Good news and bad news

[azzy_wazzy]

Phew there's a lot going on in the Wazzy household at the moment... Mainly, the mister and I are in the process of purchasing our very first place together (well I say "our"... tis all in my name heehee ) and I should hear this week as to whether they're going to let me have the mortgage I need to get the place!

Anyone who knows anything about house prices in the UK knows that they are extortionate, and being only 45 minutes north of London, means that we get impacted here. We're buying a lovely little flat on a new-build with garden and lake view (oooh get me ) at the SHOCKING price of £123,000 - and it's only a one bed. Normally it would be completely unaffordable, however it is a shared ownership property which means I only have to buy a bit of it (40%) in this case, and pay a small amount of rent on the rest - so owning somewhere, is actually as cheap as where we rent at the moment.

Now, of course, as great as it is going to be for us to own our own place etc, it does of course mean, that my gear buying capabilities are going to be badly affected for a little while. Whilst I have been able to soothe my BAS recently by purchasing an Albert Lee, it has a few too many strings and it doesn't cure my need for better amplification.

So my dilemma is not knowing whether to:

a) ask you for good vibes to help me get my mortgage so it stops all the sleepless nights and nightmares I've been having about it and moving - esp as if this falls through, it's our only to buy gone for a while, or,

b) ask for BAD vibes so the sale falls through and I can afford money for new gear Of course this means the £850-odd I've paid in fees so far goes down the toilet, but hey

Bit of a pointless post really... but they do say a problem shared is a problem halved - not too sure how it works in this case, but I've managed to drive Trev crazy with my worrying and now he is worrying too

On the up-side, I did buy myself a pasta machine the other day and I can now make wicked pasta, however that doesn't stop me NEEDING new gear lol

So um, yeah, I guess I am asking for good, positive, mortgage vibes, as once I have procured the necessary funds, there's nothing that can stop it happening (well bar natural disasters and acts of God, but hey..)

Anyhow I'm going to calm my shredded nerves by making some more pasta... tagiatelle anyone?

 

[Spudmurphy]

Azzy - I've owned a property for 30 years now and thank goodness that I only have 2 more years left on this property's mortgage!

I do remember buying my first house ( a 2 bed semi new build) for £13000, my goodness what they are going for now! When I bought it with my wife we also had to borrow money from the outlaws in addition to our mortgage.
Boy was it tough!! - so tough we didn't have money to go on a honeymoon.
We were offered use of a cottage in North Wales but couldn't even afford the petrol to get up there. After the wedding there was a party in my Mam and Dads house (we were at our house doing .... things !!!) . All my band were at my Mam's at the party,and my guitar case was leaning up against the wall - my Mam got all tearful saying that seeing the case reminded her of an Irish Wake ha!! They all had a whip 'round and drove up to our house and posted about £30 through the door so we could go on honeymoon!!

Azzy - go for it, you can always get a great Bass rig again - just stick with what you have or have a look at the Bass combos on Thomann web site. - 65 watt bass Combo £78!!!

Azzy it's a great feeling to own your own property instead of renting.
There is no other option - go for the house!!!

 

[bassmonkey]

If it is going to be such a stretch for you that life will become miserable, why bother?

You'll only "own" (ie be in debt to the bank) 40% of the place, but have all the downsides that come with ownership, ie be liable for repairs, service charge on the building, share of bills for the building repairs with other residents etc.

It's the British disease I fear.

 

[azzy_wazzy]

You'll only "own" (ie be in debt to the bank) 40% of the place, but have all the downsides that come with ownership, ie be liable for repairs, service charge on the building, share of bills for the building repairs with other residents etc.

Thankfully part of the service charge does include a "sink fund" for building repairs so that we won't be liable

It will undoubtedly be a stretch for a year or so as I'm sure you know what legal costs are like (how it can be as much as what I'm being asked for when we're first timers and there's no chain and it's a new build, I don't know!) - but if we're being realistic our musical desires are quite luxurious really and justifying that amount on money in place of say, buying a new carpet, is a bit tough

I'm certainly hoping that we won't be miserable long term - but I think you are spot on with the "British disease" comment - last time house prices were reasonable, I wasn't even old enough to buy somewhere! It's either stretch for it now, or see prices continue to rise by stupid amounts per month! Sucks either way I think

 

[Straight UP]

Buy The Flat!!!

Azzy--
I'm in Ontario Canada..Housing cost's here are out of sight.
The wife and I are in our 2nd home together with the mortage to prove it..
You can not make a better choice than to own your own home..
We were quite nerve racked about the first home and it was tough for the first couple of years..then it got better and proceeded to get better as time went along.. We had no nerves at all when we decided we had out grown that 1st home and wanted something bigger.. We are now in a 4 level back split home, I might add I have more gear now than I ever had in my whole life.. Most stored in the garage, some in the basement and some at our practice site.. I even used money made from playing with my old gear to put furniture in that 1st home..

So buy that Flat and don't ever look back.
Good luck and best wishes on the mortage..

 

[Bungo]

Hey Azzy

You go for it girl!

I'm about 14 years into this house ownership thing and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's when the kids arrive that the money really starts evaporating!!!!


PS: I just booked a ticket for the Spurts match on the 4th March. Not really sure why - possibly just to see our relegation confirmed? Ho hum!

 

[bassmonkey]

It's either stretch for it now, or see prices continue to rise by stupid amounts per month! Sucks either way I think

Tell me to shut up if I'm out of line, I won't be offended, but there seemed to be an element of doubt in your first post, and I just want to present a different argument.

It's one bedroom, right? You and Trevor are married, so presumably you will be planning on children in a few years? What will you do then in a one bedroomed flat where you own 40%?

Do you think prices will just rise and rise? How will that work when the majority of first time buyers are priced out, and rents on new BTL don't even cover an IO mortgage? Something has to give. Look what happened between 1989 and 1996.

You're making a huge commitment, make sure you have covered all the angles. There is an oversupply of new build "luxury apartments", if there is a downturn in the housing market, these are likely to be hardest hit. Who owns the negative equity in your case if that happens?

 

[kompressaur]

I had to sell my house a couple of years back when my marriage went tits up and I've no chance of getting back on the property ladder again anytime soon.House prices have inflated so quickly up here in Scotland its not funny.
my 3 bed semi ..bought it for 32k in 1998.sold it for 80k in 2005 and now the same house has just gone back up on the market at offers over 100k...what gives?
I'm just glad my brother gave me somewhere to stay so I can indulge in a couple of years spent pandering to my incurable GAS.but now I have to start thinking about TVs,fridges and the like as I yearn for my own place again.its gonna real eat me having to pay the crazy rent prices on private rented accomodation but with the local authority selling off most of its properties I dont see an alternative.Azzy I feel your pain...its bad enough up here but house prices down your way are extortionate I know
still,theres no doubt that owning your own place is better than renting...plus you can cook pasta hundreds of different ways if things get tight.
Komp

 

[bassmonkey]

I feel your pain...its bad enough up here but house prices down your way are extortionate I know

Komp

Look around, the North South divide in house prices no longer exists. What does that tell you about the market?*


*Hint:the answer has more to do with the availability of cheap credit than the inherent value of bricks and mortar.

 

[azzy_wazzy]

Tell me to shut up if I'm out of line, I won't be offended, but there seemed to be an element of doubt in your first post, and I just want to present a different argument.

It's one bedroom, right? You and Trevor are married, so presumably you will be planning on children in a few years? What will you do then in a one bedroomed flat where you own 40%?

Do you think prices will just rise and rise? How will that work when the majority of first time buyers are priced out, and rents on new BTL don't even cover an IO mortgage? Something has to give. Look what happened between 1989 and 1996.

You're making a huge commitment, make sure you have covered all the angles. There is an oversupply of new build "luxury apartments", if there is a downturn in the housing market, these are likely to be hardest hit. Who owns the negative equity in your case if that happens?

Don't worry mate - you're not out of line!

As far as munchkins go, there are no plans for mini-Trevs or Azzys for a while yet - I am only 22 and have no such plans for several years at least! Think I need to grow up a tad first

Completely get where you are coming from re: price crash - thankfully, the ways it works with this property, is if I wish to buy more shares (which I would do when I add the mister to the mortgage in a few years), is they work out the value of the part I don't own, based on the overall current market value of the property. So if prices go up, I have to pay proportionately more for the shares I want, if prices go down, and 60% is worth less in 2 years time than it is now, I manage to get it at a cheaper rate. If prices do fall however, my 40% will fall by the relevant amount, so I guess it is a 50/50 risk split between ourselves and the housing association. Although I'm hoping that if prices do come down/crash, I can make the most of it to purchase the other 60% at likely less than I have paid for the current 40%.

But it IS still a big risk - but I'm hoping a smaller risk by purchasing now, rather than in a few years time when prices are higher. But without a crystal ball, who knows?

But I'm jumping the gun here - I need to hope Nationwide love me first

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Azzy

I just booked a ticket for the Spurts match on the 4th March. Not really sure why - possibly just to see our relegation confirmed? Ho hum!

Oh well, if they can beat Cardiff 4 - 0 then they should bounce back to the premiership.
We had two sent off yesterday by a Premiership ref - I saw the 2 incidents on the TV
man that ref should be sent off - really bad decisions!!

 

[bassmonkey]

Completely get where you are coming from re: price crash - thankfully, the ways it works with this property, is if I wish to buy more shares (which I would do when I add the mister to the mortgage in a few years), is they work out the value of the part I don't own, based on the overall current market value of the property. So if prices go up, I have to pay proportionately more for the shares I want, if prices go down, and 60% is worth less in 2 years time than it is now, I manage to get it at a cheaper rate. If prices do fall however, my 40% will fall by the relevant amount, so I guess it is a 50/50 risk split between ourselves and the housing association. Although I'm hoping that if prices do come down/crash, I can make the most of it to purchase the other 60% at likely less than I have paid for the current 40%.

But it IS still a big risk - but I'm hoping a smaller risk by purchasing now, rather than in a few years time when prices are higher. But without a crystal ball, who knows?

Sounds like you've thought a lot about this and covered all the angles.

Best of luck to you both. Enjoy the new place.

 

[tombboy]

I would sell everything.... MM's included (shock/horror) if it meant I could take a step to the life I wish to achieve. After all, guitars, sentiments aside, are material things and can be resourced again when money is no object.
Some things in life are far more important.
A subjective point of view by the way, so if you feel differently.... ah well.

 

[Bungo]

Oh well, if they can beat Cardiff 4 - 0 then they should bounce back to the premiership.
We had two sent off yesterday by a Premiership ref - I saw the 2 incidents on the TV
man that ref should be sent off - really bad decisions!!

Can't beat anybody at the moment. Current bunch of wasters will struggle badly in the Coco Pops Championship too!

 

[oldbluebassman]

Go for it Azzy. I remember doing 3 jobs for a while to save up the deposit and legal fees for buying my first 3-bed semi for £5995. It's wasn't easy. Times were really tough when infaltion was galloping away in the 70s and the mortagage went up to 15% for a while. I'm at the end now as I paid my mortage off a few years ago. What I live in is all mine and I don't regret it one bit. It will be my grandchildren's inheritance.

 

[roballanson]

Forget living near North London - move to Norwich, live in the sticks and save some dosh....raise wains in the corn fields and the great golden stretchs of beach, and you are only 2hrs by train to the big smoke.


Good luck Azzy......

 

[AnthonyD]

I remember buying my first house - I looked at the numbers, said to my wife there is no way we're going be able to afford this and no bank in their right mind would approve our mortgage.

Mortgage approved, house bought, and we managed just fine - I suspect most of us have a similar story.

Good luck - it's a major but necessary step in the right direction!

 

[SteveB]

Azzy, there's still a chain of ownership for the land upon which the building stands.

That's the downside about land.. they're not making any more of it. (In fact, we'll soon have a lot less, if you're into Global Warming. )

Owning your own place is great, though. I bought my first house when I was 24 and single. It was a little scary at first, wondering how I'd manage the mortgage, utilities, and any repairs that came along. It all works out in the end though!

 

[adouglas]

Prices are high everywhere in the developed world.

I live about an hour from New York City. My house, built in the 1920s, on a 50x100-foot lot in a working-class neighborhood in the least desirable town in my county (one of the most expensive counties in the US), with a lovely view of the back of a warehouse (lake? PFEH!) is worth somewhere between $225000 and $250000 US.

A lake view is worth HUGE amounts of money here.

 

[RitchieDarling]

Hmmmmmm...........

Hey Azzy_Wazzy! I'll sell you my house! £100,000 all in!

4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1700 square feet......It's lovely........

But the commute to London will kill you!

Ritchie