Nervous about house prices/mortgages! :(

Hoyding

Hi there, Am 21 years old and new to the forum!

Is it me just thinking this or is our generation going to struggle with getting a first house with some of the prices going at the moment?!
People come up to me saying they had their first flat/mortgage at the ages of 22/23, whilst now that would be impossible to do!

I am currently putting away £300 a week which leaves me with pretty much £50 a week spare. (Only expenditure a month is Mobile phone and TV bill (£35 a month) and have to pay for my food and petrol which is not much) feel so lucky to have these as my parents let me live rent free to save.

I was hoping to save a decent deposit on a £150K flat within 3 years but i still dont think this is enough to start getting a mortgage. Whats the minimum wage for taking out mortgages aswel? I am only on 6.60 a hour, surely this would not be enough! lol

Mortgagefreeby50

Hello! I hope you don't mind me saying (and I'm being very presumptuous!), but are you single and are you likely to want to settle down with a partner within the next 10 years? The only reason I say this is that I was in a hurry to buy my first house and did so. Shortly after I met my future husband and as he had his own house too, it caused major problems as I had to sell mine at a time when the prices weren't great. I might as well have rented for the 3 years I lived there. You are managing to save a good amount at the mo, so when the time is right then you will have a fantastic deposit, which will bring down the amount you wish to borrow and will be manageable on your salary.

Other people may disagree but I wouldn't rush into buying, just keep saving!

bodmil

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edinburgher

Do you have another source of income? Because if you're earning £6.60 an hour and paying tax, you must be working something ludicrous like 70 hours a week! Something doesn't quite add up here.

happycamel_2

I agree with two previous posts,

My now husband and I had both bought our own properties before meeting. He rents his out and moved in with me but it meant we had a smaller house than if we could have bought together. We recently sold mine and now have a joint mortgage on a bigger property but only because we overpaid, saved hard and have increased our salaries.

In total we owe about £380k across two properties but the rental one covers it's costs just about and is now part of our pension planning. The big house is being overpaid as much as possible and we aim to be free of that mortgage in a lot less than the term of it.

There are a few key things:
1) dont rent on your own, it's expensive, live with parents or in a shared house to save up
2) research the industry you want a career in and do the qualifications for it. I'm a qualified accountant. My husband found the most lucrative part of his field and specialises in that.
3) enjoy life but dont waste money. We're well travelled but have never had Sky or fancy phones or gym subscriptions etc. we buy old good quality cars and maintain them well.
4) house prices will be stable for a while, they can't drop much because people can't sell for less than their mortgage value but they won't rise either so don't worry about taking your time
5) buying a house young isn't always sensible. Sometimes you have to move for your career, especially in the early years and buying and selling is expensive. Maintaining a home costs a lot , some bills are big and expensive and DIY skills can save a fortune. Very few people bought in their early 20s without exceptional circumstances (inheritance, a particularly lucrative career) home ownership only really got going post WW2 so there have been one or two generations that have been relatively lucky with the economy of the time things aren't so much difficult now as normal, taking the longer term view.

Good luck, you sound sensible. It can be don't but you have to prioritise, if you want your own roof you need to work hard and spend wisely.

Hoyding

Thanks for your advice guys, Firstly Edinburgher, I am on £6.60 a Hour but i have changed to working nights as the pay is better and do a day less (mon - thurs)
I earn exactly £336 a week and set aside £300 of it and have £36 spare for petrol and food.
I Used to go out but as i work nights its kept me in and sensible for the past few months.

Thanks for the advice guys, i do have a girlfriend at the moment, but i dont know where were heading, if i keep saving £1000-1200 a month hopefully i will have a good deposit in 3 years time.
Just dont want the day to come where i have to rent because i just see that as wasted as your spending money on property you wont eventually own if you know what i mean?

I only work in a factory at the minute labouring, i've been working since i was 16 (now 21 almost 22) and just wished i never spent all my money i've earnt in them years going out or on my car, i would have at least 8-10k sitting in the bank right about now which would make getting a deposit that much easier!

Thanks guys

kidmugsy

happycamel wrote: »

4) house prices will be stable for a while, they can't drop much because people can't sell for less than their mortgage value

That's not how things have panned out in the US, Ireland, Spain ......

Mortgagefreeby50

Hi Hoyding, I know what you mean, I try not to think about how much money I wasted before becoming switched on to the MSE way of life! All you can do is keep reading these diaries and keep motivated, and before you know it you will have a lovely big deposit saved and a lot of options.