate every room and we were in no hurry to actually move in. Spent a couple of months doing it up and I think we got it looking good, if I do say so myself. 4
Will Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 Looks like you did a great job on it! Would love to do something similar in the future. 1
nightwolf Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 I love it Goafer, it feels cozy but clean. The study is the only room that needed anything significant doing to it thank goodness. We would like to remove the wall from the kitchen (and re-do the kitchen) but its more preference than a need to be done, so thankfully we can hold off on that for another 4-5 months. Trying not to burn myself out doing everything at once, we've not even properly moved in yet (we've got movers on the 11th). But its all so exciting! Also means I finally hang the picture I got from @Eenuh <3 1
Will Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 Any thoughts on buying a flat rather than a house? My family seem to think I’m insane for even considering it but we’ve always lived in flats and honestly quite like it. I think it mainly stems from the Grenfell Tower fire and they now have an assumption that at some point we will die because of being in a flat.
Ashley Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 17 minutes ago, Will said: Any thoughts on buying a flat rather than a house? My family seem to think I’m insane for even considering it but we’ve always lived in flats and honestly quite like it. I think it mainly stems from the Grenfell Tower fire and they now have an assumption that at some point we will die because of being in a flat. Guess it depends on what you want out of it. I'd assume with your son you'd want some outdoor space? If so that's harder with flats (although my last one had a garden which I miss but alas).
Will Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 59 minutes ago, Ashley said: Guess it depends on what you want out of it. I'd assume with your son you'd want some outdoor space? If so that's harder with flats (although my last one had a garden which I miss but alas). Yeah outdoor space is important but so long as there is a nearby park/field I think that’s fine. We’d definitely look to get something with a balcony just so there was somewhere to get fresh air easily.
Ashley Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 Yeah if there's a nearby park that's fine. What I don't like about my current place is the nearest park is about a ten minute walk away and is in itself pretty small. Plus no toilets so after a while I have to leave anyway 😅
Raining_again Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 I personally couldnt do without outside space, but i know thats not for everyone. Somewhere to hang the washing out! Especially in such a wet country (ireland) it can be so bloody difficult to keep on top of dampness and mould. Having the dryer on or clothes hanging inside just multiplies that.
nightwolf Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 Personally after living in flats, housesharing, terraced housing, detached housing... I will never again live in a flat, terraced or otherwise if I can help it. Even if I have good neighbours I just dislike having to worry over my volume all the time. Plus what if they move out? I guess I've just had too many bad experiences, but its just not always an option! So whatever you prefer. Its for you, not them. 1
Goafer Posted October 4, 2021 Posted October 4, 2021 One thing that bothers me about flats is leasehold and the fact that you presumably wouldn't own the land that the flat is on. Even if the lease is longer than you'll live, it could still effect the resale value of you ever decided to move again and the lease is significantly shorter than when you bought it. It almost feels like a ticking clock to me. My parents bought their flat and whilst it's a lovely flat (it's not in a block of flats, it's more of a maisonette), it does have a lease. As an only child, I'm set to inherit it, so whilst I'm not anticipating it happening anytime soon, I do worry if it'll end up being an extra thing to worry about when it comes to deciding what to do with it. That said, it's in such a nice area that I may end up moving back in if the area stays nice. Hopefully that's decades away though, so not really something I've thought about in depth.
Will Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 Tend to agree with a lot of what’s being said… 7 hours ago, Raining_again said: Somewhere to hang the washing out! I really hadn’t thought about washing at all. I’m not so much worried about drying it in a flat (as we’d definitely go for one that had a balcony), but more just drying stuff generally in the UK. Have gotten used to every day just being able to hang it out and the sun drying it in about 15 seconds. In Japan the bathroom had a washing line in it and the whole room turned into a giant tumble drier - that was pretty cool! 6 hours ago, nightwolf said: I will never again live in a flat, terraced or otherwise if I can help it. Even if I have good neighbours I just dislike having to worry over my volume all the time. Plus what if they move out? I guess I've just had too many bad experiences, but its just not always an option! So whatever you prefer. Its for you, not them. That’s a good point, but apart from the volume thing couldn’t the same problem happen in a house too? I guess you are at least a bit more physically separated from them though. We definitely have some asshole neighbours here but it’s never really bothered us all too much. 5 hours ago, Goafer said: One thing that bothers me about flats is leasehold and the fact that you presumably wouldn't own the land that the flat is on. Yeah, this is probably the thing that bothers me the most about it too. The new build flats we’ve looked at have a 999 year lease which puts me somewhat at ease though. The problem now is it seems actually getting a mortgage on something like that is pretty difficult. The mortgage thing will really screw us I think, the places we’d want to be in are all new builds which cover everything we’d want and also have a decent amount of outdoor space. Now we’re kind of thinking about some sort of town house, which seem to overcome some of the issues you get with flats. Even though we’re only at the start of this I already feel stressed about it all. 1
Raining_again Posted October 5, 2021 Posted October 5, 2021 18 hours ago, Will said: Even though we’re only at the start of this I already feel stressed about it all. Yeah its genuinely one of the most stressful things you can do in your lifetime... especially when its a move cross country. I do have a great belief that things work out the way they do for a reason and sometimes you just have to take the opportunity and jump with it, and try not to worry about the smaller things!
nightwolf Posted October 8, 2021 Posted October 8, 2021 On 05/10/2021 at 1:15 AM, Will said: Tend to agree with a lot of what’s being said… I really hadn’t thought about washing at all. I’m not so much worried about drying it in a flat (as we’d definitely go for one that had a balcony), but more just drying stuff generally in the UK. Have gotten used to every day just being able to hang it out and the sun drying it in about 15 seconds. In Japan the bathroom had a washing line in it and the whole room turned into a giant tumble drier - that was pretty cool! That’s a good point, but apart from the volume thing couldn’t the same problem happen in a house too? I guess you are at least a bit more physically separated from them though. We definitely have some asshole neighbours here but it’s never really bothered us all too much. Yeah, this is probably the thing that bothers me the most about it too. The new build flats we’ve looked at have a 999 year lease which puts me somewhat at ease though. The problem now is it seems actually getting a mortgage on something like that is pretty difficult. The mortgage thing will really screw us I think, the places we’d want to be in are all new builds which cover everything we’d want and also have a decent amount of outdoor space. Now we’re kind of thinking about some sort of town house, which seem to overcome some of the issues you get with flats. Even though we’re only at the start of this I already feel stressed about it all. For sure! In my view it was more that my neighbours whenever I've been wall to wall have been noisy, either from kids, music or both. Whereas in a detached you absolutely still could have terrible neighbours but the separated walls with space between them really helps. I still say its entirely up to you! I know a bunch of people who are very happy with living in flats etc, I'm just not good with it so we didn't buy one
Will Posted October 9, 2021 Posted October 9, 2021 Have to say, of everything we’ve seen so far, it’s only really the new build flats that seem to match how we like to live. We’ll see what we can work out on that front and take things from there. We’ve only really used rightmove.com for the search so far as that was what I used when I was last in the UK - are there any other sites we should be making use of too? I’m looking forward to actually being there and being able to get some of this stuff moving properly.
Ashley Posted October 9, 2021 Posted October 9, 2021 Zoopla is pretty much the same thing but may be worth checking. My mom uses place buzz which seems more like a gumtree kind of thing but estate agents do seem to use it. If you're looking to rent then may be worth checking open rent. Likewise estate agents do use it, but sometimes landlords use it directly and can cut down on estate agent fees.
nightwolf Posted October 10, 2021 Posted October 10, 2021 One layer down and it already looks way better. Christ alive the things they have done to this house is amazingly bad. But ah well! Perhaps we need a house/DIY thread? @Will I didn't mean to completely scare you off, many many people live in new builds without any issues or live in them knowing their might be issues, just do your proper due diligence and you'll be fine. I mean I've bought a house from the 80s that's solid and look at the wall above!! So if it suits you, go for it. I'd also second Zoopla, though we mostly used rightmove for moving ourselves. I didn't particularly like the idea of using gumtree etc. Big moving day is tomorrow, we've still got so much packing to do, but thankfully all the big stuff the movers are taking is mostly pulled apart. Thank goodness we've got until the 24th to move the rest of our stuff!
Ashley Posted October 10, 2021 Posted October 10, 2021 Oh and there's also purple bricks but that might just be for buying?
Will Posted October 11, 2021 Posted October 11, 2021 18 hours ago, nightwolf said: @Will I didn't mean to completely scare you off, many many people live in new builds without any issues or live in them knowing their might be issues, just do your proper due diligence and you'll be fine. I mean I've bought a house from the 80s that's solid and look at the wall above!! So if it suits you, go for it. I'd also second Zoopla, though we mostly used rightmove for moving ourselves. I didn't particularly like the idea of using gumtree etc. That’s OK, there definitely seem to be more things to be mindful of with new builds. I do wonder if a lot of that is down to the fact that “new build” is such a massive all encompassing term that anything bad with any element of any new house gets lumped together with “new build bad” type thinking? As you say, so long as we look into everything properly there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises. First thing we need to do is speak to an advisor and see what is actually possible for us. Affordability shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but given we now have no financial history there I’m not sure what issues that will throw up.
Recommended Posts