22 year old graduate - how, when to buy first home

ryuuoo

Dear All,

I am writing on here hoping that you might care to share your thoughts on my situation.

I am now 22 years of age, finished my BA in June and am now in the process of obtaining my Master's which will hopefully happen late next year. Throughout uni I have lived and worked in London, which I have loved, but it is just IMPOSSIBLE for me to even consider buying any property here.

Wanting to plan for the future, I am now looking into the possibility of buying my first property within the next 2/3 years. I am planning to move out of London and move somewhere like Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol where house prices are cheaper and where I could potentially secure a graduate ('proper') job (20-24k) or ask for a transfer within the company I currently work for (18k). This, according to my calculations would give me somewhere around the 100k-110k mark in terms of what I could afford with a 10k deposit.

I have managed to build a reasonable credit history (utilise various credit cards correctly etc...) and am well on my way in terms of saving up for that deposit.

My questions are: Is this possible? Am I being too naive? Can someone my age nowadays seriously buy a 110k 1-2 bed flat in Birmingham for example? (according to Zoopla, you can hehe!)

What do you think? If you were me, what would you do?

Thanks!!

marksoton

Do it.

I wasn't able to do so young due to career change etc.

The GF did. She now lives in a property worth 4X more than me and 5X bigger.

We're both in our 30's.

Davesnave

Birmingham's a possibility, but you'll not get much for that sort of money in Bristol, due to a boom in demand and prices there.

And don't forget that more affordable areas of large cities are inexpensive for a reason!

My daughter bought a 2bed terrace in a fashionable area of Brum 2 years ago for £140k, but she had to accept a cosmetically-challenged house at that price.

Now, that house is worth considerably more and she's extending to 3 beds, which wouldn't have been possible with a flat.

Maybe you can see where this is going. Stretching to a house with potential might be better than buying a flat and then moving again in a few years, as moving's always expensive.

However, you are going to be still quite a young home owner in two or three years time. Sometimes, in the early stages of employment, the ability to move becomes important, so renting might not be the dead money it appears, if it gives you flexibility to take opportunities.

Plenty to think about.

AFF8879

All depends on what sort of career you want to pursue....e.g. I studied business and finance and work for a bank in London, and I wouldn't be able to earn anywhere near what I am on if I moved outside of London, which would effectively cancel out any premium from lower property prices. I turned 29 last year and only just bought my first flat after 6 years of saving hard, but then I love the jet-set/city life and have no desire for the house and 2.4 kids....yet, though I'm feeling that I never will!!

Even if that's what you wanted, there are lots of cheaper places within an hour of London, if you can stomach the commute.

agrinnall

You'd certainly be able to find a half decent flat in Birmingham for that money, although probably not in any of the better areas, but at least you'd be on the ladder. You'd be pushing it to find a house such as the one Dave has described, you'd probably be better to aim for that as your next property once you've upped your salary a bit and saved some more to add to the equity in the first property.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

A colleague just bought their starter home in Bristol for 278k. On 18k salary you'd struggle to rent in Bristol and have much left over to save for a deposit. No idea about Birmingham or Leeds!

Owain_Moneysaver

Get the biggest mankiest house in the nicest area you can afford, paint everything magnolia and stuff as many lodgers in the spare room as you're allowed.

marksoton

Davesnave wrote: »

Now, that house is worth considerably more and she's extending to 3 beds, which wouldn't have been possible with a flat.

Maybe you can see where this is going. Stretching to a house with potential might be better than buying a flat and then moving again in a few years, as moving's always expensive.

Sage advice.

Only a year in and as much as i love my flat it's restrictive.

I'm now considering a move to at least a two bed house and better area. But only because financial circumstances have changed.

Regardless the hassle and cost i'm not looking forward to!

Always look at the long game is what i've now learnt.

Hoploz

Live as cheaply as possible and save like mad for a year. Can you live with family for that time so you don't waste money on rent and save every penny you earn? That's what I did.

See an independent mortgage broker (rather than your local bank) as they will direct you to lenders who are best for your particular circumstances to borrow the most (while still being affordable!)

Remember there are alternative routes into buying these days as well as buying on your own. I started off with a 70% shared ownership flat. As my teacher salary increased year on year I bought the other 30% a couple of years later.

Then I met my now husband, together we moved up the ladder in whatever steps we could manage and 10 years later we live in a £1.5m house in my ideal village

In my view the key is getting in as young as you can, before you have responsibilities which spend your money for you and stop you saving!! And prices in the long term tend to go up so getting in at 25 rather than 35 will pay off in many different ways.

zagubov

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Get the biggest mankiest house in the nicest area you can afford, paint everything magnolia and stuff as many lodgers in the spare room as you're allowed.

A seriously good point about lodgers. If you can bear to put up with having somebody live with you, the money could be useful in overpaying your mortgage. You need to clear it with your insurers, possibly your lenders and if a flat in England/Wales maybe the freehold owner.

Hoploz

Explore also the government's Help To Buy schemes, especially the ISA which they top up according to how mich you save. There is a lot of help out there for FTBs so do look into all options.