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>> You can congratulate me *after* I actually get the keys. ;-)
>
> It's a step in the right direction - especially since I recall you saying
> a few years ago that you couldn't understand how anyone could afford to
> own a place of their own. :)
Heh, well... *technically* I'm only buying 30% of a flat. o_O Still one
hell of a lot of money though - more money than I'll ever own.
It's kinda far from work. But that also means it's kinda far from my
mother. ;-)
> There's no certainty in life.
Only Death.
> So keep feeling twitchy and be assured that that's normal and healthy.
> Move into the flat and have fun. :)
Well, here's to hoping. (As I say, I'll celebrate when I actually have
the keys in my hand for real and I know nobody's going to call off the
deal...)
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On Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:25:12 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
>>> You can congratulate me *after* I actually get the keys. ;-)
>>
>> It's a step in the right direction - especially since I recall you
>> saying a few years ago that you couldn't understand how anyone could
>> afford to own a place of their own. :)
>
> Heh, well... *technically* I'm only buying 30% of a flat. o_O Still one
> hell of a lot of money though - more money than I'll ever own.
I've learned never to say "never" about such things. :)
> It's kinda far from work. But that also means it's kinda far from my
> mother. ;-)
Which is a good thing (trust me; I love my mum, but some distance has
been good for the relationship, too).
>> There's no certainty in life.
>
> Only Death.
Well, and taxes. ;)
>> So keep feeling twitchy and be assured that that's normal and healthy.
>> Move into the flat and have fun. :)
>
> Well, here's to hoping. (As I say, I'll celebrate when I actually have
> the keys in my hand for real and I know nobody's going to call off the
> deal...)
That's the right attitude. :)
Jim
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> Holy hell, I just bought a house. o_O
Congratulations - good move! Did you move closer to work? :-D
> (And now I'm suddenly feeling awfully twitchy about whether my job is as
> secure as I think it is!)
What's the worst that's going to happen? Even if somehow the company
goes bankrupt and can't afford to pay you from tomorrow onwards most
banks are pretty good with giving you a few months leeway to find a new
job without evicting you. Or to be super-safe just make sure you have
enough money to pay a few months mortgage without a job.
My sister's boyfriend is just like that, for the last 10 years he's been
worried about his job and they've never bought anywhere. They must have
> Heh, thanks. We'll see how this works out... Unfortunately buying a
> house isn't like buying a loaf of bread. It's pretty complicated, slow,
> and risky.
If you think this is complicated and slow, wait until you have somewhere
to sell at the same time, *that* is slow :-) Seriously though the whole
system is arcane and solely exists to keep solicitors and estate agents
highly paid. I recommend finding a solicitor that's happy to do
everything by email (many still want to send stupid letters for even
very simple things).
> I might not actually end up getting this flat. But here's to
> hoping...
What stage are you at then? Make sure you keep asking your solicitor
that you've done and signed all you need to as early as possible, and
then ask what they're waiting for to move forward.
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On 10/04/2013 08:30 AM, scott wrote:
>> Holy hell, I just bought a house. o_O
>
> Congratulations - good move! Did you move closer to work? :-D
I currently live so close to work that almost *everywhere* would be
further away.
The new place is further away from work. It's right near a main road
that cuts diagonally across the MK grid, so it should be quite
fuel-efficient to get to work. Just get on a road and drive in a
straight line until I get there.
It's also further away from my mum, so... ;-)
>> (And now I'm suddenly feeling awfully twitchy about whether my job is as
>> secure as I think it is!)
>
> What's the worst that's going to happen? Even if somehow the company
> goes bankrupt and can't afford to pay you from tomorrow onwards most
> banks are pretty good with giving you a few months leeway to find a new
> job without evicting you. Or to be super-safe just make sure you have
> enough money to pay a few months mortgage without a job.
Heh. Right now I'm trying to make sure I have enough money to *buy* the
place. This is why I'm only buying 30% of it; I just don't have the cash
to buy an entire property.
> > Heh, thanks. We'll see how this works out... Unfortunately buying a
> > house isn't like buying a loaf of bread. It's pretty complicated, slow,
> > and risky.
>
> If you think this is complicated and slow, wait until you have somewhere
> to sell at the same time, *that* is slow :-)
Well, there is that. The current owner apparently wants to sell quickly
for more or less this exact reason. I guess that's why my first offer
was accepted - and why it's so cheap.
> > I might not actually end up getting this flat. But here's to
> > hoping...
>
> What stage are you at then? Make sure you keep asking your solicitor
> that you've done and signed all you need to as early as possible, and
> then ask what they're waiting for to move forward.
I made on offer, it has been accepted, and I'm told the property will be
taken off the market. Now I need to have surveys done, appoint a
solicitor, finalise a mortgage application, etc. In other words
EVERYTHING ELSE. So I'm really just at the beginning here...
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> It's also further away from my mum, so... ;-)
Never a bad thing - I strategically placed myself with the M25 between
us, and as she refuses to use that road on her own I don't get any
surprise visits :-)
> Well, there is that. The current owner apparently wants to sell quickly
> for more or less this exact reason. I guess that's why my first offer
> was accepted - and why it's so cheap.
I was lucky with both my house purchases that the previous owners
weren't buying anywhere - makes things faster and less reliant on others.
> I made on offer, it has been accepted, and I'm told the property will be
> taken off the market. Now I need to have surveys done, appoint a
> solicitor, finalise a mortgage application, etc. In other words
> EVERYTHING ELSE. So I'm really just at the beginning here...
So you're holding things up at the moment then :-) Get a friend to phone
up to make sure the property is really taken off the market - often the
estate agent will continue showing people round hoping for a better
offer, or to ask you to up your offer.
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On 10/04/2013 09:37 AM, scott wrote:
> So you're holding things up at the moment then :-)
Yeah, pretty much. ;-)
> Get a friend to phone
> up to make sure the property is really taken off the market - often the
> estate agent will continue showing people round hoping for a better
> offer, or to ask you to up your offer.
When I looked yesterday, it was still listed on Zoopla. But I looked
just now, and it appears to have vanished now.
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On 10/04/2013 12:54 PM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> On 10/04/2013 09:37 AM, scott wrote:
>> So you're holding things up at the moment then :-)
>
> Yeah, pretty much. ;-)
And then of course there's the small matter of ringing round places that
only open during my work outs to try to find the best mortgage rates.
Because, you know, when the principle is drastically more money than you
will ever own, and the term is the rest of your entire working life,
compound interest is pretty steep...
On the one hand, I don't want to slow things down any more than they
already are. On the other hand, I want to find the best deal.
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On Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:32:03 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> On 10/04/2013 12:54 PM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
>> On 10/04/2013 09:37 AM, scott wrote:
>>> So you're holding things up at the moment then :-)
>>
>> Yeah, pretty much. ;-)
>
> And then of course there's the small matter of ringing round places that
> only open during my work outs to try to find the best mortgage rates.
> Because, you know, when the principle is drastically more money than you
> will ever own, and the term is the rest of your entire working life,
> compound interest is pretty steep...
>
> On the one hand, I don't want to slow things down any more than they
> already are. On the other hand, I want to find the best deal.
That's sensible. Also bear in mind, though, that if you do a 30-year
term, most people don't stick with that term. They refinance when the
interest rates go down, sometimes adjusting the term (in the US, it's not
uncommon to start with a 30-year term and then later to switch to a 15-
year term, or to just refinance with a new 30-year term).
We've been in this house for 11 years, and have paid down the principal
by a little bit. But the value has gone up, too - and we expect to get
about $100,000 more selling it than we paid for it (the market in Utah
didn't crash as badly as other parts of the US, and the rebound has been
quicker). So it's something of an investment, too - it's not just about
what you're paying in, but what you get out of it when you sell it.
Just remember that the term isn't "the rest of your entire working life",
it's "until you refinance or sell the property". What you want is to
increase the value so when you sell, you get more than you paid (or will
pay in principal by the end of the term)
Jim
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> Because, you know, when the principle is drastically more money than you
> will ever own, and the term is the rest of your entire working life,
> compound interest is pretty steep...
Don't worry about it, you can swap to another product as soon as any
offer period is over - and usually it's a good idea to do so as the bank
will revert you to some ridiculous rate by default. I found 2 year
fixed/tracker (as the base rate won't likely change any time soon) to be
a good compromise.
Also I'm sure you're aware they try to take advantage of people intent
on the lowest interest rate or lowest initial fee by offering various
combinations of fee/interest rate. Just set up an Excel sheet with it
all in (including any offers like cashback) and see which leaves you
best off after a few years (not after 30 years!).
> On the one hand, I don't want to slow things down any more than they
> already are. On the other hand, I want to find the best deal.
Use the internet (comparison websites are a good place to start, then
move on to the banks themselves), websites are open 24/7 and once you've
found the one you want I've found most banks have phonelines open quite
late in the evening to answer any questions or set things up.
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On 11/04/2013 08:39 AM, scott wrote:
>> Because, you know, when the principle is drastically more money than you
>> will ever own, and the term is the rest of your entire working life,
>> compound interest is pretty steep...
>
> Don't worry about it, you can swap to another product as soon as any
> offer period is over - and usually it's a good idea to do so as the bank
> will revert you to some ridiculous rate by default. I found 2 year
> fixed/tracker (as the base rate won't likely change any time soon) to be
> a good compromise.
Interestingly, all the products I've looked at give you something like
5% fixed rate for a few years, and then it reverts to 3.2% or something.
So once the initial fixed period wears off, you're drastically *better*
off... Doesn't make any sense to me, but hey.
> Also I'm sure you're aware they try to take advantage of people intent
> on the lowest interest rate or lowest initial fee by offering various
> combinations of fee/interest rate. Just set up an Excel sheet with it
> all in (including any offers like cashback) and see which leaves you
> best off after a few years (not after 30 years!).
Heh, yeah, because comprehending financial documents is actually
possible. :-P
>> On the one hand, I don't want to slow things down any more than they
>> already are. On the other hand, I want to find the best deal.
>
> Use the internet (comparison websites are a good place to start, then
> move on to the banks themselves), websites are open 24/7 and once you've
> found the one you want I've found most banks have phonelines open quite
> late in the evening to answer any questions or set things up.
According to channel 4, the deal you get from your estate agent is
always the worst one. And yet, everywhere I've looked or asked has
either offered a far worse rate, or at best the same rate as I've
already got.
It seems the only way to lower the interest rate is to have a bigger
deposit. Now if I could just magic tens of thousands of pounds out of
thin air...
(My mum is seriously suggesting that I should take out a credit card and
put the shortfall on that, just to get the cheaper interest rate on the
mortgage. Because, you know, *that* won't be expensive at all...)
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