Need some help with some important decisions

[chrisgunton]

Hello all,

 

I'm struggling with some sizeable decisions would would appreciate some input or different points of view. This is where the forum comes in

 

Currently, I'm on a low-ish paid job and living 7miles away from work with my parents. I don't pay rent, so my only serious outgoing is the car, and loan repayments from the loan I used to buy the car. I'm not struggling for money but I'm not saving a great deal either. However, I was lucky enough to receive £2000 back from my bank after claiming a PPI refund. I also have about £3000 in an account that my parents set up for me a while back.

 

It's very possible that I'm about to be offered a new job, on significantly more money than I am on at the moment (a 10k rise), however I would be working 30miles from home.

 

The my new salary would enable me to get a mortgage (using a first time buyer scheme) for a flat I've been looking at on a new build estate. Ive spoken to the mortgage people and on my new salary they would be more than happy to offer me a mortgage for the flat (or something even bigger). The £5000 I have saved already, plus a little more saving (to bring it up to £7000 would be enough for the deposit.

 

But I can't seem to make a decision on I would to about the car.

 

The job pays well enough for me to keep the car - but possibly not with mortgage repayments as well.

 

A ) Do I sell the Zed to buy something really nice but more economical?

B ) Use the £2000 I have already and buy something cheaper and economical, sell the Zed to eliminate the loan repayments (almost entirely). This would require more time saving to get a deposit together.

C ) Same as above but keep both cars

D ) Use the £2000 to get the Zed LPG converted. Still have a nice car, costing less to run

 

The loan still has about £7k to pay off (£160 a month)

 

I appreciate I should probably wait until I know about the job - already had 3 interviews and there are no other candidates in the running - but the thought of having to sort this mess out is giving me headaches.

 

So, hive mind, what do you think?

[Neilp]

Speak to sarnie, he's our in house mortgage guru. He may be able to help you keep both

 

Don't LPG convert a zed lol

[DoogyRev]

+1 on speaking to Sarnie

[chrisgunton]

Have already spoken to Sarnie I'm planning for a worst-case scinario anyway!

[Ebized]

A ) Do I sell the Zed to buy something really nice but more economical?

B ) Use the £2000 I have already and buy something cheaper and economical, sell the Zed to eliminate the loan repayments (almost entirely). This would require more time saving to get a deposit together.

C ) Same as above but keep both cars

D ) Use the £2000 to get the Zed LPG converted. Still have a nice car, costing less to run

 

In order

 

C. -

 

B. - (if you want a life without )

 

A. - (you will soon reget that)

 

D. - (utter and total waste IMHO)

[Neilp]

A ) Do I sell the Zed to buy something really nice but more economical?

B ) Use the £2000 I have already and buy something cheaper and economical, sell the Zed to eliminate the loan repayments (almost entirely). This would require more time saving to get a deposit together.

C ) Same as above but keep both cars

D ) Use the £2000 to get the Zed LPG converted. Still have a nice car, costing less to run

 

In order

 

C. -

 

B. - (if you want a life without )

 

A. - (you will soon reget that)

 

D. - (utter and total waste IMHO)

what he said ^^^^

[scubapics]

I would say B until you are financially fit enough to buy another Zed or something equally fun after you have settled into your new job and mortgage. Remember you will be on probation.

 

However, it's the wrong time of year to sell a Zed. You will get a better price come March/April.

 

Personally, I'd take the new job and wait 6months or so to see how it all works out. Then think about the flat once you know you are going to stay in that job.

 

Slowly slowly catchy monkey...

 

So option E.

 

Jim

[Stew]

Really silly question I know but do you know how much it actually costs to run a house?

 

Basically double your mortgage payment and that will be ball park for the actual cost.

 

 

Can you afford to run the car?

[marzman]

Really silly question I know but do you know how much it actually costs to run a house?

 

Basically double your mortgage payment and that will be ball park for the actual cost.

 

 

Can you afford to run the car?

 

+1... good advice.

 

My advice would be to not bother buying your flat... i'd rent first. Owning your own place will be the biggest liability you ever have. It will always cost you more money than you actually expect (when things break/need replacing/when you want to make improvements).

 

Im 28 and still rent my house... and i have no plans to buy in the short to medium term. Im planning on being rich first, before owning (my own ) house.

[spursmaddave]

Get a cheap to run nice car, then sort out the job and flat.

 

Once you have all your own bills you will know if you can save or afford a luxury like a Zed.

 

If you keep the Zed and get a mortgage you could struggle and lose everything, better to build things up slowly and securely

[Sarnie]

With respect, it's time to grow up.

 

Decide which you want more; your own house or a nice car whilst living with your parents?

 

We all want nice cars, but at times you need to cut your cloth accordingly.

 

There comes a point when you have to step out from being a kid with a flash car, to a young adult who owns their own home.

 

Sell the car, buy your place, settle in to the cost of living and buy a decent car later down the line.

 

[Ebized]

With respect, it's time to grow up.

 

Decide which you want more; your own house or a nice car whilst living with your parents?

 

We all want nice cars, but at times you need to cut your cloth accordingly.

 

There comes a point when you have to step out from being a kid with a flash car, to a young adult who owns their own home.

 

Sell the car, buy your place, settle in to the cost of living and buy a decent car later down the line.

 

 

Sadly, and despite my post above Sarnie is right, but..

 

He's all grown up now with family, but dabbled in a flash car on the way and still come out smiling the other end. Good luck to him

 

Being at the other end of the age scale I went his route but couldn't afford the flash car midway, but now everything is paid off I can at least afford a ZED and nice holidays etc. My earnings were average from my twenties to fifties but there was no way a flash car was possible.

 

So much will depend on your future earning prospects, but all I can say is if enjoying life is a priority for you remember you only live once and if renting for the foreseeable future means you can enjoy your passion I would say go for it - as you just don't know what the future holds and you may find yourself regreting you missed out. So many younger people are having to rent now, if not by choice, so use the money that Stew has rightly pointed out will come with keeping your own place, on what you enjoy.

 

Or go sensible.

[sparky370z]

Bricks and morter before the car,

 

Im lucky enough to be able to have both as i earn a decent wage and so does my mrs.

 

As the above post

 

It is double the mortgage every month. Mine is 900 p/m and the bills ect come to roughly another 900.

 

Its a crippler, plus all the bits you have to buy in the first 6 months:-

 

White goods

Kitchen accesories

Bed, and room stuff

Cutley, plates

Sofa

Tv

 

W

You would not belive how much it all costs.

[jumping350]

I can only agree with the others im afraid as a young guy, single on his own with a mortgage and a ZED you will have to compromise the only way i can do it is because i earned crap loads as an athlete (despite numerous people advising me against my dream, i opted for a deposit on a flat and not to live out of a Ferrari i was gutted though!!) Unless you can put a massive deposit down and reduce your monthly outgoings it will be extremely tough..like they sid take your mortgage and double it and not mention unforseen expenses......house or car its decision time...id keep the zed and use your new good income to save for a deposit...im not at home much cos of work so my flat is basic apart from my gadgets havent been on holiday for over decade (get flown all over for work but no holiday)

its sacrifice time in order to keep the zed so weigh out your options and desires and pick the best that suits you everyones different and everyone aspires for something in particular.

[Stew]

Well I bought my own house at 21 - got the keys the day I turned 22.... Bought the Zed 18 months later as I had money to afford it.

 

Now I'm 28 and looking at committing to building a house on land I am acquiring in the next year or two - No flash cars for me as I won't be able to afford both.

 

 

You have to take stock of life sometimes and weigh up whats important.

[chrisgunton]

Hey all,

 

Thanks for the advice - it's great to hear other peoples opinions, both confirming or opposing. Haven't been able to respond till now as I've been doing another money saving exercise - breaking up with the gf!

 

After reading the replies and some thought, and not talking things over with a girlfriend, I'm going to be looking for a economical runabout for a maximum of £2k.

 

I plan to add it to a multicar policy and drastically reduce the miles I do per year in the Zed and see how the insurance works out. If I can afford to keep it as a weekend car, and have something economical enough to only fill up 2 times a month (possible in my current job) it should work out ok.

 

Push comes to shove I can sell the Zed with no pressure of finding a replacement.

 

Finding my first home can wait a little longer while I build up some savings.

 

Any suggestions for the runabout are welcome!

[fosk]

Skoda Fabia! Decent inside, essentially a polo but cheaper! Decent ones for around £1.5k!

[jumping350]

sorry to hear about your gf mate i guess you will save a bit of weight and fuel now at least is a way to look at it maybe something in the 1.4 area??reason i say that is i went to birmingham from south london and back for £30 i could prob get away with going to the shops and back with that in the zed

Maybe something like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-VOLKSWAG ... 1c206fa3e2

[rabbitstew]

For me this is a no brainer. What I did in the same situation was to sell the impractical car and buy an economical "sensible" car. That allowed me to save a lot of money each month which I could use to either buy or rent a house.

 

The rent vs buy argument is a tough one. Ive done both and didnt really notice any difference. If you rent then your landlord has to fork out for all the expensive house repairs and if the housing market drops (like its doing atm) then you dont loose out. If you buy, then you have to have a big deposit, risk loosing money on the market and are liable for any repairs etc.

 

I moved house earlier in the year and worked out that over the last 10 years of owning my own house I would have been better off renting and saving the rest of the cash in the bank. Id have made more money on bank`s interest rates than the return I got from the property market going "up".

 

 

I plan to add it to a multicar policy and drastically reduce the miles I do per year in the Zed and see how the insurance works out.

 

Good luck on that. I looked into the same thing and all the insurance companies wanted around £500 for me to insure a "second car" on a multi car policy. For me, that meant there was no real benefit to having a shed as a second car when you have to factor in £500 insurance, roadtax, MOT, tyres, servicing etc...

[Stew]

For me this is a no brainer. What I did in the same situation was to sell the impractical car and buy an economical "sensible" car. That allowed me to save a lot of money each month which I could use to either buy or rent a house.

 

The rent vs buy argument is a tough one. Ive done both and didnt really notice any difference. If you rent then your landlord has to fork out for all the expensive house repairs and if the housing market drops (like its doing atm) then you dont loose out. If you buy, then you have to have a big deposit, risk loosing money on the market and are liable for any repairs etc.

 

I moved house earlier in the year and worked out that over the last 10 years of owning my own house I would have been better off renting and saving the rest of the cash in the bank. Id have made more money on bank`s interest rates than the return I got from the property market going "up".

 

 

I plan to add it to a multicar policy and drastically reduce the miles I do per year in the Zed and see how the insurance works out.

 

Good luck on that. I looked into the same thing and all the insurance companies wanted around £500 for me to insure a "second car" on a multi car policy. For me, that meant there was no real benefit to having a shed as a second car when you have to factor in £500 insurance, roadtax, MOT, tyres, servicing etc...

 

 

 

 

The rent Vs buy argument is a no brainer in my area. Aberdeen house prices have risen month on month for years. The only time it falters is when the oil price drops significantly. Also rent here is astronomical.

 

I guess you have to factor in this too before deciding on that.

[rabbitstew]

The rent Vs buy argument is a no brainer in my area. Aberdeen house prices have risen month on month for years. The only time it falters is when the oil price drops significantly. Also rent here is astronomical.

 

I guess you have to factor in this too before deciding on that.

 

Its definitely something which varies like mad depending on where you live. Where I used to live, renting was so much cheaper than a mortgage. Mainly cos everyone had jumped on the buy-to-let bandwagon and the market was flooded with houses to rent. It was a buyers choice - you could have your pick of where you wanted to rent and rental prices kept falling in order to be competitive. One of my friends actually did a buy-to-let for 2 years in the same city and in the end sold up as the house prices were falling and the rent he was getting did not even cover the interest only mortgage on the house - let alone maintenance costs. Having just checked sold house prices for this area, they have fell by 25% over the last 12 months.

 

On the other hand, I have another friend who lives in a different part of the UK and she is buying houses like there's no tomorrow and renting them out - so I can only assume in her location that the rental income is more than covering the cost of a mortgage & maintenance else it would make a very unwise investment.

[Chris`I]

Going to go against the grain on this one.

 

Have you got the new job? As people have said, you will be on probabation for anything up to 6 months (my current job I've just completed 5 months probation). Why not live at home until then, run the 350z as a commuter (I used to commute 35 miles each way in the 350z), and see how it goes? Last thing you want to do is sell the Zed, commit to a mortgage and running costs of a house and then possibly find you dont like the job or other reason not to complete probation. Then you will be left with all of the costs and no fun trying very quickly to find a new job?

[chrisgunton]

sorry to hear about your gf mate i guess you will save a bit of weight and fuel now at least is a way to look at it maybe something in the 1.4 area??reason i say that is i went to birmingham from south london and back for £30 i could prob get away with going to the shops and back with that in the zed

Maybe something like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-VOLKSWAG ... 1c206fa3e2

 

Ewww I'd never ever buy a replica anything!

[chrisgunton]

Going to go against the grain on this one.

 

Have you got the new job? As people have said, you will be on probabation for anything up to 6 months (my current job I've just completed 5 months probation). Why not live at home until then, run the 350z as a commuter (I used to commute 35 miles each way in the 350z), and see how it goes? Last thing you want to do is sell the Zed, commit to a mortgage and running costs of a house and then possibly find you dont like the job or other reason not to complete probation. Then you will be left with all of the costs and no fun trying very quickly to find a new job?

 

Plan at the moment is to spend no more than £2k to get a economical car for the commute and use the Zed at the weekends.

 

If I get the job then I will have the car ready for the drives - and until then I'll probably only have to fill it up once a month with my current commute.

 

As for renting vs buying - I really don't want to rent, it feels like throwing money down the drin and will just make it harder when saving to buy somewhere.

[mbs]

Being a sensible ex accountant my advice - in your circumstances it's got to be "B". Then when you've got your flat, settled in and earning more, buy a 370