At what age is 'normal' to buy? How old were you?

anto164

I bought with my Fiancee in June this year aged 29. I had saved for the past 7 years to get a 10% deposit plus fees on top, and small allowance for refurb.

We pushed ourselves to top end of our budget, but we got a much nicer house in a good location with plenty of scope for the future in the North West.

lippy1923

I was 20 in 2010 when I brought my first house, a 2 bed semi in the SE with my now hubby.

BusyBargainz

26 for me and my partner and we have been in just over a month. Deposit was all saved by ourselves with no help, although I had twice as much as my partner he now pays more bills than me so it'll even out eventually

GLM71093

Hi,

I am 22 and and currently buying my first house with my OH (23yo), completing in two weeks time.
It does seem we are fairly young to be buying though (so the mortgage advisor, estate agents and solicitors have said)

lisa110rry

In early 1978, we two newlyweds bought our first home, a well built three bedroom semi-detached former council property in South Birmingham (£11,000-something). In Autumn 1981, we moved to a two-bedroom semi-detached (circa £14,000) cottage in leafy Knowle in Solihull where our son was born in May of the following year. In 1987, we had a CAA move from the Midlands to the Northwest because of a promotion for my husband. We sold the Knowle house for about £36,000 and bought the current house, a substantial three-bedroomed detached with a detached garage the size of a bungalow for £40,000 with all moving costs paid for by the CAA. This is a lovely home, I love it to bits. I have no idea of its current value whatsoever.

We went through the 15% interest phase, twice as I recall. The second time, we kept our mortgage payments where they were as the percentage went down. We needed to as it was an endowment mortgage.

Still very happy here after 29 years.

Edited to add: in 1978, we were 21 and 30.

debtfreeforlife

I was 28 when I bought (two years ago). I had a deposit of £17k thanks to support from family and that was more than sufficient as a deposit. My sister was about the same age when she bought, and most of my friends who have bought were in their mid-to-late twenties. I would say it is entirely up to you, though. Do you WANT your own place, or are you happy with your parents? And are your parents happy for you to continue to live with them?

I would say that if you were renting, with your deposit you should absolutely buy. But if you're living with your parents then I assume that your rent is either non-existent or at least not extortionate. And I'm a strong believer in ignoring what "everyone else" is doing. If you're happy with your situation the way it is, then make sure your money is in a high-interest account and carry on carryin' on. Otherwise, you've more than enough for a deposit in most areas.

zackyv6661

I'm 29 and have been renting for the past 4 years.
I moved back in with my parents 3 months ago after a very bad breakup, and have absolutely no savings! I plan to start really saving after my debt is paid off (next year), so it will most likely be a couple of years at least before I buy a house of my own.

Lazarus_Blackstar

I was 32 and husband 43 when we bought our first home nearly 4 years ago. We'd rented for 13 years but decided enough was enough and we had saved a fair bit so we put a deposit of £15k down.

Best thing we ever did and we are still here nearly 4 years later!
When I look back to the renting days, it's makes us realise how much dead money we were actually paying.
If you can afford to buy, then go for it.

ellie27

I bought my first place age 28, with my partner, a flat in Dublin which I still have due to the property crash over there.

Back in UK a couple years later, we then bought a 3 bed semi where we had 2 children.

Now 8 yrs on we have recently moved into a 5 bed bungalow, turning 40 next year.

I was too busy having fun, going to uni etc to even stop and think about property before my late 20s. I did live with my parents til then.

Simon11

I brought my first flat with my own savings when I was 23- 1 bed in Birmingham centre, having lived with parents through university.

I then moved back to London to live with family a year later and rented the flat out.

When I was 26, I then brought another 1 bed (with a 1/3 of deposit from rents) in London to live in and now at the age of 27, I now have enough money to extend the lease which is only around 65 years old:D

Next step is to pay back the rents and then look to move to a bigger property (which will be an even bigger challenge!) :eek:.