FTBs buying v expensive houses

worriedfirsttimebuyer

Have been regularly reading these boards and getting lots of good advice. What is amazing me though is that there are plenty of first time buyers on here who are buying houses for upto £200,000. How on earth can people afford these mortgages without a home to sell?
I know the odd lucky person gets inheritance money, or their parents stump up some cash, but i honestly thought the average first-time buy would be around the £100k mark? After all, that's a 5% deposit of 5k, a lot of money to save up!

There are supposedly crises on TV all the time saying people can't get on the ladder, but what i'm reading here contradicts that info.

We've just bought our first home for £110,000 and everyone has remarked that that's quite a lot for a first time buy. We consider ourselves to be on 'decent money' - both have professional jobs but it still took 2 years to save the deposit.
I know we're oop north but surely the divide isn't that great?

Any one else curious about this? And to those of you getting first homes for 150-200k, how on earth have you done it? I'd love to know...

silvercar

The trick is probably to be part of a couple, each earning 30k+ and have no other debts.

frugglewump

worriedfirsttimebuyer wrote:

Any one else curious about this? And to those of you getting first homes for 150-200k, how on earth have you done it? I'd love to know...

Well under 150k around here would only get a studio flat.
We are paying 170k as a FTB, which is about 10k under the going rate for a 2-bed terrace.

How did we get the mortgage?
Well we are both with HSBC and have been for a long time - 8 years in my OH case and 12 years in mine. The graduate mortgage is 100% and is interest only for the 1st 3 years and repayement for the following 27. That gives us 3 years to sort out any other debt - which if you look at my signature is almost exactly perfect timing.

The amount is over the multiples approved by the bank, but I had a spreadsheet of in/out to show the mortgage advisor. Mortgages in this part of london are only £100 per month more than rent anyway.

worriedfirsttimebuyer

Blimey. So glad I don't live in London (as Alan Partridge once said "go to London - you'll either be mugged or not appreciated). My £110k is getting a 3 bed corner semi on a quiet road with garage and drive for 4 cars.
Do many young couples both earn £30k+ and have very little debt?
I don't know any!
The north/south divide is v apparent.

[Deleted User]

I recemtly sold my 2 bed flat in London for £350K. Most of the people who viewed it were FTBs in their 20s!!

tomstickland

Well, I've got an agreement in princple for a mortgage of £147K and I'm a single first time buyer, but there's no way I'd borrow that much. I'm looking at flats around the £90K mark. I have saved a £10K deposit, so hopefully I can run on £75-80K mortgage and overpay it like mad. I still don't really want to borrow that much.

ftbworried

Hi

I think it's a question of what you NEED to spend for some FTB. Obviously there would be little worth in you spending £190k if you didn't have to (which you dont because you can buy a decent sized house for £110k). My partner and I have been offered a mortgage of upto £200k, he earns £40k plus bonus. I have a PhD scholarship worth £14k (tax-free) per year. We don't have any debts and good credit histories. Obviously having at least one strong earner helps, but having no credit commitments was the largest factor. Personally I can't see why many FTB would have debts anyway.

btw worriedfirsttimebuyer, I'm also in the north! i don't see THAT much of a north-south divide (not as much as some people think) in house prices, but I guess it depends on which area of the north/south we are talking about. Obviously London is a different kettle of fish all together!

worriedfirsttimebuyer

I suppose you're right, it is mainly the south-east where property is mind-numbingly expensive, the rest of the country is fairly steady.

Most FTBs I know have debts accumulated whilst at Uni. Student loans, overdrafts, credit cards, graduate loans etc.

I only have a bit left to pay off my credit card but have a personal loan for my car - a necessity.

On reflection, we were offered upto £153k (but would have been silly to take on any amount like that).

mountaingirl_2

.. and HSBC has been very good to us.
We have a budget of 190000, which as you is say is a lot of money.. and we have managed save up a very healthy deposit over the last three years - but it has been hard work and a lot of sacrifices.

But buying a house is london is not easy at all.
I want a 2 bed freehold palce and i have only found ugly places like new cross and deptford that fits my bill.
someone yesterday tild me to look at leyton and leytonstone.
if anyone out there has pointers on up and coming places that could come in my budget -- PLEASE DO!!!

Cheers

village_life

Hi

This is an interesting thread - one which worried me too when we first started buying a house..... Myself and my fiance both come from northern mining/industry type towns - and so when the time came to build our first nest we wanted it to be away from these "grotty" towns - and to move somewhere pleasant!

After lots of searching, we eventually found somewhere that is lovely, a little village with excellent motorway links (For my work) and excellent train links (for my fiance).... The problem is that this area comes with a cost attached, so initially there were very few options in our price range that we liked.

Eventually we found somewhere for £180k as a first time buy - we've had our offer accepted and the sale is going through - we have £9k deposit, and also have the £3k for solicitors fees saved up etc- we had planned to wait till September 06 and have £20k deposit, but we thought the additional saving may be substituted for house price rises over the period - and we're desperate to get out of our family homes.

I earn £40k and my fiance currently earns £5k on a part time job - we have NO debts or commitments, and mortgage companies were throwing £200k+ at us for a first time mortgage.....

THe issue we had was more a wrangle with our conscience not to go TOO Far - we worked the opposite way round though, decided what we could afford in mortgage payments per month (After working out all other bills) and cross-referencing that to a mortgage amount/term and interest rate.....

Times have definately changed -spending that much money REALLY worried me - but there arent any alternatives!

jockettuk

buying a house in east anglia at the moment is making it one of the highest places in the uk.. they just keep going up and up.. my house had doubled its value in 5 yrs..