The nervous wait to exchange....

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£800k is going rate for a lot of 4 bed houses in a decent location within half an hour of London at least on the south / south west side. You can get cheaper in Essex and not really looked North side. More than I was looking to spend at the time anyway. although with inflation I guess these houses would have been about £600-650k 6 years ago,

To be honest, none of the three options jump out at me. That's a 'good thing' in a way in the sense that you've been honest in the appraisal and called out the various flaws with each on
Neighbours having access to the garden would be very off-putting but maybe the reality isn't actually that bad, and could perhaps have the benefit of putting others off (like with the no bath situation - again my wife would baulk at the idea of a house with no bath and be scared of having to do work to put one in. Option 2 feels good from the perspective of being on a great street, good schools etc but ultimately if it is small, it's small.
 
Itchytrigg said:
Just had an offer accepted…now for the hard part I guess!

We’d offered £11k over and put us right at the top of our budget. With how other houses we missed out in had gone I didn’t think it’d be enough as the house was well presented with little/no work needed.
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We recently got ours accepted too. Hot area so houses been selling over for months.

house was up for 400k

we offered 422 initially which was not the highest so EA asked for final offers and we upped to 432 which was accepted.

going through the whole process now. It’s messy and stressful.

Nearly 10% over is crazy when you think about it but apparently that is normal. The house did seem cheap for the area as most have been listed for 425-450 so I had a feeling that it’ll go above.
 
Hi i have plans to buy my first home and wondering about he fixed term for a mortgage.

After the fixed term is over, i hear that i would be moved onto the variable rate afterwords(from what the mortgage in principle outlined) . My question is, can you switch to a different lender after the term is done or am i stuck with the same lender for the entire length of the mortgage?
 
HangTime said:
£800k is going rate for a lot of 4 bed houses in a decent location within half an hour of London at least on the south / south west side.

To be honest, none of the three options jump out at me. That's a 'good thing' in a way in the sense that you've been honest in the appraisal and called out the various flaws with each on
Neighbours having access to the garden would be very off-putting but maybe the reality isn't actually that bad, and could perhaps have the benefit of putting others off (like with the no bath situation - again my wife would baulk at the idea of a house with no bath and be scared of having to do work to put one in. Option 2 feels good from the perspective of being on a great street, good schools etc but ultimately if it is small, it's small.
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I think it depends what area though because doing a quick search now in london anywhere for 800k 4 bedroom and there is quite a lot of choices.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Hi i have plans to buy my first home and wondering about he fixed term for a mortgage.

After the fixed term is over, i hear that i would be moved onto the variable rate afterwords(from what the mortgage in principle outlined) . My question is, can you switch to a different lender after the term is done or am i stuck with the same lender for the entire length of the mortgage?
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Once the fix term is over you can move it to any other lender penalty free (assuming you meet their criteria).

You can also sign up to a new deal with the same lender, normally a few months before the current one ends.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Hi i have plans to buy my first home and wondering about he fixed term for a mortgage.

After the fixed term is over, i hear that i would be moved onto the variable rate afterwords(from what the mortgage in principle outlined) . My question is, can you switch to a different lender after the term is done or am i stuck with the same lender for the entire length of the mortgage?
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Remember if you lock-in, then leaving - i.e. selling and going back to rental; you'll have to pay early resettlement fees.

Also note if your fix rate is relatively poor (because your LTV is in the 81-95% range) then consider that if you pay for 2 years you may nudge yourself into a lower LTV and therefore have better rates available.

The gamble I wish I knew I had made - I locked in at 2.34% at 95% LTV - but 3 years in I am now at 80% LTV due to repayments and market valuation increasing a decent chunk.

Realistically I knew the property would go up but I had assumed the world was going to end - hence locking in. However, now I can afford an upgrade - I am facing an £8k settlement fee, or port my existing mortgage and then get another mortgage for the difference. Basically my gamble has cost me about £5k if I do nothing and pray interest rates stay the same, or £8k if I clear the mortgage and take an entirely new one at a lower rate.

Moral is - if you think you are going to move, or you think the property will increase in value, do consider how long you want the fix for.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Hi i have plans to buy my first home and wondering about he fixed term for a mortgage.

After the fixed term is over, i hear that i would be moved onto the variable rate afterwords(from what the mortgage in principle outlined) . My question is, can you switch to a different lender after the term is done or am i stuck with the same lender for the entire length of the mortgage?
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After your fixed term is over you can do whatever you like without penalty, you could stay on the variable rate but more commonly you would look for a new deal, this could be with your existing lender but does not have to be.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Cheers, i guess i will need to talk to my broker and the potential lender and ask that question and what it entailes
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That’s what people often call remortgage. Basically I’d lock in for 3-5 years now and after that get in touch with your MA and see what deals you can get. I would not stay on variable unless you’re planning to sell.
 
grudas said:
We recently got ours accepted too. Hot area so houses been selling over for months.

house was up for 400k

we offered 422 initially which was not the highest so EA asked for final offers and we upped to 432 which was accepted.

going through the whole process now. It’s messy and stressful.

Nearly 10% over is crazy when you think about it but apparently that is normal. The house did seem cheap for the area as most have been listed for 425-450 so I had a feeling that it’ll go above.
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Congrats!

Yeah this was up for 389 and we offered 400. So not as much extra as you went but was at our budget cap so couldn’t have offered more even if I wanted to.

Agreed on the stress part and this is only the first stage! Had our mortgage application go in today, ma wanted it in today as apparently nationwides interest rates are increasing tomorrow.
 
jonneymendoza said:
I think it depends what area though because doing a quick search now in london anywhere for 800k 4 bedroom and there is quite a lot of choices.
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Sure, you always get options, it's just a question of whether those options are any good / meet your expectations. Certainly I remember when I looked at Surbiton years ago, finding somewhere that looked ok, spoke with one of my team who lived there about the location. Apparently it was just round the corner from a sewage works...

As a rough rule of thumb, I think the minimum you need to spend on a property is 50% more than than the cheapest house with that number of bedrooms. Cheap 4 bedroom houses are often tiny say under 120sqm, smaller than decent 3 beds. It's a travesty that you can't search properties by floor area really. So for example in an area with 4 beds starting around £500k you need to spend a minimum of £750k.
 
How are you guys making best and final offers?

'Option 3' has gone in that direction. It is a solid house that is substantially bigger than those around it. The only comparison is a 3 bed on a worse road - in immaculate condition - but about 20% larger. That was listed for £950k in October but who knows what it sold for.

Now my budget is up to £900k so that isn't a number I can offer - but any number between guide (£760k) and my budget is just a random guess.

Is there a percentage folk will add and I can best that?

I can do most of the work myself, where as this area is typical for pencil pushers who will cost in hundreds of trades. That means I can afford to pay slightly more?
 
HangTime said:
Sure, you always get options, it's just a question of whether those options are any good / meet your expectations. Certainly I remember when I looked at Surbiton years ago, finding somewhere that looked ok, spoke with one of my team who lived there about the location. Apparently it was just round the corner from a sewage works...

As a rough rule of thumb, I think the minimum you need to spend on a property is 50% more than than the cheapest house with that number of bedrooms. Cheap 4 bedroom houses are often tiny say under 120sqm, smaller than decent 3 beds. It's a travesty that you can't search properties by floor area really. So for example in an area with 4 beds starting around £500k you need to spend a minimum of £750k.
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Yup all true but i am just shocked that house prices outside of london in the southen area are just as pricey as in london!!

I thought moving out of london would be cheaper and more quieter!
 
Moving out of a nice area of London is cheaper. But London is so big and so mixed that you get naff areas. Conversely you get some nice areas that are not "London" but have good transport links (as quick to reach offices as the tube), top schools, green spaces etc. In other words if you want to trade an area with high crime and mediocre schools for low crime and good schools you might not be saving much money.
 
koolpc said:
Nice one..

Have arranged the builders etc?
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They have been on notice for a while. Got the first one going in tomorrow for the replacement floor on the ground level. Thursday the EV charger guy is visiting and then TBC date for the main builder to do the work on the rest of the place.
 
delta0 said:
They have been on notice for a while. Got the first one going in tomorrow for the replacement floor on the ground level. Thursday the EV charger guy is visiting and then TBC date for the main builder to do the work on the rest of the place.
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Awesome. Wish you all the best. Exciting time...
 
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