Buying My First House - any advice?

[MikeA3]

I'm looking to buy my first house over the next few months and wondered if anyone has any tips / tricks that they found useful when buying? -anything they wish they'd done before they bought or any costs that they didn't budget for etc etc

Thanks in advance

 

[Olly_K]

depending on how much you use/like computers, I wish I'd have wired the house with a network point in each room rather than going wireless. !

And I'd loved to of wired in a ceiling speaker in the bathroom !

 

[silver75]

Just out of interest are you planning on buying in London?

 

[Dan Gliballs]

And I'd loved to of wired in a ceiling speaker in the bathroom !

Errrrm,............why?

 

[Olly_K]

so i can listen to my drum and bass whilst relaxing in the bath of course !

 

[MikeA3]

Just out of interest are you planning on buying in London?

Probably not, if we wante to buy our 1 1/2 bed flat in southfields we'd be looking at £260k+ at least - just not worth it IMO - probably move a little more south - Epsom might be an option at the moment

 

[silver75]

Quite a lot of people are doing this, sad really.

 

[Dan Gliballs]

so i can listen to my drum and bass whilst relaxing in the bath of course !

Ahh,.......I thought you were old?? LOL!!

 

[silver75]

Olly you into drum n bass......you chav!! Joking i have quite a lot of mid 90s stuff on vinyl

 

[MikeA3]

sad but true - i'd like to stay in london if i could but we can get soooo much more for our money if we get out of town, it's the choice between a pokey 1 bed flat in london or a 2 bed semi / terrace house in epsom - bit of a no brainer really - and if i play my cards right i can even get my first garage

 

[Olly_K]

yeah, love drum and bass, started in the 80's (im only 25) with a lot of jungle stuff, still think the old d&b is the best, some new stuff is ok though.

House/trance/vocal trance/floaty stuff is also cool

 

[DIPS_A4]

I love drum and bass used to go to the formation records gigs in leicester uni, goldies stuff is good like pendulum. remember those jungle mania cds loved it. fav track still general levy- incredable.still loving the 80s cheesy stuff n rnb not 2 keen of garage. anyways totally off the main subject heading

 

[Dan Gliballs]

(im only 25)

Aah, a mere boy

Just an association thing I guess Every cnut I see getting out of an RS4 (and can afford it) seems to be 50+ LOL!!

 

[tonedef]

depending on how much you use/like computers, I wish I'd have wired the house with a network point in each room rather than going wireless. !

And I'd loved to of wired in a ceiling speaker in the bathroom !

Just finishing a big extension on my house, got LAN, phone and tv cable everywhere plus more 13amp sockets than could ever be needed. Lots of lights for creating different "moods", LED lighting at floor level, and yes, Bose surface mounted speakers in the shower room

Get it done Olly, you know you gotta!

 

[silver75]

...general levy- incredable...

 

[TDI-line]

Ok, back to the house thread ( not house music lol).

Always have a good look around the house, try and spot any staining on ceilings from water leaks, damp patches on walls, large movement cracks inside and out, noise issues, does the neighbours house look neat and tidy, or is it neglected by the chavs who live there.

That will get you started.

 

[fallmonk]

The thing that caught me out when i moved into 1st home(moved from parents) was
1)council tax/elec/gas etc
2)stupid items like toilet rolls/light bulbs/cleaning products /(its amazing how many a woman needs in one house!)
3)If u have a garden lawnmower/strimmer/fence repairs etc
4)FOOD! and if comuting fuel!

 

[PaulJC84]

Also get mortgage confirmation before hunting.

I have been trying to set one up for the last 3 weeks, they keep coming back to me asking for more info. Is annoying!

I think they know every detail about me now, even my inside leg size!

 

[voorhees]

incredible is excellent,don't buy a house just rent its a waste nowadays

 

[colinra]

when viewing: DONT walk around thinking I can change/do this that or the other. find one where it is already done.

 

[Dan Gliballs]

Just finishing a big extension on my house

We're still in the planning stage for ours,........all the good fun to come LOL!!!

 

[Dan Gliballs]

incredible is excellent,don't buy a house just rent its a waste nowadays

Why? How is it more wise to rent? I see it as dead money.

After just 7 years in the mortgage game, I'm around £100K in equity. If I decided that renting WAS the cool/wise thing to do, then I'd sell up and go rent like other people, only with £100K in my pocket,....................so how was 'buying' a bad move?

 

[Dan Gliballs]

when viewing: DONT walk around thinking I can change/do this that or the other. find one where it is already done.

I'm a self employed handyman, so my opinion on this is about 180 degrees round the other way

 

[TDI-line]

Why? How is it more wise to rent? I see it as dead money.

After just 7 years in the mortgage game, I'm around £100K in equity. If I decided that renting WAS the cool/wise thing to do, then I'd sell up and go rent like other people, only with £100K in my pocket,....................so how was 'buying' a bad move?

Spot on.

I wish i got on the housing market years ago.:thumbsup:

 

[MikeA3]

Thanks for all the advice guys, as for the whole renting / buying issue, i've been renting for over 5 years now which i reckon must have worked out to at least £5000 per year - so thats £30k gone

we're looking at a couple more places this weekend so i'll keep you posted

Mike

 

[silver75]

incredible is excellent,

wrong

don't buy a house just rent its a waste nowadays

wrong again

I say buy a house rent it out and live at home. If your in a position to buy why would you waste your money paying rent?

 

[tonedef]

Right now I would say that the single most important thing to watch when buying your first house is the interest rate. They've been low for so long that everyone has forgotten what happens when they rise a few percent. It's best not to borrow to the absolute limit of what you afford just to find that next year you have to magic another few hundred pounds per month from somewhere.

 

[MushroomMan]

Several things here:
1/ Interest rates are very possibly on the way up, budget for approx 2 per cent movement upwards in the next 5 years. People are in for a shock.
2/ If you've found a place you're seriously interested in, visit it at different times of the day and night. Watch out for nuisance neighbours and anti-social gatherings.
3/ Remember it's a buyers market, properties aren't shifting so you have time to make sure, bargain downwards on price.
4/ The house market is pretty stagnant and will be for some years, that means equity won't grow in the short term; therefore if you're looking for capital growth look for property where you can add value. A place that is completely finished will attract top dollar, go for something you can improve over time.

 

[marriedblonde]

Just thought I would add my 2p's worth.

I'm going to disagree with Mushroom man on a couple of his points.

Houses are still shifting and prices are still rising. If a house has been on the market for a long time it could be for several reasons. Wrongly priced, appalling condition etc.

I do agree that interests rates are probably going to rise though. speak to a mortgage advisor and get yourself a fixed deal for a couple of years but without any additional tie ins. This means you know how much will be going out and if the rates do shoot up you ghave the otion of changing lender after the fixed period is up.

When looking at houses think about mundane stuff - storeage is key! For example is there a space for a hoover for example.

Gio and visit the property at different times of the day -whats parking like, are there 8 million kids hanging around in the evenings, whats the rest of the area like.

J.

 

[MikeA3]

Thanks for the pointers guys, keep em coming

MB - As for the mortgage - we're not looking to max out our budget so we should be ok if the interest rates go up - it'll be cheaper than renting our flat at £1000 a month anyway which can't be a bad thing!

If possible i think we're going to try to find a house or flat with potential for expansion such as a extension or loft conversion -has anyone done this on their house - i know it's not going to be exactly the same thing but was it difficult / expensive to do and was it worth it?

Mike

 

[tonedef]

If possible i think we're going to try to find a house or flat with potential for expansion such as a extension or loft conversion -has anyone done this on their house - i know it's not going to be exactly the same thing but was it difficult / expensive to do and was it worth it?

Mike

We've done both, a loft conversion on our first house and an extension on this one. Both were worth doing as you should end up with a property valued more than you put into it and it can be tailored to suit yourself in many ways.

Things can be as difficult/easy as you like and the price often reflects this, the more you do for yourself the more money you can potentially save. You may need an understanding partner if you plan to do a major part of the work though, our current house has been a building site for the last three years (not helped by the fact I spent the last year in Singapore ).

 

[MikeA3]

[/quote] our current house has been a building site for the last three years (not helped by the fact I spent the last year in Singapore ). [/quote]

lol - bet that made you mr popular, thanks for the advice though