FTB How did you decide what to buy?
Discussion
Its not going to be a million miles from that point where I have the funds to get a mortgage.
However I am currently thinking about what the best plan of action will be, and was wondering what others did, or whether my train of thought is logical?
Situation is as follows:
We want to buy in the area we live in now, it works for everything we need, and we like it. As far as I see it there are a couple of different scenarios (money wise its all inline with local pricing)
1. Buy a good 1 bed in the best area walking distance to shops/station etc, probably possible under £250k thus minimal stamp but best case scenario only live in it for 4-5 years before having kid requiring a move.
2. Buy a 2 bed (maybe with garden) in an OK location, long walk/bus/cycle to station for £250k as above, fine for probably 5-7 years as 2nd kid would require a move.
3. Buy a good 2 bed (possibly with garden) in same area as above, probably £300-£340k, over stamp threshold s will cost a chunk, but I figure if you're going over 250 you may aswell go over as much as you need to in order to get what you want, I don't see logic in buying at £280k or so, still lots of stamp to pay, and still not a great location. Good for 5-7 years again, maybe make more money on this though as prime location is a good market, maybe its peaked though?
4. Buy 3 bed house in an area a touch further away at £350k or so (probably very top end of what we could afford on current situations and would need to save a bit longer for deposit), certainly a bus or 15 minute ride to station, drive to supermarket etc, but probably a property that would last 10 years.
Now the issue with all of this is that my Mrs isn't that keen on having a kid in a 2 bed flat, I argue that it wouldn't be such an issue as long as its not a shoebox and that plenty of people do it. However as most people in this world tend to have two kids, I agree that you can't have two in a 2 bed flat, so at some point the move to a house would need to be made anyway.
What would you all do? I'm being a bit forward thinking with the kids and all that, but it seems silly not to plan that kind of thing into moving seeing as its likely to happen, we're 25 currently if that makes any odds?
Keen to hear thoughts!
However I am currently thinking about what the best plan of action will be, and was wondering what others did, or whether my train of thought is logical?
Situation is as follows:
We want to buy in the area we live in now, it works for everything we need, and we like it. As far as I see it there are a couple of different scenarios (money wise its all inline with local pricing)
1. Buy a good 1 bed in the best area walking distance to shops/station etc, probably possible under £250k thus minimal stamp but best case scenario only live in it for 4-5 years before having kid requiring a move.
2. Buy a 2 bed (maybe with garden) in an OK location, long walk/bus/cycle to station for £250k as above, fine for probably 5-7 years as 2nd kid would require a move.
3. Buy a good 2 bed (possibly with garden) in same area as above, probably £300-£340k, over stamp threshold s will cost a chunk, but I figure if you're going over 250 you may aswell go over as much as you need to in order to get what you want, I don't see logic in buying at £280k or so, still lots of stamp to pay, and still not a great location. Good for 5-7 years again, maybe make more money on this though as prime location is a good market, maybe its peaked though?
4. Buy 3 bed house in an area a touch further away at £350k or so (probably very top end of what we could afford on current situations and would need to save a bit longer for deposit), certainly a bus or 15 minute ride to station, drive to supermarket etc, but probably a property that would last 10 years.
Now the issue with all of this is that my Mrs isn't that keen on having a kid in a 2 bed flat, I argue that it wouldn't be such an issue as long as its not a shoebox and that plenty of people do it. However as most people in this world tend to have two kids, I agree that you can't have two in a 2 bed flat, so at some point the move to a house would need to be made anyway.
What would you all do? I'm being a bit forward thinking with the kids and all that, but it seems silly not to plan that kind of thing into moving seeing as its likely to happen, we're 25 currently if that makes any odds?
Keen to hear thoughts!
I went all in and bought big enough for life.
I dont think we will get wage inflation in the short to medium term (to reodfe mortgage debt ala 1970s "property ladder").
Therefore, as you just have to pay it off, you might as well start early.
Also, stamp duty is a fortune and moving is a pain in the proverbial.
Also, I would suggest buying somewhere with the possibility of extending into loft in future (cheapest way of extending).
I dont think we will get wage inflation in the short to medium term (to reodfe mortgage debt ala 1970s "property ladder").
Therefore, as you just have to pay it off, you might as well start early.
Also, stamp duty is a fortune and moving is a pain in the proverbial.
Also, I would suggest buying somewhere with the possibility of extending into loft in future (cheapest way of extending).
We went for something in between your choices 14 months ago, a 2 bed semi in a great location with a large garden, admittedly with ours the stamp duty wasn't an issue (paid £135k) as we are in the NW but understand your situation, aged 23 and 21 FWIW.
Looking back we probably should have gone for a 3 bed, as like you we are now thinking where would everything that's stored in the 2nd bedroom go if we had a child!
There are problems associated with that though, as you say, for us a 3 bed semi in our budget would have been on a new or 10 year old estate, whereas now we have a 1930's house close to amenities and with a field of rapeseed to look on to...
If I were you I would look for the best 3 bed you can find, spending that little bit longer saving for a deposit with a view to the property being future proof - i think that you would regret option 3 as once your in you'd constantly be concerned with the value increasing and nothing else!
Looking back we probably should have gone for a 3 bed, as like you we are now thinking where would everything that's stored in the 2nd bedroom go if we had a child!
There are problems associated with that though, as you say, for us a 3 bed semi in our budget would have been on a new or 10 year old estate, whereas now we have a 1930's house close to amenities and with a field of rapeseed to look on to...
If I were you I would look for the best 3 bed you can find, spending that little bit longer saving for a deposit with a view to the property being future proof - i think that you would regret option 3 as once your in you'd constantly be concerned with the value increasing and nothing else!
Don't bother with a 1 bed. Resale is always more difficult, I was told. When I was much younger we went for a 2 bed flat as our first owned property. Eventually sold at a small profit (just before the property boom, sadly!) and went to a 3 bed.
Decent size 2 bed is perfectly serviceable and we stayed far longer than we expected in it.
Decent size 2 bed is perfectly serviceable and we stayed far longer than we expected in it.
CaptainSensib1e said:
Buying/selling houeses is an expensive business. I'd only buy somewhere I'd be happy to live in for five years minimum, and preferably longer. I think you'd find a 1 bed too small very quickly, but a 2 bedroom flat house could comfortbaly accomodate you for five years plus.
This is absolutely true. We bought our 2-bed we're currently in just over 5 years ago, and to be honest after 2 years would've been quite happy to move on.Our next house will be our 'forever' home (if possible), and we're 28 and 25.
We've just gone through the whole FTB thing. No kids and moving from a nice, rented two bed flat in a quiet residential area (although we are in the grim North so pricing was a bit different to your figures).
We ended up with a 3 bed semi-detached towards the top of our budget for a few reasons:
- We were worried about the potential resale value of (even a top spec) flat in our area; they just seem to have a limited market.
- We had both come from houses previously and wanted two floors, a garden and our own drive / garage / space around the house.
- A 3 bed semi-detached seemed the best way of retaining any value and has the potential to extend or re-model if we need more space in the future. Although even now ther eis ample room should one kid come along, and we could squeeze two in at a push.
We stretched ourselves a little bit to get into something we really wanted, but I'm glad we did. It's all dependent on priorities, lifestyle and what's available in your local market.
If we were doing it again, I would go back and examine every aspect of any 'potentials' at least 3 or 4 times (even down to measuring cupboards and asking to see maintenance records; you really do have to have a contingency for everything and properly think about how you will live in a property) and I would probably be much more assertive with our offer. As a FTB you're likely to be in the best possible position when it comes to negotiations.
Oh, and get a decision in principle early on the mortgage as this will show any vendor / agent you're serious when you do offer. There have been a few threads recently in here all with good advice on this topic.
Happy hunting!
We ended up with a 3 bed semi-detached towards the top of our budget for a few reasons:
- We were worried about the potential resale value of (even a top spec) flat in our area; they just seem to have a limited market.
- We had both come from houses previously and wanted two floors, a garden and our own drive / garage / space around the house.
- A 3 bed semi-detached seemed the best way of retaining any value and has the potential to extend or re-model if we need more space in the future. Although even now ther eis ample room should one kid come along, and we could squeeze two in at a push.
We stretched ourselves a little bit to get into something we really wanted, but I'm glad we did. It's all dependent on priorities, lifestyle and what's available in your local market.
If we were doing it again, I would go back and examine every aspect of any 'potentials' at least 3 or 4 times (even down to measuring cupboards and asking to see maintenance records; you really do have to have a contingency for everything and properly think about how you will live in a property) and I would probably be much more assertive with our offer. As a FTB you're likely to be in the best possible position when it comes to negotiations.
Oh, and get a decision in principle early on the mortgage as this will show any vendor / agent you're serious when you do offer. There have been a few threads recently in here all with good advice on this topic.
Happy hunting!
Flip Martian said:
Don't bother with a 1 bed. Resale is always more difficult, I was told. When I was much younger we went for a 2 bed flat as our first owned property. Eventually sold at a small profit (just before the property boom, sadly!) and went to a 3 bed.
Decent size 2 bed is perfectly serviceable and we stayed far longer than we expected in it.
Slight thread hijack - why are you sad you just missed selling before the boom? That means the house you bought was cheaper.Decent size 2 bed is perfectly serviceable and we stayed far longer than we expected in it.
We decided to do what we could to get a house we could live in for 5-10 years. For us this meant moving area.
The idea was that instead of buying a flat for 2-4 years, selling it, getting a small house for another 5-7 years, then upsizing again
Get what we could that would last as long as possible, overpay the mortgage as much as we can afford and add savings as well.
Then theoretically in appx 8 years we should be able to afford the forever home, so rather than a housing ladder just 2 steps to the top
The idea was that instead of buying a flat for 2-4 years, selling it, getting a small house for another 5-7 years, then upsizing again
Get what we could that would last as long as possible, overpay the mortgage as much as we can afford and add savings as well.
Then theoretically in appx 8 years we should be able to afford the forever home, so rather than a housing ladder just 2 steps to the top
I went for a 1 bed in the best location I could (2 mins from station, conversation area etc). I'm working my balls off to pay it down by the end of the 5 year fix, by which time my Mrs and I will be buying a proper house a bit further out (I bought the flat on my own).
The plan is to try and pay it down enough so we can remortgage at a low level and keep it as a rental. I would imagine this plan wouldnt work outside of Central London though (where we want to keep a foot on the ladder, so to speak), or if you needed to equity out of your flat to upsize.
The plan is to try and pay it down enough so we can remortgage at a low level and keep it as a rental. I would imagine this plan wouldnt work outside of Central London though (where we want to keep a foot on the ladder, so to speak), or if you needed to equity out of your flat to upsize.
We went for a house we could possibly live in forever, 3 bed semi, nothing fancy. We chose in an area that is more family/older people and not particularly trendy (£50k+ saved right there...) but very nice, safe, good transport links etc.
We are by far the youngest people around at 27/25 and there are no cool bars/shops etc on our doorstep but I think it will be worth it in the long run.
We are by far the youngest people around at 27/25 and there are no cool bars/shops etc on our doorstep but I think it will be worth it in the long run.
Do not buy a one bed flat, the only exception to this rule is if you intend to keep it as an investment and it let out when you want to upgrade to a larger dwelling.
I think in bad times houses are easier to sell, because they are proportionally cheaper ie the additional cost of a house over a flat is less so people will push to upgrade themselves so I would always go for a house.
Also if having kids a decent garden is lovely for them to play in, might mean all their friends come round but thats also good as effectively they babysit each other and whilst they play together you can get on with posting on Pistonheads etc!
We are lucky as we are in a Cul de Sac and all the kids play outside in the summer. They know all the parents will treat any injuries, or tell them off and it works really well. The older neighboiurs whose kids have flown the nest also enjoy watching the kids play as believe its good for them instead of them being inside on the computer!
I think in bad times houses are easier to sell, because they are proportionally cheaper ie the additional cost of a house over a flat is less so people will push to upgrade themselves so I would always go for a house.
Also if having kids a decent garden is lovely for them to play in, might mean all their friends come round but thats also good as effectively they babysit each other and whilst they play together you can get on with posting on Pistonheads etc!
We are lucky as we are in a Cul de Sac and all the kids play outside in the summer. They know all the parents will treat any injuries, or tell them off and it works really well. The older neighboiurs whose kids have flown the nest also enjoy watching the kids play as believe its good for them instead of them being inside on the computer!
Would appear 2 bed house is in the middle...
There are a few in decent areas around that are around top end of budget, but are they any better than a 2 bed garden flat?
Thanks all, really interesting, and expensive
The most annoying thing of all is that where I live (or would love to settle) there just are not any houses, no stock at all. And if they do some up they're well over half a million.
There are a few in decent areas around that are around top end of budget, but are they any better than a 2 bed garden flat?
Thanks all, really interesting, and expensive
The most annoying thing of all is that where I live (or would love to settle) there just are not any houses, no stock at all. And if they do some up they're well over half a million.
The plan was for the missus and I to buy two houses where we could afford the mortages on our own. Rent one out and stay in the other. Midway through buying mine we found out we were expecting. We have a 3 bedroom terraced house in an okish area. Not where I particuarly want to live for life but ok for the first few years of family life. I'm doing the house up and end of the year I'm going to have a think about either selling up and we get the ideal house or keeping it and renting it out.
The house itself is more than fine for our needs but I'd prefer a nicer location truth be told. But for the original plan of renting it out I still think its perfect.
One thing I wish I'd given more consideration was the commute to work. Winding country lanes and big hills whilst nice for driving are a nightmare on a bike with boy racers and lorries whizzing past you and as a result I've had very little inclination to get on the bike in the past year. But the drive is nice and I can travel further in less time.
The house itself is more than fine for our needs but I'd prefer a nicer location truth be told. But for the original plan of renting it out I still think its perfect.
One thing I wish I'd given more consideration was the commute to work. Winding country lanes and big hills whilst nice for driving are a nightmare on a bike with boy racers and lorries whizzing past you and as a result I've had very little inclination to get on the bike in the past year. But the drive is nice and I can travel further in less time.
okgo said:
There are a few in decent areas around that are around top end of budget, but are they any better than a 2 bed garden flat?
You will probably be able to get a 2 bed flat that feels more spacious than an equivalent 2 bed house. As everything is on one floor there is often more room for a little one to run around.jdw1234 said:
Flip Martian said:
Don't bother with a 1 bed. Resale is always more difficult, I was told. When I was much younger we went for a 2 bed flat as our first owned property. Eventually sold at a small profit (just before the property boom, sadly!) and went to a 3 bed.
Decent size 2 bed is perfectly serviceable and we stayed far longer than we expected in it.
Slight thread hijack - why are you sad you just missed selling before the boom? That means the house you bought was cheaper.Decent size 2 bed is perfectly serviceable and we stayed far longer than we expected in it.
Yes, agree, but then a 2 bed flat is only good for that period between having one kid and then having another (as I said, very rare that people only have one these days) so not sure on that aspect. Just sodding annoying that the typical stock where I want to live are either 2 bed flats, OR £500k ha!
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