Buy A House Now..You Must Be Joking!
by
Jack Windsor
Is now the best time to get back into property? After all prices have slumped and there are some real bargains to be had, isnt there?
Well you could be forgiven for thinking that there are bargains but believe me, the market has a lot further to fall yet. Trying to judge the bottom of is impossible of course. There will be false dawns and the usual cackle from ill informed and unqualified financial journalists but pay no heed. Stay out of property for the foreseeable future.
Now this is no consolation for those trapped in their properties. Unable to move home, and seeing the paper profit everyone thought they had made disappearing fast.
Negative equity is now a reality for anyone who bought in the last 2/3 years, with more and more people being sucked into this awful situation every day.
Property prices are still being artificially held up by vendors unrealistic asking prices but in reality there is no point even being on the market at present as there are no buyers. Not unless you want to accept an offer way below the asking price.
Unfortunately for some this is the only option. A massive loss.
What can you do if youre in this trap? Well a lot depends on individual circumstances of course and the market conditions in your particular area. However, if you can hold out things should start to improve in 2/3 years time. Its a depressing thought if you really need to move home.
One option is to let your home, if there is any demand for rentals where you are and then rent a new home for yourself. This is a risky strategy as you could lose your tenant and have void periods with no rent money coming in. But if you can find a good tenant willing to pay enough rent to cover your mortgage payments then this is one way of moving on.
There simply are no easy answers to this dilemma. If your mortgage balance equals or exceeds the current value of your property, there is little you can do. And please dont delude yourself as to the true value of your home. Remember despite asking prices, a property is only worth what someone is willing to pay, which at the moment is very little.
Until there is liquidity back in the market (banks start lending again) nothing is going to improve.
Hold on tight, its going to be a bumpy ride..
Jack Stevinson is a recently retired “Financial Advisor” who writes about money saving.Jack has established Sound Advice PublicationsYou can read Jack’s blog here: http://soundadvicepublications.com/debthelpblogIf you would like to lead a simpler life debt free go here:http://soundadvicepublications.com/simplelife
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Buy A House Now..You Must Be Joking!
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