How should I be saving for a house?

Inonowt

Fisrt off apologies if I've posted this in the wrong forum, should it be in savings or mabye mortgages instead?
At 32 I'm getting sick of living at home, (it's not at all unusual within the farming community to be still at home at this age!). I've been saving for a while which of course is a step in the right direction but how should I be doing it best?
I've got about £18,000 in an ISA with my local building society & with being at home can live pretty cheaply & could mabye £800 or more a month away which of course is way beyond what the ISA can take in a year I've also got a few things I plan to sell over the next year or so which should bring mabye £3000.
Part of the reason I still live at home is we are way out in the countryside & my job is only a few miles up the road, I really want to stay in the area & close to work, family & my mates. For this reason I may need to buy when the right place is available rather than when is the best time that fits my situation.
Apart from the location my needs regarding a house are pretty simple, I'm not fussy!
I'm earning about £17,000 a year with a fairly secure job & single (although I hav'nt always been & I'd like to think I wont be forever! )
Is my situation even work-able buyng wise? I really dont like the idea of renting!

fatpig_2

Inonowt wrote: »

F
At 32 I'm getting sick of living at home, !

Is your name Timothy Lumsden?

I'd keep putting the maximum in a cash ISA for the next year or two if I were you.

Inonowt

fatpig wrote: »

Is your name Timothy Lumsden?

I'd keep putting the maximum in a cash ISA for the next year or two if I were you.

Ha ha! The worst thing is I'm old enough to get that joke!
Yeah, not cool but how many houses will there be for sale within a 5 mile radius of your house? If you live in a decent sized town or a city then it'll be a higher number than the number of houses within the same area from me, even if I include all those not for sale! That makes finding somewhere difficult to say the least so I want to be a situation where if a suitable property becomes available then I'm able to do something about it.
I intend to fill the ISA to the max but I'm going to have more than that available to save so was wondering on the best place for the rest.

The thing that really annoys me is the people who have pushed the price of rural property so high work in the towns, while those like me who work in the countryside end up buying somewhere on an estate in the town where they can afford it. This means the two people meet each other on the road going to & from work, both burning fuel & wasting money doing so!

Chris2685

For easy access to your savings when you need it (ie, as soon as you find a house, you can transfer all the funds to your current account), the best thing to do with it is to find the highest paying instant access savings account (check out some comparison websites) but make sure they pay the good rate on the full amount, and not just the first 2k or whatever... Other people may have better ideas though

Inonowt

Well that's what I'm planning on so it good to know I'm fairly much on the right track.
All my banking is done at the moment with the one local building sociecty, I have a current, ISA & instant access saving accounts there. The last of which is where I was going to put my money once I'd filled my ISA. What if any problems should I look out for if I use a different bank for the extra savings? Will there be any problems/ penalties with a transfer of a few thousand when I need to between banks?
I use the one building society at the moment becouse they have a branch on my side of town open till 4pm on a saterday afternoon, when you live where I do that's worth a lot!

penguine

Have you had a look at this article?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest