cost of houses

[nailfairy]

I cant understand how people that live in sought after areas get their mortagages. I understand that you maybe earn more in bigger cities but surely not that much more? On the telly they show flats in london going for like £250,000 so how do people buy a family home in these areas if they are just in a normal job.
Me and hubbs are thinking about selling our house and buying the house of our dreams but i have to say im a little worried as we will go from not alot of mortagage to quite a sizeable one. not sure what to do, what do you think the average sized mortage is these days for a family? I know it varies on place to place alot, and i dont want to bite off more than we can chew. Without going into personal details of what you personally owe, but im just interested to know what percentage of a couple earnings usually go on there mortgage payment. And when you see folks on like location location say " well we could stretch ourselves" just how far do people STRETCH themselves for the house of there dreams
Many thanks xx

 

[Cathie!]

Generally, mortgage companies will offer 3 x joint income, but some unscruplious lenders will offer 7 x.

Then you have self cert mortgages whereby if you self certify your income at a said amount the mortgage company will offer a loan against this without accountant certification. You have to pay a slightly higher rate of interest for this type of mortgage and have a big deposit. It's easy to over-stretch yourslef this way.

I don't know how first time buyers are getting themselves on the ladder these days as house prices are rediculous as compared to average salaries.

 

[nailfairy]

yep i know all that, but it doesnt apply to us, because we can put down 50% of the property value from the sale of the house were in now. so the bank knows that if we default they will get there money, but worried because its still quite a hefty amount each month

 

[Katelisa]

I was buying a house last year with my now Ex Boyfriend.

The bank were going to lend us £100,000 repayments were about 600 a month i think, that was over 25 years. I was willing to reduce the length of the mortgage to 15 years, which meant that we would pay about £750 a month, but save about £50,000 on interest (and would have payed the mortgage by the time we were 34!!)

How many years are they letting you lend the money over??

 

[nailfairy]

18 years we got left

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

Hi guys, well living in sunny London we can't afford to buy anything on the normal market, hence we live in a Housing Association Flat.... 3 bed terraced house starts at about 265K.and you will still need more money to do it up..Our only other option without stretching ourself to the limit is shared housing choice..... You buy your property in % blocks and pay rent on the other remaing %......than as ansd when ready you can buy more % blocks until you own the whole 100%.....something worth looking into....
This would be the only way for us, unless we earn shed loads of money these days and dont need to eat lol........

 

[Katelisa]

we were looking into shared % options, good idea because we could have had a really lovely first home, but i didnt fancy paying rent on the other bit. seemed a waste.

WIth only 18 years left to pay your mortgage off thats whats causing the re-payments to be a bit higher isnt it. My brain is telling me that your re-payments on your 'new' mortgage would be about 25% more than your 'old' mortgatge?

So i guess its all about re-budgeting and stuff. I dunno, im no finacial expert. U know what your doing you just need to work out a way to afford it dont you. Lottery maybe? lol.

xx

 

[GlitzyGirl]

When we bought our house we were prepared for high repayments. This was our only chance to get our kids into good schools without going private. We got self certified mortgage which meant it was even higher. Last year we then got a remortgage, so we could buy a house back home in North Cyprus, which made our monthly repayments over £1300, but this means we'll have 2 houses at the end of it. The only problem now is that my husband's business is now very quiet, like everyone else's. The only way we get round it is, 1st thing we do each month is put away the money for mortgage, then pay the bills, then whatever we've got left, we make do. We talked about it all right at the beginning, and we both had the same ideas, and were willing to make sacrifices for our kids. That's the only way to come through it. I am no expert, but just talking from personal experience, make sure you talk to your husband, and aggree on everything, before you make such a big commitment. There might be things you have to go without.
Good luck and I hope you get your dream home.

 

[caz3]

would be a little bit careful right now in buying a bigger more expensive house! I really do not think the time is right to do this but then I am no expert just my views.

A lot of people will struggle if and when they revalue all our houses for the band in council tax, this will put all our payments up.

I would really think about it and talk it through with someone that will understands what they are saying.

Caz xxx

 

[suey]

You could always do a self build! if you could find a plot of land cheap enough!

 

[suey]

I don't know how first time buyers are getting themselves on the ladder these days as house prices are rediculous as compared to average salaries.

I find myself wondering the same thing, as i am sure our parents did for us. Although it does just seem so impossible nowadays

 

[alli]

The prices are ridiculous, one house I was looking at is expected to go 30 thousand over the asking price, what chance have you got

aly

 

[caz3]

My Dad told me his first houes cost him just under £3,000 in 1959 sounds cheep eh?

But the Average weekly wage was around £11 to £12 so as you can see our parents still had to strugle buying a house and bringing up a family.

My Dad said he had to once beg the bank manager for a £200 loan for a car, even though he was in a good job.

Yes it is so hard for first time buyers today I feel for them as I would hate to think I would have to take out a mortgage for over £250,000 just so me and my family could have a house.

Caz xxx

 

[luckybird21]

supposedley the market will even soon, and it will be big familie homes which will even first.

self build is somthing i have been looking into but would have to get a bridging loan which is more hassle than its worth. plus it is hard to find land now, as it gets snapped up by developers. ive found lots of land but its green belt, or small plots which have specific plans you have to stick too! i think ill wait and get more savings behind me and maybe more life experience!

have you spoken to a ifa? as they will help you sort it all out and ensure all budgeting is done well, not just like these mortgage brokers who just wanna sign you up! im lucky my dads a ifa so i get the advice (and moaning) for free!

well what ever you decide to do, good luck, i hope you find the home of your dreams!

 

[Cameo Val]

Gonna throw a total spanner in the works here. I am 53 years old, so got lots of morgage repayment experience under my belt here. In my younger days, we went for the hefty mortgage thing as a big house was one of my top priorities then. We sometimes struggled with the repayments, but like the other writer, we always paid the morgage first then made do on what bit was left over.

Now years on my priority's are a lot different. A big house is not my number one priority. We still have a morgage on this house, but its not such a big one and there is plenty left over to go out and enjoy life with. This is my priority now, having a good time, having money left over to do what I want with.

If I could have my time over again, I would learn by this lesson. Big houses are ok as a status symbol etc, and nice for the kids to rattle around in, but on the whole life is too short to be scrimping and saving just to pay off a huge morgage. As for the kids, well when they are grown up and look back on their childhood memories, they wont be thinking oooooow I lived in a big house. They will be remembering all the times you took them to the beach on holiday or out walking and playing with them in the country, or just sitting relaxing with them playing games and giving them cuddles. Happy memories dont depend on the size of your house.

Anyway thats the ramblings of on oldie. Hope its given you an alternative view on things. But good luck with whatever you decide.

Val

 

[Spray 2 Go]

Gonna throw a total spanner in the works here. I am 53 years old, so got lots of morgage repayment experience under my belt here. In my younger days, we went for the hefty mortgage thing as a big house was one of my top priorities then. We sometimes struggled with the repayments, but like the other writer, we always paid the morgage first then made do on what bit was left over.

Now years on my priority's are a lot different. A big house is not my number one priority. We still have a morgage on this house, but its not such a big one and there is plenty left over to go out and enjoy life with. This is my priority now, having a good time, having money left over to do what I want with.

If I could have my time over again, I would learn by this lesson. Big houses are ok as a status symbol etc, and nice for the kids to rattle around in, but on the whole life is too short to be scrimping and saving just to pay off a huge morgage. As for the kids, well when they are grown up and look back on their childhood memories, they wont be thinking oooooow I lived in a big house. They will be remembering all the times you took them to the beach on holiday or out walking and playing with them in the country, or just sitting relaxing with them playing games and giving them cuddles. Happy memories dont depend on the size of your house.

Anyway thats the ramblings of on oldie. Hope its given you an alternative view on things. But good luck with whatever you decide.

Val

Couldn't agree more Val, life's priorities do change as you get older and when you weigh up the balance of large mortgages and the stresses which go with them against smaller house and more fun with the family using money which would otherwise be going to the bank / building society - know where mine would be better off!

I remember when we had a large mortgage and the interest rates went up to something like 14% and I was pregnant with my third child, I was so worried about we would survive!!! Scary times!!

 

[jac extreme]

I agree, we had no mortgage at all on our last house (a nice three bed semi) but then my husband decided that he wanted to buy a five bed grade II listed 16th century cottage in need of total renovation as a project for our pension we moved in two days before Xmas 2002 and all five of us had to sleep in two rooms and they were bearly habitable, the mortgage is big and it has put a tremendous strain on our marriage,he is always stressed and busy. Still don't know if we can survive it, I wish we had stayed in our little semi.

 

[Nat Tov]

I agree with Val here. I'm only youngish (28) LOL and I was lucky to have bought a house at 18. We re-sold and made a packet years later which bought us a nice big house with still a little mortgage. Due to relationship circumstances I'm now in rented accommodation for now whilst my finances sort themselves out and I'm paying £600 a month. This could easily pay a mortgage and it frustrates me that it's dead money!! It's those who bought early I feel will struggle less (unless you are on a superb income of course!) and I feel for all those who were unable to get on the property ladder years ago. I worry about this for my son. How on earth are our children ever going to buy their own home in years to come?? I have a savings ISA scheme running for him but in years that will seem like a drop in the ocean. Everything is increasing but the average wage does not!! There will come a point where the government will have to step in and lower the price of houses or offer deals to first time buyers. It's a vicious circle. I agree a big house is a status symbol. Personally I prefer to drive a nice car and remember a home is what you make it - it's not down to size. I once had a fridge magnet bought for me that said: May your house never fall down and those within it never fall out!

 

[LindaH73]

We have been thinking about buying our council house but unless i get back to work it isn't going to happen. Its so frustrating! My hubby only earns £14,000 a year. I don't work as my youngest is just over a year and unless i go back to work full-time it isn't worth me going back.

Our friends who live in the same street as us bought their council house two years ago. They got it for £38,000 that includes £22,000 discount. Their house is an end terrace so they have a larger plot of land than us. Our house is a mid link and the council want £56,000 that includes our £22,000 off. It is so frustrating because the houses prices are about the same here as they were two years ago, so how come we are paying a lot more!!!

We would be paying about £300 per month which we could just about manage but the idea of buying it was so that we could do it up. We wanted a loft conversion (only two bedrooms so we wanted three as we have a girl and a boy), a new kitchen, double glazing and would have loved a conservatory. Now we would be lucky if we could afford bunk beds if we buy the place, hence me having to go back to work!!! :cry:

 

[nailfairy]

Thanks guys i really appreciate your opinions. I am kinda wondering wether the time is right to move as house prices tend to be falling around here. at present we have a large 3 bed semi, with big garden etc.. plenty big enough but i guess its like alot of you say,,status. I guess im lucky to have what i have really when i consider i am only 28. hubby and i earn £45000 between us, and the mortagage were looking at is about £140000,house itself is valued at £260000 this would buy as a large 4 bed home with double garage, in a much nicer area. Not sure what to do at this stage TBH.
The boys are now 6&7 and i guess i thinking more along the lines for them, a bigger house/mortgage now for us, equals later in life a reasonable house for us to buy straight out when the boys fly the nest and the leftovers for them to have as a deposit on a house for their future.
Ive been there for the boys now since they were babies only ever working around them, but now im considering taking a post thats better paid and fulltime, however if we stayed put that money could be spent on holidays etc...