Not sure I will ever afford a home.

SG27

Frugalsod wrote: »

House prices are already seriously overvalued and will fall significantly when interest rates return to normal. The only problem is when will that happen? It could be next year or in five years time. Bubbles can stay inflated for far longer than you expect. So my plan would be to save as fast as possible. Also avoid a high income multiple. Three should be enough in normal circumstances.

Also do not expect wages to increase. The government might want the wealth spread around a little more but remember that many have not had a real wage increase since 2003. With unemployment and underemployment so high I doubt that wages will rise appreciably. You might have to change career to get any chance of a wage increase.

I tend to agree with this, the economy is on the up and unemployment falling which means interest rates are soon to start increasing. When interest rates increase house prices will stop rising and depending on the speed of the rise could fall potentially quite fast.

Don't buy now unless you can afford the rises in interest rates. The longer you save the better. We saved for 8+ years in that time watched prices rising then fall sharply then rise a bit before galling again. It was well Worth the wait.

Angel_Jenny

Yup - if I wait to team up with a partner I might be waiting forever! The 60 plus hour week is a bit of a restriction. It is unlikely to last for more than a couple of years at most as heartbreaking as that is. Not a parent so I wouldn't be inheriting a house.

I'm not a graduate so no student loans and my parents charge me minimal rent and I pay my own food and a quarter of bills. Need to work out a proper budget and stick to it. I have a little notepad and will be figuring out what I fritter my money away on.

I would want to work out how much it would cost if the interest rates did go up - when my parents bought their first house it was about 15%. The idea of having such a big debt is pretty scary anyway so I wouldn't want more than 3 times my salary!

Bella56

It seems harsh that you have to pay any rent at all, even if nominal, if you have 30 hours/week caring responsibilities for a relative there. To pay for someone to come in for 30 hours would be extremely expensive. Do you get carer's allowance, or is that not allowed since you are also working FT?

Angel_Jenny

Bella56 wrote: »

It seems harsh that you have to pay any rent at all, even if nominal, if you have 30 hours/week caring responsibilities for a relative there. To pay for someone to come in for 30 hours would be extremely expensive. Do you get carer's allowance, or is that not allowed since you are also working FT?

I am not the primary carer so I don't get paid for it. It really is minimal rent at £25 a week so it is still cheaper (with my share of the bills) than renting.