We'll never be able to buy a house!

movilogo

Interesting how many of these "I can't afford to buy any house" threads become "I can't afford to buy the house I want in the area I want" threads.

IMHO, when people buy the most expensive thing in their lifetime, they deserve to be that fussy! Will you date with any girl? No, you won't. Because you'll go with some one whom you like. Will you buy any car? No, you won't. You'll buy which will carry your family safely with low running cost. So, basically, "I want to buy a house" means "I want to buy a house that will fulfil my purpose. Otherwise why I would buy?"

And what is wrong with living on a council estate? Millions of people do.

I lived in council estate and in future I shall try to avoid them if I can afford. Reasons -

* Your next door neighbor can be a drug addict.
* Drunken people may knock on your door at midnight.
* High burglary rate
* Your friends and colleagues will look you down upon (unless they are also in same position).
* Aimless teenagers will do anything for petty money

Something millions of people do doesn't mean it is good or should be done. If buying any house is a requirement, why not buy a house in Eastern Europe or betters still in Asia/Africa? You can get a palace for £10k.

This is not to hurt anyone's feeling as I personally spent years in council flat. But as soon as I could afford a better place, I moved out.

Apologies if I hurt anyone's feeling.

Running_Horse

arthur_dent wrote: »

You do not seem to have grasped the concept of low wage. I have a good friend who for want of a better word is not academically talented. It is not and will never be an option for him to better himself. So for the crime of being unskilled he is not entitled to a decent living space? Everyone is entitled to express their own view point and I would whole heartidly disagree with the mcdonalds analogy.

In life we need all sorts of differently achieving people not just those who are graduates etc,.

My first wage was £0.65 an hour on a YTS scheme. Even by the time of living in London bedsitland I was earning £2 to £3 an hour. I wanted the security of my own home and made the changes and sacrifices necessary to get it.

Agreed about graduates. After getting my degree and being made redundant the only work offered was in a factory, so I took it. My degree was for peronal achievement, not financial gain.

arthur_dent_2

A mortgage is completly affordable on £0.65 an hour isn't it? Even on minimum wage there is not a single house in the country that would be affordable. London is not the same as everywhere else, you cannot sacrifice what you are never going to have. With the best will in the world and living on nothing but beans on toast, a mortgage and often rental is just not an option for many many people.

You clearly have not grasped this concept and believe you can 'work yourself' out of poverty.

Melissa177

movilogo wrote: »

IMHO, when people buy the most expensive thing in their lifetime, they deserve to be that fussy! Will you date with any girl? No, you won't. Because you'll go with some one whom you like. Will you buy any car? No, you won't. You'll buy which will carry your family safely with low running cost. So, basically, "I want to buy a house" means "I want to buy a house that will fulfil my purpose. Otherwise why I would buy?"


I lived in council estate and in future I shall try to avoid them if I can afford. Reasons -

* Your next door neighbor can be a drug addict.
* Drunken people may knock on your door at midnight.
* High burglary rate
* Your friends and colleagues will look you down upon (unless they are also in same position).
* Aimless teenagers will do anything for petty money

Something millions of people do doesn't mean it is good or should be done. If buying any house is a requirement, why not buy a house in Eastern Europe or betters still in Asia/Africa? You can get a palace for £10k.

This is not to hurt anyone's feeling as I personally spent years in council flat. But as soon as I could afford a better place, I moved out.

Apologies if I hurt anyone's feeling.

Sure, but your first home isn't the one you are going to stay in for the rest of your life, is it? You're going to move onwards and upwards hopefully. You can't buy in at the top, so you start somewhere small and move upwards as you earn more money and your career progresses.

This might not be true of everyone - not everyone has a career that will progress - but that is the aim.

cupid_s

Orion wrote: »

Perhaps 50K is an exaggeration in many places, but not much of one in London. I've been saving the past year and been rewarded only by seeing house prices increasing in value a few grand every month, far more than I earn let alone can save.

Well done if you managed to get on the property ladder. Are you in London?

If house prices are stagnating, then doesn't that make it even more of a risk to buy get onto the ladder right now?

When I said most people, I did somewhat exclude most people in london. These people I feel extremely sorry for, because rents are high and house prices even higher. Here they truly are out of reach for a lot of people.

But those living in really cheap areas, like the op, should be able to afford to buy somewhere, all be it not their ideal home.

With regards to the last statement, I completely agree. We bought our house 3 years ago at a time when the rent on an equivalent place would have cost us half as much again as our repayment mortgage. Now this isn't the case. Our house has gone up maybe 3-4% in value in the last three years (which is typical in this city), and rents have lowered. I certainly wouldn't buy now as it wouldn't be worth it (though we could still afford to).

Melissa177

The thing is, whilst prices are higher, so are the wages. Significantly higher. The average wage in Canary Wharf, for example, is 100K. No wonder Docklands houses are booming...

Running_Horse

arthur_dent wrote: »

A mortgage is completly affordable on £0.65 an hour isn't it? Even on minimum wage there is not a single house in the country that would be affordable. London is not the same as everywhere else, you cannot sacrifice what you are never going to have. With the best will in the world and living on nothing but beans on toast, a mortgage and often rental is just not an option for many many people.

You clearly have not grasped this concept and believe you can 'work yourself' out of poverty.

You seem to be missing the point (perhaps deliberately?) I was on rubbish money, but trained to get more. When that wasn't enough I trained some more and took my experience to another employer. Taking your logic to its conclusion that you can't work your way out of poverty, we might as well all sit on our backsides and expect the state to give us everything for free. I chose a different option. Life is what you choose to make it.

POSSETTE

to quote kirsty and phil on "location location " "buy the worst house on the best street, rather than the best house on the worst street!!
You can do up a worst house as and when you are living in it..you cant do up a bad area!!

franklee

Running_Horse wrote: »

But it is odd so many come to a house buying message board to say they can't (or won't) buy a house at current prices.

That is a perfectly laudable decision based on their personal circumstances. But coming here to complain is like a vegetarian going to MacDonalds to complain about the lack burgers in his diet.

This isn't a house buying message board! It's House Buying, Renting, Selling & Prices. Discussing the market comes under Prices and not everyone is a homeowner/buyer there are renters too. Besides discussing buying is partly about the market too, in true money saving style the buyer wants to know it he's getting a good deal or facing debt oblivion.

So it's on topic and your analogy is wrong.

arthur_dent_2

In order for me to buy the house I now live in (ie a one bedroom quarter house) I would need approximately £30,000 joint wage. Both of us working full time at £7.50 an hour. So even if you ignore childcare costs that is an exceedingly good hourly rate arround here.

You are saying that you worked harder gained a better wage, how is this possible when the £7.50 is a better wage? I dare say you would not get out of bed for that.

People around here do not expect the state to pay for them, that is why they work long hard hours for very little money. Packhouse, land work, food factories etc, are not going to pay one person a higher rate than any other. After 10 years you might become superviser. It is no good saying I did it so can everyone else, other people do not have what it takes to better themselves.

As for myself I am an intelligent lady and I could have bettered myself, I do have what it takes but I chose to look after my children and I earn a commodity far far greater than money. I earn love and I earn time. I will always be poor and do you know what I will always be happy. I am lucky I have got my house as I was fortunate to beat the property boom. My best wishes go out to those that were not that lucky.