Buying a home Advise

kev2009

Hi,

I am 32, still living at home with my parents(sad i know) and wondering if it is worth buying my own place.

The tig is, is it worth buying my own place considering I am currently single on a salary of around £25k.

I somethign thing yeah i shoudl move out, get my own place but having never owned my own place i have absolutely no idea what the bills etc would come to and i have a orrible feeling, i'd have very little money left at the end of the month due to payign most of it out.

On the other side, i'm quiet happy living at home, no pressure to move out etc and i'm ableto save some money ech month towards a house or whatever i want more long term.

My general feelgin is it's nto worth moving out if you single becuase as well as paying all the bills yourself and having little money left, you have everyting to do and your own your own, no one else in the house etc plus if you loose your job, you still have to pay for everythig, you dont have anyone else to ease the burden with there income etc, so i feel its onyl worth if it you live with someone to share the costs.

What does everytone think?

mrpang0

Hi there, welcome

I would tend to agree - if I was still single, I wouldn't dream of buying a house! It isn't so much the sharing of bills etc, I just don't see the point of being alllll alone haha!

Moving out is a good idea though - find some mates, move in together, all part of the fun of life!

hethmar

Yes, I think moving out, even if into a rented flat would be a good move for you. You should have a bit of freedom from the aged parents at your age Plus you would get an understanding of the cost of running a place.

Doozergirl

As long as you're happy staying single, stay where you are

kev2009

Hi, Thanks for the comments so far.

i've heard some horror stories of people who move in with mates, it tends to go well for a while then tends to break down and ultimately mean in everyone moving out and dividing up the money form the place between each other and loosing freindships, don't thik i fancy that idea.

Also, dont fancy moving in with people i don't know as perhaps i'd come home one day and find the place empty cos flat mate has taken everything....

I do agree that moving out would be a good thing, would mean a steep learning curve as i have no idea how to do any cooking or washng etc, its all done for me at the moment.... plus would probably get a big wake up call in terms of how much money it costs...

i tend ot be a bit cautious/worrier and i prefer to be saving money than spending it. Not to the point where i wont spend money, i'll spend money with nooo problem but i tend to always try and save something each month. Most years i save something each month apart form a coupel of months as i have a coupel of big bills that come in which along with my regular monthly outgoings, tends to depleate my wages... ( such as car service & insurance within 1 month of each other)....

Whilst i'd like to move out as woudl probably be good for me plus i coudl adapt to living on my own as I am part of a small family whcih are no where near close (only see my cousing for example at funerals)... so once my parents pass away, i'll be on my own unless i'm fortunate enough to meet someone.

But realistically, i'm thinking is there any point, perhaps i shoudl continue to stay at home and build up a larger deposit so that if i do meet someoen and thigns go well, wil have some cash to put down on a place etc.. just can't decide.

i'm not thining of moving out right away as my ob is anythign but secure, for the pat 2 years, we have had redundancies in the company every 6 months or so and more recently every 3 months, rumours are next round wil be sept/nov this year and we took quiet a big hit last time, 3 of the team i am in went to now we are very stretch, only 1 person can be of at any 1 time so i'm not thining of gettign a place just yet as i want to feel more job security (if such a thing actually exists anymore).

Kee your comments/thoughts coming, much appreciated!

kev2009

forgot to ask - do you think my salary is enough for getting a place on my own? how much woudl you say i could realisticalyl get a morgae for and what woudl eople recommend i put down as a deposit to begin with?

Thanks!

elsien

I moved back home "temporarily" in my twenties, and stayed for a few years, probably for similar reasons to you. Plus although I paid my keep, it still left me lots left over for holidays etc. And mum was keen for me to stay for the company.
However she lived in a flat over the business, and I finally got my act together and left when she needed to expand the business into the upstairs and buy somewhere else to live - it was the jolt I needed to find my own place, which was the best thing I ever did. It's my own place in a way that mum's never was.
Most of the things I needed initially came from car boots and friends/family. My living room furniture was a tv and 2 deckchairs for quite a while.:rotfl:
Money is tight, and I had to learn serious budgeting very quickly, but if I hadn't bought when I did the way house prices were going at the time, I'd never have been able to afford anything. Even with the current downturn I'd have struggled to find anything now.

What area do you live in, and what are prices like in your part of the country?
Edit - I was 35 when I bought, so you're ok for another couple of years.;)

charliee_3

me too!!! i moved back after i split with my uni boyfriend in my very early twenties, it was just for a few months until i could get my own place.. i stayed till i was 30!! didnt save a penny either :-(

i dont know where you live but you generally need at least 5% for the deposit, but you wont get a good deal, for the best deals you want at least 20% i would say. plus you will need about £2000 on top for costs and fees. i think they will normally lend 3.5-4 times single salary if your credit is ok, so you could maybe borrow just under £100k if you have no other debt.
rough estimates but Bills you need to consider are council tax (about £80-£100 ish/month), Gas/electric (about £80/m), insurance (about £180 per year), Water (£30/m), TV licence (£13/month), Phone (depends, landline £12 a month plus calls), Plus you need to buy food, household stuff like cleaning products, etc, repairs, maybe a service charge if you are in a flat, going out, gifts, holidays, savings, furniture, car costs if you have one, rail/bus tickets...

i cant remember what it is exactly, but i have heard something like- its not wise to consider a mortgage that is more than half (correct me if i'm wrong!) your take-home salary as it will be a struggle if costs go up.

I think you have 2 courses of action, either stay where you are and if you are serious about wanting to own a place in the future cut your costs down to a minimum and save every penny you can towards a good deposit so you can buy, ask your mum to teach you to cook, see how things work, ask how the bills are paid, etc and get involved in running the house, cleaning, washing, food shopping, etc so you will be self-sufficient when you do go..
or go and rent, on your own or with mates, to get a feel for standing on your own two feet, but the second option will probably mean you cant save much as you will have all the bills to pay..

TTMCMschine

kev2009 wrote: »

forgot to ask - do you think my salary is enough for getting a place on my own? how much woudl you say i could realisticalyl get a morgae for and what woudl eople recommend i put down as a deposit to begin with?

Thanks!

How much you can borrow and rates depends on how large a deposit you can put down. It can make a huge difference and a lot of sense to put down as big a deposit as possible. We are putting down 25%. It means we'll be putting all our savings down. Any fees are going on the credit card (some cash). In the long term this makes sense. Presently we have no CC bills. However it's worth doing this because our mortgage payment go from £730 pm to £480 pm, and we'll owe less on mortgage.
You sound like a sensible chap.

Jowo_2

It's time to cut those apron strings and let your parents enjoy the nest as they approach retirement. The kind of household skills you will get from moving out, including budgeting for bills, cleaning, cooking, etc, will stand you in good stead for being a home-owners.

Some of the reasons you give not to move into shared accommodation, though heart felt and based on common anxieties, are not reasons that should prevent you from becoming more independent. Fear of tenant-relationship breakdown, risk of theft, job insecurity etc are all valid but that just sounds like life to me.

You will find your mother will be thrilled if you ask her to show you how to cook, iron and operate a washing machine - mine was! Future girlfriends will be amazed at your self-sufficiency. Book an evening class to learn how to cook - there's no shame in this - or buy a 'cheap and easy' type cookbook and work through every recipe. I bought a set of cookbooks for my teenage nephew (simple dishes, one pot cooking, easy curries, etc) and he was happy enough to follow them.

On another note, I recall a famous author saying he didn't believe in mortgages. He lived in rented accommodation and merely saved up his income over a decade or two and then bought outright in cash.

mbynwa

Nice post Jowo.

Reading this thread it felt like someone was posting about my life.

I am 33 still living at home, but for the past year have saved every penny that i could from my wages, i earn the same as the OP £25k. I have now got £28k in savings, and am looking at moving out and purchasing my own place. I feel it is the right time to do so. I have worked out every part of a budget, been reading every thread on here, and all the guides about mortgages etc. I did read that the mortgage should only take up between 30% to 40% maximum of your take home pay.