Should I buy property now?

I'm 29 and on an income of about Â£18k (Â£21-22 with bonus), I expect to be in a better paid job within the next few months though. I've been renting since moving out the family home and not very knowledgable about property.
If for example I buy somewhere for Â£75k (live in Scotland btw) then 6 months later it's worth Â£60k (worst case scenario) will I be worse off than if I was still renting or are you better to buy whatever the consequences?

Please be helpful and I'll give you 10 points!

Its all up to you.... No one can tell you what to do.... Good Luck @

Yes Yes buy whilst you are young. You cannot beat getting on the property ladder. We have now done this for a pension and it has paid better dividends than any pension scheme could. I would say buy new, personally I dont like new houses but you get your money back as they are covered by NHBC so any faults that arise are covered. Older houses are nicer but can cost too much in terms of what can go wrong. Go for it, dont overstretch yourself into poverty but rent is a waste of money, all you are doing is buying a property for someone else!! Do it for yourself!

Depends on your situation. What are your plans for the next 5 years. Are you planning to get married or have children? If so, you don't want to stuck in a small flat unable to move because of a down turn in the market.My thoughts would be to jump as high up the ladder as possible, maybe a semi. If the market goes down it won't affect you because you won't need to move.

to help and finance it you could rent out a room

Good Luck

I would buy if I were you. The market in Scotland is much more stable than that in the southeast. Although they claim that house prices are falling whats actually happening is that some areas of the housing market are grinding to a halt so the price has stayed the same and not risen with inflation. As there will always be demand for starter homes this area of the market is rarely in decline providing you don't get carried away and stay within your budget.
You may also find that on the right deal your mortgage may well be less than your rent. My grandad told my folks that renting was a fools game - all you are doing is paying someone else's mortgage. My folks took his advice and have been mortgage free since I was a teenager, I should be too buy the time my youngest leaves high school.

Firstly decide where you want to live and work.Then,are you going to get married,have kids? all these things can be considered.Once you are happy with the location ,buy a property that will suit all your needs.This will save you having to move again at a later date.If you do have to move in the future ,you can either rent the house out and buy another,or sell,depending on your circumstances.You are,however ,now very aware of rental costs,a house of your own,that is completely paid for, is a haven from the world and not a source of stress.Good luck for the future mate,you deserve it.

If you buy a house for 75K and you sell for 60K six months later, you will have lost 15K on the house and saved 6 months rent, say 6x800= 4.8K, which will leave you much worse off.

You are right to be afraid of falling house prices, because most experts say they are due. But a fall from 75k to 60K is 20% and no one expects such magnitude. 10% is the maximum mentioned and personally I very much doubt even that.

My advice is, if you can pay for it now, buy it with out delay. And thank me later.

You don't really need to worry about short term fluctuations in house prices if you're planning to own the property for a significant period of time because you're bound to gain in the long term (ie 10 yrs or so). However you're mortgage lender might be worried and it could be difficult to get a loan for more than 60-70% of the property value, so it depends on what kind of deposit you are able to put down. Interest rates are unlikely to rise any more so that's one less worry, and there are likely to be fewer buyers around for a while which is good in one way because you will be under less pressure to close the deal before someone else jumps in and you should be able to negociate the price down quite significantly. There may be a lot of cash buyers around though, taking advantage of the slump and moving in fast (although maybe not in Scotland).
In the end, property is always a safe bet as long as you buy a quality house in a reasonably good area. Just be sure that you can afford the interest payments. If you are able to get a mortgage then that will be a good sign because (reputable) lenders are being cautious at the moment, so if they are confident then you can be. Good luck, it's a daunting decision.

yes you will not lose.

Hi there,

I think that it's always better to get on the ladder as soon as you can. Renting is good for short-term, if it enables you to set aside some money, but if you can afford mortgage repayments, it's better to have an investment for the future.

If you are unsure whether you could afford mortgage repayments on your current salary, wait a few months until you get this better job. It's better to wait until you HAVE the job, than to rely on the job and find that for some reason it doesn't happen. If you can afford the repayments on your current salary, then go for it - any increase in salary in the future will be a bonus!

It is very difficult to predict the market. You can talk to estate agents and try to get some information. Another tip is to look on property websites (i.e. http://www.findaproperty.com ) and once you've clicked on a particular property, there should be a link saying something like "look at sold prices in the area". This will show you how the prices of property in that location have risen or fallen over the past year or so. If they seem to have fallen, sit tight, carry on saving money if you can, and wait until prices seem steadier. If the prices seem to be rising, buy now - you don't want to wait another 6 months and be priced out of the market!

If an area is being regenerated, for example it has improved transport links to a major city, new cafes and bars popping up, as well as some new builds, or even new schools or colleges, the prices are likely to rise in the future, so it's wise to buy now and hopefully watch the prices rise. Googling an area + regeneration might help you research up and coming areas, and you can also ring your local council as well as speaking to estate agents.

Personally, I think it's better to buy. I very much doubt that house prices will drop and keep dropping. If they drop, they are eventually likely to rise again. If you bought a place, it's very unlikely that you'd want to sell again for a good few years. If in 2 years time the market has dropped and you would make a loss on your property by selling it, sit tight for another 6 months. Pick the best place you can afford - pick somewhere that you could potentially live for the next 10 years if you needed to. Don't buy with the intent to move on in a few years, and that way there'll be less risk.

Let's say that as a worst case scenario, you buy a house for Â£75k and you live there for 5 years. The selling price drops to Â£60k. You'd still have options. You could stay where you are until your mortgage is paid, or until prices rise again. You could also try to let the property out to someone else whilst you rented another place, if you wanted to move but still stay on the property ladder. The rent they paid you would cover the rent in your new place, and you would keep paying your mortgage as normal.

There's always a plan B if things go wrong, but I really think buying is a good idea. I know that Surrey is a different part of the country to Scotland, but my boyfriend and I bought our flat for Â£172k just under 2 years ago, and it's now worth Â£192k. I personally don't see how prices are going to suddenly plummet and keep plummeting. It will always stop somewhere. If you can afford a mortgage, buy as early as you can.

xx Emmie

p.s. Personally, I wouldn't buy a brand new place as someone else suggested. Brand spanking new properties often come at a premium price. A few years ago, lots of new apartments were built in my town and they were priced at around Â£240k for a 2 bedroom place, because they were so close to the station and because they were brand new. 2 years later, they are worth about Â£210k, simply because people won't pay a premium for a flat that has already been lived in for 2 years! Whereas 5 miles away, we bought a flat that was already 1 year old and that has risen in value over the 2 years we've lived there. I'd say that any property in a good location (i.e. good transport links, close to town, schools, etc) will still fetch a good price in a few years, so if you can go for one that's already at least 1-2 years old, rather than a brand new build, that would be better.

What I would do is buy as early in the year as possible December , January time as the house prices are alot cheper + youll have the bonus of settling in as soon as the year starts , so not as much hassle sorting out work etc becuse of the christmas holidays .. so good luck x

BUY BUY BUY - No way will property lose 25% (=75K - 60K)

There is very small chance of property going down in value in the overheated areas but you will not lose money as any decrease will change to an increase given time.

Remember you only lose money if you have to sell during the worst time - if you hang onto the property till a better time you will get a better price. Even if you move house during a bad time the house you move to will also be reduced in price.

Make sure you get a fixed rate mortgage, they are a little more expensive but then you will not have to worry about interest rates moving up.

Lets face it - you can't rent forever and I don't think your moving back in with mam and dad. In a way your really luck that you can buy for a relatively low price. All over the UK the lowest prices are well over 100K making it impossible for people our age with our income to get on the ladder.

At that price you will NOT regret it! - **** Luck

Theres a bit of movement down in the property market, what with northern rock and interest rates going up.

Blimey wish I hadn't answered this.

I agree with John S. Now is not the time to buy. There have been many hedgefunds in Europe that have purchased the "sub-prime" mortgage papers from the U.S. and this is going to impact your area too!

Start saving for a home now, but wait until at least 2009 to actually buy one. Believe me, I am telling you that the situation in the U.S. is going to impact your area too! The Bank of Scotland is a very wonderful bank, with good guidelines and great standards, but they will be tapped because they will have to be part of bailing out the others who weren't as cautious. Their mortgage rates have always been GREAT for the last 10 years that I know of from the Bank of Scotland.

I had property in Ireland and in New York. I have sold both of them just before the 'crash' in the United States. . . Lucky me!

Real Estate properties in the UK, Ireland and other countries that have strong ties to the U.S. financially will all go down for at least the next year and half.

If you can, get a roommate to help pay the rental costs, and save, save and save some more. Don't go into debt and pay everything on time. That way, you will have a good size down payment and have excellent credit to walk in and pick up a bargain when the market bottoms. This way you will be maximizing your profit, for the long run. And minimizing your potential losses in the short run.

I do believe that every person should purchase their own home as soon as possible, generally. But this market at this moment is too volitile for me to recommend any young person buying a home today. My daughter is saving for a home and I wrote her yesterday to not buy anything at this time.. . . .to wait until 2009. By the beginning of 2009 we will have a much better picture of just where the real estate market is going and your investment will be made with a better knowledge of what is going to happen to the Real Esate Market Globally.

I wouldn't want you to be in a situation where you meet someone and want to move with them. . . .and find out that your house is worth less then you paid.

Save all you can, and just look around and wait this out.

And you just cannot look at the price you paid, and compare it to the price you will eventually want to sell for in the future. There are many costs associated with buying a home, fixing it up and the mortgage and all the other costs associated with living in it. If you buy a home for 75K and have to sell it for 60k, you will have lost a lot more than 15K!

Please wait until the Real Estate Market plays out this 'rough patch'. And in the meantime, start investigating areas you would like to live in, and even see some of the homes for sale today and what they cost. Then when things start to get better, you will be able to jump on a bargain.

And when you do buy, ALWAYS get a top home engineer to go through the house and tell you what will need to be fixed. I have actually walked away from home purchases after getting an engineer's report! The house I am in right now, well, the engineer's report was horrible. . .absolutely horrible. But the owner's lowered the price for us to make the repairs.

Yet, it took 4 months of sitting in a rental unit until most of the work was completed! Most things can be fixed in a home, but a good engineer's report will really open your eyes! The only reason I did this was because I love the golf course it is on and the house was exactly what I wanted in a home. But I got a real bargain due to all the repairs that were needed.

Remember that Yes, you have to live somewhere... but right now, Renting is best until you really get very knowledgable about an area, and wait out the big expected down town in your area of the world. Right now you could be buying very close to the High Peak!

So, keep watching the market. Select some areas you want to buy in. Even go and see some houses for sale in the areas you like, and WAIT THIS OUT!

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