joh117

We have been renting for 8 months now paying $500 a week for a 3 bed house in a nice north suburb.

We have a DD who will be starting school next year and we have a dilema we need to be settled by the time she starts school.

We always wanted to buy land and build and there is little land for sale where we live and what there is way to expensive for what we can afford.

We have found we can afford to get a home loan and the repayments for now would be less than our rent. We could afford a 2% increase but not much more until I go back to work. (Hopefully Jan 2010)

We have found some land and seen houses to build on it.

However we are in the dilema do we or dont we. Will the house market crash? Wont it crash? We read and hear so many different reports which stops us making a decision.

I am worried that the owners of our house (family home that they couldnt sell in time for a move interstate so rented it out) will not renew the lease or sell the house.

I do not want to move into another rental if I leave this house I want it to be into our home. I also do not want to introduce change into my DD life she has dealt with enough since we arrived. Second house in 8 months, new sibling, new daycare and new kindy.

I want stability in her life so when she starts school I dont want to move her.

So what would you do? Opinions would be most welcome. I have read other threads on the housing market. I am also worried if the banks tighten lending criteria we may not be able to get a home loan. Currently we can get one with a few lenders. We have a 5% deposit and we are not first home buyers as we got this back in 2004 when we bought in Melbourne.

Be interested in your thoughts

Jo

nessyp

If your buying a house to live in, it dosnt matter if we have a crash, as prices will only go back up.

Wouldnt it be cheaper to buy a re sale property and not build. Dont forget that 12 months of paying mortgage whilst its built.

spartacus

Agree with the point about a re-sale property. Also a seller may well be interested in negotiating a price which might future-proof you against a short-term decline in house prices. I've done the buying land and building thing, and its stressful, and still requires a fair bit of money and effort to finish it off after the builders have finished.

ABCDiamond

The average Mortgage interest rate between 1975 and 2007 was 10.236%

What does the future hold for Interest rates ? My guess; is back up as fast as they dropped, but when ?

If you have never been involved in having your own house built, then ask others that have.
Their main comments will be Stress and extra unexpected money to be paid out for things not considered at first.

ABCDiamond

It actually does make a difference to them, as if they knew that prices were going down, they could wait a while, and not have as big a mortgage.

But unfortunately, no one knows for sure if they will go down, up or stay as they are.

In 2004 many people were saying that the Brisbane market was about to crash big time, and they should sell up. It never did.

I am actually hoping it does, as I have my eye on some nice acreage, but knowing my luck it'll never happen. But... it might...

joh117

Thanks guys

You have a good point about a resale property and I think we are now going to look at this option. If we can get it for a good price we would be able to renovate it again not cheap but a way for us to have our perfect home.

With a resale we can go for a longer settlement and also not have to pay rent while a house is being built again eating into our savings.

We are looking for a home to live in for a long time not a money making machine. We have moved about too much and now is time to put down roots and be settled for our kids sake.

So off I go to explore the housing market.

The land we were looking at has gone under contract so thats the end of that.

Jo

James516

Kids are more resilient than you give them credit for. It's not the end of the world if you move house during their schooling.

Broad Shoulders

exactly, if you are buying a house to live in and not intending to resell within the next 4-5 years then it doesn't matter what happens to the housing market. Also, you say you could afford a 2% increase in rates until you go back to work next year, why don't you buy and fix for the next 12-24 months then? That way you are guaranteed to be able to afford the repayments until you go back

joh117

Maybe but I dont want to move her once she has made friends and settled into a school. That is my choice as her mother. She has had enough change in her little life.

Anyway we may have to move sooner than we thought got a call from the real estate asking if we were interested in buying the property we are renting as owners getting divorced. Its out of our price range I reckon so we will be having to move soon enough.

I just want to be settled by the time my DD starts school wherever that maybe.