What was the first property you bought?

The first place I bought was in 1995 - 2 bed semi detached in Kelvedon, Essex. It was a repossession, bought for £62,500. £2,500 down as a deposit and the then N&P Building Society (shortly before they were bought by Abbey National) kindly gave me a £2,000 cash back. My mortgage interest rate was around 8%.

I was 25, working on London on a wage of £13,500 with a promise of £18,000 the following year.

The house was in a decent state for a repo but a poor state for a first time buyer. Several ceiling plasterboards had been pulled down, a few radiators ripped off the walls and the windows were so poorly fitted that you might as well have left the windows open for all the good they did stopping the drafts coming through!

Lots of second hand furniture and parental help on making good all the problems and getting it liveable, it turned into a decent home. I sold it in 1997 for about £12,000 net profit and ended up moving abroad. During the time I owned it my interest rate went up to around 10.5% if I remember correctly. Squeaky bum time - had to literally manage the pennies on some months!
 
The_Abyss said:
Lots of second hand furniture and parental help on making good all the problems and getting it liveable, it turned into a decent home. I sold it in 1997 for about £12,000 net profit and ended up moving abroad. During the time I owned it my interest rate went up to around 10.5% if I remember correctly. Squeaky bum time - had to literally manage the pennies on some months!
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You must have had a terrible mortgage to get anywhere near 10.5% in 1995-7. That's when I bought my first house and got nowhere near, I think I was fixed at about 6%.

http://www.houseweb.co.uk/house/market/irfig.html
 
My first house was a 2 bed end of terrace.
Looking back, it was a great location and if I'd held on to it for just 3 more years, I could have doubled my money.
Driveway to front and half paved at the back meant it was a low maintenance garden. Size was okay for my partner (at the time) and our newborn. (2001-2003)

Old maisonette (2 bed house over a flat) which was okay. Decent size due to age and communal garden. Really depends on your neighbours below as insulation wasn't very good. (2003-2005)

Bungalow. Fantastic size as it had been extended. Forgot how to use stairs but had a massive garden which was a pain. (2009-2011)

Lived in a new apartment. Less space but no garden. 3rd floor of 4 so stairs everyday but only really an issue when you are moving in and out. Noise was fine. (2011-2012)

Now in 3 bed house. Being built on a hill, you come in at 'street level' and have to go downstairs to the bedrooms and garden. All rooms are double/king size and its possibly the best house I've ever lived in. Garden is a pain. (2006-2008 & 2012 - current)

I hate gardening.

2 Bed House is probably your best option. You can easily make a garden low maintenance. You get that extra room that you WILL need and should money ever be tight, you can take on a lodger.
Plus the potential for the patter of tiny feet will make it a nursery.

Plan for the next 10 years.
 
Thank you for all the replies so fast! :) it's got
Me edging towards a house, I don't plan on having kids anytime soon either, so I think 2 bedrooms would be ideal, but if I can find a 3 bed house for roughly the same price I think I'll go for that :)

Next step is to guarantee a mortgage, hopefully I'll be approved with my deposit, only thing potentially holding me back is me going it alone!
 
I purchased my first house this time last year. 3500sq feet, 4 bedrooms detached house in the suburb, 0.6Acres. Large open plan downstairs with family room, formal living room,, meeting room and dinning room. Upstairs has a master bedroom with ensuite master bathroom, his and hers walk in closets. 3 other large bedrooms, 2 with walk in closets, a guest bathroom with twin vanities and a utility/washing room. 3rd floor is a giant mancave/penthouse that I use as an office.

Luckily house prices in the US are way more reasonable than the UK. It will be a shock whenever I return to Europe.
 
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Clov!s said:
Thank you for all the replies so fast! :) it's got
Me edging towards a house, I don't plan on having kids anytime soon either, so I think 2 bedrooms would be ideal, but if I can find a 3 bed house for roughly the same price I think I'll go for that :)

Next step is to guarantee a mortgage, hopefully I'll be approved with my deposit, only thing potentially holding me back is me going it alone!
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I just got a mortgage on my own, try square any debts/loans you have off (if you have any) it will make a huge difference on how much they will lend.
 
Hmm, first property I bought. I'd have to say it was the Lego Hagrid's Hut I bought when I was about 11, fantastic piece of engineering.
 
Only bought one house and i still live in it now, it was the cheapest i could afford with a garage and in a nice area, it cost me £57k.

Downside is its only a 1 bedroom house, i have spent around £3-4k on it since i have been in the house on various bits including a new bathroom, new patio door, full re-fence in garden and most recently a feature wall to the front, and if i was to sell it i would get around £62k *sold it 3 times and they all fell through* its not on the market at current.

I do regret buying it in the sense i wish i had got a 2 bedroom house, but it has served its purpose got me on the property ladder and i have paid some mortgage off over the 3 years i have been in it and have not lost money, will just about break even if i do ever put it back up for sale again, would love to rent it out and buy another but can not afford a deposit on a second house unless i sell this one.
 
This was my first house - bought it in I think 1974 for £8750 - mortgage of £7750 then in 1976ish interest rate hit 15%--it was hard and swore I would never get caught like that again. Sold in around 1978-9 for 100% profit.

It didn't have the extension over the garage then.

As with all my house purchases it was a dump - some Irish couple had it along with 7 Great Danes and bulldog - Put a spade anywhere in garden and it came up with dog poo - The rooms were two tone - paint from 4ft up and dirt from dogs rubbing below - all 13 amp sockets were on top of door frames - I assumed dogs kept eating them.

Just having a closer look I see it still has same windows in as when we sold it - I had the glass leaded - the stick on strip stuff.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.4...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sWneks-jWvwhdAdpxhBx-lg!2e0

Dave
 
Clov!s said:
I'm in Redditch atm, but would be looking for a move to another area, Bromsgrove, Studley, Rubery, probably would go as far as Worcester or Evesham too.

That figure would be for the price of the house, i would need to lend around £165k.
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I've recently bought a first house. If you were to borrow £165k, you would need to be earning around £45k a year. I managed to get my mortgage in before all the crazy rules came in, and it was difficult. Getting a large mortgage now will be even more difficult and mortgage companies really really want to see that you can afford it.

Have you looked into the mortgage stuff properly? Even having a mortgage in principle is well and truly subject to change when it comes to the actual application.
 
Purchased my first house in January of this year, only thing I regret is not jumping in and spending £210,000 straight off the bat and getting a house we may not ever want to move out off.

As it stand's I suppose having an affordable mortgage (160k) removes a lot of stress and mean's we can 'live life'. We also have been accidentally smart and think we've got a house that will sell easily (or rent easily should the opportunity arise) and has already appreciated by around 12%.
 
I started looking at 1 bed flats, too small.
Looked at 2 bed flats, OK... but with maintenance it was close to the cost of a 2 bed house.
Looked at 2 bed house, too small.
Bought 3 bed house.

IMO, new build 3 bed is about the right size for 1 person.
 
Gaygle said:
I've recently bought a first house. If you were to borrow £165k, you would need to be earning around £45k a year. I managed to get my mortgage in before all the crazy rules came in, and it was difficult. Getting a large mortgage now will be even more difficult and mortgage companies really really want to see that you can afford it.

Have you looked into the mortgage stuff properly? Even having a mortgage in principle is well and truly subject to change when it comes to the actual application.
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I have got that covered, earning £49k atm, so securing the mortgage shouldn't be a problem, i have my meeting on thursday @ 12.30pm so will update the thread when i come back, :)

Thanks again for the replies, it is making my decision easier. :)
 
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