Buying your own home?

[newbs16]

If you have managed to buy your own home did you find it very stressful and how did you cope with dealing with solicitors, banks, mortgage advisers etc?

Also do you worry if:

1) You can't make your monthly repayments
2) You struggle to manage your money
3) You don't like living alone, or with your partner
4) You don't like the property you have purchased

Some of the questions do apply if you are renting a property. So any replies would be handy.

[gregarious_introvert]

I did buy my own home, many years ago and I don't remember the process being stressful at all (apart from waiting to see if my offer was accepted by the vendor). The mortgage offer was straightforward and as far as the solicitor was concerned, I was lucky in that there was no chain (the vendor was emigrating) so the only real involvement I had was at exchange and completion.

However, the real stress came when I was out of work, because of course there are no benefits to cover mortgage payments; at one point, I was working in a low-paid job and living away in a bedsit so that I could rent out the flat to cover the mortgage. I had to sell the place to move away 15 years after I bought it and at that time - as I wasn't working - I had no chance of getting another mortgage, but I have been renting for almost twenty years now and find it far preferable to buying, especially as I'm now in local authority housing. I would probably have a different attitude if I had someone to inherit my estate when I go, but I don't, so it really doesn't make a difference to me whether I am renting or buying, except that there is less which can go wrong when I'm renting.

[anxiouslondoner]

I want to, but I haven't had the courage to actually send an email to view anywhere yet, I've just been looking at places online so far.

[Coffee]

Personally I do find it stressful whenever I buy, but less stressful than I would find renting.

Each to their own though.

[Jen.]

I've never found it stressful necessarily, more frustrating because it always seemed that even though I was paying someone to ensure that everything was being done correctly, it was usually up to me to make sure the relevant people were communicating so that things ran smoothly. I've had to chase up phone calls and emails myself because everyone had a rather casual attitude about it all, sitting on requests they had for me or someone else instead of just sending them quickly. I imagine something like that would be extremely stressful if you were in a chain or had strict deadlines to meet.

[choirgirl]

^^^Don't get me started on this topic Lmao, it's a red rag to a bull.

[gregarious_introvert]

Originally Posted by newbs16

If you have managed to buy your own home did you find it very stressful and how did you cope with dealing with solicitors, banks, mortgage advisers etc?

Also do you worry if:

1) You can't make your monthly repayments
2) You struggle to manage your money
3) You don't like living alone, or with your partner
4) You don't like the property you have purchased

Some of the questions do apply if you are renting a property. So any replies would be handy.

You edited the OP after I'd answered - that's not fair!

I've never struggled with managing money, that's always been one of my strengths, but it would worry me if I couldn't make my monthly repayments; when I had a mortgage, there was a period in my life when I lived on nothing but porridge for two months because I had to ensure that the mortgage and bills were paid. If I didn't like the property, I would probably change the décor or make some other alteration within my power (I must have liked it at some point, or I wouldn't have bought it). As for not liking living alone, I couldn't imagine any other way - I've lived alone for forty years now, apart from short-term periods where a partner has stayed with me or vice-versa, or I've offered a room to a homeless person (which I can't do anymore as I now have a one-bedroom bungalow).

Buying wouldn't be an option for me now, even if I wanted to, but the main concern for me would be not only having to find the monthly repayments (I lost my job four months after I bought my flat back in 1986 and life was a struggle for the following fifteen years) but also the cost of any repairs - the flat I had needed a new roof (of which the cost had to be shared with the flat downstairs, which was the main issue), it wasn't covered by insurance and the downstairs neighbour refused to contribute (long story, not relevant here) which meant that the last four or five years that I was living there, the place was falling apart and there was nothing I could do about it. Now, rent is covered by housing benefits and repairs require only a telephone call, hence why I feel much happier renting.

[Veni Vidi Vado]

I have kinda given up on ever owning my own place though I have always romantasised the idea of it ,Thatcher gave all the the affordable homes to the boomers , so now theres none left for us 'gen x'ers . I'm also a f#$@wit with bad credit , patchy employment and CCJ's .

[FraidyCat]

Was stressful as i paid £8000 in stamp duty.
In the early days monthly payments are hard, but then you get used to it.
Our outgoings are now £5000 a month. Scary.
That will reduce to £3500 a month when my mortage is paid off.

Property ownwership + having a family + cars. Is very expensive these days.

I dont know how anyone who earns minimum wage manages. Well yes i do, my parents did it. It was not pleasant or fun for me as the fourth child growning up with parents who had no money to spend on us. I still have mental health issues from growing up in poverty.

[Jen.]

Originally Posted by LmaoZedong

They will live their lives in servitude to people who call homes 'properties' and have 'portfolios'.

I've seen you say this a couple of times now... what words would you like people to use though? Those are just investment terms. A "portfolio" is a collection of investments, it doesn't necessarily mean of properties (you could spend a hundred pounds on a few shares and say you have a portfolio). People don't say "home" because that refers to where someone lives. Saying someone owns three homes suggests they live in those places themselves, e.g. holiday homes, and property investments aren't necessarily places where people live anyway, e.g. commercial properties.

[Mr. Nobody]

I found it stressful, obviously, but then everyone does, SA or not,

I done the whole thing myself as I was single and had no friends,

I had been saving hard for many years and put down a really good deposit,

my own bank were a bunch of arseholes and ended up getting a mortgage from a financial consultant type person, can't recall how I got them as a contact ?

if you've got a steady job and proof of income and some savings it should be relatively straightforward getting a mortgage etc.

what I found frustrating was how nothing seemed simple or clear,
the whole solicitor/financial consultant / mortgage broker/ estate agent bunch all seem mired in their own peculiar roundabout ways of speaking and dealing with people,
so, I found all the jargon, procedures and red tape a bit of a mind-phuck at times,
so some kind of education or clearer information on it would be helpful in general I think.

I did worry about paying stuff, but it actually all ended up being cheaper to live than I imagined, even cheaper than when I was paying digs money before-hand oddly enough.

I suppose you really have to try and enjoy living in your own place, sometimes it seems like it can set you back on your SA recovery as it's often too easy to just hole-up indoors in your own cosy nest, rather than being forced to get out and engage with things if you didn't live alone.

I will have paid off my house and own it outright in a couple of months,..and again I think even then the lawyers are out for your money again insisting that title deeds are held securely and all that,.. total bollocks.

[Toxic]

Irritating us chronically single folk are at a disadvantage.

2 people earning below UK average can get a fairly decent mortgage (well up in t'north), one person on their own needs to be on quite a good wage to get similar. I'm aware 2 people may potentially need more space than 1 (although really - a lounge/kitchen/bathroom and place to sleep - unless you have kids you don't really "need" a great deal more space)

I've looked at some houses online, I've done the maths, I've been saving pretty regularly for 5-6 years. I can afford a reasonable deposit I suppose..the mortgage will be a bit tight however. I'd also be in a position where I wouldn't be able to save much of anything and I'd be hitting the credit cards if my boiler went pop or I needed new windows!

I'm not actually worried about the whole process personally, I'm more worried that I wouldn't have a safety buffer, worried I'd lose my job and wouldn't have a means to keep payments up (my parents are certainly in no position to be able to bail me out). My wage has gone up every year so at least I'm now in a position where I "could" but the thought of having no savings and living on pot noodles really isn't floating my boat. I think I need another pay rise or 2 before I could jump ship (by which point the cost of living will have gone up more than my increased salary but hey)

[Toxic]

^ about as far out of the box as I reckon I could manage is buying a complete shit hole and renovating it.

I actually like the idea of it on paper, the reality is I'd go to work, get annoyed dealing with 50 year old babies who need their hand holding all day..come home and nod off. Unfortunately I'm not that handy either, I'd be up for smashing up the old kitchen and bathroom but then dealing with the hassle of getting a new one fitted..

[anxiouslondoner]

I heard about a website a while ago listing "stigmatised properties" - basically houses where something horrible had happened like a murder. Unsurprisingly most people will tend not to want to live there, so they go quite cheap if you don't get put off by that sort of thing! (hey it's just a suggestion OK?)

[Rocket Spud]

^ And when the neighbours tell you what happened you can be like, 'yeah, i know - great in't it!'. Guarantee they won't be inviting you around for a cuppa anytime soon!

In all seriousness, that sort of thing would put me right off. How much value can a property lose for ... those sort of things??

[Dougella]

Seems like a better thing in that situation might be to knock the place down and build something completely new! But even then...

[Jen.]

It wouldn't bother me at all if someone had been murdered in my house before I'd bought it. My house is nearly a hundred years old anyway so I suspect a few people have died in it during that time. Dying of natural causes in bed isn't any different to having your throat slashed really. People have to die somewhere, don't they? It happening once in a house doesn't make it more likely it'll happen there again. I suppose it might be different if several bodies had been buried under the floor or something, although that would be more due to worrying about what structural damage might have been caused when the bodies were excavated (but that's why you get a survey done).

How does someone living in a van keep clean and go to the toilet?

[Dougella]

^ My brother lived in his van for a couple of weeks in Canada while he was looking for a room in a house, he got a cheap gym membership for getting showers and using the toilets (he does also go to the gym).

[Toxic]

Would someone being murdered in a house really knock the price down?

I mean I doubt they were murdered just because they lived at that address!

Dunno how I feel about it

[choirgirl]

Heh, I got quite fixated on the van thing for a while a few years back. Probably should have gone for it. Initially it was just men doing it but now it seems there are single women doing it too. I was a bit worried about my personal safety, lack of handiness (can work on this though) and my terrible parking skills, given that one would need to move on all the time. Definitely need to look into it again, might be the answer to moving back to the south on a temporary basis. Round here though, you'd get moved on damn fast, it's nimby land.

[anxiouslondoner]

I quite like the idea of a houseboat, but they are apparently absolute money traps for upkeep with all the mooring fees, maintenance, insurance etc.

[newbs16]

I just wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to respond to this post