Balance of probabilities

[RedTjern]

Hi all,

I’m curious to know whether or not any of you have maxed out a mortgage etc to seek the right property and land?

Here’s my conundrum- 35 years old, married, 2 kids one on the way, decent (above average) salary which is enough to sustain us and the wife not having to work so she can be a stay at home mum.

Currently have a manageable mortgage on a 4 bed semi but just doesn’t tick the boxes for where we want to end up or preppare for any collapse as such.

So - would you look for maxing out to bag yourself the place you’d want at the risk of being financially troubled should you lose your job etc? Obviously if it all does collapse - what’s the likelihood of being pursued for money when it’s all collapsed? (Not that I don’t doubt the greed of the financial elites)

Would be interested in hearing from folk who have taken this road or those with any wisdom they can send my way.

Or if anyone has a nice 4 bed cottage with around 3-4 arces in south staffs/Shropshire they want to flog me for a reasonable price

Many thanks
Rob

[jansman]

INTRODUCE YOURSELF!!

[ForgeCorvus]

Errm, Jansman.
http://www.uk-preppers.co.uk/forum/view ... =9&t=16841

[cbp125]

I would avoid going into more debt, I do think you would be chased for the money even in extreme shtf situations. In the 1920's depression people were evicted from their homes etc. The only situation when you would not be chased, would most likely be madmax style or tsunami events in which case you would most likely not have a home anyway.
I would suggest prepping where you are with what you have, its better to have a well stocked house, with a range of back up options for most events in stead of a country cottage with no money to store or prep

[daylen]

I would avoid getting into any debt you can't easily pay off. There's a very small set of shtf scenarios where the banks don't come collecting their money. I certainly wouldn't risk it.

[jansman]

Errm, Jansman.
http://www.uk-preppers.co.uk/forum/view ... =9&t=16841

Apologies sent.

[grenfell]

There's probably an awful lot of people who live their lives as close to the maximum that they can. My own sister in law is constantly adding to her mortgage rather than paying it off . We have no mortgage ( and own 2/3 of sil house and my parents house) and no debt. My sil is always complaining she has no money and is stressed , we seem comfortable. Another guy i worked with said that they had to arrange his wife's pregnancy so she would still be at work at a certain point to qualify for the yearly bonus as literally every penny was needed for their ( frankly too big) house. He always seemed stressed.
It is said that money worries are the cause of a lot of martial strife and argument , stress is a factor in health issues so i wouldn't max out a mortgage but saying that interest rates have been at an all time low for the best part of a decade with no immediate sign of going up. What or how the impacts of every government currently printing money like it is going out of fashion is going to be is anybody's guess. If i were thinking of maxing out i'd be tempted to wait at least six months just to see how the economies are faring in the light of the current pandemic.

[korolev]

If i were thinking of maxing out i'd be tempted to wait at least six months just to see how the economies are faring in the light of the current pandemic.

100% this.

There's likely to be a property price crash over the next 6-12 months (experts predicting anything up to 25% drop).
I would sit tight for now and see what happens.

In general terms though, maxxing out your mortgage isn't necessarily something to run scared from if it gets you what you want; you need to consider how safe your job is, whether your wife can return to work in a few years, how much equity you will have in the new property, how risk-averse are you ? Only you can answer those questions.

I was maxxed out on my mortgage when I bought my first "big" house in 1994, then the wife got pregnant and things got a bit tough but I always had just enough coming in to cover the outgoings and I had a "safe" job working for a big utility company. Moved a couple of times, maxxing out again. Since moving here in 2001 we have done work to the house taking our mortgage up again a couple of times. When the Mrs returned to work part-time in 2002 the spare cash came in very handy.
There are a couple of milestones that you eventually reach, the first is when there is enough equity in your property to downsize to a little place and live mortgage free; this is a great liberator. The second is when you finally pay off your mortgage and you own it, lock stock and barrel.

[Arwen Thebard]

Wait if you can as property prices will likely drop in the not too distant future and assuming mortgages remain open to you, bargains will come along.

[diamond lil]

Debt is an anchor round your neck.