32 Still Not on Property Ladder. Is this sad?

Runningfast

My advice would be if you can afford it buy now if you can.

Up until the age of 28 I had an ok life, good pay, relationship, house etc. It all went south from that point. Never think I will do this and that in x amount of years time because one bad decision, one redundancy, one pay cut etc. can set you back years. Currently earning less now than I did when I was 21 and living back with the parents single. Been made redundant twice in last few years, also throw in 3 official pay cuts and 1 unofficial pay cut and your savings are wiped out pretty damn quickly!

SensibleSarah

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I never quite understood this - why didn't your (and my) generation just save up a bit more for carpet/furniture before buying? I keep hearing the 'boomer trope' of "We slept on cardboard boxes and deckchairs until we could afford furniture when we bought our first home".

To me, that just sounds like boomers overstretched themselves to get on the housing ladder to the point they couldn't even carpet a house. These days you need to raise such a large deposit that the idea of NOT saving a few extra grand to buy some cheap furniture/carpet sounds nuts.

I've been in my house for nearly 6 years & still can't afford new carpet Or the new kitchen, bathroom, double glazing, new boiler & a dozen other things that the house needs. It's habitable, so it's going to have to wait a bit longer. Maybe a lot longer. I'll get there one day. No regrets.

Chanes

If you can afford it, buy. But buy wisely, the worst house in the best area can be a good start. In the normal run of things, a house will give a better return than anything else I can think of and if you buy wisely you can always sell it on if needed.

ViolaLass

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I never quite understood this - why didn't your (and my) generation just save up a bit more for carpet/furniture before buying? I keep hearing the 'boomer trope' of "We slept on cardboard boxes and deckchairs until we could afford furniture when we bought our first home".

Presumably because it meant they could buy sooner/rent for less long. It's a valid choice. I don't know the details but perhaps my parents put the money towards other things first and eventually got round to carpets. When we bought, our priority for the first year was to stop the roof leaking.

By the same reasoning, why does anyone nowadays complain about the deposit they have to raise to buy? "Just save a bit longer."

MistyZ

Thing is you're saving for a deposit, so you've got options.

Just being nosey, but which do you want most, the house or the partner? If you haven't met your soul mate yet then perhaps that's why you feel a bit like you're floating through life. Just a hint from an old lady .... if it's a female you're after then women like men who have a bit of conviction. So maybe time to tell yourself that you are not in any sense dithering, you're saving and you've got options. Perfect!

kilby_007

Chanes wrote: »

If you can afford it, buy. But buy wisely, the worst house in the best area can be a good start. In the normal run of things, a house will give a better return than anything else I can think of and if you buy wisely you can always sell it on if needed.

Very long term, perhaps, but don't forget that house prices have significantly fallen in value in previous crashes and that was with lots of desperate measures by our government in an attempt to boost the market. In relative terms (taking into account wage rises and inflation moving forward), now is probably the worst time to buy, IMO. That said, if you need a family home and can easily afford what you want then sometimes you just have to get on with it, but over-stretching yourself at the peak of the market is a very unwise choice.

Niv

FIRSTTIMER wrote: »

Hi,


I turned 32 this year and feel like I should be with partner and in a house that I actually own, but I feel like I don't want to be trapped into a location, but then also feel like I should buy now like most of my friends have. I feel like society tells me to buy because I have the money, a good job, a good deposit. Anyone else feel like this?


Then again, I don't want to be sat here at 35 saying I cannot now afford to get onto the property ladder as every house price has doubled.....HELP

Don't buy a house because your mates have!

You said you don't want to be 'trapped' in one location. Before you decide to buy you need to work that feeling out. In reality how many times over the last 5 years have you moved area and was it your choice. If you had stayed in one location would that have made working a difficulty for you etc.?

For me renting is dead money with buying at least you end up paying some of the capital off. But don't buy for buying's sake, I was / am in a situation where I did not need to move area for my job so it made sense to buy.

moneyistooshorttomention

glasgowdan wrote: »

Just chill out until you end up settling down with someone who you like and can split the costs as a couple

There is a snag to that. OP may never meet that Special Someone. Some of us don't. Motto - get on and get a decent home for yourself anyway on your own.

I hate to think what sort of place I'd be living in if I'd kept waiting...and waiting...and waiting for Him.:eek:

[Deleted User]

SensibleSarah wrote: »

I've been in my house for nearly 6 years & still can't afford new carpet Or the new kitchen, bathroom, double glazing, new boiler & a dozen other things that the house needs. It's habitable, so it's going to have to wait a bit longer. Maybe a lot longer. I'll get there one day. No regrets.

I just went down the route of "Whack it all on a credit card, then move it to 0%". Sure, i'm still repaying it 4 years later, but it hasn't cost me anything in interest and I got my house into a decent state first, rather than wait until it was lived in and I couldn't be bothered renovating.

I think a key difference between now, and 'back in our parents days' is that there is now much more affordable furniture (Ikea) and electrical goods. You can furnish a house far cheaper than back in the 70s. There is also far more affordable lines of credit.

hazyjo

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I just went down the route of "Whack it all on a credit card, then move it to 0%". Sure, i'm still repaying it 4 years later, but it hasn't cost me anything in interest and I got my house into a decent state first, rather than wait until it was lived in and I couldn't be bothered renovating.

I think a key difference between now, and 'back in our parents days' is that there is now much more affordable furniture (Ikea) and electrical goods. You can furnish a house far cheaper than back in the 70s. There is also far more affordable lines of credit.

Was going to comment along similar lines.


Weirdly, things are much cheaper now in some respects. People tend to buy furniture they change with the fashions. Even in my day (I'm 40s), furniture was built to last. Things used to cost a fortune. Even a video player was hundreds.


People buy new now. We wouldn't have dreamt of being able to buy somewhere and furnish it with new stuff. It was all hand-me-downs from friends and family, or gifts.


We also had interest rates in double figures, and all your dosh just went on affording the mortgage. It wasn't a case of saving, you just couldn't unless you had a tiny mortgage in comparison to what you earned lol. Also, we wouldn't have saved before buying the property as we tended to be younger when starting families or buying property. I bought when I was only 21. Most of my friends back then were married by 26-ish with kids.


Jx