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How on earth can two FTBs raise 20% deposits?
jmd4eva
Posts: 228 Forumite
We need to move out of our rented flat next May and don't really want to rent somewhere else, because we'd like a bigger place (two, instead of one bedrooms). And we don't want our money paying someone else's mortgage when it could be going into ours.
But we've had a look at mortgages and looks like we need a minimum of 10% but the best ones want 20%.
How can anyone on earth afford this, especially for young people?
We're both male, 22 and 25, earning £20k each with proper jobs and good prospects. Good credit histories. I know £20k each isn't much, but we pay £600 rent a month plus all the extra bills and we know we can handle a mortgage.
Bleh. It's like we can't do anything except rent: we rent, pay someone else's mortgage. The gov want us to look at nasty, box-like homes with tiny windows, tiny rooms and no garden - no thanks. All we want is just somewhere to call our own, decorate, and live comfortably in.
But we've had a look at mortgages and looks like we need a minimum of 10% but the best ones want 20%.
How can anyone on earth afford this, especially for young people?
We're both male, 22 and 25, earning £20k each with proper jobs and good prospects. Good credit histories. I know £20k each isn't much, but we pay £600 rent a month plus all the extra bills and we know we can handle a mortgage.
Bleh. It's like we can't do anything except rent: we rent, pay someone else's mortgage. The gov want us to look at nasty, box-like homes with tiny windows, tiny rooms and no garden - no thanks. All we want is just somewhere to call our own, decorate, and live comfortably in.
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The obsession with ownership is a (relatively) new one, and is very British. Up till the 80s/90s renting was far more common. And across the Channel in France, renting is still the norm.
It gives much more flexibility/mobility, and releives you of all the maintenance issues.
I'm not saying aspiring to home-ownership is wrong, but there are pros and cons.0 -
Can you not move back home and save like hell for a year? Between the two of you I can't see why you shouldn't have a sizeable deposit at the end of it.0
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We can't move back home, parents aren't local.
Renting really isn't for us - to be honest, we're gay, we want to decorate and buy nice things and we can't do that in a one bed 3rd floor flat with the lounge/kitchen only big enough for the tv, a sofa and a dining room table... The minimum we want is a two bed house.
And, our neighbours here are antisocial, and the maintenance is stupid - we've been trying to get the LA to replace the broken toilet seat for almost 4 months but it's "too expensive for the LL to consider".0 -
It gives much more flexibility/mobility, and releives you of all the maintenance issues.
If only! I am so sick of things going wrong in this flat and no one doing anything about it! Like last winter when I requested multiple times for someone to come and unblock the gutters so the rain water didn't overflow and freeze on our large concrete steps (they finally unblocked them in May when the weather was good anyway!) and replace the flourescent bulbs which have blown in the stairwell outside our flat and on the floor above, if the one downstairs goes it will be pitch black (not even any streetlamps outside since it backs onto a church). Now the buzzer has broken and I don't see that being fixed by the time I leave here. Maintenance issues gets brought up so often as a good side of renting but for me it is a pain in the bum, I'd rather pay for these things myself and get them sorted prompty than wait around for LA/ building management companies to do anything about it. One of the flats I looked at before I moved in here had a smashed in front door, graffiti all in the hallways and people leaving their rubbish outside their front doors so the place stank. The LA said 'don't worry, they have a new building manager now so these issues will be sorted out'. Needless to say we did not take that flat, and a year later I pass it every now and then on my way to and from work and it is still an absolute dump with a boarded up door.
Really the only plus side of renting for me is the flexibility. It is no wonder that people want to buy their homes rather than waste time with terrible landlords and very little long term protection. When our purchase goes through our mortgage will be half of what our rent is for a much nicer property and the mortgage repayments will be going down not up (as with renting) and most importantly of all I can get a dog
As for our deposit, my OH and I lived with our parents for a few years, but that certainly isn't ideal- we were very lucky to have jobs close to our parents and to have a good relationship with them. I really have no idea how people on moderate to low incomes are supposed to save up otherwise.0 -
It's tough. But not impossible.0
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So it's not that you can't afford to buy, more you can't afford to buy what you want, and fill it with expensive stuff. If a flat is all you can afford, then it's all you can afford. I want a five bed detached house, but can only afford a 3 bed semi.we want to decorate and buy nice things and we can't do that in a one bed 3rd floor flat with the lounge/kitchen only big enough for the tv, a sofa and a dining room table... The minimum we want is a two bed house.
Just replaced mine for £10 at Argos. Ever heard of DIY?we've been trying to get the LA to replace the broken toilet seat for almost 4 months but it's "too expensive for the LL to consider".
Much as I want to sympathise, I haven't heard anything to suggest you are willing and able to make the sacrifices and long term commitments required.Been away for a while.0 -
Rent a studio flat for 2 years and save one of your salaries for two years.0
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I'm 30 and just in the process of buying my first house. The only way to get the deposit is to save like mad for a number of years. I have been going without for years to scrape together my deposit. On the plus side for you, things are easier when there are two of you! Good luck!
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Running_Horse wrote: »So it's not that you can't afford to buy, more you can't afford to buy what you want, and fill it with expensive stuff. If a flat is all you can afford, then it's all you can afford. I want a five bed detached house, but can only afford a 3 bed semi.
Er, we can afford more, that's what I'm saying - but we don't want it to go to paying off someone else's mortgage.Running_Horse wrote: »Just replaced mine for £10 at Argos. Ever heard of DIY?
The toilet was a limited edition and they don't make the seat anymore. The LA is trying to track down a similar toilet seat, if they can't find one they'll have to remove and replace the toilet with a standard one. So, we can't do it ourselves.PasturesNew wrote: »Rent a studio flat for 2 years and save one of your salaries for two years.
We can't live in a studio flat. We have too much furniture and can't live like that!0 -
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