3x income

whathavewedone

Mrs E, leave Medway towns alone you big snob! I live in Tonbridge and I certainly don't think of it as "deprived" never mind "most deprived". The schools are fantastic, there is a great park and lots of lovely period houses. The crime rate is low and it's 40 minutes on the train to London Bridge.

As for Hastings, yes there is high unemployment there but there are fantastic, huge family houses at really good prices. One of my friends moved from a tiny 2 bed cottage in Chiselhurst (you'll be telling me that's deprived next) to a 5 bed grand Victorian house. Her husband has a hideous commute to London every day but they have 3 kids and one income of 30k so something had to give. They bought at the peak in Autumn 2007 for under 250k, incredibly cheap for a house of that size even then.

At any rate, this thread is about what two people on the minimum wage could afford to buy, if anything. It has been pointed out that there are a number of places where they probably could buy if they saved up for a deposit, even in the South East.

The fact that two people in the South East can't buy a house where you live/would like to live in the South East (Kensington? Chelsea? Maidenhead? Guildford? Buckingham Palace?) is not in itself an indication that house prices are still completely unaffordable.

sjaypink

pebblespop wrote: »

MrsE wrote: »

So what do you do if you live in the south east?

Should anyone earning less than 50k move north?

Who would do the "normal" run of the mill jobs in the south east?

people who live in rented houses!! :rotfl:

thing is though is that rents are so incredibly expensive now as well.
it is very difficult on lower wages to rent -a family home- privately without needing some form of assistance. i think that is my personal problem with the situation.

the increased intervention- local housing allowance payments etc, shared ownership etc- have just served to keep everything more expensive than it should be, and everyone more dependant.

Thrugelmir

ad9898 wrote: »

This is a ridiculous situation, you household income is around the national average, yet you can't buy an average house ?, you had better find yourself a 6x income mortgage then, because only when hell freezes over will the average house drop below 145k.

Depending where you live there is a lot of property with a selling price well below £145k.

Beneath the surface this "average" house price is so misleading. As they are so many variables to be considered.

novazombie

ad9898 wrote: »

This is a ridiculous situation, you household income is around the national average, yet you can't buy an average house ?, you had better find yourself a 6x income mortgage then, because only when hell freezes over will the average house drop below 145k.

Are you serious Ad9898?

I thought you were one of the last few bears left on here.

The herd is believing the manipulated media into thinking this will be all over soon, only a few of know the truth.

Average houses will be far less than that next year and down more the year after.

MrsE_2

whathavewedone wrote: »

Mrs E, leave Medway towns alone you big snob! I live in Tonbridge and I certainly don't think of it as "deprived" never mind "most deprived". The schools are fantastic, there is a great park and lots of lovely period houses. The crime rate is low and it's 40 minutes on the train to London Bridge.

As for Hastings, yes there is high unemployment there but there are fantastic, huge family houses at really good prices. One of my friends moved from a tiny 2 bed cottage in Chiselhurst (you'll be telling me that's deprived next) to a 5 bed grand Victorian house. Her husband has a hideous commute to London every day but they have 3 kids and one income of 30k so something had to give. They bought at the peak in Autumn 2007 for under 250k, incredibly cheap for a house of that size even then.

At any rate, this thread is about what two people on the minimum wage could afford to buy, if anything. It has been pointed out that there are a number of places where they probably could buy if they saved up for a deposit, even in the South East.

The fact that two people in the South East can't buy a house where you live/would like to live in the South East (Kensington? Chelsea? Maidenhead? Guildford? Buckingham Palace?) is not in itself an indication that house prices are still completely unaffordable.

Sorry, busted:o:o:o

Tonbridge isn't in the Medway is it? I thought it near Tunbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells is susposed to be nice:D
The high unemployment in Hastings means no matter how cheap it is, its not good value if there is no work
Chislehurst is lovely;)
I still think in the main house prices in most of the south east are silly (but hopefully thats changing).
I live in Surrey & value for moneywise its awful:mad: Gotta be the next most expensive after London, without London wages:mad:

MrsE_2

sjaypink wrote: »

thing is though is that rents are so incredibly expensive now as well.
it is very difficult on lower wages to rent -a family home- privately without needing some form of assistance. i think that is my personal problem with the situation.

the increased intervention- local housing allowance payments etc, shared ownership etc- have just served to keep everything more expensive than it should be, and everyone more dependant.

Yes, Yes, Yes & Yes

:beer:

Cleaver

novazombie wrote: »

Some friends of mine are on 25K per year, thats the family income both working. They have always rented nice houses about 600pcm but now want to buy, because they are fed up with having to move everytime they have problems with the landlord/rent etc.

They can olny get a mortgage for 75K and dont have any savings. I think they are typical family in the UK right now.

They're not a 'typical' UK family though, are they? They both earn around half the average wage and have no savings (the 'average' household in the UK has around £20k in savings I seem to remember reading).

ukcarper

In Aldershot cheapest house to rent on rightmove 2bed £550 per month but the next is £695 per month cheapest to buy 2-bed £147k. So as you can see in the south east it is very difficult for people on low income.

thepeachyone

They should look into the shared ownership schemes offered by housing associations. We are in a similar position, though our income is higher, not all of it is taken into account by lenders. We have found our dream house through a housing association.

Cleaver

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Why? Why is it unrealistic?

Two people, working, shouldnt be able to buy a starter home?

Are you asking this as a moral question or a financial question? Everyone should have a right to a lot of things: good education, decent jobs, happy personal life, good health. Do we all have these rights? Well that's a more complicated question as they are a huge number of variables.

When I want to do anything (buy a house, go on holiday, go out and eat dinner, go on a date, travel the world) there are factors and aspects that I am in 100% control of to get to these goals. Then there are external factors that I have no control of. For example, getting a degree. I can save the money and pick a Uni that accepts my 'A' Level results. But what if thousands also want to do my course and the grades get higher? Well, whilst thats not really fair, that's life. And out of my control. So I'd think of other options: get more qualifications, try again, try different unis, go and plead, think of doing another qualification, plan b, plan c...

The couple in the example need to adapt. Get better jobs, save some money, move to a very cheap area. If they want to buy a house then they need to do something to change the situation. If they can't do this then they can't buy a house. I know I sound harsh, but that's the way it is, isn't it?