Looking to move out

george23

I have read a lot of these threads and have a feeling I know what the response might be...but i'm going to give it a go anyway?!

I am looking to move out of my parents place to get my own little home...I'm 26 and need to get out and have some independence! I have some savings and could afford a deposit of £10k plus i have no debt (only student loan). I can afford (comfortably) a mortgage of £130 max and have found a few places around that mark (some slightly more but you could probably get them down) and need to know if i'm insane for trying to do this now?! Obviously at the moment I've only seen places I haven't put an offer in yet to know if it'll even get accepted etc...

I have also been looking into the Shared Ownership scheme as it's more immediately affordable but i appreciate that it's about the value of the property and generally they tend to be over valued (especially in the current market). The thing is that with the SO i can afford a 2 bed property so my friend can rent a room from me for extra cash adn also longevity wise I will be less rushed to want to move onto somethign bigger in the next 5 years. On a standard mortage all I can afford is a 1 bed flat (that's if vendors will accept my lower offers) and so i could wait like everyone says and save more money...but am i really going to be able to afford any higher a mortgage in 6 months/1 years time?...i doubt it?! The difference in 6 mnths/1 yrs time is that my boyfriend will be back (he goes to college in the U.S) and we could maybe afford more together...the problem with this? Well we don't know how well our relationship will last if we buy together...I really think he's the one but you never truly know until you live with someone and even though we've been together for 2 and a half yrs we've been apart in distance for about 15 months of it? If i had my own place we could live a normal life and get to know each other properly adn better and then in 3-5 yrs time if the market improves we can buy together? Well that's my plan in my head anyway.

I know everyone is probably going to say stay at home save etc...but i've not been able to be with him properly for 2 and a half years and if i have to live between his parents and mine again I'll go crazy! Would I just be better off renting?

It's either that or I'm just going to sod off abroad!?

Advice anyone?

morg_monster

you sound like your head is well and truly screwed on. Top marks for being cautious about your relationship and about buying a 1 bed flat, and about the shared ownership schemes. Sounds like you know what people are going to say here (move out and rent), but it is still good to post and get everyone's POV, often they will come up with things you hadn't thought of before that could tip the balance for you.

Where abouts are you, how much would it cost to rent a 1 bed? Or for better value, get a 2 bed with your friend, would that be possible? How much are you managing to save at the moment - think about how much your deposit will grow. And don't worry about missing the boat by signing a 1 yr tenancy agreement, you won't. You are still young to be thinking about buying (assuming your age is in your username) (edited - DUH you said you were 26. So not quite as young as I thought you were! still all my points still hold!) Renting is the perfect solution, as long as there are suitable places here you want to be. You will be in a great position in a year's time, more savings, prices will have fallen, and even then i would say rent for a while with your boyfriend and see how that all goes before buying something together.

george23

Thanks,

I've always been told renting is dead money (mainly by my mum) which is what has put me off?!

To be honest I could easily talk to my friend about renting somewhere together as that way it will be 50/50 and I would be less at risk by being the owner.

I'm in Billericay in Essex, but would want to live in Brentwood (lived there for 24 yrs and also travel to London slightly cheaper) and you can get properties to rent for between £700 and £900 for a 2 bed really...as like you say 1 bed just seems daft. Split between us we could manage but i would want it big enough so my boyfriend could move in too once he's back...that's another thread altogether i think 'do i share with a friend and a boyfriends...3's a crowd?'.

I could probably rent a 1 bed for up to £700max a month which i could afford just on my own and then my boyfriend coouls chip in once he's back and then together we'd be able to save a little too? (he might take a few months or soto secure a decent job so i don't want to rely on him financially...he will go 50/50 once he can though). At the moment I have done a budget for every month until Feb next year and put £1k away into my savings account...i've based it on living to the amount I'd be left with if I was paying mortgage/rent as i may as well get used to having no money!! I could easily go out and shop etc but i'd rather have a house/flat than a new pair of shoes!

I think it's the old myth around renting being dead money (my mum is very old skool) and so it's never really been an option? I guess nowadays mortgages are just as dead money as the properties aren't holding their value?

I've seen a property I'm going to view tom on the market for £139,995. It's a one bed, to be fair recently decorated so in very nice nick. I'd probably offer £129k and go no higher than £135 but i can't help thinking that i'll struggle to make on it even in years to come?

I hate to say i'm desperate to move out, because my parents are great...but I'm desperate to move out and I want my own space for when my boyfriend is back so we can start a relationship and i can feel like i'm starting to catch up with all my friends who are either married/pregnant/in their own house!

morg_monster

You've hit the nail on the head; renting is only really dead money if property prices are rising. Currently, mortgage payments are really the dead money - you are tied in to pay £X every month on your mortgage, regardless of how much value it is losing every month.

You are right, going from sharing with a friend to having your bf move in could cause all kinds of hassles...! Why the variability in when he might come back? You may be able to get an initial 6 month contract, or a year's contract with a break clause 6 months through. If he did come back before you could move out, he can always sort himself out for a few months til you are free to move in together (he could go and live at your parents lol...). I'm sure sorting that out would be less hassle than buying.

Moving out is great. You must have been living at home for a few years and there's nothing like having your own place, you don't need to buy it though, with renting you get the fun and freedom of having your own place without the responsibility of upkeep and maintenance.

I'm not sure where everyone else is with their pearls of wisdom for you; actually I do know - they are all on that other thread called "FTB looking to make an offer on new build - help please" or something... might be worth a read actually, he is in a different (worse) situation to you but the first few pages have loads of info in from helpful posters. After that, it was clear he was pretty determined to go ahead anyway and then the thread deteriorated a bit...!

pawpurrs

If i were you I would rent for a while that way you can try living with your partner without the tie of buying a place together. Carry on saving up a deposit and see what happens with property prices. You will be in a good postion then if something comes up that you like.
People are offering far lower than 5k at the moment.
If you do decide to buy with your boyfriend then make sure you set up a declaration of trust, so that if you do split then, your deposit is protected and you get that back out of the procceds if you do sell.

george23

I'm less worried about my boyfriend tryign to take my property etc if it doesn't work out...i'm being cautious about not jumping into it but i'm optimistic that we'll work out...if we can survive living 5000 miles apart fro nearly 3 years we can survive anythin!

What I'm concerned is about trying to get a mortgage in this climate (even moreso now after what's happened this week) and stretching myself to something that will be hard to afford on my own versus Shared Ownership that I can afford all on my own? I really like to property too and can't find anywhere else I like or would want to live in for the next 3-5 years? I can't see how I'm meant to save a larger mortgage if I'm renting (unless I rent 50/50 with my friend or boyfriend) but even so I'll be able to put a couple of hundred pounds a month maybe 3?

Will i really be better off for it?...starting to think i might just stay at home for 6 months and save some serious money...either that or i might persuade my boyfriend to stay in America and go and join him?

Thanks for the advice