House Prices

[Lanavalentine]

Yep @heretoreaditall2019 one of our ISAs is stocks & shares, although my partner is the one who manages that one. I’m going to read up on Crypto. Thanks!

 

[JoeBloggs]

A friend looked at buying a house on my street, literally a few doors down from me. It has gone for at least £70,000 more than I paid for mine 4 years ago.. even taking into account the average rise of house prices in our area of the uk, offers have gone way past that. I can’t imagine the mortgage valuation would be approved but even if it was I’d be terrified of ending up in negative equity. It really is madness at the moment.

Lenders valuation compared to what buyer will pay aren’t always the same. If people are over paying it doesn’t make it actually worth anymore to the bank.

 

[Homebird44]

My

I had no idea how much things normally cost. He re wired our house and he said that alone can cost thousands. I say he is brilliant, but i have some GHD straighteners that are fucked and ive been waiting years for him to fix!! but he is just one of these annoying people that can do pretty much anything, but he is a good guy and will do anything to help anyone which has been really useful when we needed a plumber to come in and he just got one of his friends to do it. I am the complete opposite of him! im pretty much useless at anything other than my actual job!

I have loved reading this thread and finding out more about houses, and i also hate to have to admit to my partner that he is correct when it comes to council houses/ new builds!! lol

My house is ex local authority. The rooms are a good size and its solid. I wouldn't buy a new build. There are 150 houses on my street and its really green, it was an apple orchard and woodland, such a nice family area. I love this thread too, good to see different points of view.

 

[Moe]

Brighton did fall in 2008, by 20% at the most from land registry figures. But with all the printing of money it bounced back, graph from land registry below:

But much of London and the south east stoped increasing a few years ago. People were already tapped out even before covid. So I really wouldn't rush into anything at all if you're boring a large amount of money.

View attachment 200780

That’s interesting seeing that graph. It certainly didn’t feel like it dropped at the time especially in the areas I was looking at.
Will be interesting to see what they try to throw at it this time round.

 

[Yel]

Wow that sounds crazy, that's not happening in SE England.

Don't people have to put down a deposit in Scotland to secure it? So these offers accepted actually mean something?

 

[TheWitchIsBack]

Don’t do it. You need to look at it in person to check circuit boards and boilers and cracks, that you won’t see in a virtual tour.

Yeah, would never in a million years encourage this. In Scotland there’s additional protection with a home report but even that would still make me nervous.

 

[Lanavalentine]

Our local market has seen a drastic fall in houses coming to market but, prices are still ridiculous for the houses. Way overpriced for many.

This is similar to our local market.

A house we viewed back in June that was on for £850k came back on the market two weeks ago... listed at £975k! It’s gone from RightMove etc very quickly so I can only assume someone offered on it. I’d like to know what the offer was I personally didn’t think it was worth the £850k!

I did worry a bit if we were doing the right thing in buying a new house during the pandemic, but now I’m extremely glad we did. I think if we’d waited even a few months, we’d have ended up stuck because nothing suitable is coming on the market anymore here, and if the house I mentioned above is anything to go by, EAs are squeezing all they can out of the rare house that does pop up!

 

[Allthevest20]

Aw I'm glad you got yourself sorted. It is really hard to buy a house and you did what you thought was right so don't beat yourself about it. Please may I ask what percentage did you initially buy your share for and what percentage would you like to buy? You don't have to share! Just interested to see how people work this scheme out.

Heya I'm on 50/50. I do have to maintain but for the first 2 years the house was under a warrantee so alot got fixed from that and all gas/fire checks are done annually by the HA who own the other half but I would like to own outright one day so I am trying to save what I can to do so. I find mortgages bizarre as if I can afford shared ownership why can't I afford a mortgage (which i could). But yeah was this or homeless. I know what I'd prefer

 

[AllSeeingEye123]

You can't get a decent family home for less than £300k and that's in Yorkshire.

I live in Yorkshire in a decent area, three bedroom on a quiet street with two gardens worth half that amount so it's possible.

 

[JoeBloggs]

We’re currently going through this in Ireland & they go back 9. I believe in the UK you & your accountants have to keep everything for 6 years as HMRC can review you at any point but for deprivation of assets it’s a 7 year viewback from death, but I can’t help but suspect they’ll look into something as substantial as transferring a house regardless of time elapsed? Assuming these time frames have been set to consider the manpower it takes to trawl through years of bank accounts versus the payoff from these investigations, but with something as huge and as documented as a house transfer surely that would always be of interest? I’m ridiculously risk averse though, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for fear they’d be coming for me!

They can't go back further that 7 years because it is not against the law (in the UK) and not seen as avoiding tax. You can transfer your home to anyone you like, if you die within 7 years tax is liable, if you don't it isn't. There has to be a cut off.

We have just done probate in Ireland and that is a completely different kettle of fish, they like to go back years and we had to provide all sorts of proof.

 

[fireflies]

Yeah we were planning to buy this summer if we found anything but we're most likely going to play the waiting game now, unless something magically undervalued comes up and ticks most the boxes! We have 25% deposit (of the house prices we are looking at) and are first time buyers but unfortunately, our income isn't as high as it needs to be right now to qualify for the mortgage we want, partly because of Covid but also because I'm doing my masters so part time. I doubt many banks will be lending us much now either as our mortgage in principle expires in a month.
September 2021, I'll get back on it then.

Keep plugging away at it took just over a year get good mortgage even with 22% deposit.
We also changed mortgage broker
Brought on 1 income
Were reasonably flexible on area.
When the 1st house fell through we were gutted the old couple just changed their mind.
It took over a month find house we live in now and when we went back the 2nd house was cheaper and the mortgage rate slightly better plus 1k cashback from halifax.

 

[Italy2]

It doesn't seem that house prices are decreasing. The market appears stagnant now. Lots of houses going on market in my town but they dont seem to be selling yet

 

[Tublet83]

We’re looking to move next year before my son starts school in September. I have no idea when we should list our current house for sale? Last time we were first time buyers so I’ve never sold before.

We did consider a new build so we could part exchange but I’m not keen on the development that’s in the area we want to live in.

If your trying to move into a new catchment area applications are open sept - jan and if it’s a popular area you will have needed to have exchanged/moved before applications close to ensure you get a place in the catchment area

 

[Sunflower91]

I do a fair bit of predictive modelling but the housing market is really difficult to predict at the moment. For the current period it’s not going to change much due to furlough, closures etc. The period after is anyone’s guess
-prices could remain stable because no one wants to move until they’re sure there will be no disruptions
-prices could rise due to something like people not wanting to sell because they’re anticipating negative equity/ a housing crash. Those willing to sell can drive up prices because available property is less than the demand
-prices could drop- I know this sounds morbid but the volume in deaths will likely increase the number of available properties. A drop can be caused by an increase in availability combined with a decrease in demand.
If it were just those variables alone then it makes things simpler but it’s all tied to extra variables and outcomes. Like the economy etc. And is region specific.
For now there’s no harm in waiting and building your deposit. At least then you’re ready to buy and can get in the ladder at a time that’s an advantage to you.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Are you stuck in a time warp?

The wishful thinking 3 months ago of a V shaped recession and prices not falling is dead in the water. Even the most biased opinions are predicting a deep recession and double digit falling prices this year.

I completely disagree. By the end of the year the economy will be going full steam.
Let’s revisit this conversation on 11 Nov 2020, set your calendar . I might end up eating a hat!

 

[Giggling Squid]

Depends on what they’re planning to do and the state of the bathroom as a whole...
If they would redo it themselves quickly after purchasing then as long as it’s only costmekc damage it shouldn’t be a problem. However if it’s either caused structural damage or potential buyers would be planning to use the bathroom as is for a longer period then I can see it would be a deal breaker

 

[Boutros-Boutros Ghali]

If theyve 1.5 mill in the bank they wont get free care in Scotland. Also they do check back years if youve gifted it away. My grandmother had to use savings / sell her property to pay for her nursing home care.

They do check back but only as far as can be considered reasonable so if it’s a couple of years fair enough but if it’s 20 I think they’d struggle. But again by the time they need it it’s likely the rules will have changed again.

 

[idk2]

If I can give you some unsolicited advice, don’t get drawn into a silly bidding war. As you say, silly offers are likely to fall through, and although I understand the market is really busy in places right now, I don’t think it will stay that way for long... so best to hold out and stick to being sensible.

Also, not saying you’re doing this but anyone offering over asking price based on stamp duty savings is the biggest fool going! No way will people offering now make it in time to get the discount (maybe if you’re a cash buyer and no chain, but otherwise, no!).

For reference: we sold our house in July, offered on one the same month but that fell through (not on our end), offer accepted on another in the first week of September and we’ve only just exchanged! Veerrry difficult chain admittedly (a couple of divorcing couples, some multi-millionaires at the top of the chain who just took the piss) but also a LOT of delays in conveyancing, registry etc. It hasn’t been fun.

A lot of the houses we viewed but didn’t offer on seem to have gone on and off the market a couple of times (does anyone else still look at Rightmove everyday even when they’ve offered and bought a new place??!! It’s an addiction!). A lot of the overpriced properties which we didn’t even bother with have sat stagnant and reduced their asking price every couple of months, too.

I wonder what will happen now that mortgage LTV is more or less back to normal?

Anyway, good luck to anyone about to embark on their house selling/buying journey, I think you’ll need bags of patience at the very least!

Thank you for the advice! No, definitely no bidding wars here. For all the properties (three) we've offered on so far in the last 2 years, we've made it clear this is our first and last offer so don't want to hear about making another one. Thankfully my dad has been doing the talking on behalf, otherwise, I would be living in a 500k shed by now

I'm a first-time buyer so I'm hoping to sway the seller by saying there's no chain and I'm not in any rush to move so no deadline for him either. A lot of the properties we have been beaten out on are well over asking price - we checked one the other day, it was sold in Oct 2020 for 425k but was on at the time for 305k!

We were planning on waiting until the latter part of the year to look properly but the perfect house has come up so I'm rolling with it and if it doesn't pan out, no harm. I think the most annoying thing is the scrutiny on my finances. Feel like even though I've got well over the 10% deposit, I cant buy things spontaneously like I love to do. And yes, Right Move is definitely an addiction now! I'm on it constantly.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Viewed a house yesterday and got told there was 6 viewings but no one actually said they were making an offer like the majority of houses now, so she advised me to go under the asking price.

I ended up just putting in the asking price as when I spoke to them they asked for final and best offers. It’s leasehold £125 a year with 230years left.
I saw another similar house a few weeks ago but didn’t get it when I offered just above asking.

 

[Hertfordshire_home]

But where did you both live during Uni? where did you live after Uni, before you bought your flat?
it really isn’t that easy to save for the majority of people. People who from the age of 18 have had to pay their own way entirely, people who are having to pay their own rent/bills etc on low salaries, how on Earth can you claim it’s just so easy for those who only earn the minimum and when that only covers the cost of living?

you are speaking from a place of privilege, please remember that before making unfair sweeping statements like you have.

At uni I lived in halls and then rented with other students (this is why I worked part time during uni). After uni I lived at home for 1 year, paying £300 a
Month to live at home (cheaper than renting granted but still led to having to choose where to spend money). I then rented for two years but chose a cheap little 1 bed flat because I had no need for anything bigger and wanted to save more.

I’ve worked since I was 14 (paper round). I was earning £40 a week from doing that and covering the odd round, plus I worked in a supermarket for 10-20 hours a week on top of this for 12 months. I also earnt money by going around peoples houses and asking if they had any tasks they wanted doing (anything from gardening, housework or cleaning cars) when I had time.