Advice on moving into first house

Mr Aleks · 07-08-2007, 19:18

Im looking at moving out from under the parents feet now as they are starting to get on abit and im not getting any younger. Id have to rent as i dont have the greatest credit history. What im after is advice from anyone who has done this in the past and anything they would do different. Help!

cashman · 07-08-2007, 19:46

ya want to check it out aleks, you may still be able to get a mortgage? depends what ya can do? got my first mortgage off the council,dont know if they still give em? would suggest get a house in need of TLC if ya can do it up, much cheaper that way.

an i never had a credit rating,still aint.

Mr Aleks · 07-08-2007, 19:53

But with no capital to put down as a deposit the interest rate would be higher wouldnt it?

cashman · 07-08-2007, 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleks

But with no capital to put down as a deposit the interest rate would be higher wouldnt it?

sorry cant tell ya that

but ya gotta weigh mortgage repayments against rental.

Mr Aleks · 07-08-2007, 20:04

I dont think id like to be tied to my first house as after the novilty wears off i might not like it so think id rather rent for a little bit first if that makes sense. What would you say are the main advantages of renting or buying

BERNADETTE · 07-08-2007, 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleks

I dont think id like to be tied to my first house as after the novilty wears off i might not like it so think id rather rent for a little bit first if that makes sense. What would you say are the main advantages of renting or buying

You really should buy if possible, think as it as an investment. When you are renting it could be compared to throwing money away, definetly would lean towards buying if I was you

davo69 · 07-08-2007, 20:18

rent for a time if you like being a lone then in six months try and buy if you get 100% mortgage you will pay more intrest try save as much as possible i have number for some one that can get anyone a morgage but it all comes with a price to pay

Margaret Pilkington · 07-08-2007, 20:23

If you can get on the property ladder, then you should do it....renting is throwing away money you could be paying into a property of your own.
It is going to get much harder in the coming years for young folk to get a home of their own. Look ahead, make a committment....it is something you won't regret......though you might have to cut back on some of the so called 'pleasures' of life.

garinda · 07-08-2007, 21:29

If you rent you also need quite a bit of money for deposits etc.

My advice would be to stay at home for a while longer, and save up a deposit with a view to buy in the future. I rented in London for six years before I bought my first flat, and I'm so glad I did, even though at times it's a struggle to begin with.

Lilly · 07-08-2007, 21:48

I have never rented,I bought my first property when I was 19 and very glad I did now the prices have gone up so much,well there's got to be some reward for all those nights spent in front of the television because I couldn't afford to go clubbing with my mates

.You don't sound too sure though so perhaps you could rent short term to see how it goes with a view to buying in the future

glasgow guy · 08-08-2007, 10:52

stay put and save up a deposit....renting can be chucking money away but if its the only option then so be it..there is no way we could afford to buy a house nowadays...
we bought our house only 5 years ago when you could pick up a nice terrace house for £30k+ - we paid £32k for ours and the value of it and others like it have shot up through the roof - its crazy but we are not looking to sell or move so we are quite happy...just glad we bought when we did...

good luck though !

lancsdave · 08-08-2007, 10:55

One advantage of renting to start with is that as long as you pay the rent on time it will give you a credit reference for when you do try for a mortgage.

entwisi · 08-08-2007, 11:58

As has been said, pretty much anyone can get a mortgage irrespctive of credit history, its just a sliding scale of interest as they are taking a bigger risk and therefore want more profit in return.

Renting is fine till you are sure you want to settle somewhere. The problem I see is that even now house prices in Accy are so high it is near impossible for a single person to get a mortgage (you should base the amount you can borrow on no more than 4x your salary IMHO. based on houses being ~70K in anything like a decent area means you need a salary of ~18K which I know is more than a lot of young people earn.)

It proabably is worth you renting initially for a short period just to see if you really are domesticated enough to live on your own

seriously, people do underestimate all teh shopping/housework/bills/ etc that comes with running a house.

lettie · 08-08-2007, 12:04

Me and Grego bought our first house together when I was 21. We had no money saved for a deposit and managed to get 100% mortgage. The first year was really hard, we couldn't afford a TV license so had no telly. We could only afford to go out 1 night a week and we used to go up to our mum's house and scrounge our tea.
Once we had got used to managing the finances things ticked along nicely, I eventually bought Grego out and my mortgage is now peanuts and almost paid. I changed it for a flexi 4 years ago, it gives you the option to over pay.
I have always seen renting as dead money and am glad that I bought my house despite the initial financial struggle. It is an investment which you can sell and potentially make money on.

jambutty · 08-08-2007, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleks

Im looking at moving out from under the parents feet now as they are starting to get on abit and im not getting any younger. Id have to rent as i dont have the greatest credit history. What im after is advice from anyone who has done this in the past and anything they would do different. Help!

Buying a house today is totally different to buying one when we golden oldies were young. Then job security was almost guaranteed. Today job security is rather tenuous, unless you happen to be a civil servant.

Your best bet is to stay put and get yourself on your local authority’s social housing list or on the list of a bona fide housing association. Even if it means a one bedroom flat. The thing is once you are with a social landlord you can move to larger property when the need arises (although it may take some time) and as a tenant in social housing you have a right to buy after 5 years I think it is.

Do not rent from a private landlord. The rent is likely to be some £25 per week higher than in social housing and you will have a large bond to put down. £500 is not unusual and getting it back when you leave can be fraught with problems with some landlords.

There is also another advantage of living in social housing property. Should you ever become unemployed you will be able to claim full rent benefit and not forgetting Council Tax. If you are with a private landlord the benefit will not cover the full rent but only what the local authority would charge for that property if they were renting it to you.

The disadvantages of renting are that your rent is ‘lost’ money. However a social landlord is responsible for the upkeep of the property and you have no house insurance to fork out - just your contents. A slate comes loose and it rains into your bedroom the social landlord will effect repairs pretty quickly. If you own the property it is up to you and at your own expense. Of course you have to abide by the terms of the tenancy agreement but they are not unreasonable.

In rented property neighbour problems can be resolved by the social landlord. In private property you have to do the resolving.

One final caveat. If you do opt to use a private landlord, research him THOROUGHLY before committing yourself. Find out if he has other tenants and go and talk to them.

I know of one case where the central heating packed in during the winter and the landlord refused to repair it, claiming that it was up to the tenant, although that was not in keeping with the tenancy agreement. When the tenant started proceedings against the landlord, one night he and his henchmen removed the downstairs window, frame and all whilst the tenant slept. This landlord also kept a key to the property and was in the habit of letting himself in when there was no one at home and helped himself to personal items – CD’s, DVD’s, books etc.

There is one other point that has occurred to me. A private landlord can tell you who supplies your energy and how they do it. The chances are that it will be via a card meter, the most expensive way of buying your gas and/or electric. It is unlikely that the private landlord will allow you to use a cheaper option.