Unlikely To Buy House - What To Do With Savings?

Saga

Nearing 50yo, have always rented. Have £30K saved incl. HTB Isa. Recent attempt to buy as FTB fell thro' as outbid. Despite looking everyday I have only seen ~3 houses in 3 years that realistically met requirements so history suggests I'm unlikely to buy any time soon.

Savings are in a/cs currently giving between 1.50% and 2.25% AER.

Can someone signpost me to investing routes that give more than these rates? I would be willing to lock up half my savings for a couple years if it gave more than 5% return.

I have never personally invested and don't have a clue. A good starting point?

masonic

Do you have a pension? When do you plan to retire? Are your circumstances going to change when you retire such that buying a home would be more feasible?

Albermarle

Can someone signpost me to investing routes that give more than these rates? I would be willing to lock up half my savings for a couple years if it gave more than 5% return.

Any 'investment route' that could potentially pay a better return than safe savings in a bank, will bring with it an element of risk .
However from history 5% returns from investments in medium risk stocks and shares is realistic. Even 5% + inflation for higher risk investments.
However these % figures are long term trends and in the short and medium term, these kind of investments can be very volatile . So it is only recommended for investments on an absolute minimum 5Year timescale and ideally > 10 years . This way you have time to ride out dips in the market.
On a two year timescale your only sensible option is to leave the money where it is .

colsten

Saga wrote: »

Can someone signpost me to investing routes that give more than these rates? I would be willing to lock up half my savings for a couple years

If you literally mean 2ish years, don't go anywhere near investments. You need to have at least a 5 year horizon for investing, ideally even more.

Find the best fixed term savings account / bond, and play with the best Regular Savings accounts.

Thrugelmir

Only risk what you can afford to lose. Investments carry no certainty of return over any predefined period.

MovingForwards

Do you realistically need a 3 bed house? I wouldn't give up trying to buy as you will need somewhere to live when retired, or would you be happy having to move in your 70s / 80s?

Saga

MovingForwards wrote: »

Do you realistically need a 3 bed house? I wouldn't give up trying to buy as you will need somewhere to live when retired, or would you be happy having to move in your 70s / 80s?

I get your point and, no, the idea of being turfed out at 80 doesn't fill me with joy. That said, in the last 20 years I've moved only twice, but only because I wanted to not due to landlords.

I would like to buy but I've not found or been able to buy the right property.

cattie

Saga wrote: »

I would like to buy but I've not found or been able to buy the right property.

I was in my late 40's when I was able to buy a place of my own. No way could I afford to buy exactly what I was looking for, but finally decided that one place I'd looked at some weeks back could be made into a very nice home with a bit of work & not too much money & whilst dated, was perfectly liveable in the meantime. I couldn't reach the asking price but my offer was accepted & when I sold up 3 years later, I was amazed to find it sold for almost double what I'd paid for it. This enabled me to buy a larger home in a lovely conservation area & was a wonderful stepping stone into home ownership.

Very few people are lucky enough to find exactly what they are looking for at the right price when house hunting. Compromise & a little bit of imagination can get you on the path to finding the home you'd ideally like to have.

Saga

cattie wrote: »

I was in my late 40's when I was able to buy a place of my own. No way could I afford to buy exactly what I was looking for, but finally decided that one place I'd looked at some weeks back could be made into a very nice home with a bit of work & not too much money & whilst dated, was perfectly liveable in the meantime. I couldn't reach the asking price but my offer was accepted & when I sold up 3 years later, I was amazed to find it sold for almost double what I'd paid for it. This enabled me to buy a larger home in a lovely conservation area & was a wonderful stepping stone into home ownership.

Very few people are lucky enough to find exactly what they are looking for at the right price when house hunting. Compromise & a little bit of imagination can get you on the path to finding the home you'd ideally like to have.

I know from my post it sounds that I'm very picky, but without going into personal details there are good reasons.

Alice_Holt

cattie wrote: »

Very few people are lucky enough to find exactly what they are looking for at the right price when house hunting. Compromise & a little bit of imagination can get you on the path to finding the home you'd ideally like to have.

Indeed

I would add that renting in retirement could be problematic for the OP.
Most home owners have paid off a large chunk of their mortgage at SPA (or are mortgage free), so are able to cope with a reduction in income post-retirement.
Unless the OP can count on a retirement income at his current levels, affording continuing rental payments through retirement years could place a strain on his living standards. He may need to continue earning to meet his housing costs.
The other extreme is claiming means-tested Pension Credit which passports to full Housing Benefit.