Buying a house

[Minder]

People should not panic too much about missing the boat now, when interest rates go back up, and they will, the amount of repossesions mean buyers will have their pick.

[tyronefan]

meanwhile you keep paying rent which is money down the drain

Interest rates will at some stage go up again but will be some time down the road.

Now seems to be as good a time as any to buy a house as most builders are prepared to do a deal on a house at the minute if sit and talk to them.

Know several people who have bought a house since Christmas and have done deals with the builder

[FermGael]

meanwhile you keep paying rent which is money down the drain

TyroneFan at the moment rent is not money down the drain. I reckon i have saved at least £30000 over the last 5 years by renting.
If i would have bought i would be in huge negative equity.
Patience is the key at the moment. 

I think Minder has the right idea

[tyronefan]

would also have spend approx 30K on rent over the past 5 years

[Minder]

meanwhile you keep paying rent which is money down the drain

Interest rates will at some stage go up again but will be some time down the road.

Now seems to be as good a time as any to buy a house as most builders are prepared to do a deal on a house at the minute if sit and talk to them.

Know several people who have bought a house since Christmas and have done deals with the builder

I am talking about people that are saving for a deposit, which has to be at least 10%, how can someone buy now if they dont have the deposit ? There will be plenty of opportunities for first time buyers in the next coupe of years if they have a bit of cash behind them.

[tyronefan]

can see your point minder  the deposit is very hard to get together  but if you can get over that part with the price of houses now the mortgage payments are about the same as you would be paying in rent

[bailestil]

But after the last 5 years of 120% mortgages it seems people don't sem to grasp that saving 10% is a sensible thing!

i can't understand how house prices in somewhere like Derry can average over £170,000 when the average wage is probably £12,000
the multiples don't add up.

[clarshack]

But after the last 5 years of 120% mortgages it seems people don't sem to grasp that saving 10% is a sensible thing!

i would agree that deposits are a sensible thing and definitely needed.

in 2003 when we bought our house we had to put down at least a 5% deposit and provide proof of job security etc in order to get a mortgage. plus we could only borrow something like 2.5 times our income as well. it wasnt long after when people were being offered 105% (and more) mortgages etc and borrowing a hell of a lot more than what their incomes were.

i am just glad that we bought when we did. i wouldnt like to be in a lot of other peoples shoes.

[bailestil]

So whats the story these days?

Can't imagine things have improved any despite the best efforts of the newspapers and estate agents to tell us otherwise.

Estate agents are already giving the "don't miss the bottom" line.

its now almost like " there is no bubble" all over again!

[bellaghy_lad]

i dont think the market has bottomed out just yet. some places are moving but its an up and down situation at the min. your best bet would be go in with a low offer. if it doesnt work out sit tight and keep trying.

[orangeman]

Prices inthe North are definitely starting to firm up - the south less so.

[Minder]

Its far too early to talk of a recovery, quite a lot of the data the last few months has been conflicting. You would need to wait for another six months at least to see a trend. While lenders are looking for 20, sometimes 40% deposits coupled with rising unemployment the market will remain slack for a while yet i will see. People seem to think prices just automatically begin to rise, they wont if banks wont give prospective buyers a mortgage.

[illdecide]

Halifax confirmed yesterday that house prices in the UK rose by 2.5% for May...first rise in a long long time so i reckon buy now as it looks like they have bottomed out

[Donagh]

Prices inthe North are definitely starting to firm up - the south less so.

Just seasonal. Give it until the end of the summer and they'll start dropping again.

[orangeman]

Prices inthe North are definitely starting to firm up - the south less so.

Just seasonal. Give it until the end of the summer and they'll start dropping again.

I reckon they can't drop any further - £120k for a new semi detached house  - it can be built for much less.