Houses, Flats, Rent & Mortgages Thread

[DeadLinesman]

1 minute ago, Whiskey said:

Warrington though, bit like living in Somalia x

Have you seen where you live

[Whiskey]

37 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

Have you seen where you live

Lovely area, many tourists wanting to catch a glimpse of how the other half live. 

[DeadLinesman]

2 hours ago, Whiskey said:

Lovely area, many tourists wanting to catch a glimpse of how the other half live. 

Just like the Favela’s.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

6 hours ago, Stan said:

Stamp duty is an absolute cunt 

Not looking forward to that. Have to pay stamp duty on anything over £180k in Wales.

[Toinho]

11 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

I got my mortgage fixed for 7 years at 1.59% back in October. Absolute fucking bargain.

Very impressive 

[DeadLinesman]

10 hours ago, Toinho said:

Very impressive 

Our broker doesn’t even consider anything above 5 years now and the equivalent isn’t below 2.95 now. We have friends paying more a month and borrowing less which is just crazy.

[Whiskey]

8 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

Our broker doesn’t even consider anything above 5 years now and the equivalent isn’t below 2.95 now. We have friends paying more a month and borrowing less which is just crazy.

Amazes me how much renting costs now, most of my friends/colleagues rent at the moment and they're paying more for what I'm paying for a mortgage.

[DeadLinesman]

1 hour ago, Whiskey said:

Amazes me how much renting costs now, most of my friends/colleagues rent at the moment and they're paying more for what I'm paying for a mortgage.

Exactly. How can a system tell you that you can’t afford a mortgage but you can pay exponentially more rent per month. It’s ridiculous.

[Dr. Gonzo]

9 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

Exactly. How can a system tell you that you can’t afford a mortgage but you can pay exponentially more rent per month. It’s ridiculous.

The housing market is insane right now.

I own where I live but I wanted to sell it and move somewhere bigger - but the prices are so insane here I can't really afford anything better than where I currently live. Rent is almost double what my mortgage is too - so I can't even temporarily rent somewhere bigger and hope to save. It'd cost way too much for no real benefit whatsoever. So while I'm not content with my living situation, I've got friends paying out the arse for far shittier living situations who are feeling even more bleak about their prospects of ever owning property at all and thinking they'll be paying extortionate rent for the rest of their lives.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

15 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The housing market is insane right now.

I own where I live but I wanted to sell it and move somewhere bigger - but the prices are so insane here I can't really afford anything better than where I currently live. Rent is almost double what my mortgage is too - so I can't even temporarily rent somewhere bigger and hope to save. It'd cost way too much for no real benefit whatsoever. So while I'm not content with my living situation, I've got friends paying out the arse for far shittier living situations who are feeling even more bleak about their prospects of ever owning property at all and thinking they'll be paying extortionate rent for the rest of their lives.

Everyone has different circumstances, but my old man always said to me that renting was effectively dead money for the reason highlighted above. You're basically putting money into someone's pocket with nothing for yourself, while any complaints to the landlord can result in revenge evictions.

[Inverted]

My girlfriend and I are looking at moving in together and renting. With my new salary that I’ll be moving up to in September, and what I have saved so far, I could probably afford a decent flat in Glasgow.

But we are kinda conscious that getting a mortgage together is a pretty major commitment. And there’s part of me that hopes the bubble will burst at some point before I finally decide to buy. 

[Stan]

2 hours ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

while any complaints to the landlord can result in revenge evictions.

Thankfully this can't happen any more and a landlord has to have a legit reason to evict. 

[Rab]

2 hours ago, Inverted said:

My girlfriend and I are looking at moving in together and renting. With my new salary that I’ll be moving up to in September, and what I have saved so far, I could probably afford a decent flat in Glasgow.

But we are kinda conscious that getting a mortgage together is a pretty major commitment. And there’s part of me that hopes the bubble will burst at some point before I finally decide to buy. 

Always rent before you buy when it comes to a relationship. You don't want a mortgage with someone you can't live with.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

7 hours ago, Stan said:

Thankfully this can't happen any more and a landlord has to have a legit reason to evict. 

Ah fair enough. I thought that was still the case (that or there was some form of loophole that allowed it).

[RandoEFC+]

I'm 29 and at the point where I have enough savings and a salary where I can afford to start thinking about buying. On the Isle of Man, though, the property market is more difficult even than a lot of the UK. I've been renting for the last 5 years, at one point in a house of four lads which allowed me to save a lot of money on rent. My current place I'm now paying the full rent for what's effectively a two-person house as my most recent housemate moved out. I'd rather pay the extra money for a little while than rush into a property purchase or move to another, less expensive rental for what would probably be less than a year.

Part of my problem is that I can't decide what I actually want, how far from work/town, whether I want a flat just to get on the ladder or to go for a house with scope to stay there for a longer-term, and there isn't a huge amount of choice either. To be honest, I always thought through my early-mid-20s that I'd be in a solid relationship by this point in my life and that my imaginary other half might just make all the tricky decisions . I do need to get on with it though.

[Stan]

23 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Part of my problem is that I can't decide what I actually want, how far from work/town, whether I want a flat just to get on the ladder or to go for a house with scope to stay there for a longer-term, and there isn't a huge amount of choice either. To be honest, I always thought through my early-mid-20s that I'd be in a solid relationship by this point in my life and that my imaginary other half might just make all the tricky decisions . I do need to get on with it though.

To be honest, I think a lot of our generation thought that. Inflation rocketing way above average wage increases has put a stop to that. Let alone cost of living crisis currently, as well as COVID impacting the situation too.

Be careful with flats - it's great to have your own independence in it but it comes with its risks (not all, there are some advantages). Some management companies for flats charge a lot for a Service Charge, so make sure you look into exactly what you pay them for and what you get in return - I think you can look in to historic Year End statements for each company. There's also the risk of what kind of neighbours you'll have - privately owned and used, sub-let/tenanted, social housing etc. Make sure the lease is over 75 years as well. Otherwise it becomes hard to sell; most buyers look for at least 99 years on a lease. Renewing the lease is extremely expensive...

If you can afford a house, go for it. It's by far the better option for security and ownership and responsibility for alterations or amendments to the property you own. With a flat, you own the property, but not the land per se. So you become restricted on what you can/cannot do as per the covenant/lease. 

 

[RandoEFC+]

Just now, Stan said:

To be honest, I think a lot of our generation thought that. Inflation rocketing way above average wage increases has put a stop to that. Let alone cost of living crisis currently, as well as COVID impacting the situation too.

Be careful with flats - it's great to have your own independence in it but it comes with its risks (not all, there are some advantages). Some management companies for flats charge a lot for a Service Charge, so make sure you look into exactly what you pay them for and what you get in return - I think you can look in to historic Year End statements for each company. There's also the risk of what kind of neighbours you'll have - privately owned and used, sub-let/tenanted, social housing etc. Make sure the lease is over 75 years as well. Otherwise it becomes hard to sell; most buyers look for at least 99 years on a lease. Renewing the lease is extremely expensive...

If you can afford a house, go for it. It's by far the better option for security and ownership and responsibility for alterations or amendments to the property you own. With a flat, you own the property, but not the land per se. So you become restricted on what you can/cannot do as per the covenant/lease. 

 

Yeah thanks for the advice. I probably would be looking at a small house of some description to be honest because I'm keen to have at least a little bit of outdoor space to myself. The Isle of Man isn't exactly flushed with blocks of flats anyway.

[Stan]

Exchanged on our house today. Completion next Friday 

 

[Toinho]

On 11/05/2022 at 19:00, Stan said:

Exchanged on our house today. Completion next Friday 

 

What does that mean? Don't think we use those terms!

[Stan]

2 hours ago, Toinho said:

What does that mean? Don't think we use those terms!

Basically contracts have been exchanged between sellers and buyers (via solicitors). And as that's the case, we're now legally bound to proceed with the purchase and sellers with the sale. So deposit paid and the next step is completion.

Completion basically being the stage where you pick up the keys and physically take ownership of the property.

[Toinho]

10 hours ago, Stan said:

Basically contracts have been exchanged between sellers and buyers (via solicitors). And as that's the case, we're now legally bound to proceed with the purchase and sellers with the sale. So deposit paid and the next step is completion.

Completion basically being the stage where you pick up the keys and physically take ownership of the property.

Ah nice, that whole approval of deposits etc is called 'finance' here, and when all that has gone through a settlement agent sorts the other jizz, and it's called settlement once you pick up the keys and everything is agreed and ready for you to move in.

 

Exciting times, is this your first home? (I can't recall!)

[Stan]

4 hours ago, Toinho said:

Exciting times, is this your first home?

For me, no. But for my missus yes. 

Exciting times indeed! 

[MUFC]

5 hours ago, Stan said:

For me, no. But for my missus yes. 

Exciting times indeed! 

Does much work need doing? Or is the majority done?

[Stan]

20 minutes ago, MUFC said:

Does much work need doing? Or is the majority done?

Nothing doing, fairly new build. 

Sellers leaving a lot of stuff too which is very handy. Large TV, washing machine, tumble dryer, carpets! Quite fortunate in that respect... 

[Toinho]

On 13/05/2022 at 19:39, Stan said:

Nothing doing, fairly new build. 

Sellers leaving a lot of stuff too which is very handy. Large TV, washing machine, tumble dryer, carpets! Quite fortunate in that respect... 

Wow that’s decent, I mean carpet is usual here.  The others definitely not.