Renters pushed to breaking point as Britain's selfish homeowners gloat their hands

greensalad

ukcarper wrote: »

I think your main problem is that you need a new build as they are normally more expensive.

As for quality of life it depends on your interests.

Yes that is an issue. I don't want a new build but we need H2B so stuck with NB.

Quality of life, my aspirations are to have a garden, pet, and be able to paint the walls what colour I like. Also having a 2 bed so I can actually have a family in the next 10 years. Think it's just too much to ask though

caronoel

Why do you "need" help to buy?

Plenty of 2 bed+ flats to buy in and around your local area, under the £250k mark:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1474&sortType=1&maxPrice=250000&minBedrooms=2&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

Dont fall into the trap of waiting for your dream house to come along. There will always be compromises, and you need to take the long view.

With a bit of luck, house prices and your wages should rise nicely over the next 5 years or so and you will have paid off a whole chunk of your mortgage with the result that you can buy something a bit more suite to your time in life, at that point.

lisyloo

I think there comes a point where the commute is too long that there isn't really much point in buying at all. I want to buy to increase quality of life. There comes a point where commuting too much decreases quality of life more than owning a property increases it.

I would agree with that.
My hubby did a 5 hour commute daily for a short while and I got out of bed at 6a.m. to save him an even longer commute.
What did it for me was crashing the car (luckily only into a post at the railway station). I just dented my 17 year old car but if I'd done something like that on my motorbike I would have been badly injured.

There has to be some reason for a longish commute every day.
Either it has to buy a great lifestyle for everyone else in your family (wife lives ni leafy hampshire, kids get good schools) or you get a great career in London.
But if you're just on a middle income then it's difficult to see the benefit even you end up being the richest man in the graveyard with "I wish I'd commuted less" as your epitaph.

I personally suffer from postural hypotension and can feel really unwell standing up - possibly fainting, but I don't visibly look "less able to stand".
I will ask someone to give up their seat if I'm on the verge of passing out or being sick, but otherwise I don't feel anymore entitled than anyone eslse.
That's one reason I'm a bit anti-commting.

lisyloo

Also having a 2 bed so I can actually have a family in the next 10 years. Think it's just too much to ask though

Perfectly acheivable outside london.
Do you work in a particularly London centric job - like ballet? or could you consider moving elsewhere?

Cornucopia

ShAnE wrote: »

I do hope those working in London work next to Waterloo otherwise 45 minute walk to the station + 45 minute train ride means most people would be looking at a 4 hour commute each day by the time they've reached their central London destination.

I've read the thread again, and still don't see where this mythical "45 min walk" came from.

Anyway, given that Farnborough and Camberley were once prime commuter belt, and even stockbroker belt, I think the reaction to those properties tells you all you need to know about changing fashions.

I accept that part of that change comes from the huge cost of 2 long-distance season tickets, but nevertheless it's not possible for all couples to live in Walthamstow and all singles to live in Hoxton. If the limited amount of space were not restricted by price, it would have to be rationed in some other way.

And this is the rather large, underlying fallacy of the HPC people - they do not understand that high prices are not just a thing in their own right, they are also a proxy for excess demand over limited supply. Even if houses were £250 each, there still wouldn't be enough to go around in some areas.

ukcarper

lisyloo wrote: »

I would agree with that.
My hubby did a 5 hour commute daily for a short while and I got out of bed at 6a.m. to save him an even longer commute.
What did it for me was crashing the car (luckily only into a post at the railway station). I just dented my 17 year old car but if I'd done something like that on my motorbike I would have been badly injured.

There has to be some reason for a longish commute every day.
Either it has to buy a great lifestyle for everyone else in your family (wife lives ni leafy hampshire, kids get good schools) or you get a great career in London.
But if you're just on a middle income then it's difficult to see the benefit even you end up being the richest man in the graveyard with "I wish I'd commuted less" as your epitaph.

I personally suffer from postural hypotension and can feel really unwell standing up - possibly fainting, but I don't visibly look "less able to stand".
I will ask someone to give up their seat if I'm on the verge of passing out or being sick, but otherwise I don't feel anymore entitled than anyone eslse.
That's one reason I'm a bit anti-commting.

I think commuting is a personal thing after all plenty of people commute from south coast to London. I initially commuted because I had to but when I was able to move back I didn't for 2 reasons one 1 could get a better property for my money and secondly it suited my lifestyle and interests to be outside London.

lisyloo

I think commuting is a personal thing

I agree. It depends on many factors, like how many days you need to do it, whether you get a seat, whether you can read/work etc, whether you can afford 1st class, what the pay off is etc.
A big factor amongst many of my colleagues is whether you have to be in the office 2 days a week or 5 days a week.

lisyloo

I've read the thread again, and still don't see where this mythical "45 min walk" came from.

I don't know what the poster had in mind but my real experience is something like

20 minutes walk from home to train station
5 min wait for train (assuming they aren't frequent enough to just turn up)
5 min walk from train to london bus stop
5 minutes wait for bus
20 minutes bus ride

That's actually 55 mins and assume you have an onward journey and don't work at Paddington or Waterloo station.
Of course journeys vary in length but most people do have an onward journey once they get to London. I think that's probably the kind of thing they meant.

greensalad

lisyloo wrote: »

Perfectly acheivable outside london.
Do you work in a particularly London centric job - like ballet? or could you consider moving elsewhere?

My work is fairly flexible. Preferably somewhere with a bit of a tech buzz but I prefer to work in SME so it's less of an issue.

Partner's work is incredibly London-centric. He is in quite a unique role that is only really available in London or in a token few other areas. But those token few areas pay a lot less too, hence desire to stay close to London.

caronoel wrote: »

Why do you "need" help to buy?

Plenty of 2 bed+ flats to buy in and around your local area, under the £250k mark:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1474&sortType=1&maxPrice=250000&minBedrooms=2&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

Dont fall into the trap of waiting for your dream house to come along. There will always be compromises, and you need to take the long view.

With a bit of luck, house prices and your wages should rise nicely over the next 5 years or so and you will have paid off a whole chunk of your mortgage with the result that you can buy something a bit more suite to your time in life, at that point.

Because our struggle is saving the deposit, not paying the mortgage. Most of our money is spent on rent, leaving not a huge amount left to save each month.

20% deposit on £250k = £50k. We have no hope in hell of saving that. Even with steady wage increases, we would never be able to save £50k AND keep in line with the rate at which the house prices are increasing. Might take us 7 years to save £50k. By then, £250k house has gone up to another £100k. Now, required deposit is £70k. Not to mention, in 7 years I might not want a 2-bed flat any more.

Impossible moving target.

H2B would help us jump a little higher in terms of securing house price at a lower cost. We could save 5% deposit in maybe 18 months, a year if we really tried. House price will have gone up only a little.

Not to mention, there is a serious lack of housing even in those ones you shared. Once you strip out the shared ownership, retirement and BTL-only there are only 8 properties in the town and wider area. There are going to be a lot more than 8 people vying for a 2-bed flat, not to mention those who can offer over the asking price (BTL investors).

ukcarper

greensalad wrote: »

My work is fairly flexible. Preferably somewhere with a bit of a tech buzz but I prefer to work in SME so it's less of an issue.

Partner's work is incredibly London-centric. He is in quite a unique role that is only really available in London or in a token few other areas. But those token few areas pay a lot less too, hence desire to stay close to London.



Because our struggle is saving the deposit, not paying the mortgage. Most of our money is spent on rent, leaving not a huge amount left to save each month.

20% deposit on £250k = £50k. We have no hope in hell of saving that. Even with steady wage increases, we would never be able to save £50k AND keep in line with the rate at which the house prices are increasing. Might take us 7 years to save £50k. By then, £250k house has gone up to another £100k. Now, required deposit is £70k. Not to mention, in 7 years I might not want a 2-bed flat any more.

Impossible moving target.

H2B would help us jump a little higher in terms of securing house price at a lower cost. We could save 5% deposit in maybe 18 months, a year if we really tried. House price will have gone up only a little.

Not to mention, there is a serious lack of housing even in those ones you shared. Once you strip out the shared ownership, retirement and BTL-only there are only 8 properties in the town and wider area. There are going to be a lot more than 8 people vying for a 2-bed flat, not to mention those who can offer over the asking price (BTL investors).

What about help to buy 3. Saving for deposit while renting has always been a problem the only option is to houseshare while you save.