The housing market...

LuttiS

So I've scrimped and saved for quite a while. Haven't been on holiday for years, NGDs don't really happen, NAD a while ago was a broken fixer upper etc.. TLDR: I don't spend much.

Our current dream/goal is to own our own house. 

So as of recently me and Wifey added up what we had saved and turns out we have in the region of a £20k deposit. Which is quite a nice surprise since we have been living like paupers for many years. 

Went to look at a house this weekend. It was a wreck on the inside, looks ex-rental, doodling on the walls, those fucking live/love/bollocks stickers adorning all the walls, no carpets and shitty floorboards upstairs and really bad laminate downstairs.. kitchen not really viable, cracked doors/window.. you get the picture.. a bit of a dooer upper, but majority cosmetic, nothing a weekend or two with some pals couldn't sort out. 

Overall, i think it was priced too much for what needs doing, but it  seemed to be a selling point.. "This place is a dump, so you can rebuild it as YOU want!"


We went to visit it at 9.15am on Saturday morning after it had been up for 2 days. Two families had already been to visit before us. 

I read that currently there are 12 people wanting up buy each property available. 

In our area there are two potential (this one included) properties in our price bracket. We questioned the estate agent about the lack of 3 bed houses in this bracket in our (north wales) area. The answer: Brexit. 

I'm not so sure about that, but she sounded confident, and i didn't really want to get in an argument with the lady showing us around, as to whether brexit was entirely to blame for people not selling their 3 bed semi's in north wales in our price bracket.


So my question for discussion.. what the fuck is going on?

I've noticed 5yr fixed rate mortgages are disappearing... looking at prices based on a year ago, the extra money we've saved means we not necesarrily getting a "bigger" deposit, just matching (barely) the increased price of houses %wise.. 

Personally, i'd rather wait, save more and not maximise my mortgage, but based on way things are going i'm worried waiting and saving will put me in almost a worse position than just going for it?

Anyone have thoughts, opinions, actual facts?

Ta

Phil_aka_Pip

I'm no expert on the housing market, but I'd wager that anyone blaming "Brexit" for your apparent inability to buy property of the right kind is a REMOANER.

boogieman

We get repeated stories in the local paper that house prices are stagnating or actually dropping in value and getting harder to sell. I’ve seen no evidence of this at all. Recently the old lady across the road from us died. Her family put her place on the market. It’s a two bed bungalow, clean but dated, probably needs a at least a good few thou spending on it to update the heating/ electrics/insulation etc, plus it really could do with an updated kitchen and bathroom...again they’re clean and usable but very dated. The garden is about 150 foot long but because it’s between two corner plots, is very narrow and tapers down to about 4 foot wide at the bottom, so a lot of it isn’t particularly usable. It sold within two days. For half a million quid. 

Personally I’d get in while you can, I can’t see property getting any cheaper, Brexit or not. 

WezV

If your plan is to get on the ladder, do it as soon as you can

lovestrat74

Sounds to me like a moneypit. Be careful because what you might think will take a few mates, a few weekends to "fix up" will more than likely take a good few months and a good few grand!

Sounds like you need, new kitchen, new windows, new flooring. Bathroom? What's the boiler like? Condition of wiring, roof etc??? Then there is all the paint, filler, sandpaper, soft furnishings, not to mention all the tools to do the job.

I know it is difficult, but try not to rush in, head over heart

Good Luck!

richardhomer

There is a shortfall in building new homes of around 200,000 units per year - hence supply is at historically low-levels.

Until there are more houses to buy, only a fortunate few will be able to afford them. 

I don’t see this changing soon - so would advise anyone to buy now if they can.

Garthy

3 bed houses have ALWAYS been a rare commodity around here. 

A friend of mine refused to pay over £100k for a 3 bed semi with only one bathroom in 1998 and said he’d wait for this madness to correct itself. Those houses are now £400k and he is still in his flat.

Lodious

I'd heard the opposite from someone who is looking to buy at the moment, His EA had said that the value of 3 bed houses had dropped because of Brexit (that said, looking on Rightmove, I'm not sure that is correct, so probably more EA BS) 

I think that house prices are moving steadily upwards, but it's not really hitting the media as it did in previous periods of house price rises. 

The economy feels like it's doing OK, and people have started to forget what happened in 2008, so more people are thinking about buying again. 

Personally, if I were you, I would not hold off, but I would not feel bounced into it as I don't think the market is that strong.Buy a house you can see yourself living in for a while (i.e.. check schools, even if you don't have kids) so if the economy takes a dive, you are still living somewhere you like.

It doesn't matter if house prices dive as long as you don't want to move!

kin

 All the new build sites going up everywhere seem to consist mainly of flats and small two bed townhouse type properties, the majority of which tend to get bought up quite quickly by investors wanting to rent them out., this takes everything back to square one.
.
I would imagine the reason nobody is building the conventional family home,three bed semi with garden is because it's cheaper to stick ten flats on the same size footprint as two semis.

octatonic

The housing market is very slow right now and will continue to be for a while yet.
People are not selling or moving because things are uncertain.
House process are either dropping or flat in most areas and housing stock is less than half what it usually is.
Most people who are selling now have to (for financial reasons or probate).

Personally I would wait a year before buying.
I expect things to drop a bit more and or possibly a lot more- we don't really know.

I do a lot of renovations- usually 3-4 a year (currently finishing one off and then doing no more for a bit).
From your description of the house it will take at least £20k to get to a decent standard.
If you want something a bit more than just 'decent' then look at £30k as a budget.

If you aren't up for that then buy something else.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

lovestrat74 said:

Sounds to me like a moneypit. Be careful because what you might think will take a few mates, a few weekends to "fix up" will more than likely take a good few months and a good few grand!

Sounds like you need, new kitchen, new windows, new flooring. Bathroom? What's the boiler like? Condition of wiring, roof etc??? Then there is all the paint, filler, sandpaper, soft furnishings, not to mention all the tools to do the job.

I know it is difficult, but try not to rush in, head over heart

Good Luck!

Sage advice here. Just because the problems with the property LOOK cosmetic only, don't be lulled into false sense of security thinking that they are the only issues. Make sure whenever you do put an offer in somewhere you get the full homebuyer's survey to rule out anything more serious. 

My brother bought a house that looked in really great nick, seemed about as perfect as he could have hoped for so pushed his budget as far as it could go. He skimped and only went for the basic survey. Within a year there were problems discovered with the extension over the garage, and damp in the chimney causing it t start crumbling. Cost £1000's to put right, he had to get extra borrowing to cover the cost.


As for the market conditions, I haven't got a clue. I got lucky and waited with my deposit for a couple of years. Economic crisis hit in 2008 and ended up saving massive amounts due to the collapse of the interest rate! You could just wait until Trumpian economics/Brexit/nuclear war/alien invasion causes the next financial crisis, and you can cash in! 

lovestrat74

Also, keep in mind 2 bed properties that have the potential to extend, either loft of double storey.  It will be cheaper in the long term to extend rather than move again.

gavin_axecaster

Do you qualify for the help to buy scheme? That could help you get on the ladder with a new build and the govt loan (20% of the value) is interest free for the first 5 years.

LuttiS

Thanks y'all

lovestrat74 said:

Sounds to me like a moneypit. Be careful because what you might think will take a few mates, a few weekends to "fix up" will more than likely take a good few months and a good few grand!

Sounds like you need, new kitchen, new windows, new flooring. Bathroom? What's the boiler like? Condition of wiring, roof etc??? Then there is all the paint, filler, sandpaper, soft furnishings, not to mention all the tools to do the job.

I know it is difficult, but try not to rush in, head over heart

Good Luck!

Wiring and boiler look ok (obv no expert.. but had a quick look - ex rental so certain standard had to be maintained) I meant couple of weekends and stuff to make it "livable" - e.g. main things i can see needing are upstairs floor, painting, kitchen and sorting broken windows. 

Kitchen has shitty cupboards and stuff, so putting in a cooker and scrubbing not a problem until we can afford complete refit. 
Downstairs laminate flooring is pretty bad, but a rug can sort that out
The walls look ok for painting, just dirty AF..  so hopefully minimal sanding etc. 

Roof looks like it's been recently done (newish tiles, no sags etc) 
We have 9yrs worth of furnishings to adorn it with.

There is a shit ton to do, but majority of it can be done over time


Tbh though, this house is an example, i would like it, but with the sheer amount of interest i think someone will take it pretty quick - and it's right at the fully mortgaged to the hilt end of the spectrum which i'm not really comfortable with. At the same time, just so few suitable houses around. 

munckee

In the south I'd say people are really struggling to sell houses same ones on rightmove every time I look.

Nitefly

It's not all doom and gloom - round here you can buy a new-build 3-bedroom semi for just under £200k, like my youngest daughter just did.

There's a 70's-built 3-bed semi down our street for £150k - just had new kitchen and bathroom, and the roof re-tiled.

The bad news is that it's Lancashire, between Wigan and Bolton.

Snags

We have some friends trying to sell around here, and according to their experience and comments from their agent the small/start stuff is turning over nicely, and the crazy money[1] places are turning over nicely, but the mid-ground stuff (3-4 bed semi/terrace/nice location) is pretty much stagnant.

Partly it's the demographic of purchasers (e.g. they had someone view who ended up spending over £100k more on a smaller property, but mostly because she was looking for her final retirement house, as it were, so couldn't manage the up-keep).

[1]In relative terms. As far as I'm concerned, where we are (Home Counties) all house prices are stark staring bonkers. Just to get a toe in the water on a basic flat you're going to need a household income of knocking on for £50k, and anywhere with any space at all is just through the roof. The number of properties at >£1m has me waiting for the knock on the door telling me I'm too much of a peasant to be allowed to live in the area and I should pack up and move out before I get disappeared.

fandango

So ....

It needs a redec throughout. With the crap on the walls and proper prep, you're looking at 2-3 days per room (paint or paper). But it's never as simple as that. However, relatively cheap and easy to do with/without friends. But you will ahve to reward them somehow (e.g the cost of a takeway night)

Carpets ... hmmmm .... do you want cheap, or are you sticklers for quality? You could do this yourself, but if you don't know what you're doing, you could easily ruin some good carpet. A decent underlay will extend the life of your carpet. Do yourself a favour and avoid cheap rubber-backed nylon carpet.

Laminate ... the success of this is in the detail. If you are diligent, another job relatively easily done. But you need the space (clear room) to do it. No easy task if you've got a lot of furniture.

Floorboards ... could be replaced by plywood. And again, you could do this yourself relatively easily. Like laminate, just make sure you have space, patience and organisation to keep a room clear until it's done. If you got a lot of furniture, you might need to shift some to temporary storage to find that space.

Kitchen ... Unless you've done a kitchen, then best leave this to someone who knows what they're doing. Doesn't matter if cheap. Worktops can be a real problem if not done properly. Budget for the white goods and extract hood. And that's the nub of whether the Kitchen is a success. Doing it yourself, you'd still need an electrician and possibly a Gas registered plumber (if you've got gas).

Budget for an electrician to sort out the electrics throughout. Ditto a Gas registered plumber to sort out the heating/hot water.

And lastly, windows. You'll need to decide what needs doing all or some - and if only some, whether you can live with unmatched windows/doors. You could end up with a dogs ear if you do this piecemeal, and you'll lose heart because it never looks right.

Oh, yes, tiling is not as difficult as you think it is. So if you need to tile kitchen/bathroom walls/floor, don't fret too much.

Assuming you give it time, the finished home depends on two things:

1. your own quality standards in colour/material choices, and diligence in workmanship
2. the amount of money you can throw at any individual room.

You (and other readers) may know all this but it pays to sit down and work it out before you start.

Here endeth the lesson in stating the obvious.

jpfamps

Estate agents aren't reknowned as being a reliable source of information.........

fandango

jpfamps said:

Estate agents aren't reknowned as being a reliable source of information.........

No ... really ... I thought they were to property wot Arfur Daley is to cars ... or, if you like, paragons of virtue. Well my world is well and truly shattered. Sigh.

LuttiS

Lots of great comments thanks. 

I think waiting is the best course of action for now. I'm not in a particularly bad situation now, i'm still able to save and not in any dire need to move.

The house i mentioned was just an example of one of the two available.. all the features and such are as an amateur sees them.

Out of curiosity (and lack of knowledge) @octatonic ; how did you get to the £20k figure. Obviously, it's what you do, so i'm not disputing it, just curious about the breakdown?
From what i can see, needs a bit of paint, bit of floors, bits of a kitchen, a window and the lawn needs mowing, which i can't see getting to £10k let alone £20k?