House Prices #2 Property market, buying and selling

Status
Thread locked. We start a new thread when they have over 1000 posts, click the blue button to see all threads for this topic and find the latest open thread.
1
Looking at property as an asset class, it has and continues to out-perform most other assets, due to low cost mortgages you can leverage your investment amount with a really cheap mortgage and have rental returns + capital growth. You can’t leverage any other asset in this way and make money from cheap borrowing.

This isn’t to demonise property investors it to point out that we have a system that allows people to grow their wealth through property as an asset class. It’s like a share that you can use 75% of someone else’s money to buy. Why wouldn’t you?!

I saw recently that 1 in 3 MPs are landlords (can’t recall if it was party specific or across the board) and I’d hedge my bets to guess they’re almost all home owners, and that’s before you start looking at party donors who will guaranteed have a bit of property in their investment portfolios, so their appetite to introduce any serious regulatory policy on second homes just isn’t there.
I think we get caught up on thinking that property = homes, when in reality, at least in this country, property = assets.

If you look up home ownership rates by country all the top ones are ex Soviet / communist countries. It was a 1980s lie that people have the right to buy a house, in a free market economy you need the means to buy an asset.
 
So best and final offers went in yesterday on the house we went to see over the weekend. We offered £15,250 over asking price but unfortunately someone has topped us ever so slightly. Honestly, the house just isn’t worth more than that imo so hopefully others will come up soon 🤞🏻 Just can’t believe how stagnant the market is round here (West Midlands).
 
Ibrokethegoddamnwheel said:
Recently I’ve seen people posting on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups asking if anyone is selling a house on or around X road in the area. Never seen it before now. Things must be bad if people are resorting to asking on social media.
Click to expand...

Probably hoping that they'll get in quicker. House prices are high enough, having to pay so much more to secure a buy won't help to prices reduce. I've just checked right move for where I live and only 3 houses have been added on in the last week.
 
Ibrokethegoddamnwheel said:
Recently I’ve seen people posting on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups asking if anyone is selling a house on or around X road in the area. Never seen it before now. Things must be bad if people are resorting to asking on social media.
Click to expand...
There is someone in my town who posts on buy and sell groups nearly every week wanting to buy a detached traditional property off market. There’s a long list of other requirements as well! Seems to have had no takers on the off market thing 🤣
 
Ibrokethegoddamnwheel said:
Recently I’ve seen people posting on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups asking if anyone is selling a house on or around X road in the area. Never seen it before now. Things must be bad if people are resorting to asking on social media.
Click to expand...

We actually sold a property to someone who put letters through the doors of every house on the road and asked on the local Facebook group. We weren't planning to sell but they made us a good offer and it was a really straightforward process.
 
House next door to my parents just sold this morning. It's a 3 bedroom semi-detached but has had no one really living in it for the past 20 years. The owner moved out at least 20 years ago and has had various relatives living in the house for short periods of time but never anything permanent. You can really see looking at the pics that it's had no one living in it. It's so dated, doesn't look in great condition. Garden is really overgrown. Asking price was £164k and it's gone this morning for £195.5k. That's 30k over asking! It's insanity. Ironically the house next door to it is also up for sale with an asking price of £185k. It's beautiful and really clear the owners have spent a lot of money decorating it and modernising things so it will be interesting to see what it goes for.
 
I had an offer accepted on a flat in Edinburgh yesterday - yay so relieved!

Then today spoke to my mortgage broker and he pointed out that the home report says it’s a flat roof and steel frame structure, so it’s classed as non standard construction and I will be limited in lenders that will lend to me and I may have to use all the cash I have (I wanted to keep some back to invest elsewhere), which I had no idea about! He came back and confirmed the max mortgage I could take would be 75% of the value of the property.

I am v lucky in that I have enough cash to put down the 25% (PLUS amount I offered over the valuation) and have no issues buying and living in the flat. My worry is when I come to sell in say 5 years time it might be an issue for buyers. Say I sell it for £260k, a buyer would need to have a deposit of at least £65k, which I feel like is more than most people looking to buy a small 2 bedroom would have?

I’m so conflicted on what to do now. The flat is so nice and I really can’t be bothered having to look again, but I’m just so nervous now.

I need to talk to the solicitor tomorrow but does anyone have any experience buying/selling/mortgaging steel framed buildings to put my mind at ease? 😭
 
justbeingnosy98 said:
I had an offer accepted on a flat in Edinburgh yesterday - yay so relieved!

Then today spoke to my mortgage broker and he pointed out that the home report says it’s a flat roof and steel frame structure, so it’s classed as non standard construction and I will be limited in lenders that will lend to me and I may have to use all the cash I have (I wanted to keep some back to invest elsewhere), which I had no idea about! He came back and confirmed the max mortgage I could take would be 75% of the value of the property.

I am v lucky in that I have enough cash to put down the 25% (PLUS amount I offered over the valuation) and have no issues buying and living in the flat. My worry is when I come to sell in say 5 years time it might be an issue for buyers. Say I sell it for £260k, a buyer would need to have a deposit of at least £65k, which I feel like is more than most people looking to buy a small 2 bedroom would have?

I’m so conflicted on what to do now. The flat is so nice and I really can’t be bothered having to look again, but I’m just so nervous now.

I need to talk to the solicitor tomorrow but does anyone have any experience buying/selling/mortgaging steel framed buildings to put my mind at ease? 😭
Click to expand...

Ouch that really is a tough one. If its not your forever home and you think you will sell on Id really think twice.

However I feel like the house market in Edinburgh is always healthy. Is the area popular? In that even the non standard construction would not people off?
 
justbeingnosy98 said:
I had an offer accepted on a flat in Edinburgh yesterday - yay so relieved!

Then today spoke to my mortgage broker and he pointed out that the home report says it’s a flat roof and steel frame structure, so it’s classed as non standard construction and I will be limited in lenders that will lend to me and I may have to use all the cash I have (I wanted to keep some back to invest elsewhere), which I had no idea about! He came back and confirmed the max mortgage I could take would be 75% of the value of the property.

I am v lucky in that I have enough cash to put down the 25% (PLUS amount I offered over the valuation) and have no issues buying and living in the flat. My worry is when I come to sell in say 5 years time it might be an issue for buyers. Say I sell it for £260k, a buyer would need to have a deposit of at least £65k, which I feel like is more than most people looking to buy a small 2 bedroom would have?

I’m so conflicted on what to do now. The flat is so nice and I really can’t be bothered having to look again, but I’m just so nervous now.

I need to talk to the solicitor tomorrow but does anyone have any experience buying/selling/mortgaging steel framed buildings to put my mind at ease? 😭
Click to expand...
Don’t buy a non standard construction I would say. If you want to, do you think it’s the kind of property a cash buyer might buy in future, if not, don’t buy. Was the construction reflected in the price? If not, run away! You should absolutely not pay the same for non standard as a comparable standard.
You are looking at buying at the absolute peak of a market, don’t compound that risk by buying a non-standard unless you don’t plan to sell for at least 7 years.

Non standard bungalows around here for instance go for 20-30% less than a comparable standard one.
 
justbeingnosy98 said:
I had an offer accepted on a flat in Edinburgh yesterday - yay so relieved!

Then today spoke to my mortgage broker and he pointed out that the home report says it’s a flat roof and steel frame structure, so it’s classed as non standard construction and I will be limited in lenders that will lend to me and I may have to use all the cash I have (I wanted to keep some back to invest elsewhere), which I had no idea about! He came back and confirmed the max mortgage I could take would be 75% of the value of the property.

I am v lucky in that I have enough cash to put down the 25% (PLUS amount I offered over the valuation) and have no issues buying and living in the flat. My worry is when I come to sell in say 5 years time it might be an issue for buyers. Say I sell it for £260k, a buyer would need to have a deposit of at least £65k, which I feel like is more than most people looking to buy a small 2 bedroom would have?

I’m so conflicted on what to do now. The flat is so nice and I really can’t be bothered having to look again, but I’m just so nervous now.

I need to talk to the solicitor tomorrow but does anyone have any experience buying/selling/mortgaging steel framed buildings to put my mind at ease? 😭
Click to expand...

Honestly, I wouldn't buy it. Everything about it is more risk and more expense - if anything happens or needs fixing, insurance will be more, repairs/maintenance could be more, on top of the hassle with the mortgage and being able to sell it on. If you're not committed to it as a long term home I'd walk away, personally.
 
justbeingnosy98 said:
I had an offer accepted on a flat in Edinburgh yesterday - yay so relieved!

Then today spoke to my mortgage broker and he pointed out that the home report says it’s a flat roof and steel frame structure, so it’s classed as non standard construction and I will be limited in lenders that will lend to me and I may have to use all the cash I have (I wanted to keep some back to invest elsewhere), which I had no idea about! He came back and confirmed the max mortgage I could take would be 75% of the value of the property.

I am v lucky in that I have enough cash to put down the 25% (PLUS amount I offered over the valuation) and have no issues buying and living in the flat. My worry is when I come to sell in say 5 years time it might be an issue for buyers. Say I sell it for £260k, a buyer would need to have a deposit of at least £65k, which I feel like is more than most people looking to buy a small 2 bedroom would have?

I’m so conflicted on what to do now. The flat is so nice and I really can’t be bothered having to look again, but I’m just so nervous now.

I need to talk to the solicitor tomorrow but does anyone have any experience buying/selling/mortgaging steel framed buildings to put my mind at ease? 😭
Click to expand...
I agree, personally I would not buy a non standard construction. It just adds so much complication to things and is a risk.
 
I agree with everyone, don't buy it. Especially if the bank already warned you that they won't lend more than 75%.

You might need the additional 25% for repairs or just to bring it back to a standard construction. It could easily turn into a money pit.

Worst, your insurance might refuse to cover it.

I am a firm believer in listening to professionals. If the surveyor's report showed the problem and your bank warned you, listen to them. It's their job to give your all the information you need to take the best decision.
 
How much more do people go in with their bids?

We can afford full asking price and even go 20k over BUT the house is worth asking price, not 20k more. We are viewing tomorrow and absolutely love it from the photos, so if we love it after viewing we will put an offer in tomorrow.Can we ask the vendor (they’re the ones showing) if they’ve had any more bids? Or is that a no go?! We sold a year ago and desperate to find somewhere now, no chain etc. just don’t know what to do for the best. We offered 35k over a house (priced lower than this one, final sale was asking price of house we are viewing tomorrow) but lost out to a cash buyer last summer. Really don’t want to go through that again!

thanks!
 
Bobbleowl90 said:
How much more do people go in with their bids?

We can afford full asking price and even go 20k over BUT the house is worth asking price, not 20k more. We are viewing tomorrow and absolutely love it from the photos, so if we love it after viewing we will put an offer in tomorrow.Can we ask the vendor (they’re the ones showing) if they’ve had any more bids? Or is that a no go?! We sold a year ago and desperate to find somewhere now, no chain etc. just don’t know what to do for the best. We offered 35k over a house (priced lower than this one, final sale was asking price of house we are viewing tomorrow) but lost out to a cash buyer last summer. Really don’t want to go through that again!

thanks!
Click to expand...
The estate agent will tell you whatever they think needs to be said to get a sale and at the highest value.

At the end of the day they work for the seller not the buyer. So I always take what they say with a huge pinch of salt
 
HoGi said:
The estate agent will tell you whatever they think needs to be said to get a sale and at the highest value.

At the end of the day they work for the seller not the buyer. So I always take what they say with a huge pinch of salt
Click to expand...
It’s the vendor showing us around rather than the agent 😬
 
Bobbleowl90 said:
How much more do people go in with their bids?

We can afford full asking price and even go 20k over BUT the house is worth asking price, not 20k more. We are viewing tomorrow and absolutely love it from the photos, so if we love it after viewing we will put an offer in tomorrow.Can we ask the vendor (they’re the ones showing) if they’ve had any more bids? Or is that a no go?! We sold a year ago and desperate to find somewhere now, no chain etc. just don’t know what to do for the best. We offered 35k over a house (priced lower than this one, final sale was asking price of house we are viewing tomorrow) but lost out to a cash buyer last summer. Really don’t want to go through that again!

thanks!
Click to expand...
If the house isn't worth more than the asking price to you, then do not go over.

All vendors will have different preferences to pick between buyers, you can ask the vendor but who is to say they are telling the truth.
 
Status
Thread locked. We start a new thread when they have over 1000 posts, click the blue button to see all threads for this topic and find the latest open thread.
Back
Top