We recently bought a house in the “uncertain economy” and my big thoughts on it are essentially that when it comes down to it, money isn’t real (yes we need money and I have to be able to afford things), but the actual home that I live in is this real tangible thing that I get to enjoy every single day of my life. So as long as we can afford to live comfortably on a day to day basis who cares about the economy 🤷♀️ After moving from a small condo to a house, it is absolutely worth the money and I love having more space, our own space, a yard, and knowing that this will be our home hopefully forever.
This was my thinking when my husband and I bought a house this year (in US). As long as the house is affordable for us, whatever is happening in the market doesn't really matter.
@@raenewnham7490 agreed! The rental market/situation is tight where I live and it was the right choice for us to buy even though things are a bit weird here
My parents bought their house in the middle of the 1989 recession, when unemployment was reaching all-time highs, inflation was spiraling out of control and house prices where plummeting. Everyone around them said it was a stupid idea to upsize in those conditions... Well, three decades later and that 'stupid idea' they bought for £60K is now worth £500K and is currently home to all three generations of my family.
My top tip for moving with a baby - if you can get help, and have one person just on baby duty, do it. My MIL was on baby duty for us, and it was so nice to not worry about him being in the way, or having to make space for his car seat. My son had just turned one. We also had most of his things in open boxes till day of. So we could still access his things, but it was contained and good to go day of. Those were the first things moved, and I stayed behind to unpack his room right away while everyone else went to get the next load of things. He also had spent overnights at my in-laws before, so the first night in our new home he stayed there so we could get more things sorted without him underfoot. One more tip - set up the room he'll be sleeping in the same as it's current set up. If I remember correctly, you co-sleep, so I'd just set up the furniture as if it was the same room. Helps with night wakes if the room looks familiar, and you can slowly move things to their ideal position once baby is used to the new home. Not ideal, as closets may be made inaccessible, or window placement isn't ideal, etc. But - makes the first week so so much easier.
My top tip for moving: hire movers. We moved one neighbourhood over from a second story flat with the most steep stairs in existence to a house and those men were absolute machines and were able to move all our furniture and appliances in under three hours. We brought over the pets and they handled the rest. Best $600 I have ever spent.
I'm a 27 year old single university student in Germany with less than 5k on my bank accounts but I love your mortgage talk 😂 it's really interesting, even though it's a different country and I'm no way near being able to afford to buy a house.
I work for a bank so this is definitely not a boring video for me 😂 I think it’s important for people to hear other people talk about this stuff because it can be so intimidating and daunting. Especially to people who are self employed, some think it’s really difficult to get a mortgage but it’s not always the case. I’d always recommend talking to a mortgage advisor, even if you’re on a fixed rate cause sometimes the fees are not so bad or there’s a way around things to be in a good position to move house 😊 I also actually had a really good experience with my solicitor, they were really informative and processed things pretty quick 😊
I remember content about you moving into your current flat was some of the first content I watched of yours - it feels like coming full circle! Fingers crossed this move goes smoothly from here!
Hi Hannah, my family is atheist/culturally Jewish. When my mom got a mezuzah cover as a housewarming gift, she hung it up without anything inside! Just the cover! So that's an option, and a funny expression of atheist/cultural Judaism.
We're completing on Friday (screams in excitement and terror). We only visited one house, we put an offer in, it was accepted. We went from 'we'll look at some' to 'this is going to be our house' concerningly fast, so I guess we're quite decisive too! (August to December). We can't sell our current place though as it has unsafe cladding (boo, the whole situation makes me very angry). Damn I should have asked on the discord before picking our solicitor because I've hated ours! We're hosting new year... it'll be An Experience 😂 We were very very clear about how many rooms it needed, how the space should be organised etc. So I feel you so much on having that criteria. (The housing market crash has been coming for like 2 years now so I also just decided not to listen to those things, we needed the move to have a baby). (I still haven't decided on the Mezuzah. I THINK we might have it on one of the rooms in the house but not on the front door - compromise! But also we haven't decided anything and also thinking about Jews Don't Count (excited for that video!) and your equal unsurity was very helpful thank you. My partner is probably similar to Dan in opinion.)
I'm Jewish and my partner isn't and when we moved into our London flat I put up a mezuzah and it's been great for us. I'm from the US and grew up Reform (I think the equivalent in the UK is Progressive? Not sure - but we're definitely more culturally Jewish than religious) and I never had one growing up. I got one first at uni and then when I moved into my first flat with a friend (who was also not Jewish) and I've had one ever since. I guess being from the US I'm less concerned with sharing my Judaism and it's something I've openly shared with people since moving to London, but whenever I see someone else's house with one it makes me so happy. Obviously this is something for you and your family to consider but it's become a staple in my household and is something that my non-Jewish flatmate and now partner never had an issue with and have come to see as part of their household as well.
I just upsized myself in preparation for having a family. It was a journey full of ups and downs. The one piece of advice I will give is pay people to move your belongings. It was 400 euro for two guys to deconstruct all of our furniture and do all of the lifting etc, we had packed away our actual things but they did all of the rest and it was the best money I've ever spent. My back and my sanity thanked me for it!
They aren't moving anymore. She shared a post on instagram where the spare room was turned into Rowan's bedroom. She also answered in the comments there that they no longer plan to move.
We just moved right before Christmas with a 2 year old and a 4.5 year old from a rental house to a house we just bought. We had previously sold our other house the year before when the market was really high here in the US. So, we moved with an almost 1 year old and 3 year old then with a 2 year old and a 4.5 year old....it's a LOT. It's stressful. I feel for you. But, it's also SO worth it to end up in the house/place you want. :) This house is our forever home and the kids (and our dog) have more space and love it!
This is so exciting! Congratulations! Also, definitely down for "adult" conversations like this going forward so no worries. I'm 28 and this is all stuff I'm thinking about/working towards, etc.
My spouse and I bought our first home in 2021. It's in a co-op in the US, which is like a condo...which is I guess like a flat in the UK? Anyway, after over a year in our home I finally put up a mezuzah, and I'm so glad I did! My spouse isn't Jewish like me, but he was totally supportive. It reminds me of home growing up, and especially my dad and my grandmother, who have passed away. It's also not the only mezuzah in our building, which is a lovely feeling of community. Really looking forward to your chat with David Baddiel--I'm reading his book Jews Don't Count now, which I first heard about on your channel! I'd love to hear an update about the mezuzah decision when you move :)
I'm so excited for you! This is awesome news. I remember when you were talking about buying the flat and now a house! How lovely is to see you achieve all this things.
Hi, yay love moving/Reno videos, more please.(floor plans are my crack lol 🥰) questions: could you give us the floor plans or a rough walkthrough and a bit more info on the other two properties you saw (and the notions, and notes and thoughts you had on them) curious to know if time had gone by and you hadn’t found anything else you remotely liked would you have revisited the other two options and tried to make it work I.e extensions/remodelling, doing up certain rooms as needed, lodger friend, extra mortgage from family, what would have been your plan b in that scenario? Don’t know if this is the right place to ask the Q’s if not could some friendly person point Hannah in it’s direction please. To any one reading I hope you are doing good and having a nice week, stay safe, happy and healthy and have lots of fun and a life full of love. (And let’s all please try to be kind to one another). Lots of love. Kelly
Having built and bought and sold several houses in my lifetime, and lived through the ups and downs of all kinds of housing markets, I think your ideas are spot on. Your concerns should be: Can I afford this mortgage? Is my income stable?, things along those lines. This house is not meant to be a financial investment, it is meant to be your home. Yes, it's nice if you can make money in the long run, but who knows what is going to happen in 10+ years time. The market could go through a few ups and downs during that time. Best wishes on the process! Looking forward to any moving and new home content you decide to produce!
If you are upsizing, it does not make any difference whether the market crashes or not. You need to sell your flat anyway and put the money towards the new place, the only thing that will matter is the price difference between the old and the new! Congratulations are in order, very excited for the moving vlog xxx
I just moved into an apartment on my own for the first time (renting). It’s a very stressful time money wise for so many people, myself included. And yet it’s the first time in my life I can afforded my own apartment after years of flatshares. I’m so so lucky and privileged to have parents who can still financially support me until I finish my studies in summer. But there’s also so much that went into getting where I am now. I’ve never been more stable mental health wise than I am now. Managing a full time bachelor’s degree in social work and a part time job as a social pedagogue. Being so busy and still living in a pandemic is isolating but now I get to have my own space that I can invite my friends and partners to and have my home be a home to my people too. It’s exciting, taking your own life and goals and needs and wishes seriously and taking risks in caring about and putting so much work into something. Congrats on the house, Hannah! Fingers crossed that it all goes over smoothly ❤
I’m a full time conveyancer so happy to answer anyone’s questions or queries! I know it can be super stressful and overwhelming, even without the changes in the current market! 🧡
I’m watching this sat on the sofa in my first home. I moved in yesterday and am still ferrying things to this house from my old rented one. This was the perfect first TH-cam video to watch in this house. I also had a conversation with a mortgage advisor that ended in me going to look for houses and I very quickly ended up buying this property. I locked in a mortgage rate right before they skyrocketed and I’m in the same camp as you of ‘move now and sit tight in a new place during the housing crash’. Having fixed my rate for two years I feel secure enough that I am able to fix up this house and stay long enough to ride the housing market and in a few years when I am ready to move on as I’ll be in a different stage of life, I know I will be glad of the equity. I completely get what you mean about the mezuzah in terms of religious childhood things that mean something but also realising it is your home and you decide what to do with it.
in France here, so our mortgage rate is fixed for 20 years, lol, though we can break it at any time. But we got in right before things started going south, and we got maybe the best interest rate we could possibly get, I mean minus building co-op fees and utilities and stuff, our mortgage is around what we were paying for a small 1 bedroom, and we have a 2 bedroom now with a humongous living room, I feel like if we don't have any kids we'll be staying here until we die, lol, because it's so far met all of our needs. Now I just gotta make it so that everything is up to date and more comfortable that a basic white rental box, lol
Thank you so much for talking about this!! I'm not going to be in a position to buy any time soon but it's so valuable to normalise talking about personal finances, and for me to have resources like this to get some awareness into my head at a time when I don't neeeeeed to know it. I don't have parents or any grown up to ask, so I so appreciate you being open about your experiences - thank you!!!!
My husband and I (Canadian) bought a house last summer in the craziest market Canada has ever seen (at least in our area). Houses were moving so fast, and for more than double their listing price before even being listed online. We viewed our house on a Thursday. We offered Friday morning, all offers were reviewed at a set time on Monday and we officially bought a house on Wednesday after a VERY rushed home inspection. I appreciate the stress you’re going though. Congrats on the almost new house :)
I feit the same as you, we also went from 'having a look' to 'oh shit we bought a house'. We went looking on a saturday at the beginning of october, put in an offre on monday and moved in on the 2nd of december!
I consider myself fluent in English despite it not being my first language but there were... SO many words I have genuinely never heard before in this video haha! So interesting to hear your process so far and wishing you the best of luck with the new house
Congratulations on this big moment! If I were in your position, I would start packing right away to prevent the stress once you have your move-in date.
Hannah, I’m in near enough the same position as you (moving from a new build flat to a 3 bed Victorian terrace, with a mortgage offer that went through JUST before the mini budget fiasco, and will be moving with our newborn in Jan 😅)! We have similar concerns about the housing market, but our thoughts are that a lot can happen during 10 years. Sure, we could be paying top, top value for it rn, but even if the value drops tomorrow, it won’t matter so long as we can afford repayments. Living with enough space and making a family home with our son is really important to us. That’s our priority. I’m mainly feeling super grateful that everything went through before it all went to shit with Liz Truss’ stint as PM! So many friends now can’t afford to move. Good luck with the rest of the process!
One tip for moving to the new house that I have is that it makes it way less stressful if you don't move all the stuff in one day. My dad recently moved apartments and he spent like, a whole three weeks nearly every day moving stuff, leaving a lot of the most essentials and bigger things for the final day of moving (though he did send his piano, bookshelf + books, and the couch + armchair before the final day). It helps to have crates to move the smaller things but also just using those travel bags already helps a lot. Ended up that he bought the apartment last month and is already nicely settled there now, it's been some four days or so since the final move day. Edit: and also he spent the good five or so months before actually buying it getting rid of stuff he didn't want anymore, which also helps
Hey Hannah sure your well aware of this but one thing that really can bite you financially was all of the post moving costs. Solicitor fees, estate agents fees, house moving fees etc etc we were so lucky we got advise to add this into our mortgage amount else would have never have afforded it. Really not an insignificant amount. Good luck with the move always going to be a very stressful time but sure the new family home will be well worth it all 😁
I'm so happy to hear you like your solicitors! I work as a trainee property solicitor and we so often just get people complaining despite us obviously doing everything we can!
This will be my exact situation next year! Currently pregnant and due in April 23 and want to move end of next year even though we are in a fixed term mortgage until 24. Feel like this video was made for me haha! But seriously I think it is great to see videos on mortgages and finances because you only really learn about it when you are experiencing it and also it changes all the time.
The whole house buying/selling process seems really different in the UK compared to how it is in Norway. Here, when you're selling a house, you have to get a survey and everything done beforehand (and the seller is the one who pays for all this), so that all these documentations can be included in the listing - the surveyor is unbiased so the buyer can trust the documentation, however if it turns out that something is discovered to be wrong in the first few months that the seller can be expected to have known but not disclosed, they have to pay for fixing it. When you go to look at a house there are usually fixed dates for viewings, and then you have until the next day to decide if you want to place a bid and that bid is binding (so the buyer has to have cleared the financials with their bank in advance). Then you have all the stuff with signing contracts etc, and then usually there's about a 3 month wait until you actually get the keys (because most of the time people have to sell as well), but all the legal stuff is usually done quite quickly (within a few weeks). I bought my first flat in winter 2019/2020, and then I sold that in September last year and bought a new flat a year ago. Most people buy first and then sell, but I did it the other way around because covid had made the housing market uncertain and I wanted to be sure of how much I had to spend on a new place. My estate agent gave me an estimated price but said it could go quite far above or below that - I ended up having a lot of luck selling, and then because prices were going down I got a bigger flat for less money and had some left over to redo the kitchen which was golden. But it's certainly a stressful time, especially that first day after the viewing when you don't know if there's going to be a bidding war or not! Good luck with your move, I hope everything is smooth sailing for you! xx
Hannah this is so helpful! I could of done with this video 2 months ago when I was remortgaging! It’s so hard to get a clear break down of how it works and I hope this video helps other people going through this stress ❤️
We moved right at the beginning of the pandemic. It was our 1st home, so it was relatively easy. I think, we put in an offer, and it got accepted within 7 days of the property going on the market. I was sceptical until the moment we picked up our keys that everything would go smoothly, but it did! I was particularly scared because we had put in a notice on the flat we were renting and we don't have any family in the UK, so we would have been stranded if anything had happened lol
Congrats! I am first-time buyer at a similar stage in the process to you. The uncertainty of timing is absolutely killing me! Your solicitor sounds fabulous, mine disappears every two weeks! Thought this topic was so boring before but now I'm in it I'm obsessed!
I’m so happy for you! My partner and I weren’t so lucky; we were trying to buy our first place together, a small 2 bed flat, and we got our mortgage application in just before the interest rates skyrocketed but then Liz Truss ruined it for us and our mortgage was one of the thousands that got rejected
We moved house in September. Did one day of viewings, fell in love with the third house, put an offer in the next day and we're accepted. We were only under contract for something like 45 days, had all our inspections and etc, got the keys August 30 and had to be out of our apartment September 30. It was insane and the housing market honestly was not favorable, but talking to our realtor we decided now was the time. The housing shortage in the US is going to take decades to resolve, so honestly even if inflation chills the fuck out buying a house isn't going to get any easier for a long, long time.
When Hannah says 3 months might be a bit fast.... From the time my place was listed to when my offer was accepted was just 72 hours. I moved in a month later....
Watching this video is like living a nearly parallel stage of life, but in a different country. We also have a baby (just turned 8 months old), and have just listed our house for sale and are house-hunting with intentions to upsize (baby stuff takes up SO MUCH space!). I am definitely nervous and worried doing this process in these uncertain times, and also struggling to manage being a mother to my baby while packing/cleaning/etc. There is just SO much to be done and only so many hours in the day. 😮💨
We just bought for the first time and moved in about 6 weeks ago! Took 5 months, but we were similar, we started looking at homes online and were going to start viewing. Viewed one house, put an offer in and had it accepted all within a couple of days. Then a couple of weeks later found that we were having a baby! Glad we didn't put it off any longer as thankfully it's all just fallen into place.
Hello!! Loved this cause currently in the process!! I'm 21 and buying my first flat, the process was similar to yours like oh I'll talk to a mortgage advisor to see where I stand and they said oh just go have a look your in a good place. I looked at three flats too but came back to the first one cause the vibe was just right and it's perfect for me! Currently waiting on the mortgage to be approved and have a tentative move in date in February, cannot wait super excited for this big step 😄🏠
I bought my first house in Fall 2020 when things felt very uncertain but interest prices were super low. I'd been tentatively looking, but since I wasn't spending money all spring and summer, my down payment built up much faster than anticipated. The actual process of looking at this house went insanely fast, but it was the first place that fully completely felt like mine and like it was a space designed for my needs.
We are in a similar position, our house is sold,offer accepted on our next, waiting currently for the people selling to find their next. We are forced to move by bad neighbours but also thought it we can afford it now then let's do it. If the market changes all houses change in the same way so might as well be happy when it if they do right
you talking about moving with rowan made me think about how my parents moved from an apartment to buying a little house when i was a baby and i actually learned to walk literally the week we moved, which was endlessly amusing and frustrating for my parents lol
Our family is actually moving from America to England. So I’m thankful for the solicitor recommendation lol we have a baby in a toddler so we’re gonna see how things go! Although we’re moving to the south west, there seems to be a decent amount of availability there and that’s where family is.
Just thinking have u got a hotel near where u can all stay for few days n family members has R there. So u move on Fri n u all stay there from the mon when u got main rooms set up. I would recommending a packing n unpacking services (if u only go for one packing service coz there know how to pack n can be pretty quick) so there pack everything n u put sticky note on what there r unpacking etc so u can at least can kitchen living room n main bedroom set up only idea n maybe ur assistant can help with vlog even if it’s main things like handing keys in n getting new keys. I love scrapbook but I think u need to do a book of pictures n memories of what has happened in the flat especially for ur son xx
it's interesting to see the differences and similarities between your and Lucy Moon's processes of buying a new property around the same time. I think it's a good insight into the london market at the moment imo.
My husband and I had a similar experience this summer, it all happened pretty quickly and we’ve been so happy to be in a home, we’ve chosen to be childfree but it was time for more space for us to be able to comfortable cook together, work from home and to add a couple of new pets to our little family :) I’m happy to hear that things are coming together so nicely for you all!! Will definitely be on the lookout for an announcement that you’ve got the keys! Congratulations!!!🎉
We moved recently with a 6 month old baby. On actual moving day, we called in my mum and dad to help with the actual moving bit and we called in my sister just to look after our little one. Would recommend having someone to just look after baby so everyone else can focus on the actual moving
Happy Hanukkah! Good luck on the house move. So stressful but hopefully it will all be worth it. Also moving house hopefully, it has ben super stressful.
Our own house hunting was crazy similar to this! We had our offer accepted last week and we get the keys in January. We're so excited! We had the same concerns about the market, the same issue of next year's taxes won't look as good as last year's, the same issue of deciding to jump up our looking at houses timeline by many months, the same small window of time to find something and move so we weren't going to overlap mortgage and rent because could not afford to risk that, the same putting an offer in really early in our looking. It was the 4th house we saw the inside of. We just walked in and felt it, we knew this was the one. And a really similar list of things we needed to yours, even though we're in America. We had a few additional needs and our budget was really small for our area so we actually were extremely open to changing cities, and boy did we. We also saw a few houses with amazing potential that were unlivable as is and no money to do the work upfront. We ended up in a darling house that's new and move in ready, and we're so excited. I 😊😊 and we had a great realtor.
My fiance and I just moved into our first home which we were closing on during the start of the craziness with interest rates. I totally understand your stress
My partner and I completed the week after the economy crashed. The run-up to completing was the worst of our lives without a doubt. We had to wait to find out if the bank was withdrawing our offer. Luckily, we ended up completing 2 days before our original fixed offer ran out. It was such a relief because we could not afford the massive interest hike. What we could originally afford when we started looking pre pandemic is not what we ended up with due to the market going mad. The house we ended up buying had nothing we wanted but we fell in love with it.
Just bought my first place and had the stress of the mortgage rates rocketing. Luckily already had a mortgage in place but really wanted to push to move in asap incase either mine or someone else's in the change mortgage provider pulled theirs. Luckily all worked out and I finally moved in October. Good luck with the move Hannah, hope it all goes smoothly.
Wow, we're house hunting too! So wild, it sounds like the UK is very similar to how the US housing market is at the moment. We've gotten pre-approved for a mortgage and have been searching for a few months, we toured one house that was a bit too small with too sketchy of a basement lol. Haven't toured anything else yet but fingers crossed we find the one! My partner prefers google docs so we've been using an excel/spreadsheet situation to track everything! I'm delighted that I'm not the only one
Good luck on your move, hope it goes smoothly! By the way, our upsizing process was also super fast, and I know a lot of people who also bought the second/third house they looked at.
Being unable to easily sell a house you like in an area you like that works for your family is not the worst thing, and like you said, it’s better to be “stuck” with that house than to be stuck in a flat that is too small for your family currently, let alone in 10 years. My partner and I live with his parents, and it’s probably going to stay that way until we can save up a down payment for a house, which by my estimation can happen in about 2 years, which is also about the projected timeline for any deep housing market crash (at least in the US, where we are). But hey, we get along with his parents, and if we have to live with them and put off home ownership until I’m 30, so be it.
Yessssss love housey/moving talk! I'm very much trying to push the vibe over here "we should be casually looking so we can be aware of the market... and if we see one we like let's go." But am dying to move at the moment =/
So I know Nothing but it seems to be that if interest rates are just going to go up and up (which is seemingly like the case), and if the market is abit scared so perhaps prices are at least stable or if anything going down, plus as u said the factors with your income etc, then it is probs the best time as it's going to be do make the jump 👍🏻 Best of luck! I am living overseas at the moment so not in a position to buy a place but so keen... currently living in a 1 bdrm apartment with a bubba and just making it work 😋
I was going to ask if you'd consider sharing the location of your current flat because I'm just super curious but when you mentioned you're staying there, I understood. 😁 I'm a bit envious but so happy for you. And looking forward to more videos about settling in! 💛
We moved from a 25msq cabin to a 3 bed house over the last weekend of October. We have a baby also and my biggest recommendation is if you can at all, get someone to mind the baby OUTSIDE the flat, ideal for full days, while you’re packing and cleaning! Babies are very distracting 🫣
This is super interesting to me, so don’t worry. :) we are on the same timeline as you but with a 2 year lag :) our mortgage for our 2BR flat will expire in 2025, and we’re gonna try for a baby soon. 😅 so if everything works we will be in the same position in exactly two years! We also bought with HTB, partially inspired by you. Feels like we’re growing up together 😭
My husband and I were also quick with buying our first place too (or for you, switching places). We just had an apartment, so luckily someone else could rent it before our lease was up. We ended up looking at two homes in one day, and putting an offer in on the first house, because it checked all our boxes! Plus the market was hot, so we wanted to make an offer asap.
It took us 10 months from putting our offer in to actually move into our house. We had to reapply for our mortgage because we ran out of time AND our completion date fell through several times. We didn't know if we were definitely getting the keys or not until lunchtime on the actual day! The stress, I'm so glad it's over, I don't plan on ever moving again.
Ahh this is so funny! Me and my partner are just about to move as well (hopefully!) and The Partnership are also our solicitors! The colour coded wheel is amazing right!? And those weekly updates - even if sometimes they fill me with hope that something exciting has happened and we're getting close to exchange and then really it's just a message saying 'we're working on it'! Hope the rest of the process is a smooth one for you - ours has been less than smooth!
My husband and I also only looked at 3 properties when we bought a house. I think my mom is still not convinced that we bought the house because we truly love it. She seems to think that we only looked at three because there just weren't many houses available in our area. I told her multiple times that there were lots more and we could have kept looking, but we loved this one. When you find the right one, why keep looking?
Not the same situation, but my father lived in an apartment for about 13 years (in a house that had been owned by relatives since the 1950's at least so he was super comfortable there) till it was sold and he had to go fine somewhere else. For work purposes, he was keeping to the general greater Boston area, which similarly has a ton of duplexes and triple deckers built in the same style around the turn of that century. And the place he wound up in has an almost identical floor plan to his old place but backwards. The first few times I visited, it was the most disorienting experience, because so many features were familiar, but I kept accidentally winding up in the pantry instead of the bathroom because they were suddenly on opposite sides 😂 I have no idea how long he's going to stay there, but I have to give myself a pep talk every time I go over so I don't go on autopilot back to the set up that I lived in over a decade ago. I don't know how he managed it after so many years in the old place.
We put an offer in on a place a couple of weeks before you, get our keys today and move just a few days before Christmas! We’re in Ireland and moving from a rental, so this is our first house purchase and I’m just so thankful to be getting out of this obscene rental market and into a house that’s a decent size. We’ve managed to squeak in just before the interest rate rise happens as well.
Loved the video. Not bored. The question I had (and I think this may be a whole video) was how you managed the whole "shared ownership" of your flat. I am a first time buyer and nervous about buying a place that will not be completely mine. Reading between the lines in previous videos I think you may have bought out your whole flat at some point? The move from shared ownership to whole ownership/ new house please? Very confused about it xxx
Hannah, if you and Dan, in the near or far future, need good architects, hit up Jeff Kahane Associates, especially if you are situated in North London. I am not only saying it because I work there, but the director is the most kind and knowledge architect I have met. As for contractors, MH Costa are the best. They are like the solicitors you linked, in terms of organisation and precision, but builders (they have instagram, pinterest and a website).
Very exciting!! We exchanged on our first house on Monday and are completing early January, after a very stressful couple of weeks (with sellers threatening to pull out multiple times, paperwork getting lost in the post, solicitors dragging their feet) I’m so relieved we are (hopefully) almost there. The process is so unnecessarily complex, I really think there needs to be more education about it!
Literally just went through the exact same thing you're going through right now but in the States. Like we just finished moving into out new house at the end of November. The whole interest rate thing between our countries seems different because our mortgages tend to only have 15 year or 30 year rates (fixed or adjustable) so that was interesting to hear. And in our experience as long as you're making your full payment, if you have a fixed rate, it won't ever become an adjustable rate unless you refinance to a different mortgage type, and itll be paid off at the end of the loan term. Love mezzuzot and we still need to put ours up (and buy more as there are more doorways so we don't have enough lol). Totally happy to talk more on them if you're interested. Best of luck with your closing and sale and move!
another difference between the US & the UK is that the expected "normal" deposit in the US is 20%, whereas it's only 10% in the UK, and lenders are more comfortable lending out higher amounts relative to income in the UK than in the US (a "normal" mortgage would be 4x pre-tax yearly household income in the UK, while I think it's more on the order of 2-3x in the US -- not entirely sure as the two countries use different debt-to-income ratios). Between this and a chronic undersupply of homes, the average price-to-income ratio in the UK (especially England) is higher than it is in the US. A couple of other interesting differences between the two: buyer's side real estate brokers/agents are extremely rare in the UK, not so in the US. Contracts take longer to complete in the UK (as you can probably tell from Hannah's video!) and it's less of a sure thing that you'll actually be moving once your offer is accepted because sellers can back out later in the process. But the percentage of the population who live in owner-occupied housing is fairly similar between the two countries, which is interesting. The difficulty that a lot of people are having with the economy & with mortgage rates skyrocketing right now is also fairly universal across not just the UK and the US, but also...pretty much the entire western world, tbh. I'm no Tory fan, but the current situation is decidedly being driven by macro rather than UK-specific political factors. It's super interesting to compare across different places! (Source: am an American economist living in the UK)
We recently bought a house in the “uncertain economy” and my big thoughts on it are essentially that when it comes down to it, money isn’t real (yes we need money and I have to be able to afford things), but the actual home that I live in is this real tangible thing that I get to enjoy every single day of my life. So as long as we can afford to live comfortably on a day to day basis who cares about the economy 🤷♀️ After moving from a small condo to a house, it is absolutely worth the money and I love having more space, our own space, a yard, and knowing that this will be our home hopefully forever.
This was my thinking when my husband and I bought a house this year (in US). As long as the house is affordable for us, whatever is happening in the market doesn't really matter.
I’m looking to buy but I have been worried by the news. Thank you for commenting this, very comforting 😊
this is such a great perspective! thanks for sharing it
This is such a refreshing perspective, I agree!
@@raenewnham7490 agreed! The rental market/situation is tight where I live and it was the right choice for us to buy even though things are a bit weird here
My parents bought their house in the middle of the 1989 recession, when unemployment was reaching all-time highs, inflation was spiraling out of control and house prices where plummeting. Everyone around them said it was a stupid idea to upsize in those conditions... Well, three decades later and that 'stupid idea' they bought for £60K is now worth £500K and is currently home to all three generations of my family.
My top tip for moving with a baby - if you can get help, and have one person just on baby duty, do it. My MIL was on baby duty for us, and it was so nice to not worry about him being in the way, or having to make space for his car seat. My son had just turned one.
We also had most of his things in open boxes till day of. So we could still access his things, but it was contained and good to go day of. Those were the first things moved, and I stayed behind to unpack his room right away while everyone else went to get the next load of things.
He also had spent overnights at my in-laws before, so the first night in our new home he stayed there so we could get more things sorted without him underfoot.
One more tip - set up the room he'll be sleeping in the same as it's current set up. If I remember correctly, you co-sleep, so I'd just set up the furniture as if it was the same room. Helps with night wakes if the room looks familiar, and you can slowly move things to their ideal position once baby is used to the new home.
Not ideal, as closets may be made inaccessible, or window placement isn't ideal, etc. But - makes the first week so so much easier.
My top tip for moving: hire movers. We moved one neighbourhood over from a second story flat with the most steep stairs in existence to a house and those men were absolute machines and were able to move all our furniture and appliances in under three hours. We brought over the pets and they handled the rest. Best $600 I have ever spent.
I'm a 27 year old single university student in Germany with less than 5k on my bank accounts but I love your mortgage talk 😂 it's really interesting, even though it's a different country and I'm no way near being able to afford to buy a house.
I work for a bank so this is definitely not a boring video for me 😂 I think it’s important for people to hear other people talk about this stuff because it can be so intimidating and daunting. Especially to people who are self employed, some think it’s really difficult to get a mortgage but it’s not always the case.
I’d always recommend talking to a mortgage advisor, even if you’re on a fixed rate cause sometimes the fees are not so bad or there’s a way around things to be in a good position to move house 😊
I also actually had a really good experience with my solicitor, they were really informative and processed things pretty quick 😊
I remember content about you moving into your current flat was some of the first content I watched of yours - it feels like coming full circle! Fingers crossed this move goes smoothly from here!
So happy that it all is going smoothly, especially given the timings!
Hi Hannah, my family is atheist/culturally Jewish. When my mom got a mezuzah cover as a housewarming gift, she hung it up without anything inside! Just the cover! So that's an option, and a funny expression of atheist/cultural Judaism.
We're completing on Friday (screams in excitement and terror). We only visited one house, we put an offer in, it was accepted. We went from 'we'll look at some' to 'this is going to be our house' concerningly fast, so I guess we're quite decisive too! (August to December). We can't sell our current place though as it has unsafe cladding (boo, the whole situation makes me very angry). Damn I should have asked on the discord before picking our solicitor because I've hated ours! We're hosting new year... it'll be An Experience 😂
We were very very clear about how many rooms it needed, how the space should be organised etc. So I feel you so much on having that criteria.
(The housing market crash has been coming for like 2 years now so I also just decided not to listen to those things, we needed the move to have a baby).
(I still haven't decided on the Mezuzah. I THINK we might have it on one of the rooms in the house but not on the front door - compromise! But also we haven't decided anything and also thinking about Jews Don't Count (excited for that video!) and your equal unsurity was very helpful thank you. My partner is probably similar to Dan in opinion.)
I'm Jewish and my partner isn't and when we moved into our London flat I put up a mezuzah and it's been great for us. I'm from the US and grew up Reform (I think the equivalent in the UK is Progressive? Not sure - but we're definitely more culturally Jewish than religious) and I never had one growing up. I got one first at uni and then when I moved into my first flat with a friend (who was also not Jewish) and I've had one ever since. I guess being from the US I'm less concerned with sharing my Judaism and it's something I've openly shared with people since moving to London, but whenever I see someone else's house with one it makes me so happy. Obviously this is something for you and your family to consider but it's become a staple in my household and is something that my non-Jewish flatmate and now partner never had an issue with and have come to see as part of their household as well.
you can also put a mezuzah on an inside doorway - though not traditionally on bathrooms 😅
I just upsized myself in preparation for having a family. It was a journey full of ups and downs. The one piece of advice I will give is pay people to move your belongings. It was 400 euro for two guys to deconstruct all of our furniture and do all of the lifting etc, we had packed away our actual things but they did all of the rest and it was the best money I've ever spent. My back and my sanity thanked me for it!
Update! Update!
They aren't moving anymore. She shared a post on instagram where the spare room was turned into Rowan's bedroom. She also answered in the comments there that they no longer plan to move.
Ah ive been eagerly awaiting the moving vlog for months!!! Well as long as they are happy and the situation works for them 😄
@@Laraaxmovies Same!
But maybe some day.
We just moved right before Christmas with a 2 year old and a 4.5 year old from a rental house to a house we just bought. We had previously sold our other house the year before when the market was really high here in the US. So, we moved with an almost 1 year old and 3 year old then with a 2 year old and a 4.5 year old....it's a LOT. It's stressful. I feel for you. But, it's also SO worth it to end up in the house/place you want. :) This house is our forever home and the kids (and our dog) have more space and love it!
This is so exciting! Congratulations! Also, definitely down for "adult" conversations like this going forward so no worries. I'm 28 and this is all stuff I'm thinking about/working towards, etc.
My spouse and I bought our first home in 2021. It's in a co-op in the US, which is like a condo...which is I guess like a flat in the UK? Anyway, after over a year in our home I finally put up a mezuzah, and I'm so glad I did! My spouse isn't Jewish like me, but he was totally supportive. It reminds me of home growing up, and especially my dad and my grandmother, who have passed away. It's also not the only mezuzah in our building, which is a lovely feeling of community. Really looking forward to your chat with David Baddiel--I'm reading his book Jews Don't Count now, which I first heard about on your channel! I'd love to hear an update about the mezuzah decision when you move :)
I'm so excited for you! This is awesome news. I remember when you were talking about buying the flat and now a house! How lovely is to see you achieve all this things.
Hi, yay love moving/Reno videos, more please.(floor plans are my crack lol 🥰) questions: could you give us the floor plans or a rough walkthrough and a bit more info on the other two properties you saw (and the notions, and notes and thoughts you had on them) curious to know if time had gone by and you hadn’t found anything else you remotely liked would you have revisited the other two options and tried to make it work I.e extensions/remodelling, doing up certain rooms as needed, lodger friend, extra mortgage from family, what would have been your plan b in that scenario? Don’t know if this is the right place to ask the Q’s if not could some friendly person point Hannah in it’s direction please. To any one reading I hope you are doing good and having a nice week, stay safe, happy and healthy and have lots of fun and a life full of love. (And let’s all please try to be kind to one another). Lots of love. Kelly
Having built and bought and sold several houses in my lifetime, and lived through the ups and downs of all kinds of housing markets, I think your ideas are spot on. Your concerns should be: Can I afford this mortgage? Is my income stable?, things along those lines. This house is not meant to be a financial investment, it is meant to be your home. Yes, it's nice if you can make money in the long run, but who knows what is going to happen in 10+ years time. The market could go through a few ups and downs during that time. Best wishes on the process! Looking forward to any moving and new home content you decide to produce!
If you are upsizing, it does not make any difference whether the market crashes or not. You need to sell your flat anyway and put the money towards the new place, the only thing that will matter is the price difference between the old and the new! Congratulations are in order, very excited for the moving vlog xxx
Wow you got a house with a garden in London that is impressive! My mind hurts trying to think of the cost 🤕
I just moved into an apartment on my own for the first time (renting). It’s a very stressful time money wise for so many people, myself included. And yet it’s the first time in my life I can afforded my own apartment after years of flatshares. I’m so so lucky and privileged to have parents who can still financially support me until I finish my studies in summer. But there’s also so much that went into getting where I am now. I’ve never been more stable mental health wise than I am now. Managing a full time bachelor’s degree in social work and a part time job as a social pedagogue. Being so busy and still living in a pandemic is isolating but now I get to have my own space that I can invite my friends and partners to and have my home be a home to my people too. It’s exciting, taking your own life and goals and needs and wishes seriously and taking risks in caring about and putting so much work into something. Congrats on the house, Hannah! Fingers crossed that it all goes over smoothly ❤
I’m a full time conveyancer so happy to answer anyone’s questions or queries! I know it can be super stressful and overwhelming, even without the changes in the current market! 🧡
I’m watching this sat on the sofa in my first home. I moved in yesterday and am still ferrying things to this house from my old rented one. This was the perfect first TH-cam video to watch in this house. I also had a conversation with a mortgage advisor that ended in me going to look for houses and I very quickly ended up buying this property. I locked in a mortgage rate right before they skyrocketed and I’m in the same camp as you of ‘move now and sit tight in a new place during the housing crash’. Having fixed my rate for two years I feel secure enough that I am able to fix up this house and stay long enough to ride the housing market and in a few years when I am ready to move on as I’ll be in a different stage of life, I know I will be glad of the equity. I completely get what you mean about the mezuzah in terms of religious childhood things that mean something but also realising it is your home and you decide what to do with it.
in France here, so our mortgage rate is fixed for 20 years, lol, though we can break it at any time. But we got in right before things started going south, and we got maybe the best interest rate we could possibly get, I mean minus building co-op fees and utilities and stuff, our mortgage is around what we were paying for a small 1 bedroom, and we have a 2 bedroom now with a humongous living room, I feel like if we don't have any kids we'll be staying here until we die, lol, because it's so far met all of our needs. Now I just gotta make it so that everything is up to date and more comfortable that a basic white rental box, lol
Thank you so much for talking about this!! I'm not going to be in a position to buy any time soon but it's so valuable to normalise talking about personal finances, and for me to have resources like this to get some awareness into my head at a time when I don't neeeeeed to know it. I don't have parents or any grown up to ask, so I so appreciate you being open about your experiences - thank you!!!!
ooooh so excited for the video with David Baddiel!! I read his book on your recommendation (I'm Jewish too) and found it super interesting.
My husband and I (Canadian) bought a house last summer in the craziest market Canada has ever seen (at least in our area). Houses were moving so fast, and for more than double their listing price before even being listed online. We viewed our house on a Thursday. We offered Friday morning, all offers were reviewed at a set time on Monday and we officially bought a house on Wednesday after a VERY rushed home inspection. I appreciate the stress you’re going though. Congrats on the almost new house :)
I feit the same as you, we also went from 'having a look' to 'oh shit we bought a house'. We went looking on a saturday at the beginning of october, put in an offre on monday and moved in on the 2nd of december!
We bought a house in the same layout as my childhood home, definitely helped me feel more at home immediately in it
I consider myself fluent in English despite it not being my first language but there were... SO many words I have genuinely never heard before in this video haha! So interesting to hear your process so far and wishing you the best of luck with the new house
Congratulations on this big moment! If I were in your position, I would start packing right away to prevent the stress once you have your move-in date.
Hannah, I’m in near enough the same position as you (moving from a new build flat to a 3 bed Victorian terrace, with a mortgage offer that went through JUST before the mini budget fiasco, and will be moving with our newborn in Jan 😅)!
We have similar concerns about the housing market, but our thoughts are that a lot can happen during 10 years. Sure, we could be paying top, top value for it rn, but even if the value drops tomorrow, it won’t matter so long as we can afford repayments. Living with enough space and making a family home with our son is really important to us. That’s our priority. I’m mainly feeling super grateful that everything went through before it all went to shit with Liz Truss’ stint as PM! So many friends now can’t afford to move.
Good luck with the rest of the process!
One tip for moving to the new house that I have is that it makes it way less stressful if you don't move all the stuff in one day. My dad recently moved apartments and he spent like, a whole three weeks nearly every day moving stuff, leaving a lot of the most essentials and bigger things for the final day of moving (though he did send his piano, bookshelf + books, and the couch + armchair before the final day). It helps to have crates to move the smaller things but also just using those travel bags already helps a lot. Ended up that he bought the apartment last month and is already nicely settled there now, it's been some four days or so since the final move day.
Edit: and also he spent the good five or so months before actually buying it getting rid of stuff he didn't want anymore, which also helps
Hey Hannah sure your well aware of this but one thing that really can bite you financially was all of the post moving costs. Solicitor fees, estate agents fees, house moving fees etc etc we were so lucky we got advise to add this into our mortgage amount else would have never have afforded it. Really not an insignificant amount. Good luck with the move always going to be a very stressful time but sure the new family home will be well worth it all 😁
I'm so happy to hear you like your solicitors! I work as a trainee property solicitor and we so often just get people complaining despite us obviously doing everything we can!
This will be my exact situation next year! Currently pregnant and due in April 23 and want to move end of next year even though we are in a fixed term mortgage until 24. Feel like this video was made for me haha! But seriously I think it is great to see videos on mortgages and finances because you only really learn about it when you are experiencing it and also it changes all the time.
The whole house buying/selling process seems really different in the UK compared to how it is in Norway. Here, when you're selling a house, you have to get a survey and everything done beforehand (and the seller is the one who pays for all this), so that all these documentations can be included in the listing - the surveyor is unbiased so the buyer can trust the documentation, however if it turns out that something is discovered to be wrong in the first few months that the seller can be expected to have known but not disclosed, they have to pay for fixing it. When you go to look at a house there are usually fixed dates for viewings, and then you have until the next day to decide if you want to place a bid and that bid is binding (so the buyer has to have cleared the financials with their bank in advance). Then you have all the stuff with signing contracts etc, and then usually there's about a 3 month wait until you actually get the keys (because most of the time people have to sell as well), but all the legal stuff is usually done quite quickly (within a few weeks).
I bought my first flat in winter 2019/2020, and then I sold that in September last year and bought a new flat a year ago. Most people buy first and then sell, but I did it the other way around because covid had made the housing market uncertain and I wanted to be sure of how much I had to spend on a new place. My estate agent gave me an estimated price but said it could go quite far above or below that - I ended up having a lot of luck selling, and then because prices were going down I got a bigger flat for less money and had some left over to redo the kitchen which was golden. But it's certainly a stressful time, especially that first day after the viewing when you don't know if there's going to be a bidding war or not! Good luck with your move, I hope everything is smooth sailing for you! xx
Hannah this is so helpful! I could of done with this video 2 months ago when I was remortgaging! It’s so hard to get a clear break down of how it works and I hope this video helps other people going through this stress ❤️
Can't wait to visit!
I still need to visit you!! 😂😂
Would love a moving series/house series,!!!
The way you were describing your solicitors, I was thinking oh that sounds like what mine were like. Looked at the link, it was them 😅
Wishing you all the best. We moved in August (with two kids). One of the most stressful things we have done but so worth it now we have moved.
We moved right at the beginning of the pandemic. It was our 1st home, so it was relatively easy. I think, we put in an offer, and it got accepted within 7 days of the property going on the market. I was sceptical until the moment we picked up our keys that everything would go smoothly, but it did! I was particularly scared because we had put in a notice on the flat we were renting and we don't have any family in the UK, so we would have been stranded if anything had happened lol
Congrats! I am first-time buyer at a similar stage in the process to you. The uncertainty of timing is absolutely killing me! Your solicitor sounds fabulous, mine disappears every two weeks! Thought this topic was so boring before but now I'm in it I'm obsessed!
Congratulations! We just moved from a flat to a house and it's amazing! Storage space is such a luxury. Also, I'm very jealous of your solicitors!
I’m so happy for you! My partner and I weren’t so lucky; we were trying to buy our first place together, a small 2 bed flat, and we got our mortgage application in just before the interest rates skyrocketed but then Liz Truss ruined it for us and our mortgage was one of the thousands that got rejected
We moved house in September. Did one day of viewings, fell in love with the third house, put an offer in the next day and we're accepted. We were only under contract for something like 45 days, had all our inspections and etc, got the keys August 30 and had to be out of our apartment September 30. It was insane and the housing market honestly was not favorable, but talking to our realtor we decided now was the time. The housing shortage in the US is going to take decades to resolve, so honestly even if inflation chills the fuck out buying a house isn't going to get any easier for a long, long time.
ooooh congrats! we're also in this same process, hoping to finalise mid Jan! good luck to us! xxx
When Hannah says 3 months might be a bit fast.... From the time my place was listed to when my offer was accepted was just 72 hours. I moved in a month later....
Watching this video is like living a nearly parallel stage of life, but in a different country. We also have a baby (just turned 8 months old), and have just listed our house for sale and are house-hunting with intentions to upsize (baby stuff takes up SO MUCH space!). I am definitely nervous and worried doing this process in these uncertain times, and also struggling to manage being a mother to my baby while packing/cleaning/etc. There is just SO much to be done and only so many hours in the day. 😮💨
We just bought for the first time and moved in about 6 weeks ago! Took 5 months, but we were similar, we started looking at homes online and were going to start viewing. Viewed one house, put an offer in and had it accepted all within a couple of days. Then a couple of weeks later found that we were having a baby!
Glad we didn't put it off any longer as thankfully it's all just fallen into place.
Hello!! Loved this cause currently in the process!! I'm 21 and buying my first flat, the process was similar to yours like oh I'll talk to a mortgage advisor to see where I stand and they said oh just go have a look your in a good place. I looked at three flats too but came back to the first one cause the vibe was just right and it's perfect for me! Currently waiting on the mortgage to be approved and have a tentative move in date in February, cannot wait super excited for this big step 😄🏠
I bought my first house in Fall 2020 when things felt very uncertain but interest prices were super low. I'd been tentatively looking, but since I wasn't spending money all spring and summer, my down payment built up much faster than anticipated. The actual process of looking at this house went insanely fast, but it was the first place that fully completely felt like mine and like it was a space designed for my needs.
I can not wait for the David Baddiel video currently reading his book and really making me think about lots
We are in a similar position, our house is sold,offer accepted on our next, waiting currently for the people selling to find their next. We are forced to move by bad neighbours but also thought it we can afford it now then let's do it. If the market changes all houses change in the same way so might as well be happy when it if they do right
the idea of a varying rate mortgage gives me hives. Best of luck with the move!
you talking about moving with rowan made me think about how my parents moved from an apartment to buying a little house when i was a baby and i actually learned to walk literally the week we moved, which was endlessly amusing and frustrating for my parents lol
Our family is actually moving from America to England. So I’m thankful for the solicitor recommendation lol we have a baby in a toddler so we’re gonna see how things go! Although we’re moving to the south west, there seems to be a decent amount of availability there and that’s where family is.
Ahh, I can't wait for more house content, and I'm sohaapy you're doing vlognukah again :D I'm hoping for at least one goals related video!
congratulations hannah
Just thinking have u got a hotel near where u can all stay for few days n family members has R there. So u move on Fri n u all stay there from the mon when u got main rooms set up. I would recommending a packing n unpacking services (if u only go for one packing service coz there know how to pack n can be pretty quick) so there pack everything n u put sticky note on what there r unpacking etc so u can at least can kitchen living room n main bedroom set up only idea n maybe ur assistant can help with vlog even if it’s main things like handing keys in n getting new keys.
I love scrapbook but I think u need to do a book of pictures n memories of what has happened in the flat especially for ur son xx
When you said 'this is so boring', no! No this isn't, this is helpful, this stuff isn't taught, so thank you, I leant lots!!
it's interesting to see the differences and similarities between your and Lucy Moon's processes of buying a new property around the same time. I think it's a good insight into the london market at the moment imo.
My husband and I had a similar experience this summer, it all happened pretty quickly and we’ve been so happy to be in a home, we’ve chosen to be childfree but it was time for more space for us to be able to comfortable cook together, work from home and to add a couple of new pets to our little family :) I’m happy to hear that things are coming together so nicely for you all!! Will definitely be on the lookout for an announcement that you’ve got the keys! Congratulations!!!🎉
We moved recently with a 6 month old baby. On actual moving day, we called in my mum and dad to help with the actual moving bit and we called in my sister just to look after our little one. Would recommend having someone to just look after baby so everyone else can focus on the actual moving
Thank you so much for sharing your solicitor! Mine would routinely ignore all my emails, calls and voicemails 😭 I will never use them again
Happy Hanukkah! Good luck on the house move. So stressful but hopefully it will all be worth it. Also moving house hopefully, it has ben super stressful.
Our own house hunting was crazy similar to this! We had our offer accepted last week and we get the keys in January. We're so excited!
We had the same concerns about the market, the same issue of next year's taxes won't look as good as last year's, the same issue of deciding to jump up our looking at houses timeline by many months, the same small window of time to find something and move so we weren't going to overlap mortgage and rent because could not afford to risk that, the same putting an offer in really early in our looking. It was the 4th house we saw the inside of. We just walked in and felt it, we knew this was the one. And a really similar list of things we needed to yours, even though we're in America. We had a few additional needs and our budget was really small for our area so we actually were extremely open to changing cities, and boy did we. We also saw a few houses with amazing potential that were unlivable as is and no money to do the work upfront.
We ended up in a darling house that's new and move in ready, and we're so excited. I 😊😊 and we had a great realtor.
Omg Hannah, I work in mortgages and this video is a DREAM for me. Only near the start of the video but your knowledge seems really sound!
My fiance and I just moved into our first home which we were closing on during the start of the craziness with interest rates. I totally understand your stress
My partner and I completed the week after the economy crashed. The run-up to completing was the worst of our lives without a doubt. We had to wait to find out if the bank was withdrawing our offer. Luckily, we ended up completing 2 days before our original fixed offer ran out. It was such a relief because we could not afford the massive interest hike. What we could originally afford when we started looking pre pandemic is not what we ended up with due to the market going mad. The house we ended up buying had nothing we wanted but we fell in love with it.
Just bought my first place and had the stress of the mortgage rates rocketing. Luckily already had a mortgage in place but really wanted to push to move in asap incase either mine or someone else's in the change mortgage provider pulled theirs. Luckily all worked out and I finally moved in October. Good luck with the move Hannah, hope it all goes smoothly.
Wow, we're house hunting too! So wild, it sounds like the UK is very similar to how the US housing market is at the moment. We've gotten pre-approved for a mortgage and have been searching for a few months, we toured one house that was a bit too small with too sketchy of a basement lol. Haven't toured anything else yet but fingers crossed we find the one! My partner prefers google docs so we've been using an excel/spreadsheet situation to track everything! I'm delighted that I'm not the only one
I'm happy you're being able to move so fast yaay! iI'm very excited for vlognukkah!
Good luck on your move, hope it goes smoothly! By the way, our upsizing process was also super fast, and I know a lot of people who also bought the second/third house they looked at.
Being unable to easily sell a house you like in an area you like that works for your family is not the worst thing, and like you said, it’s better to be “stuck” with that house than to be stuck in a flat that is too small for your family currently, let alone in 10 years.
My partner and I live with his parents, and it’s probably going to stay that way until we can save up a down payment for a house, which by my estimation can happen in about 2 years, which is also about the projected timeline for any deep housing market crash (at least in the US, where we are). But hey, we get along with his parents, and if we have to live with them and put off home ownership until I’m 30, so be it.
Yessssss love housey/moving talk! I'm very much trying to push the vibe over here "we should be casually looking so we can be aware of the market... and if we see one we like let's go." But am dying to move at the moment =/
Watching this while painting my first home!!! Just got the key! Hurray for uncertain times 😅
Love this kind of video Hannah, always really useful and interesting to understand how other people approach house / mortgage / moving issues!! ❤
I am closing on my first home in two weeks, and I am so excited and terrified.
So I know Nothing but it seems to be that if interest rates are just going to go up and up (which is seemingly like the case), and if the market is abit scared so perhaps prices are at least stable or if anything going down, plus as u said the factors with your income etc, then it is probs the best time as it's going to be do make the jump 👍🏻 Best of luck! I am living overseas at the moment so not in a position to buy a place but so keen... currently living in a 1 bdrm apartment with a bubba and just making it work 😋
I was going to ask if you'd consider sharing the location of your current flat because I'm just super curious but when you mentioned you're staying there, I understood. 😁 I'm a bit envious but so happy for you. And looking forward to more videos about settling in! 💛
We moved from a 25msq cabin to a 3 bed house over the last weekend of October. We have a baby also and my biggest recommendation is if you can at all, get someone to mind the baby OUTSIDE the flat, ideal for full days, while you’re packing and cleaning! Babies are very distracting 🫣
This is super interesting to me, so don’t worry. :) we are on the same timeline as you but with a 2 year lag :) our mortgage for our 2BR flat will expire in 2025, and we’re gonna try for a baby soon. 😅 so if everything works we will be in the same position in exactly two years! We also bought with HTB, partially inspired by you.
Feels like we’re growing up together 😭
My husband and I were also quick with buying our first place too (or for you, switching places). We just had an apartment, so luckily someone else could rent it before our lease was up. We ended up looking at two homes in one day, and putting an offer in on the first house, because it checked all our boxes! Plus the market was hot, so we wanted to make an offer asap.
This wasn't boring at all. As someone who would hope to buy a house at some point in the relative near future, I found this absolutely fascinating.
Gurl SNAP! We got in this week. I am so happy for you. Gosh the crap we had to get through to get them houses haha
It took us 10 months from putting our offer in to actually move into our house. We had to reapply for our mortgage because we ran out of time AND our completion date fell through several times. We didn't know if we were definitely getting the keys or not until lunchtime on the actual day! The stress, I'm so glad it's over, I don't plan on ever moving again.
Ahh this is so funny! Me and my partner are just about to move as well (hopefully!) and The Partnership are also our solicitors! The colour coded wheel is amazing right!? And those weekly updates - even if sometimes they fill me with hope that something exciting has happened and we're getting close to exchange and then really it's just a message saying 'we're working on it'! Hope the rest of the process is a smooth one for you - ours has been less than smooth!
My husband and I also only looked at 3 properties when we bought a house. I think my mom is still not convinced that we bought the house because we truly love it. She seems to think that we only looked at three because there just weren't many houses available in our area. I told her multiple times that there were lots more and we could have kept looking, but we loved this one. When you find the right one, why keep looking?
My spouse and I just bought a house too! It's so exciting! And so scary!
Not the same situation, but my father lived in an apartment for about 13 years (in a house that had been owned by relatives since the 1950's at least so he was super comfortable there) till it was sold and he had to go fine somewhere else. For work purposes, he was keeping to the general greater Boston area, which similarly has a ton of duplexes and triple deckers built in the same style around the turn of that century. And the place he wound up in has an almost identical floor plan to his old place but backwards. The first few times I visited, it was the most disorienting experience, because so many features were familiar, but I kept accidentally winding up in the pantry instead of the bathroom because they were suddenly on opposite sides 😂 I have no idea how long he's going to stay there, but I have to give myself a pep talk every time I go over so I don't go on autopilot back to the set up that I lived in over a decade ago. I don't know how he managed it after so many years in the old place.
We put an offer in on a place a couple of weeks before you, get our keys today and move just a few days before Christmas! We’re in Ireland and moving from a rental, so this is our first house purchase and I’m just so thankful to be getting out of this obscene rental market and into a house that’s a decent size. We’ve managed to squeak in just before the interest rate rise happens as well.
Loved the video. Not bored. The question I had (and I think this may be a whole video) was how you managed the whole "shared ownership" of your flat. I am a first time buyer and nervous about buying a place that will not be completely mine. Reading between the lines in previous videos I think you may have bought out your whole flat at some point? The move from shared ownership to whole ownership/ new house please? Very confused about it xxx
So happy moving is going smoothly and can’t wait to see your new home Hannah! 💚🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻💚❤️❤️💚🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻💚❤️💚🎄🎅🏻🎅🏻💚💚💚🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻💚💚🎄🎄🎅🏻💚💚❤️💚🎄🎅🏻❤️💚🎅🏻
Hannah, if you and Dan, in the near or far future, need good architects, hit up Jeff Kahane Associates, especially if you are situated in North London. I am not only saying it because I work there, but the director is the most kind and knowledge architect I have met. As for contractors, MH Costa are the best. They are like the solicitors you linked, in terms of organisation and precision, but builders (they have instagram, pinterest and a website).
omg thanks for these recommendations!
Very exciting!! We exchanged on our first house on Monday and are completing early January, after a very stressful couple of weeks (with sellers threatening to pull out multiple times, paperwork getting lost in the post, solicitors dragging their feet) I’m so relieved we are (hopefully) almost there. The process is so unnecessarily complex, I really think there needs to be more education about it!
I do not get the process of house buying in England. Very different to Australia.
Literally just went through the exact same thing you're going through right now but in the States. Like we just finished moving into out new house at the end of November. The whole interest rate thing between our countries seems different because our mortgages tend to only have 15 year or 30 year rates (fixed or adjustable) so that was interesting to hear. And in our experience as long as you're making your full payment, if you have a fixed rate, it won't ever become an adjustable rate unless you refinance to a different mortgage type, and itll be paid off at the end of the loan term.
Love mezzuzot and we still need to put ours up (and buy more as there are more doorways so we don't have enough lol). Totally happy to talk more on them if you're interested.
Best of luck with your closing and sale and move!
another difference between the US & the UK is that the expected "normal" deposit in the US is 20%, whereas it's only 10% in the UK, and lenders are more comfortable lending out higher amounts relative to income in the UK than in the US (a "normal" mortgage would be 4x pre-tax yearly household income in the UK, while I think it's more on the order of 2-3x in the US -- not entirely sure as the two countries use different debt-to-income ratios).
Between this and a chronic undersupply of homes, the average price-to-income ratio in the UK (especially England) is higher than it is in the US. A couple of other interesting differences between the two: buyer's side real estate brokers/agents are extremely rare in the UK, not so in the US. Contracts take longer to complete in the UK (as you can probably tell from Hannah's video!) and it's less of a sure thing that you'll actually be moving once your offer is accepted because sellers can back out later in the process.
But the percentage of the population who live in owner-occupied housing is fairly similar between the two countries, which is interesting. The difficulty that a lot of people are having with the economy & with mortgage rates skyrocketing right now is also fairly universal across not just the UK and the US, but also...pretty much the entire western world, tbh. I'm no Tory fan, but the current situation is decidedly being driven by macro rather than UK-specific political factors. It's super interesting to compare across different places!
(Source: am an American economist living in the UK)