Continue to rent or time to buy? Advice appreciated.
Discussion
Sorry, bit of a long post but would appreciate some advice. 
Tricky situation at the moment as with the amount of rent I'm paying every month, it feels like I could be putting it into something useful (i.e. some property).
Bit of background:
4 years out of uni. Currently a doctor out in Essex on a GP training program lasting until Aug 2014 (another 2 1/2 years). After that, options are open in terms of movement - will be following job vacancies (options will be available around here). My initial plan was to move back to London, however 'countryside' life is starting to appeal.
Long term gf (also GP trainee) is based in East London, dad has bought her a flat (circa 300k). She is marriage potential, being Scottish she has expressed a desire to go back but not for another 5-10 years. It may work out, it may not.
Question is whether to stick some cash down and buy a property here or wait until (both the gf and) I finish our training and make a decision then.
Money situation:
Got about 30-35k saved as a deposit.
Monthly salary post tax is around 2.1k.
Current rent is £451 pcm inc bills/council tax
Not sure where that places me in terms of getting a mortgage or for how much?
Worth buying something and considering selling in the next few years if I move?
Perhaps once purchased it would make a good rental/income opportunity should we decide to move elsewhere?
Would appreciate all comments/opinions. Unfortunately, regarding these matters I am somewhat clueless. Much better with medical issues!
TIA
Tricky situation at the moment as with the amount of rent I'm paying every month, it feels like I could be putting it into something useful (i.e. some property).
Bit of background:
4 years out of uni. Currently a doctor out in Essex on a GP training program lasting until Aug 2014 (another 2 1/2 years). After that, options are open in terms of movement - will be following job vacancies (options will be available around here). My initial plan was to move back to London, however 'countryside' life is starting to appeal.
Long term gf (also GP trainee) is based in East London, dad has bought her a flat (circa 300k). She is marriage potential, being Scottish she has expressed a desire to go back but not for another 5-10 years. It may work out, it may not.
Question is whether to stick some cash down and buy a property here or wait until (both the gf and) I finish our training and make a decision then.
Money situation:
Got about 30-35k saved as a deposit.
Monthly salary post tax is around 2.1k.
Current rent is £451 pcm inc bills/council tax
Not sure where that places me in terms of getting a mortgage or for how much?
Worth buying something and considering selling in the next few years if I move?
Perhaps once purchased it would make a good rental/income opportunity should we decide to move elsewhere?
Would appreciate all comments/opinions. Unfortunately, regarding these matters I am somewhat clueless. Much better with medical issues!
TIA
£180k and repayment mortgage only.
You have similar income and deposit to my brother.
Although gone are the days of interest only mortgage, decent tracker ones and small deposit.
My brother pays the same as I do in mortgage and my place is nearly worth twice as much.
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
You have similar income and deposit to my brother.
Although gone are the days of interest only mortgage, decent tracker ones and small deposit.
My brother pays the same as I do in mortgage and my place is nearly worth twice as much.
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
Du1point8 said:
£180k and repayment mortgage only.
You have similar income and deposit to my brother.
Although gone are the days of interest only mortgage, decent tracker ones and small deposit.
My brother pays the same as I do in mortgage and my place is nearly worth twice as much.
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
So as a maximum, mortgage offered is 6x deposit (or is that too simplistic a view)?You have similar income and deposit to my brother.
Although gone are the days of interest only mortgage, decent tracker ones and small deposit.
My brother pays the same as I do in mortgage and my place is nearly worth twice as much.
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
My gf was (very) lucky, her dad paid the deposit, iirc close to 100k.
As a ballpark, for a property as you mentioned above, how much would the monthly mortgage repayment be?
Would it be sensible to buy now or continue saving for a couple more years? My understanding is that it's better to shake the FTB 'stigma' asap.
Mattt said:
Drop PHer Scotal a mail, he's the man for helpful mortgage advice
Thanks! Must be too much medicine on my mind at the mo as I read his username as 'scrotal'. 
g3org3y said:
Du1point8 said:
£180k and repayment mortgage only.
You have similar income and deposit to my brother.
Although gone are the days of interest only mortgage, decent tracker ones and small deposit.
My brother pays the same as I do in mortgage and my place is nearly worth twice as much.
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
So as a maximum, mortgage offered is 6x deposit (or is that too simplistic a view)?You have similar income and deposit to my brother.
Although gone are the days of interest only mortgage, decent tracker ones and small deposit.
My brother pays the same as I do in mortgage and my place is nearly worth twice as much.
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
My gf was (very) lucky, her dad paid the deposit, iirc close to 100k.
As a ballpark, for a property as you mentioned above, how much would the monthly mortgage repayment be?
Would it be sensible to buy now or continue saving for a couple more years? My understanding is that it's better to shake the FTB 'stigma' asap.
Mattt said:
Drop PHer Scotal a mail, he's the man for helpful mortgage advice
Thanks! Must be too much medicine on my mind at the mo as I read his username as 'scrotal'. He is looking to pay £800+ a month... my advice to him was get interest only as its a minimum repayment of £450-500, you choose to either pay that or pay the £800 a month as if it was repayment.
I also advised him to get 2 bed as he can then have a tenant in there which will also help his mortgage repayments.
scotal said:
Du1point8 said:
Brokers won't usually touch you as FTB (another mate just bought and told me this) so you might as well go to your bank and ask them,
That, is total utter b
ks, I have no idea why your mate was told that.You are in a pretty nice position there, I wish I had your problem!
My view on it is that you are likely to want to move again in less than three years; at a 6 times salary multiple, and I guess your gross is around £36k, you are looking at a £250k house - so stamp duty is going to be 1%, or £2500 for that. If you pop over £250k then it goes to 3%, getting you a £7500 bill. Without taking solictor's fees and moving expenses into account, that's a big chunk of money to drop on something you'll be selling in the short term, and probably not at a profit. If it's over £250k you'll probably spend more on buying the property than you will on rental for the next two years.
It may be an idea to think about where you'd like to move after qualifying - perhaps getting a property there and letting it out for now so that by the time you want to move there you already have a property, and the mortgage has a big chunk paid out of it.
My view on it is that you are likely to want to move again in less than three years; at a 6 times salary multiple, and I guess your gross is around £36k, you are looking at a £250k house - so stamp duty is going to be 1%, or £2500 for that. If you pop over £250k then it goes to 3%, getting you a £7500 bill. Without taking solictor's fees and moving expenses into account, that's a big chunk of money to drop on something you'll be selling in the short term, and probably not at a profit. If it's over £250k you'll probably spend more on buying the property than you will on rental for the next two years.
It may be an idea to think about where you'd like to move after qualifying - perhaps getting a property there and letting it out for now so that by the time you want to move there you already have a property, and the mortgage has a big chunk paid out of it.
To the OP
Taking into consideration your situation, i would carry on renting for the next 1-2 years.
Squirrel away as much as you can to enhance your future deposit (maybe into a tax efficient vehicle i.e. ISA) and when you and the other half decide on where you want to go, you will be 2 steps ahead with a chunky deposit to whack down.
Don't get too hung up on pulling the trigger ASAP, your mobility seems more important in this instance.
Taking into consideration your situation, i would carry on renting for the next 1-2 years.
Squirrel away as much as you can to enhance your future deposit (maybe into a tax efficient vehicle i.e. ISA) and when you and the other half decide on where you want to go, you will be 2 steps ahead with a chunky deposit to whack down.
Don't get too hung up on pulling the trigger ASAP, your mobility seems more important in this instance.
davepoth said:
You are in a pretty nice position there, I wish I had your problem!
It can be a nice position but I must admit, the saving has been hard work. There are so many 'you know you want to' threads in General gassing that have been so so tempting, especially an E36 M3.Still got the old 325i (had for 3 yrs), crap PAYG phone, 10 y/o laptop, no Sky, budget Casio £12.99 watch etc. Don't get me wrong, we go on holidays, go out for dinner etc but I don't have any fancy modern toys/fun stuff.
davepoth said:
My view on it is that you are likely to want to move again in less than three years; at a 6 times salary multiple, and I guess your gross is around £36k, you are looking at a £250k house - so stamp duty is going to be 1%, or £2500 for that. If you pop over £250k then it goes to 3%, getting you a £7500 bill. Without taking solictor's fees and moving expenses into account, that's a big chunk of money to drop on something you'll be selling in the short term, and probably not at a profit. If it's over £250k you'll probably spend more on buying the property than you will on rental for the next two years.
It may be an idea to think about where you'd like to move after qualifying - perhaps getting a property there and letting it out for now so that by the time you want to move there you already have a property, and the mortgage has a big chunk paid out of it.
For all the good points about medicine, stability in the early years is not one of them. General practice is better than many other specialties but it's still not great. Even harder when you're other half is in a similar situation.It may be an idea to think about where you'd like to move after qualifying - perhaps getting a property there and letting it out for now so that by the time you want to move there you already have a property, and the mortgage has a big chunk paid out of it.
cinque said:
To the OP
Taking into consideration your situation, i would carry on renting for the next 1-2 years.
Squirrel away as much as you can to enhance your future deposit (maybe into a tax efficient vehicle i.e. ISA) and when you and the other half decide on where you want to go, you will be 2 steps ahead with a chunky deposit to whack down.
Don't get too hung up on pulling the trigger ASAP, your mobility seems more important in this instance.
I certainly see where you're coming from.Taking into consideration your situation, i would carry on renting for the next 1-2 years.
Squirrel away as much as you can to enhance your future deposit (maybe into a tax efficient vehicle i.e. ISA) and when you and the other half decide on where you want to go, you will be 2 steps ahead with a chunky deposit to whack down.
Don't get too hung up on pulling the trigger ASAP, your mobility seems more important in this instance.
I just get the feeling my money isn't 'working' for me at the moment. Spend all that cash on rent and very little to show for it. With the way rotations have gone, staying in Essex for a full three years feels 'long term' (early rotations are only a year).
If I were to buy a 2 bed flat, I could easily find another tenant, charge £400/month and that'd cover all the bills and perhaps some of the mortgage.
I suppose I'm just getting saving apathy at the moment, can be a little demoralising
Mattt said:
Alternatively, if you've worked hard for your money, why not enjoy it?
Savings pay pitiful interest at the moment, if you don't need it why not put the capital into a depreciation-proof car and enjoy life while you can?
You are very right and it's something I've also considered. However cars have a tendancy to haemorrhage cash very easily especially when it's something exotic. Better the devil you know and all that. Savings pay pitiful interest at the moment, if you don't need it why not put the capital into a depreciation-proof car and enjoy life while you can?
g3org3y said:
Still got the old 325i (had for 3 yrs), crap PAYG phone, 10 y/o laptop, no Sky, budget Casio £12.99 watch etc. Don't get me wrong, we go on holidays, go out for dinner etc but I don't have any fancy modern toys/fun stuff.
10 year old laptop...Isn't that called an abacus?!
raptor600 said:
10 year old laptop...
Isn't that called an abacus?!
Isn't that called an abacus?!
Actually it's the lap top I had from first year of university.Tiny, 2.4GHz Pentium 4. I can't remember how much RAM. Something like 250GB HDD. The sound doesn't work (internal issue). I spilt tea on it recently and the keyboard is utterly b
ksed. As such I use it with a cheapo USB keyboard from ASDA. Battery doesn't work so has to be plufgged in all the time. To be fair it works, runs Windows XP. Starts up quickly and is quite adequate for Internet Explorer/Chrome and Microsoft Office. The only issue is watching porn with no sound but I'm used to that! Plus if you run anything too intensive (eg virus scan) it overheats and turns off. Oh well.
g3org3y said:
Actually it's the lap top I had from first year of university.Tiny, 2.4GHz Pentium 4. I can't remember how much RAM. Something like 250GB HDD. The sound doesn't work (internal issue). I spilt tea on it recently and the keyboard is utterly b
ksed. As such I use it with a cheapo USB keyboard from ASDA. Battery doesn't work so has to be plufgged in all the time. To be fair it works, runs Windows XP. Starts up quickly and is quite adequate for Internet Explorer/Chrome and Microsoft Office. The only issue is watching porn with no sound but I'm used to that! Plus if you run anything too intensive (eg virus scan) it overheats and turns off. Oh well.
Scrimping is great, and you've done well to get a big desposit so quickly, but compromising your porn experience is excessive.Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff