mid twenties looking to buy first home with gf

RoxieW

pm me by all means

RoxieW

Though I must add that I also do not agree with couples with reasonable incomes being granted reduced rent social houses. But then is it better that they go to the permanently workshy or on the fiddle? No. I personally think the whole system is rubbish and that - unless there is a genuine permanent need - social housing should be a stop gap for peoples time in need with a view to improving their situation.
My Dad who lost a leg through illness was waiting a year for a suitable social housing bungalow - going to the toilet in his living room and unable to leave the house as his wheelchair wouldnt fit through the door ways. I think the system needs a big overhaul so that there is availability for those genuinely in need. I'm not clever enough to suggest a solution though unfortunately.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

FirstTimeBuyer wrote: »

I'm attempting to delete my profile entirely! I have no interest in conversing with self satisfying, awful little people like you. Considering this website largely consists of 'money saving loopholes', vouchers/offers often exploited/misused and people scrimping about for 'freebies'; I'm shocked that people like you can attempt to establish some sort of high ground over those who choose (Thats right, its a choice) social housing.

Snobby, awful, judgemental little people.

It's pretty insulting for all the many people on this forum managing on far less than you and your girlfriend to be told that living frugally/making lifestyle sacrifices whilst saving for a deposit is somehow beneath you, and that getting pregnant automatically entitles you to free/subsidised housing to enable you to divert funds towards priorities like weddings.

You don't have to be a rabid Daily Wail reader to think that your attitude is a bit rank.

Jowo_2

To those who missed the original post, plus its responses, the OP and his girlfriend, both graduates living separately with their parents, and who have a joint annual income of 45k, asked for advice on his options for buying property because he hadn't been the social housing list for very long and knew he was unlikely to secure a tenancy, plus had 4 judgements against his credit record, and they were planning to start his second family together.

Over the course of the thread, where many positive suggestions were made on his housing options and rejected, sometimes mocked (example "I hope living like paupers, and sacrificing any sort of standard of living makes you feel better.. enjoy your lentil soup tonight"), , he revealed an entitlement to social housing because of the taxes he'd paid over the last 10 years, most of which he spent as a student.

In his own words, he was aware how to "play the system" in order to secure priority definition for housing.

He expressed certainty at gettng social housing when his girlfriend presents herself as pregnant and homeless in a year or so.

Therefore, any comments you see posted in response to his plans, should be seen in the context of his argument as to why graduates on a 45k joint income deserve social housing.

Jowo_2

RoxieW wrote: »

Though I must add that I also do not agree with couples with reasonable incomes being granted reduced rent social houses. ...I personally think the whole system is rubbish and that - unless there is a genuine permanent need - social housing should be a stop gap for peoples time in need with a view to improving their situation.
I think the system needs a big overhaul so that there is availability for those genuinely in need. I'm not clever enough to suggest a solution though unfortunately.

Well once stance might be to make father's more responsible for the upkeep of their children so that single women presenting themselves as pregnant to the local council have to show the income of their partners as a criteria.

Another is just to accept that social housing is so scarce that anyone who is working has no entitlement to it and perhaps just only allocate it to the disabled or the elderly.

In some countries, there is an income check on the social renters so they either pay rent in proportion to their income - meaning that a couple netting 45k joint income derive no benefit compared to private rents - or that it triggers the end of the tenancy, ensuring the affluent leave it.

Idiophreak

FirstTimeBuyer wrote: »

I am absolutely disgusted with your views, I am in no way trying to troll or exploit a system,

This is hard not to laugh at, when what? a dozen posts ago you stated as fact that you knew how to "play the system".

You're quite right, choosing to play the system is you choice and if you're convinced it's the best way forward for you, that's brilliant.

Equally, however, you can't expect to take this standpoint and not attract critics - you're on higher wages than many private tenants and are trying to divert limited housing resource toward yourself ahead of others that have a genuine need for it. Irrespective of whether this is legal or not, people will view this as an abuse of the system.

And abusing the system is criticised across these boards. See the posts following people who post on the freebies/grabbit boards who say "great deal, bought 7000, these will go great on ebay" - some people don't like people who seek to selfishly abuse systems in this manner.

Now, I'm not saying what you're doing's wrong, of course...but you can't expect people not to express their opinion on it. You're also coming across somewhat as being brash and petulant, which probably doesn't help.

Jowo_2

Yes, I particularly enjoyed the transition from allegedly being open minded to his true colours.

Originally, it seemed to be an earnest enquiry about their housing options, then it mocked those who saved towards their deposits as 'lentil eaters' and was finally triumphant, insisting that his girlfriends maternity form would guarantee his right to social housing.

By my estimate, if his income is £1200 and their joint income is £45k, the girlfriend earns around 20k. He didn't like to be told that the council may point her to letting agents or a B&B.

GrammarGirl

Well, this thread has certainly 'developed' since my last post!

I'd just like to point out, I think those who have the willpower to live frugally for years in order to save for a deposit and then buy a house are truly remarkable - I hope one day I can do it too (just not right now - renting suits us!). My earlier comments were in no way mocking anyone who chooses to do this.

Anyway. It's all a bit disjointed with the deleted content, but I think the OP has severely mis-judged his entitlement to social housing and the reaction his words would receive on here. Yes, MSE is all about saving money and sharing advice, but I feel extremely uncomfortable accepting or supporting someone like the OP's move into social housing when there are people who CLEARLY need it more. It makes me sad that the OP would happily take a home before a homeless mother and children or an elderly person facing eviction. A healthy couple like these two should (as I said earlier) do what others do - rent and save, or live at home and save. The alluding to getting pregnant to get what he wants is also extremely bad taste.

Fly_Baby

A friend of mine lives on a council estate, in a three bedroom flat. I have no idea how she got it in the first place because their family was subject to immigration control i.e. no recourse to public funds. Her husband has been employed by the local Uni so they were not on low income either - in fact, I suppose it was quite good because both their children go to private schools. Now they both work in full-time jobs and yet, they still live in their very spacious council flat - LEGITIMATELY - for a fraction of the market rate, enjoy their money, raise their children and honestly don't give a damn about whether they are right or wrong.

When we were renting an ex-council flat privately (v. good location for our jobs), next door to us lived a single man in his mid-30s - in the identical flat. He regularly had friends over and looked perfectly capable of earning money to provide for himself (of course, he might have some underlying health problem which prevented him from work). He was a council tenant.

Another friend of mine got a 3-bed house from the council being a single mother of a small girl. She didn't even bother working - her advisor calculated for her that she would be better off on benefits, with subsidized studying and full-time childcare at £2 per day.

I am sure the OP has heard of the stories alike which got him thinking - why the hell not? If the council is dumb enough to allocate free houses to such families then why should I not take the advantage too?

Cannot help but sympathize with him too - if in his area a 1-bed flat is £700-800 pcm then their £45 joint income is nearly not enough to buy a decent house, even if they do save for a deposit for a while (while paying this sort of rent). In my area, prices are similar - and 3-bed houses in a decent area start at £300K. If they are to borrow on 3 x joint salaries, then how long will they be saving a £150K deposit?

Jowo_2

Fly_Baby wrote: »

I am sure the OP has heard of the stories alike which got him thinking - why the hell not? ...

Cannot help but sympathize with him too - if in his area a 1-bed flat is £700-800 pcm then their £45k joint income is nearly not enough to buy a decent house, even if they do save for a deposit for a while (while paying this sort of rent). In my area, prices are similar - and 3-bed houses in a decent area start at £300K. If they are to borrow on 3 x joint salaries, then how long will they be saving a £150K deposit?

Yes, it's clearly a tempting strategy to position yourself in such a way to gain points for social housing despite having a high income.

It is not uncommon for landlord forums to have threads posted by landlords who have discovered that their private tenants are actively engineering being served notice and want to be evicted in order to declare themselves homeless at the council. Some landlords are sympathetic to their plight but others resent being asked to collude in this process.

Not sure why a couple with no children residing with them earning 45k can't buy or rent a starter flat or small house - there's not many that start off in the property ladder with a 3 bed house as you've outlined.

The main thing that shone through in the post was the contempt for anyone who the OP considered dumb enough to change their lifestyle in order to pay off debts and save for a deposit.

The strategy of being catapulted into social housing for these two affluent graduates when she is pregnant relies on her continuing to live in cramped family accommodation through her pregnancy which doesn't make him the most romantic of fellas.