Wanting to buy

Maseillo

Hi everyone!

Just wondering if anyone could help me out here as I'm getting quite miserable!! Basically this is our situation - I am 26, married with a 2 year old and a 3 year old. We are renting at the moment but I would really love to buy somewhere of our own. I've been getting quite upset about it recently - I think since having my kids I've really wanted to have that bit more security in owning something. I hate that we live in someone elses house, and I hate the constant worry that the landlady could decide to sell or something and that we would have to move and find somewhere else. I know I shouldn't worry about stuff like that but I really do! We pay £675 a month for our 3 bed house, and I'd much rather be putting that into paying something off - even thinking ahead to having something to leave for our kids! It's looking so unlikely that this will ever happen though. I wondered if anyone had any ideas or advice? Or am I just being stupid in wanting this and should I just accept that its not realistic and shut up and be grateful for the fact that I actually have a roof over my head?!

Here's our details -
Husband earns £19250
I earn about £6500 part time. I will be going back to work full time in 3 years when both boys are full time at school so this will go up then but I have no idea what I will be earning - probably not much as I'll be starting at the bottom of the career ladder again!

The most mortgage I have found for us is about £90,000. We have no deposit and while we are paying out so much in rent we have no hope of saving for one as things are pretty tight!

House prices round here are stupidly high - 1 bed flats are going for about £125,000. The house we live in now is worth £235,000. Obviously I don't mind going down in size and the boys sharing a bedroom if it meant we could own somewhere. For a 2 bed house we would need about £180,000. So we need a £90,000 deposit??!?

I think I need to accept that this will just be a dream. I know I'm still young and we have plenty of time and all that but I really don't see how things can ever change if prices are still going up the way they are.
But I've seen the wonderful bits of advice that you guys give to people so I am hoping that someone out there might have some words of wisdom! Or some clever ideas that I haven't thought of?

Thanks in advance!
Sarah

Tiger_greeneyes

How about shared equity? That way you own part of the property and you know you won't be turfed out! You'll need to pay rent on the portion of the house you don't own, though.

Also, how about starting out somewhere new? You didn't say where you are but I moved two hours away from my family in South London (to the Suffolk coast) and you can buy a 2-3 bedroom house here for £90k. You may find you have relatives or friends somewhere that's cheaper to live - always worth thinking about. Sometimes it's good to just have a look at new areas - that way you'll find out exactly what you don't want, which makes it easier to know what you're happy to go for.

If you want to know where I live so you can do some searches on rightmove for instance, let me know and I'll pm you. I've lived all over - England, Scotland and Wales so I'm familiar with many places you might be interested in.

Buying isn't necessarily a dream, you know

Running_Horse

Many people (including myself) believe there will soon be a major house price fall.

If that did happen there would be bargains galore.

Tiger_greeneyes

FWIW, I don't think there will be a big crash.

If anything the market will plateau - maybe even decrease a bit, but not crash like it did in the 80's & 90's.

Anyway, if you're happy in the home you're in, what difference does it make? You'd still have to live somewhere - and either pay rent or mortgage! The benefit to the OP is that she would have a stable home for her family and that's more important than what the house prices are doing, imho.

If I was starting out now, I'd be going for one of the very long term fixed rate mortgages - at least 10 years - and I'd be happy that my mortgage wasn't going to increase during that whole term, no matter how high interest rates got.

cattie

The thing that worries me with your post is that you mention you struggle at the moment with the rent of £675.

Remember with a mortgage you have additional expenses such as buildings insurance & some kind of insurance cover in case your husband loses his job or becomes unable to work through sickness. Also when you own a house there is always something to be paying out on maintenance & upkeep & you really do need a bit of spare cash to cope with unexpected things such as boiler breakdown or leaking roof.

Your best bet would be to wait untill you are able to go back to work full time & then start to save towards a deposit. In the meantime you could check out any schemes that may be on offer in your area such as shared ownership as mentioned above.

Are there any decent ex council homes in your area that may help you get a foot on the ladder as these can be a good starting point?

The idea suggested by Tiger re moving to a cheaper area is a sound one if you & your husband are able to find work. As your husband doesn't earn a very high salary maybe he'd be keen to try pastures new & may find something which pays a bit better as a bonus.

There is nothing wrong in dreaming, it helps us get through life & when dreams do eventually come true it is a lovely feeling.

poppy10_2

On a joint income of £25k there's no way you are going to be able to have your current quality of life (3 bed house) if you decide to have a mortgage.

Is it really worth squeezing your family into a tiny 1 bed apt just for the satisfaction of being able to say you own the place???

Sit tight, wait for your kids to grow up a bit so you can go back to work full time. By then house prices will have dropped to a point where you will be able to buy without overstretching yourself.

Good luck