Can I afford my first house as a single person??

jimbibob

Firstly, I'm new, not sure if this is in the right place, so apologies up front if its in the wrong section.

I'm looking at currently looking at houses to finally move out of my parents. I have approx 13k saved and am looking at houses 80k or below. I earn approx 21.5k per year. Naturally I don't expect people to know exactly what my costs are going to be, but I just want some opinions on whether or not it is an affordable decision. I've budgeted using YNAB software and tried to over compensate my outgoings. (I say tried because I have very little idea on what bills are going to be like ) I'm usually good at budgeting and don't lead a frivolous lifestyle.

Naturally saving even more is the best option, but in your own opinions, can I do it NOW? Are there any things to consider when budgeting, that people tend to forget about? Oh, I have a finance on my car but my credit rating is in near perfect condition.

Thanks in advance for any advice and opinions given, and goodnight

Toptom1

I don't understand why you have finance on a car if you have 13k savings unless your getting kicked out of your parents home. Your loosing money by paying intrest on finance. Pay your car off and save money. Rates in savings is neglibale and save a deposit of at least 10% for reasonable morgage rates.

Pixie5740

Possibly. Your car payments will be taken into account when calculating your affordability but it doesn't seem unrealistic for someone in your position to buy a property now.

nubbins

So you take home about £1450 and are looking for a repayment mortgage of approx £350 a month. Depending on your car loan I would say you are in a pretty good position to go for it. You will have things like council tax, gas, electricity, food etc but it looks like you have enough surplus to cope.Don't forget interest rates are only going to go up over the next few years so maybe base your calculations on a slightly higher interest rate or a get a good fixed. If possible find a 2 bed as you could always rent one of the rooms if things are tight.
Good luck

rosie383

For bills you will have gas and electric, water rates, council tax, buildings and contents insurance, tv licence, food, car tax/insurance/maintenance/mot/fuel, mortgage, pension. Those are off the top of my head for starters. Too late at night to work out if you can afford it.

PasturesNew

If you get £1450/month and the mortgage would be £350/month then you can afford it, lifestyle depending.

I'd guesstimate at £100 council tax and £100 utilities, then £100 for other household costs (insurance, TV license, phone, Internet). So £300. That leaves you £800 in your pocket for everything else.

Out of that £800/mth it'd be good practice to put aside £100/month for "household improvements and repairs", let that stack up and you can meet any unexpected big bills in the future.

That leaves you £700/month. £100-150 for food and you've £550-600/month leftover to pay for and run your car, clothes and going out, holidays, Xmas, birthdays, etc.

Personally - I'd feel I was rolling in it if I had that much each month ... however, I've lead a very insular and frugal life due to not having had the money to actually leave the house very often in the past.

So, pick your new home carefully, bearing in mind how easy it is to reach people/places to try to minimise the potential for isolation. e.g. if you're on a route everybody else uses to get into/from town, then you're more likely to be included in random invites than if you are the only one living in a village 5 miles to the east.

ultrarunner

Doable as I did from a similar position but you get bitter about economies of scale!

Mickygg

Pastures new says a very good point, so many FTB forget about owning a house and the repair costs.

Factoring in a sum each month for a problem is a must. One problem each year could happen, such as boiler breakdown, water leak, tv breaks etc.

Old_Git

as a FTB you will need furniture .

ERICS_MUM

I think it's do-able if it's a small property that won't cost a lot to heat or furnish. The first year is the hardest while you go through the whole bill "cycle" and you know what it costs every month and costs for winter heating.

Personally I was lucky that family and friends were able to give me things they'd finished with and they lasted me a year or so - I had a single bed, one armchair (ripped !), mis-matched crockery etc. the only thing I bought new was a fridge. My flat was nearly empty but I didn't care, it was home ! That year gave me time to work out what I wanted the flat to look like, so by the time I could afford to go shopping I knew what I wanted and where to get the best price.

Good luck !

bris

65K mortgage on 21.5k PA, yes you can manage on your own.