Long-time renter and sick of it - but what do we do?

DazedAndConfused1980

Hi all,

Read a lot of threads on here over the years, but first time posting, so I hope you'll be able to help me as well as you have those other people I've seen.

My partner and I are in our early 30s. Both of us went to Uni/were in education for longer than normal, and we accrued student loans (though no other debts other than the occasional dip into the overdraft). We've both worked full-time since our mid-20s.

I work as a designer, and my partner worked in care (though is about to start a new career as a dental nurse - she'll be fully qualified in a few weeks). Unfortunately, in order for those careers to have worked, so far we've always lived in quite expensive places where both high-quality firms and retirees can be found.

We've saved what we can, but at the moment, we're only sitting on £7,000. Even this has been a struggle because rents have been a killer - rents on properties we could've afforded if we were 10 years older but now live in a world where owning a house seems to be an impossible dream.

Due to a redundancy and other reasons, I've been forced to move to Brighton, and the cycle seems to be starting again - where we're moving to places we can't afford to buy and are getting bled dry by landlords who charge just enough for us to hardly ever save.

I'm at the end of my tether with this and I don't know what to do. We want to get married, but I feel like a failure because I can't afford to put a roof over our heads, despite earning well above the national average. People idly suggest all sorts, such as moving further from work, but with the petrol prices these days even that isn't terribly practical - you seem to end up paying just as much and have a 40-min commute for the privilege.

Can anyone help us with some advice? Are there any schemes, anything that can help us buy a reasonable 2-bed-and-lounge flat and stop lining the pockets of landlords?

marksoton

Brighton is the worst possible place you could have headed.

HTB and the new ISA would help you out. S/O in the right circumstance.

But you need to move away from such hotspots.

Cakeguts

You need to have a look at living in a less fashionable area than Brighton. First thing to do is look at the bus routes/train routes into your work. Now find somewhere that is cheaper to live than Brighton. If you are serious about buying somewhere you have got to get serious about saving money. Don't worry too much about you liking the area a lot because you are only going to be there while you save money to buy.

Now next make a spreadsheet. You need to get rid of anything that is on contract that you are paying for monthly.

So broadband, expensive phone contracts, car payments. If you want to buy a house you cannot have new cars you have to either use public transport or buy an old car with cash. Do not eat out always cook your own food. Do not buy ready meals from the supermarket.

If you can get to work on public transport you don't need a car. You may have a car each at the moment. That is wasteful if you are trying to save money.

There is nothing new in what I am suggesting. People have always had to save like this in order to own where they live.

mildredalien

I feel your pain, having rented throughout my 20s and only just got into a position to buy my first home with my husband in our early 30s. We've been lucky in both having careers that have paid off in the last few years so we both earn over the national average now. Unfortunately, having such a career is somewhat a matter of luck. Will your partner's new job mean a pay increase? I imagine dental nurses will be in demand in any area not just those with plenty of wealthy retirees!

The only thing you can do is minimise your outgoings and maximise your income as obvious as that sounds. Do a proper budget and work out what you can give up or save on. I don't know where you currently rent, but downsizing your current home and/or moving into a cheaper/less desirable area might be worth the short term pain. Could you freelance and bring in some extra cash? Could your partner do extra care work on top of dental nursing to get extra income? You could consider moving completely to a cheaper area than the South East (although again down in part to luck as if your family, friends and support network are all there it's easier said than done).

There are a range of FTB schemes out there that could help. Off the top of my head you could look into:
- Making sure you both have Help to buy ISAs
- Investigating the local Shared Ownership Schemes
- Help to buy equity loan
- Help to buy mortgage guarantee

pmlindyloo

Help to buy in Brighton here:

https://www.helptobuyese.org.uk/property-search/property-search-results

Depends on your income and what you are paying in rent now as to whether this is financially affordable.

And I agree with Cakeguts. If you want to buy then you are going to have to make some big sacrifices in the short term.

House sharing for a couple of years is an option - probably the cheapest way to live but again sacrifices are needed.

If you are willing to live very frugally for a couple of years it is achievable with both of you earning.

So difficult for young people these days and you are in one of the most expensive parts of England.

DazedAndConfused1980

marksoton wrote: »

Brighton is the worst possible place you could have headed.

HTB and the new ISA would help you out. S/O in the right circumstance.

But you need to move away from such hotspots.

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately this isn't an option; I have to move for the work and this is where the work is. The only other option was London, and that would've been even worse.

Cakeguts wrote: »

There is nothing new in what I am suggesting. People have always had to save like this in order to own where they live.

I think, when people say "always" for this... Well, suffice to say my parents didn't have it anywhere near as difficult in the 90s because the delta between their wages and house prices was much narrower. Similarly, though, they were taught to buy property because it would go up in value, and that's now seen as a guaranteed thing. I mean can you imagine a £300k house going down to £150k by 2030? Homeowners would riot.

mildredalien wrote: »

There are a range of FTB schemes out there that could help. Off the top of my head you could look into:
- Making sure you both have Help to buy ISAs
- Investigating the local Shared Ownership Schemes
- Help to buy equity loan
- Help to buy mortgage guarantee

Thanks, I'll look into each of these things, starting with the ISAs.

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Help to buy in Brighton here:
(link removed because I got a spam warning)

...

So difficult for young people these days and you are in one of the most expensive parts of England.

Thanks for that, I'll look at that info.

EDIT: Unfortunately help-to-buy has nothing in Brighton and Hove (like, not even 'nothing that suits me' - I mean it actually has nothing).

pmlindyloo

I found these:

https://www.helptobuyese.org.uk/property-search/property-search-results

DazedAndConfused1980

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I found these:

Either there's a problem with that website or this is an epic troll - but when I click that link, I get "No Results".

marksoton

DazedAndConfused1980 wrote: »

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately this isn't an option; I have to move for the work and this is where the work is. The only other option was London, and that would've been even worse.

I'm sorry but rollocks.

What do you design exactly? If i can work in civil engineering 150 miles from a physical structure i need to build in London and be there you can do it.

You're making a lifestyle choice not a practical one in this day and age.

angela110660

I just clicked it and chose Sussex Brighton and Hove and 2 beds as you said you wanted 2 beds and there were several schemes that popped up but whether they are what you waould like - who knows? Good luck though. Could you move along the coast to somewhere cheaperish and commute a bit further?

DazedAndConfused1980

marksoton wrote: »

I'm sorry but rollocks.

What do you design exactly? If i can work in civil engineering 150 miles from a physical structure i need to build in London and be there you can do it.

You're making a lifestyle choice not a practical one in this day and age.

I'm not saying I have to live in Brighton; I'm saying I have to work there.

If living further afield is a possibility, then I'll look into it. Just having lived in urban locations, I've always tried to use public transport to get to-and-fro from work and tried to keep commute times down (as a quality-of-life matter). I'm just concerned about what another 5 years will do to fuel prices, and whether petrol will spike and make things even worse than trying to live closer by.

EDIT: Are you seriously saying that you travel 300 miles each day? You spend 2.5hrs driving twice a day? How much do you spend in fuel/transport costs?