Who can afford to buy a house in central Brighton/Hove .........

[zefarelly]

Marshy . . .he's doing better than I was when I started then, its never been easy.

I think we have more ownership in this country compared to most of western europe, unfortunately our rents are very high, but again . . .thats because we have higher interest rates

I agree that uninhabited 2nd homes should be taxed, in the same way you pay capital gains and/or income tax on rents earned, particularly as theres such a shortage of properties in certaIN AREAS

also, in Shoreham they are building low cost housing . . .I bet rich people will buy them and let them out, or sell them on for profit, whereas they should only be sold/rented to those who genuinely qualify for them

 

[Rougvie]

If I hadnt have had a 'joint income' then I probably wouldnt have been able to afford to buy when and where we did.

Its sad really as we ended up hating each other but stayed together for a bit for no reason other than the bills !!

What a f***ed up world we live in !!

I'm JUST managing to get by on my singleton income.

 

[JJ McClure]

I agree with Lammy on the issue of higher taxing for second homes.
The government basically needs to find a way to help first time buyers and deter those who are buying property simply to line there own pockets. Bloody capitalism

From my understanding of things Brighton currently has a surplus of rented accommodation available. This would tend to be the lower end of the market place that would traditionaly be bought by first time buyers.

 

[Lammy]

Exactely the sort of housing that would appeal to first time buyers are exactely the same band of houses that appeal to secind home buyers. You can't really knock them as it is sound business sense at the moment. It is the government that is letting them do it! Why not encourage second home buyers to invest abroad? Thus the investment is the same but also freeing up housing in this country.

Perhaps the the seller should receive a cash incentive for selling to a first time buyer rather than a second home owner? i.e. they ge the stamp duty or something?

 

[Blackadder]

There are some interesting points raised in this thread.

I'm OK but I worry about my two sons ever buying a house as they would need a ridiculous starting salary to get an adequate mortgage. Prices need to come down and hopefully eventually they will.

One solution for single people could be to "club together" and buy a place between them just to get a foot in the market. Mind you, you would have to choose your friends carefully and have a written agreement on what should be done when one party wishes to move on.

The comment about southerners earning more than northerners isn't strictly true, particularly if you work in the public sector where pay rises are negotiated nationally. I agree that there are some very high earners down here but there are also a fair few that are not.

 

[Dandyman]

To get totally surreal, I actually could not afford to buy the flat I currently live in if I put it on the market !

 

[beorhthelm]

One solution for single people could be to "club together" and buy a place between them just to get a foot in the market.

Funny enough, thats exactly how Building Society's started out.

 

[Simster]

I think one large problem is that the salary multipliers are out of date. The multiplier is still 3.5 to 4 times your salary as it was 30 years ago, yet the pound in your pocket buys you so much more. Take music - if a CD costs you an hour's work now, the equivalent vinyl would have cost about a day's work 30 years ago. I think the solution would be to increase this multiplier and offer mortgage relief which Labour recently scrapped.

The price of housing is determined by the market, so if you can't afford it, that's tough I'm afraid, you'll have to move out slightly.

 

[Storer68]

Back in the seventies, houses in Brighton used to sell for about £10,000. People who bought them usually paid a deposit of about £1,000 (achieved by saving for a couple of years through a building society account).

The £9,000 mortgage needed was roughly three times the salary of one person.

Translate that into today's conditions and this is what you need to do:-

First find your £300,000 house.

Then save up £30,000 for the deposit.

Then make sure your job is paying you enough to get a £270,000 mortgage. That means getting a job that will pay something like £70,000 a year.

Not yet got that job? Then best you try harder or wait a while.

Hold on ... if you wait a year, you'll find that the price of the house has gone up by £50,000. Which means that the £70,000pa job you've managed to get is no longer paying enough to get you a mortgage.

Thank you, Thatcher.

Best carry on renting, I suppose. But didn't Thatcher destroy that bit of the housing market as well?

BTW Lord B
Lets not forget to stump up the £12,000 stamp duty bill that such a purchase will incur................

 

[Lammy]

BTW Lord B
Lets not forget to stump up the £12,000 stamp duty bill that such a purchase will incur................

Not to mention;

Solicitors fees,
Surveys,
Estate Agent fees...

The rest of the blood suckers...

 

[Emily's Mum]

One of the reasons why I moved up north 17 years ago was the fact that my then husband & I could not afford a house in Brighton. Of course now I'd like to come home & I may have to face the possibility of doing it on my own. I'd have to work in London to get a decent enough salary, but then I doubt if I could get a childminder that would work long-enough hours to cover my work time & commuting time.

I also work for a big mortgage provider & the salary multiples aren't strictly adhered to any more, in a lot of cases your borrowing level can be based on your ability to repay, rather than strict salary multiples.

 

[Gary Nelson]

dont pay the agent when your buying lammy

 

[Lammy]

dont pay the agent when your buying lammy

stop nit picking...

 

[Deleted User X18H]

i can afford it....lucky timing in the housing market i suppose.

Bought when i was 18, paid 60k for my house.
Sold it last year for 175k.

Bought the new one for 250k, and still have a relativelty small mortgage.

Its just good luck i bought when i did, feel sorry for people these days, my brother earns 35k a year and still cant afford more than a 2 bed flat really.

Yes but when you worked at the Holiday Camp in Haywards Heath
er sorry Insurance Brokers you had a teeny weeny little bit of good fortune on the premium bonds I seem to remember !!!!

 

[Gary Nelson]

I was looking to buy 2 years ago @ £120k for a 1 bed which was ok. nice 1 beds were going for £130k. Couldnt find anything I liked so bought with a mate, 2 bed for £145,000. He moved to London in Feb, I bought him out with the equity I had made giving him a nice profit, me a 2 bedroom flat for £158,000 which after spending a bit of money on it is worth £170,000.

I wouldnt have a nice flat if I hadnt bought with a mate. We did have a few fall outs but nothing major and our solicitor drew up a decleration of trust before we exchanged.

 

[Gary Nelson]

Forgot to add the way I got round a higher remortgage was using a bit of my equity with a bit savings and going self certified

 

[Man of Harveys]

The £250k stamp duty limit is keeping a massive cap on house prices at that end of the market. Loads of places are on at slightly above that level in the knowledge that people will pay £250k and not a penny more.

I should know, the better half and I are waiting to hear back on an offer that we've made at that level. Sounds flash but we/I got lucky, buying at just the right time ago, about seven years ago.

Point is, once Gordon Brown tinkers with that (and, given what house prices have done since that was introduced in 1997, he really ought to) the sky's the limit in Brighton and Hove. Although I hope he waits until we've completed before he does...

 

[zefarelly]

Likewise MOH . . .our house was 265 . . . we got lucky and had our offer accepted at 250 . . . . fixtures and fittings can be used to make up an extra few grand, although our place . . . .you should have had to pay us to take on the fixtures and fittings

but the stamp duty level is rediculous and unfair, I reckon a sliding scale should be used, or preferably nothing at all . . .its just a tax for nothing basically.

buying with a freind was popular in the early 90's as well . . . except you had to go through a whole heap of shirtlifting/drug/sexual habits etc questions and declarations before the mortgage company would accept anything, now you just need a credit card and they'll lend you anything!

 

[Gary Nelson]

f&f have been altered so its more difficult now to pay say 250 + 10k f&F. Solicitors have to fill out a 15 page doc relating to it

 

[zefarelly]

and whats to stop you making up the extra with a wedge in an envelope . . . .it seems to perfectly acceptable practice for Estate Agents commission.

and while we're on the subject . . . .how come now the Solicitors pay the Agents direct . . .dont like that, unless they do a good job and deserve it, which thay all do obviously

no offence GN