House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?

sweek0: May 22, 2006; Let me fall out the window
With confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better
On a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets
But I lie about my past

I'm not planning on buying a house right now, I'm just wondering if any of you can just sort of give me an estimate of when it might be a possibility.

I live in London; I guess that's the main thing here. The average cost for an apartment is �300k at the moment, which is around 500,000 USD. That's just an apartment. The ridiculous prices here make it kind of hard to judge what is/isn't a good deal and how much you need to earn to buy anything here.

Given that the combined income for me plus my girlfriend is going to be around �55,000 / $90,000 the salary times 4 rule means we can't afford an average flat here, which seems ridiculous. We have no debt at all, credit cards are paid off in full every month as well, although are savings at the moment aren't very high either.

Given that my parents are able and willing to give us a loan for the deposit (which I would pay back at zero percent interest to them I assume), would it be at all possible for us to buy something in your opinion?

# ¿ Jun 11, 2009 12:09

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 01:10

sweek0: May 22, 2006; Let me fall out the window
With confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better
On a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets
But I lie about my past

Don Wrigley posted:

Not sure on this since I don't know anything about London/the London housing market, but is it anything like Manhattan? People with normal salaries can't sniff a nice apartment in Manhattan. There are, however, surrounding areas that they live (in north new jersey, brooklyn, or queens), is there anyhthing like that you can look into?

Just trying to point out that you're not alone--buying a condo in an expensive city is out of reach for most people.

Yes it is very much like Manhattan. The average London salary is a lot higher than the rest of the country, but still nowhere enough to get an average London apartment, let alone a house. You're probably right that I will have to go further out, or go for an area that's a lot less nice, to find something affordable.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2009 15:03

sweek0: May 22, 2006; Let me fall out the window
With confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better
On a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets
But I lie about my past

FidgetyRat posted:

That is exactly what happened to my sister-in-law. When someone loses their house and files for bankruptcy, their credit is shot and most apartment complexes or commercial renting facilities won't rent to them due to their bad credit, but they still need somewhere to live. Sometimes their financial troubles aren't even their fault but they still struggle to even rent, so private homes are often good in this case.

But you could also get some drug dealer who trashes the place.

You never know.

Just make sure you do the same background and credit cheques as an agency would...

# ¿ Jun 15, 2009 16:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?