Re: First time buyer
 

People have said over the last 5 years that it's not the right time to buy, that prices are coming down etc.. But year on year the prices rise. I would buy now, every month you rent is another £XXX pounds that could have been paying off your mortgage. There is always the risk they will come down but if I were you I would still buy.

My 2p worth! :-)

Re: First time buyer
 

very true but no one could have predicted the rise in prices 5 years ago, your just very lucky if you did buy 5 years ago.

Re: First time buyer
 

aaaaarrgh I have the same problem. Its less of a decision whether to buy or not, its just impossible to buy where my work is. And my line of work is only found in Oxford Cambridge and London really, where all the expensive houses are. I was thinking about Ed's idea though, buy to let in somewhere completely different. I could get up to Birmingham quite easily, but aren't BTL mortgages harder to get and worse interest or something?

Re: First time buyer
 

200k is quite alot for a first time buyer, at least it is to me...I was talking with maria about this, and I think we set our limit on about 130k

Maybe a bit more if its a perfect perfect house? I dunno.

Buying is very stressful, I get tied up in knots just thinking about it

Matt

Re: First time buyer
 

Courtesy of Sarahs link
http://www.xkcd.com/59/

Re: First time buyer
 

Get the hell out of the hellhole that's london!

BTL is becoming a thing of the past.
CBLT is excellent however, like a BLT but with Chicken.

Re: First time buyer
 

i own at the moment and am planning on selling next april time . not interested in buying again. if you rent you know exactly what your expenses are. when you buy you have to budget for things like heating going capput, interest rates rising.

should make about ?50K profit which is not bad for 4 years.

why slave all your life paying for a house to pass onto your kids for them to sell and have a wild time. id rather have a wild time myself.

Re: First time buyer
 

All this carp in the papers about the market collapsing - so why have we had more instructions on resi this week than at any time this year? Not all owner occupiers either, quite a few investment landlords too.

Re: First time buyer
 

I did think abiout the buy to let thing still may do that with someone, don't know yet.....

200k is probally a bit too much really for me, but its may be possiable, I think 185k might be more realestic, I haven't sat down to work it all out yet....

Lving close to work would be an advantage, good socially thats about it. I will be working London for a long time, if I was to move my job out of the city I would lose a lot in pay and also have to do more work and be paid less!

I would eventually want to get out of London anyway, its not an ideal place to live really. But where I am right now works out well, I would pay the same rent if I was further out anyways.

Warthog same problem for me really, the government expects us to work here, but provide sod all help thats of any use.

I really think us buying for the first time have a raw deal now, pay no where near matches what house prices or what morgtage payments are.

Re: First time buyer
 

Yep just bought my first house, this week in fact. I've done what Ed suggested, I live in Bromley but bought in Folkstone.