Is home owning for young people just a pipe dream?

essjae

Outside of London and the South-East, I don't think it is particularly difficult to own your first home when reasonably young, if you are working full-time.

I bought my flat in central Cardiff when I was 24, 95k mortgage on a salary of 17k. My deposit was mostly money inherited from grandparents (topped up by my own savings), that my mum had sensibly put aside at the time and given me the savings account details after I finished uni. (She did the same for my brother, who chose to spend much of it on a year travelling).

I made the decision to buy as I knew I wanted to stay in Cardiff, it was much cheaper than renting a similar flat, I hated having to move house regularly, I wanted to be able to decorate etc, and I wanted a cat!

6 years on, and I have built up quite a bit of equity, overpaying my mortgage occasionally (though mostly my extra cash goes on holidays!), and I have a home, not just a place to live.
When I take the rent from my lodger into account, I pay less per month than I would in a shared house.

I found it quite easy to get a mortgage, as I had a realistic expectation of what I could afford, and quite small outgoings since I was living in a shared house. Many areas of the country do have affordable house prices, provided you don't expect your first step on the ladder to be a detached house in a posh area!

My brother took a different approach - he returned home after uni. The area my parents live is rural, wages are low and both house prices and rents are very high due to tourism/2nd homes etc. After a while, he moved in with his girlfriend (now his wife) into a rather ramshakle static caravan she has on a patch of land owned by her family. A few years later, they had saved enough to construct a new static caravan, which is actually quite large (4 bed) and really nicely done out. Budget - about 20k, whereas a similar size house in the area would have cost 250-300k.
So there are ways and means, even in expensive areas!

[Deleted User]

essjae wrote: »

I bought my flat in central Cardiff when I was 24, 95k mortgage on a salary of 17k.

So you got a 5.6x salary mortgage? That's rather generous of the bank

kyana

currently buying with my partner, both 25. we have both worked (and saved) since we were 16 and have always lived in shared accommodation since leaving home. neither of us is earning near national average (£26k according to google) but we live frugally.

LisbonLaura

Is it just me, or do some of these posts seem somewhat unreal?
A touch of govt. promo about them?
Unfortunately there are bound to be shills on MSE; especially on threads like this.

J_i_m

I don't think it's a pipe dream, but I do think the goal posts are narrowing.

I'm single, in my thirties, on 17k a year. I moved back in with my parents after renting to enable me to save money easier and quicker.

I'm aiming at a 20k deposit, unfortunately prices have risen and the modest type of property which I targeted when I began saving in earnest are now on the cusp of being pushed over my realistic budget, if indeed they aren't already well in excess of my likely budget.

Magpie170808

It's not quite a pipe dream, but on an ordinary income, in many areas of the UK, only now possible for those with a tolerance for sharing facilities with others and an iron will to save hard.
Pitfalls: falling in love and getting pregnant / her pregnant; wanting to enjoy life while you are young and getting sucked into consumer culture and wanting to fit in with the consumer society, going out clubbing etc. etc.
Obstacles: e.g. You or your partner want to have kids before the ovaries start failing; not having a steady income, earning a low income for whatever reason and it's going to take considerable time to climb the career ladder or build up a useful nest egg for that vital deposit.
Possible solution:
Consider less sought-after areas where house prices may not yet have even bottomed out after the crash - you can get serious space for your money. Cons - you might end up with "Chavvy" neighbours who are a persistent nuisance.

At the end of the day the UK has a chronically broken housing market that only works well for the 50-70 age bracket (Baby Boomers) who also have pretty much all the political power in the UK, so don't expect things to change anytime soon.

PasturesNew

Magpie170808 wrote: »

At the end of the day the UK has a chronically broken housing market that only works well for the 50-70 age bracket (Baby Boomers) who also have pretty much all the political power in the UK, so don't expect things to change anytime soon.

It seems to also work fine for: couples who went to Uni and live in London with good jobs ... especially if they've got wealthy parents/grandparents who give them a deposit.

bedfordshireboy

It's not a pipe dream, its called worked hard and being disciplined. I'm a single, 25 yr old buying a £200k house on my own... saved since I was 18, spent the last 7 years doing various work qualifications to set myself up a decent wage for life (hopefully). No gifted funds from parents either.


Key factors are:
1. Living at home paying low rent (if possible)
2. Saving regularly
3. No debt... ever. If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

Eviesmummy

I found that it was very easy to fall into renting. I rented my first flat just as I turned 22, enjoyed my freedom for a few years, and before I knew it I'd met my husband, spent 2 years saving for our wedding, got pregnant and had a baby and by then was struggling to save a deposit because of all the costs of family life. Neither hubby or I earn big wages. I completed on our first house this week, aged 34.
I'd never intended to rent for 12 years. If I'd had more forethought in my early 20's I'd have bought long before now, but it's very easy to get caught up in wanting things now when you are younger, then life gets in the way.

ETA a friend if mine bought a house in the same st as we've just bought in. 11 years ago she paid £65,000 for her house, and at the time I thought that was a silly amount of money for a small 3 bed semi. Prices have more than doubled since then!

freeman3030

My partner and I bought last year in the South East and we had a combined income of about £33k. I wanted a house close to my parents and even though we could afford one, I didn't want us to overstretch ourselves. So we compromised and we decided to buy a flat to test the water. It's about 8 miles from my parents and on the outskirts of an area that has a stigma for being undesirable, but we've found it to actually be fine and would happily buy a house here in the future.
Obtaining a mortgage wasn't a problem (although I'm sure all these affordability checks they do now make it harder) but my opinion is that its in your best interests anyway.
My advice is, keep realistic and if you can't get what you want, work out if you can compromise.