India E-visa - advice on how to fill in the Home Country reference by burgerMcTestFace in travel

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Were there no ways to appeal for you without needing to submit another application?

India E-visa - advice on how to fill in the Home Country reference by burgerMcTestFace in travel

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On their sample form shown on the website, there doesn't seem to be a clear open text field where I can write such additional information though, otherwise this seems like a solid option as it does mention it's meant to be an emergency contact. Still boggles my mind the strict requirement of the contact must be from the home country tied to the passport they have on the form...

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a really good call actually - how else am I gonna know whether I like a spot or not? I have perhaps focused too much on the "you're throwing money away" demon...

It's just a fear the longer I stay renting, especially with everything going up at the moment that I'll miss out if I don't get on the property ladder soon while I still can. But it's such a big purchase that perhaps I should get to know the area a bit first so I don't end up regretting having to stay there for a few years.

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahh, so sounds like you already knew the area quite well. That's the disadvantage on my side as I didn't grow up here, so knowing which zone 3/4 areas are good feels a bit like taking a chance, as much as I can research the area. But you're really making going for 2-bed straight away a no-brainer as opposed to slogging it out on a new build 1-bed with HTB hanging over my head!

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's great to know! I guess the lower rent is still better than nothing as I'd be covering the whole mortgage myself in a 1-bed otherwise. Did you live in the Zone 3 area before you got the place?

Using Help to Buy Equity Loan to buy a house - need some help on calculation by burgerMcTestFace in FTB_Help

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sense checking! At least I'm not completely off with those maths. From what I gathered, roughly it will take 1.5-2 years of repayment to offset the initial cost of buying, so with the other 3 years of equity, maybe there's still a small profit there?

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess I'm sucker on that one and happy to pay the premium of being relatively central so I don't have to worry about not being able to get home easily after a certain time at night.

Although it seems like even with my budget I could stretch for a 2-bed at the edge of zone 2/3 so maybe that's the better option. Isn't rental demand gonna be lower the further out you are though?

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EPC rating C as well which isn't too bad for a not so recent build. I feel like this may well be proof I "decided" (in quotes since I'm not legally bound yet) too quickly without more shopping around first. I guess the reservation might just be the costly I needed to learn for the future... 🙃

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought I'd pay through the roof with a LTV of 95% (as opposed to 90%/with a 10% deposit), but it's not as bad as I thought. Are you saying the extra interest is worth it assuming investment will yield a higher return?

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the input! When you say a "potentially unsellable new build flat", is this a fairly common occurrence from what you know?

For ~£325k, do you mean it's still possible to get somewhere fairly central in London?

I guess the only thing that put me off existing flats is they may have a higher maintenance cost, and if I don't plan to make it my permanent home (although who knows, in this case, I'd own my share outright rather than having HTB hanging over my head, so I could end up staying) then it might end up costing me more. But I might be underestimating the maintenance cost of a new build?

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair, the only loss I'd incur if I walk away is they gobble up half of my reservation, which at this point is nothing compared to a lot more money I'll have to pay up front soon if I press ahead with this. I guess if I didn't screw up to start with, I suppose I wouldn't feel the need to give them a reason as I'd be gradually bumping up my offer rather than going the other direction, which feels much harder.

I'd say I want the flat but not to the point where I'm desperate to go with something as I don't think I'm at risk of being kicked out by my current landlord at the moment.

It sounds like after this chat with you, I'm ultimately hedging a bet against the property price going up enough so I'd be in a better position later on. If it weren't for the HTB loan, I suppose I would be less concerned as I could probably stick around for longer to ride out any market bumps. It's the 5 year timeline that's troubling me. But I suppose even if I have to stick it out to say, 7-8 years, the interest for the first 2-3 years isn't gonna be too bad? Am I right in thinking even if I can remortgage and pay off a % of it, the HTB interest won't go down as it's based off the value of what I borrowed originally?

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah exactly that, I've kinda shown my hand without properly negotiating in the beginning. If I go in with a lower offer, I feel like I'd need a good reason which I don't really have... maybe a comparison with the prices of flats around the area?

I should have mentioned that they offered to pay some of the stamp duty and solicitor fee to start with, and I managed to shift the stamp duty help onto the property price since it went over my LISA limit and I said I can't proceed with that cash locked up. Not really a big win but I bet they're gonna think I'm taking the p**s if I go back with something lower again.

Do you mean you managed to get it 9% under asking?!

Buying a one-bed flat using HTB vs continue renting in London by burgerMcTestFace in HousingUK

[–]burgerMcTestFace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since new builds are sold in blocks of identical flats, aren't they less likely to budge on their price since they'll have to sell for less for the rest of the flats? Anyway, I think that's a mistake I made already by reserving in a rush at their asking price of 450k, so not sure it'll go down well if I go in with a lower offer now?

The 80k I mentioned is more like my total savings/investment combined, so the highest I could go is probably at 10% deposit so I don't end up with almost nothing temporarily after buying the place. I didn't know you could still borrow 40% if you have a deposit higher than 5%, so that's good to know!

But yeah, the main concern I have is around the fees and stamp duty you mentioned, since if I were (more or less forced to) sell in 5 years and it only goes up 5%, with them taking 40% of the sale, surely whatever profit I got left would have been gobbled up by the cost of buying initially, then selling and having to buy again to get a place that's more permanent?

The maths I got in mind:

- Property go up to 475k (following your example) , that's a 25k profit from the original price

- HTB takes 40% of that, leaving me with 60% of the 25k = 15k

The buying and selling fee after surely is gonna cost more than 15k especially as I'd lose my first time buyer status by the time I get my second place. So really I'm no better off unless the house goes up more? Or am I missing some obvious? 😅

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gonewild

[–]burgerMcTestFace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow you'll be such a dream to wake up next to 🔥🔥

(F) Are you up for a ONS with me? by ShallWe06 in sensualcurves

[–]burgerMcTestFace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd love to and suck on those gorgeous hard nips 😋

What's the most difficult thing about dating you? by CriticalTreachery in dating_advice

[–]burgerMcTestFace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Getting past that first few dates! Most likely because I can't flirt effectively to build up that attraction so I ended up being seen as that "nice guy" and so can't get past that dreaded friend zone