We'll never be able to buy a house!

before_hollywood

kingkano wrote: »

Fair dos, I stand corrected. I guess they are cautious on a single salary, and rightly so some would say

Strangely if you add a partner with 15k you can borrow more like 145k!!

i wouldn't borrow that kind of money, i've been single for 5 years btw

before_hollywood

Running_Horse wrote: »

You forgot to include the overtime, so it was more like 3 and a bit times my wage, the point being the hard work involved. But I agree houses are overpriced at the moment. Those who said they can buy but don't want to pay current prices or move area have made what is the right decision for them, but that is slightly different to saying they can't buy anything. If they have judged the market correctly then they will be laughing in a year or two.

you've got to be realistic, ''affordable'' houses are available 30 miles away from me, thats 30 miles from my friends, family, work etc and if i could afford the cost of commuting that every day i could afford a house in my town :rolleyes:

izzybusy23

before_hollywood wrote: »

you've got to be realistic, ''affordable'' houses are available 30 miles away from me, thats 30 miles from my friends, family, work etc and if i could afford the cost of commuting that every day i could afford a house in my town :rolleyes:

Exactly. People who already have mortgages are saying 'move to another area, there are plenty of affordable houses in XXX...' well duh!!! What about jobs?? So lets move our families 180 miles north to get an affordable house but you can kiss a well paid job goodbye and leave friends and family behind. So in turn how does that make for a better life? The house may well had been affordable on the salary you were earning, but the wages in that area are less so back to square one.

People want to buy houses in the area in which they work.. its called security. Completely daft to say move to a different area just for the sake of buying a house. I wonder what these people would do if they were in the same situation as FTB's.

BrandNewDay

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.

We're moving into a council estate. We were able to find a two-bedroom mid-terrace (with a hopefully convertable loft) for £62,000. All of the problems you listed above are present - even a druggie next door neighbor. But, it's what we can afford. I have to admit that my tolerance for bad neighborhoods is higher than most people's. Of course, I used to live in Oakland, CA, where heard I gunshots on a regular basis.

Like I said, it's what we can afford. We're currently renting a three-bedroom semi in the Highlands - no crime, no noise - but I'd rather pay much less for a mortgage and have something to show for it in 25 years.

oasisfeverish

izzybusy23 wrote: »

Exactly. People who already have mortgages are saying 'move to another area, there are plenty of affordable houses in XXX...' well duh!!! What about jobs?? So lets move our families 180 miles north to get an affordable house but you can kiss a well paid job goodbye and leave friends and family behind. So in turn how does that make for a better life? The house may well had been affordable on the salary you were earning, but the wages in that area are less so back to square one.

People want to buy houses in the area in which they work.. its called security. Completely daft to say move to a different area just for the sake of buying a house. I wonder what these people would do if they were in the same situation as FTB's.

Doesn't have to be 180 miles or 'North'.

I once was a FTB (borrowed 5 x salary with only a 5% deposit), wanted to buy in one area, couldn't afford to for the home I wanted (2 bed terraced house), so choose another and bought there instead, that made me 40 minutes from my friends & family and work. Now I'm moving (about 20 miles outwards), and again can't afford to stay in the area (£250k 3 bed semi) if I am to purchase the home I want (3 bed semi or detatched), so I'm changing areas (less than £225k 3 bed semi), and will be 1hour+ from family & friends and work. But I'll have the home I want and will be happy with that.

It's not daft to say move to a different area. You have to ask yourself "Is the ulimate aim to buy, no matter where I live?" or "I will only buy if I can get the exact area I want and nothing else will do?"
If the former it's a starting point to begin to own your own home. If the latter then you may well be posting the same comments 50 years from now on this futurist forum board.

I won't say the best thing is to buy and I won't say the best thing is not to buy. It's up to each individual, but it's no good if you do nothing about it & just vent.

Oh and I'm in a area of the SE where 1 bed flats are £160k+, not from the 'norf' if you were wondering.

Dead_Eye_Jones

the biggest shocker for me in these discussions in the total lack of focus on deposit. People look at the asking price, then divide that by their wage. Surely this is the mistake. Why should anyone expect to buy anything without some money at least. Isnt the problem that we are too used to relying on easy money? Getting things up front and worrying about paying for it later. I find this a shocking trend!

I bought a lovely house in London recently, I did this not by overstretching or earning a massive amount of cash. I simply saved as much money as I could from the time I started work until now (almost 30). This made the difference between a desperate stretch to a small unwanted crummy flat as some of my peers have opted and the nice whole house that I was able to purchase (terrace 2/3 bed houses in my London borough start at 170k for a fixer upper - curiously new build flats are as much as 280k, obviously some mugs out there still lol!!).

I find it strange that people just starting work seem peeved that they cant buy a house in a nice area. Isnt this just normal? My parents got to their family home after years and years of hard work and lived in some shockers along the way. I realise things are harder now, I know only to well because Ive had to do it myself, but anyone who expects to buy a nice house in a nice area on a low wage and no saving is surely setting themselves up for a fall at any time.

And tbh I think thats right. Think about it. There are a limited number of nice houses in nice areas - so who is going to be left out? This will always be the case and the market will adjust accordingly. If people on 10k could afford nice houses they'd all be in one. But there arent enough are there! Seems right to me that things are like this. If you want more then you'll have to sacrifice elsewhere or earn more. How else can it work?!

Melissa177

Terraced 2/3 bed house in London for 170K??

Whereabouts are you based?

I agree with the sentiment of your post above though entirely

skintlass

Sometimes you have to weigh up whether your commute is worth where you live - I currently commute for about 1 hr each way per day (because of traffic - its only 17 miles :-o) and I'm trying to sell my house. Now, where I move won't be solely based on where I work. It'll be a combo of where I work, where I want to live, what the facilities nearby are, where I go for my hobbies like horseriding and of course what I can afford. I live in Leeds btw and prices are high here too. I can afford what I want in some areas but not in others.

Melissa177

izzybusy23 wrote: »

Exactly. People who already have mortgages are saying 'move to another area, there are plenty of affordable houses in XXX...' well duh!!! What about jobs?? So lets move our families 180 miles north to get an affordable house but you can kiss a well paid job goodbye and leave friends and family behind. So in turn how does that make for a better life? The house may well had been affordable on the salary you were earning, but the wages in that area are less so back to square one.

People want to buy houses in the area in which they work.. its called security. Completely daft to say move to a different area just for the sake of buying a house. I wonder what these people would do if they were in the same situation as FTB's.

But that is your choice. You could choose to work somewhere else, and have a house that you can afford near your work. You might not be happy as you might not be near friends, but that's the choice you make.

Do people want houses near their work, or to work near their houses?

You might decide to move to another country where the wages are higher and the homes are more affordable - one of the reasons by parents moved to America, as an example.

Life is all about decisions, no one is tied into working or living in one particular area.

Running_Horse

before_hollywood wrote: »

you've got to be realistic, ''affordable'' houses are available 30 miles away from me, thats 30 miles from my friends, family, work etc and if i could afford the cost of commuting that every day i could afford a house in my town :rolleyes:

My first house was in a run down area and miles from my job. That was the decision I made to get on the property ladder. Years later that enabled us to buy a village house 10 minutes down the road from work. I respect your decision not to do the same; that is your choice.