Folks, I need to bounce some ideas off you and get your honest opinions. As my brother would say, my head is like a box of frogs. As I don’t know anyone in this part of the world, I also don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off.

Bottom line is that while I am very happy to be back, my new job is killing me. Without going into details, although they are quite happy with my performance, the job absolutely doesn’t suit me. Because my job is very important (it is more of a vocation than a job), I can’t just say “it’s just a job” or “it pays the bills”. I have taken a side-step (different content area) and a “down step” (seniority and pay) and I am currently totally unenthused (though no-one would guess it, I’m good at covering up). There really are not options for changing responsibilities within the same institution, in case you’re wondering. And staying here too long (even 2 years) could hurt my career prospects if I’m out of the research loop for that long.

Sorry, waffling a bit, so here’s my question. Because of the nature of my profession (university teacher/researcher), if I do end up moving job - right now, I’d say that is quite likely – it would probably also mean moving to a different location.

I am just about to put in an offer on a house. Offering 110k, asking price is 120k. Regardless, it’s well-improved, 3 BR plus attic conversion, relatively nice area and one of the better houses on the street (in terms of being end- rather than mid-terraced, and having a nice-sized garden compared to most.) I think for the money, it’s a decent buy and offers a good opportunity to get back on the ladder. I would certainly be very happy to live there - nice views of the valley, walks within short distance, driveable to work.

So my question is: Would you buy a house in my situation?

The major “No” in my head is that if I leave within a year or two, I may end up with a financial headache to sort out. It is definitely a rentable property, though I’d probably have to convert to a BTL mortgage, involving having to find I guess at least £20k to pay off some of the capital. I’d be more worried if it were on a council estate or needed loads of work.

My main concern with waiting a year or two until I know what I am doing/where I am going is that I already am hurting property price-wise and I’m not sure I can afford to be out of the market for another year or two.

My head is killing me. I can’t believe that 2 months into the job I’m already hating it and thinking of moving on – have already been searching the job pages, though realistically I doubt anything would come up until next academic year (fall, 2007). I feel like such a whinger, too. Help! Advice needed!

Two things here....

1) A house is a good investment, even if you left in a year you would have had a year on the property ladder which cant be bad thing

2) If you know you are going to move short term...why not move shorter term and look for somewhere now and buy a house there?

I would buy now and then sell later. Money invested basically, as long as prices generally go up for property in your area.

The only downside to that is the cost of moving. Estate agents, solicitors, stamp duty. You could compare those costs against short term renting.

I would not do it...to much hassle if you move again...plus the housing market could turn...

Ditto

Personally, no (but I must confess to being in the midst of a "lack of house selling" nightmare).

Without wishing to try teach you to suck eggs, are you keeping an eye on www.jobs.ac.uk ?

There won't be any stamp duty on this property (less than 125k - and in fact many areas here have a 150k threshold for stamp duty). The uni will also pay $500 towards solicitors fees.

But I do hear what you say about costs, etc., even with the above consdierations, it's not cheap to buy a house. If I knew for sure that I'd be moving next summer, I think the decision would be a lot easier. Ideally, I'd hope to find a position within this academic year, but university positions are few and far between, especially in my area. I applied for 4 jobs last year and 2 of them weren't a perfect fit (including the one I'm in). Of the other two, I know the one university has suspended the search (insufficient qualified applicants - though i know I was "in the mix") and the other extended the search for the same reason (I got a letter informing me I was shortlisted but they wouldn't be interviewing until summer). In both cases, I couldn't afford to risk the wait - which is why I accepted my current position.

After I got this job someone made the comment "at least you've got your foot in the door". I think maybe he could see at the time that the job wasn't a good fit.

I just want to find the job and place that will work and never move again. I'm getting too old for all this stress!

I'd have to suggest no to buying.

Even if there is no stamp and the purchasing legals are covered, there is still the sales legals and sales estate agents fees when you come to sell in a year. I would also point out the number of posts on various boards discussing how long it is taking to sell at the moment - over 5 months seems the norm.

Property has been a great financial ride in the UK over the last 10 years, but looking at property prices against average incomes or against typical rent yields they are not looking good. Yes, low interest rates have enabled this shift in ratios, but the UK Gov & Bank of England have little control over the global drivers that affect int rates and it doesn't need much more than another good oil shock, a problem in China or the US hitting its borrowing limit to very quickly change the game. Whilst this might be OK for an investment over a 10 year period, if you suspect you may want to sell in 1-2 years it would probably be better to buy in your new destination.

Of course, I could be totally wrong

Good luck

Whenever you find a job is a bad fit, for whatever reason it is a jolt to the system. Dont buy a house for the moment is my advice. You will feel trapped. Take some more time to acclimatise yourself to being back in the UK. I'm sure you have made something like a mental list of pro's and con's of this situation. Write them down and talk to someone you trust, preferably someone who is unconnected with the situation. You may have to bite the bullet for the current academic year but it could help you to make plans for the next, even if that meant moving again. If you hold off buying it will give you some breathing space while you figure out your next move.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Thanks for the suggestions, all (and keep them coming!)

I just got off the phone with an old friend, and also was chatting with my brother earlier. (One of my problems is I have no-one to whine to here as I haven't had time to develop a new social circle). Anyway, in talking things out with them I realized even more that this job is most likely not going to work out (i.e., given the chance, I will move on). It's making me a complete misery. Although one option might be a university in Cardiff (it's the place that suspended the job search), that's by no means certain.

So right now I'm thinking that I have enough stress in my life without adding the house-buying stressor. If I was at all interested in my current job, I probably wouldn't think twice about buying this house. But owning a property in one part of the country while I might well move elsewhere is a problem I guess I don't need. Even if I did rent it out, it's still a potential problem that I could be living too far away from to deal with.

Maybe, if Cape Blue is right and house prices either stay the same or drop some (fat chance, I know), I might be looking back on this as a wise move.

Now the state my head is in currently, when I get out of bed in the morning, I might be thinking the exact opposite ...

a lot depends on your expectations on how house prices might rise in the area you're buying in...if you were to get a couple years of steady growth in the value of your house (say 5% per year or more) might be worth it..if house prices are flat or barely rising then the expense and hassle of buying probably aren't worth it. of course calling house prices is notoriously difficult....personally i'd wait until i was more settled, but thats just me...good luck figuring it out....

Can you give any more info on what you don't like? Is it just teaching rather than research?

Ever thought of moving to the US.


Seriously....I agree with you....you have enough on your plate without the hassle of buying then trying to sell a house. When we moved to the US 10yrs ago it took 2 yrs to sell our house...what a headache that was...the house was stood empty for most of that time.

How long has the house been on the market?
When you say it's in the better part of the street is that only because it is the end terrace? or are there some rough properties around because that could impact later.
What's the market like generally in your area?
How much have prices increased in the last 12 months?

Is the job really that bad or could this be a sort of reaction to returning, even though you know you were right to return (that really sounds garbled).
Would owning your own home make you feel any happier with the job?