What the FTBs think.

skap7309

Well here you are - straight from the horses mouth so to speak. I am a first time buyer and a £20k deposit would not get me much more than a studio flat. I currently have £30k and am now in a position to increase that by quite alot. (Reaching around 35% deposit) and I have no intention of buying until the bottom seems to have been reached. TBH i would not want to buy before.

PS - certain posters seem to think we do not sacrifice anything, how does working 75 hours a week, not going abroad this year (or next), buying a car for way less than i can budget for (which i 100% need) and not buying hardly ANYTHING for the last three years sound? All this for the deposit.

leviathan

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

**NOTE** Note starting another post argument about how unaffordable houses are

I know of at least 2 kids in real life and a few other I've seen on television documentaries with the attitude to their parents of "well you had me so you can pay for me".
Time for parents to have a stronger stance and parenting!!!!

Well it doesn't help that my parent's generation and to be fair the ones between us speculated an awlful lot after the govt destroyed the pension market.

I however am not sponging from my olds and they have a fairly comfortable life with early retirement and 1/3yr on holiday. ie: could afford it.
They taught me from an early age to budget well, not spend beyond your means and save for a rainy day.
My father worked HIS !!! off for THEIR retirement.

Whilst we may discuss a loan, it's likely to be repaid with interest and I've no problem with that at all

I've 20% deposit at the moment but still saving for more whilst watching the housing market die. I hedged my bets years ago when I had chances to buy and stretch but chose not to live beyond my means.
My sister purchased and is struggling. She's 3 years younger than me and shares the house with her OH.

I'm not struggling to make ends meet or cutting back on anything. I run 3 cars, been on holiday abroad twice this year and still happily saving. I enjoy meals out and alcohol, perhaps too much but I don't smoke. I rent with a friend which saves me a fortune over a mortgage in a 3bed semi with required large garage in quite a nice area.
I earn the UK average wage but somehow manage to live off considerably less.
I have no intention of buying some pokey overpriced flat, I'm aiming for the 4bed detached and I think it's totally doable.

I don't understand why people find it hard to save up?

blueocto

I'm currently a FTB and we are getting a 'vendor paid deposit of 5%' paid and my parents have reluctantly loaned us the other 5% as a deposit (which me and my boyfriend willl obviously pay them back asap).

I wouldn't have considered moving out, I had a nice expensive car, and just recently finised University and got the job I wanted (but at minimum wage) so I was just planning on working hard, saving some cash, get the car finance paid off, and use the sale of the car towards a deposit in many years to come.

But obviously things change; I'm currently living with my lad in a council house, we are unable to buy it or stay due to his dad being an !!!! (he is main tenant and hasnt lived there over 6 years) and the price of houses fell.

So I'm in the process of selling my car, have offset my savings against my only credit card and have jumped on the ladder while I can. I don't know what more I can do in all honesty!

blueocto

leviathan wrote: »

I earn the UK average wage but somehow manage to live off considerably less.

What would you consider the average, out of interest?

I was a lucky student in the fact that, as i grafted my !!! off I got my loans paid for me, on the basis that I could only work part-time, but my wages were ok as I had worked for HMRC for 6 years... but then i left and now earning £7k less than before! ouch!!
(was £17k+, now £12k - it doesnt bother me admitting this)
Not great when I'm 24 lol

GDB2222

blueocto wrote: »

I'm currently a FTB and we are getting a 'vendor paid deposit of 5%' paid and my parents have reluctantly loaned us the other 5% as a deposit (which me and my boyfriend willl obviously pay them back asap).

I wouldn't have considered moving out, I had a nice expensive car, and just recently finised University and got the job I wanted (but at minimum wage) so I was just planning on working hard, saving some cash, get the car finance paid off, and use the sale of the car towards a deposit in many years to come.

But obviously things change; I'm currently living with my lad in a council house, we are unable to buy it or stay due to his dad being an !!!! (he is main tenant and hasnt lived there over 6 years) and the price of houses fell.

So I'm in the process of selling my car, have offset my savings against my only credit card and have jumped on the ladder while I can. I don't know what more I can do in all honesty!

Well, you could just rent somewhere for a while, rather than jumping headlong into negative equity. Your choice, really.

get the car finance paid off, and use the sale of the car towards a deposit in many years to come

That's a really weird justification for buying an expensive car. Oh well, I expect that you are finding out how quickly a car depreciates.

Phirefly

All the FTBs-to-be that I know of are mostly sitting back expecting house prices to drop to 10% of 2007's peak...

leviathan

blueocto wrote: »

What would you consider the average, out of interest?

Going by the quite googling I did before posting it varies from 23K to 30K, I'm towards the higher end but not quite at it.
However, I'd estimate that I live off a 17-19K wage and bank the rest of it.

I was a lucky student in the fact that, as i grafted my !!! off I got my loans paid for me, on the basis that I could only work part-time,

At uni, a little over a decade ago, I took my student loans and stuck them into a high interest Sainsburys acount where they sat and I never touched them at the time.
I worked part time Sat and Sun in a local restaurant which was exceedingly well regarded and tips were fantastic. That paid for my time at uni, plus a 3rd yr placement on 10K, which was like being a millionaire compared to my peers at the time! :eek:

but then i left and now earning £7k less than before! ouch!!
(was £17k+, now £12k - it doesnt bother me admitting this)
Not great when I'm 24 lol

I was in much the same wage boat till 26 when I came across IT contracting after being made redundant from a crappy job I hated, worked for a bunch of big name firms, screwed the taxman (legally) and got the job I'm currently in outside of the industry but still technical.
Being on lower wages for so long has helped me save money. Not one of those who get a payrise and buy something with it. I do treat myself tho, mainly to car bits.

IMHO part of everything is luck.

leviathan

GDB2222 wrote: »

That's a really weird justification for buying an expensive car. Oh well, I expect that you are finding out how quickly a car depreciates.

Number one way to save money.
Buy an old car and learn how to fix it.
Doesn't matter if you don't know how to, you have to learn somewhere. OK perhaps some aptitude for taking things apart helps.

How much does your garage charge you for an oil change?
Mine takes 20mins and costs less than a tenner.

My daily driver cost me 200 quid in 2005 and has probably appreciated with the value of scrap.
An investment?

I cannot understand how anyone can stomach the depreciation hit on a new car once they start the engine and drive it away on the first day.



Phirefly: I can dream, but if they fall that far I'll be extremely worried for the state of the western world's future.

blueocto

leviathan wrote: »

Being on lower wages for so long has helped me save money. Not one of those who get a payrise and buy something with it. I do treat myself tho, mainly to car bits.

IMHO part of everything is luck.

I have to agree; it makes you budget harder and value money alot more than if you hard alot of money to whittle away.
Nice to see you got the chance to treat yourself though :T

beingjdc

Speaking for myself, I have no interest in paying higher rate stamp duty, ideally none at all. So, I'll be looking to spend between 170k (I imagine that temporary cut will become permanent) and 250k (this is London so even with the price crash I'll get a 3-bed semi if I'm lucky for 250, or a nice 2-bed flat for 170, some way out).

I'd like to put down 25% if I can, so that's somewhere between 45k and 65k I need. Should be feasible over the next 18 months, at my current savings rate. Obviously would like to save more so that I have a cash cushion and money to pay lawyers.

Far cry from when I bought in the Midlands with an £8k deposit, eh...