Is it too late to buy at 45? Any advice...

abundant1972

Hi everyone...

I'm a 45 year old single guy who made some bad choices financially early in life and got into debt. I've been out of debt now for a long time trying to save for a mortgage deposit. It's taking FOREVER.

I have just over 5K in a HelpToBuy ISA and a 2K in other savings which I would prefer not to use as it's my Emergency Fund... I had to recently change jobs and move city and take a pay cut - although my hours will be back to what they were come end of April.

If/when I come to apply I worry this will adversely affect my application as they look at how long you have been employed in a job etc. I still work within the NHS just and in the same role just elsewhere.

At 45 I'm tired... of scrimping and saving and wondering if I will ever even get there - and what's the point... By the time I pay it off I'll almost be ready to move into the nearest cemetery lol. An exaggeration perhaps... but I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

I work 24 hours (up to 30 end April again) for health reasons - and would not be able to go back to full time and stay well or do overtime to supplement my wage. My salary (gross) from end of April will be £28,462.00

Can anyone direct me to a pro/con list... or if anyone also got a mortgage around my age I'd love to hear your experiences. I don't have children to leave it to. Any websites you think may be off help greatly appreciated!!!

conavar1903

Hi. Speak to a mortgage broker. There is no time limit on life :-)

Rich2808

Its never too late - but it does depend to some extent where you live.

Your salary might go far in the north of England - but not in London. Its not for everyone but shared ownership might be an option if you live in a high house price area - but at least you get secure accommodation and a stake in a property.

Good luck.

theartfullodger

There's mortgages that run to age 80. Keep plugging away

Sparx

It's never too late to buy a home!

Could I ask what area are you from, or wanting to buy into?

Cakeguts

I don't know what you call scrimp and save but it doesn't appear as if you are doing it in a sensible way if you have a salary of £28,000 and you have only managed to save £7k over a long period of time? You should be able to get that in about a year?

You probably need to have a look at what you are spending on.

The big costs are rent, utilities and council tax. Food for one should be really quite cheap.

What people don't tend to think about are all the "it is only this much a month."

So car payments that are only £x per month if you are buying a property you can't have car payments. If you need a car you buy an old one with cash. I you don't need one you can use public transport.

Mobile phones are only £x per month

Bought lunch is only £x per month

All the other only £x per month all add up to a lot per month.

ReadingTim

Speak to a broker - they can give you an accurate picture of what you can borrow, which can often be far more positive than the online calculators or horror stories in the press/from a bloke down the pub.

You also say

I'm tired... of scrimping and saving and wondering if I will ever even get there - and what's the point... By the time I pay it off I'll almost be ready to move into the nearest cemetery

- but what's the alternative to buying, and is it any better? Many have concluded that it is not, so sometimes you just have to chose between the lesser of two evils.

AdrianC

abundant1972 wrote: »

I work 24 hours (up to 30 end April again) for health reasons - and would not be able to go back to full time and stay well or do overtime to supplement my wage.

How is age likely to affect that health situation?

My salary (gross) from end of April will be £28,462.00

I presume that's not a full-time-equivalent rate that's then pro-rata'd down for your part-time hours?

So you're receiving just shy of £1,900 after tax per month. Yet you only have £7k saved.

TBagpuss

I don't think 45 is too late to buy. Speak to a broker to get an idea of what your options are, and how much you could borrow - they will be able to give you an idea of what you might be able to borrow over 22 years (to 67) or whether you could get a longer mortgage.

Bear in mind that you then have the potential to overpay in future, so having a 22 or 25 year mortgage won't automatically mean you're still paying at 70.

When did you clear your debts? if you've only don that recently then well done, and as others have said, you may now be able to save faster to build up a deposit.

Consider posting a statement of means setting out your current income and goings and people will take a look and suggest savings, if you want.

I think that the biggest pros of buying are that it means you have a bit more certainty - you are not at the mercy of landlords and as long s you don't get into arrears can't be kicked out of your home.

You have higher expenses as you are responsible for your own maintenance etc, but on the other hand you also control what gets done and when, rather than having to waits for, and persuade a landlord. And of course you won't be paying deposits, costs of credit checks etc as you do at present.

You might have scope to boost your income by taking a lodger,. In later life,owning a property might also give you more options - for instnace, being able to release equity to fund living costs, a capital asset you can sell and use to fund care costs and give yourself more choice about where you are cared for, if that becomes necessary.

a think a major consideration is where you live, and how much buying a property will cost you - obviously on your income and with your current level of savings, buying a property if you live in London is unlikely to be on the cards. On the other hand, in other parts of the country, your income and likely borrowing capacity would mean that you could buy without too much difficulty, either now or within a another year or so if you can save a slightly bigger deposit.

How much would a 1 or 2 bed flat , or a 2 bed terrace, in your current area, cost?

Ozzuk

Only you can answer this as it depends on what your priorities are. Its not too late, though you may find you won't get a 30 year mortgage for instance. If your priority is having a home, then work out what you can afford, and in your position I'd buy as cheaply as possible, rather than at the maximum you can lend.

There is nothing wrong with renting, it really depends on what you can do and what you want to do. I like to develop the property I'm in so that mean buying is essential to me - I rented for a year and found myself wondering what to do with myself on weekends with no projects! Can be a good thing though as I ended up going out more, being more sociable than I am now.

moneyistooshorttomention

Agreed that in later life one has more options when owning a house. As a woman in my 60s I wouldnt have been able to retire at my retirement age (ie 60) and would have had to try to carry on a while longer (ie up until my revised State Pension Age). With owning a house (mortgage paid off) then I was able to retire at my own retirement age still.

The other point to bear in mind is you say you are in your 40's. I gather it is predicted that the younger people are the older the average age they are likely to die at is. Now bear in mind you are about 20 years younger than me - and this research seems to indicate someone my age has now got a 1 in 2 chance of living to some point in their 90's:eek::eek::eek:. That statistic got me really worried as to whether I should give up the healthy eating and exercise immediately - in order to make sure I'm not in that unfortunate (imo) long-lived group. Personally - I certainly don't wish to live on until my 90's and the odds are that I'm destined to if I "leave it be" to "play out as it will".

But your agegroup has an even worse (ie higher) average age you are all predicted to die at. Put like that - you could well be only about halfway through your life and so there is a lot more "Life" left that you need to plan for yet.

To me - there would only be one advantage to not having a house. That being - the State couldnt grab a lot of your money off you (ie the house equity) should you ever land up in a care home. But I'd still buy in your position - even knowing that that risk is there of losing some of your own property if you do so.