1st positive thread on here on how you CAN get your 1st home

ian1246

Myself and my now wife met in March 2015. Prior to this we were both saving for a house separately. Neither of us were on great wages - wife £10,000-£12,000, myself £23,000 (12months earlier just £13,000)....

....We brought our 1st house, 3 bed semi-detached, for £165,000 in November 2015. Went in with a 25% deposit - £41,250.

I was 26 years old, wife 23 years old.

The trick? We saved like hell prior to meeting and then when we met, & "clicked", doubled down. No ridiculous mobile phone contracts (but still modern phones), no expensive gym memberships, both of us drove 2nd hand cars we owned outright etc... Neither of us drank heavily - if we went out, we'd have a couple of cokes & it wouldn't be every weekend etc....

Basically, we lived a good decent balanced life.... with our expenses in ***moderation***. Do occasional expensive days out by all means... but *occasionally*. Going for a meal out? Just stick to a main - do you really need that starter or dessert? Do you have to go out drinking *every* weekend?

All to often it seems our peers blow money on trivial things then wonder why they struggle with rent or scraping together a deposit etc...

Just prioritise & do your best. You'd be suprised at what you can achieve when you put your mind to it...

strawb_shortcake

....We brought our 1st No ridiculous mobile phone contracts (but still modern phones), no expensive gym memberships, both of us drove 2nd hand cars we owned outright etc... Neither of us drank heavily - if we went out, we'd have a couple of cokes & it wouldn't be every weekend etc....

I think that's a key point, when my parents bought; there were no gym memberships, broadband/cable bills, mobile phones, lots of people didn't even have house phones. The choices in the supermarket were smaller and in my house growing up foods were simpler and heavy with vegetables, no junk food and take away.
Younger people looking to buy have grown up with all of the above with these things as standard in many cases. When was the last time you saw a new young driver in an old banger? I simply don't they all have newer cars than myself and most would balk at driving anything less than 5 year olds.

I live in the southwest, and yes prices can be expensive, but in the suburbs of my nearest City you can find a 3 bed house for around £200k and this certainly isn't the worst areas neither is it a starter home so expectations might need adjusting

Herzlos

How did you manage to save £10k in a year?

ian1246

We didn't. The £13,000 & then £23,000 (12months later) was how much I was earning at the time and £10,000-£12,000 how much my (now wife) was on at the time.

We were saving prior to meeting. It was fortunate luck that we both met and were in roughly the same financial position and matching goals - but we both worked hard separately (& then when having met, together) to get to where we were able to be in a position to put down a £41,250 deposit at ages 23 & 26 respectively, having accumulated most of that on below average paying jobs (Wife was a Teaching Assistant i.e. 26hours a week 38weeks a year and I was on minimum wage until the last 12months prior to meeting).

In places like London and a few other locations, I do agree with those who say that House Prices are unachievable for younger generations and that something *must* be done. But for the rest of the UK? I think prices are reasonable, but many of our peers don't understand the concept of "budgeting" or "wait & save". Instead, they blow money on pointless stuff - Gym membership being the obvious example - how much does it cost to go out running? Or the one off cost for weights/whatever sport equipment you want which will last for years vs. £30+ monthly membership? Other obvious examples being Mobile phones & brand new cars on finance. Then they winge when they don't get help/can't get on the housing ladder.

The most annoying thing for myself & wife? We brought our house 12months (November 2015) too soon. After that, Help to Buy ISA's, First Time Stamp Duty Exemption etc.... was brought in by the government. Yet even with all the help now available, we have friends who still say how "lucky" & "fortunate" we are to own our own house and how unfair it is whilst they rent... whilst having brand new cars on finance, having the latest mobile, eating out every week several times a week, having a Costa Coffee every morning, gym membership & other "fads" & blowing £50-£100+ on drink every weekend.

The other annoying thing? Most people aren't bothering to invest into their pensions/future - living for the moment, at the expense of their future. How long will it be till the current generation of 20-30Year olds start complaining in a couple of decades time when they realise they don't have pensions able to support their life styles? Myself and Wife are putting £500+ into our pensions between us (& plan to push that to £600+ soon).

jimmyjammy001

What would help is the Government not interfering with various help to buy schemes which in turn raises prices as people can now borrow more and are competing for the same houses, stop with the lowering the interest rates again so people can borrow more, the bank of mum and dad being banned, again people with access to more money competing for the same houses, I won't even get started on people owning more than one house and BTL's, making money off of other people's basic need, it should be provided by the state and at a fixed rate. The housing market is in a terrible state, my advice for boomers is do not listen to the older people who own a house or two telling you that the reason you can not afford to buy is because of your poor life or financial decisions, if they were your age today they would be in the exact same position struggling to save up for a deposit due to the over priced housing market that is clearly in a bubble, near me 2 bed starter homes have almost doubled in price since 2010/11, have wages for first time buyers, no chance. The economy is what is wrong, nothing else. A reason why high Street shops are closing at an all time high is simply because people (ftbs) are just saving all the time and not spending, holidays as well just look at thomas cook going under, will be interesting to see how 2020 pans out. The only people who are benefitting from the ever increase in house prices are multiple home owners who the young will be funding their very rich retirement.

Herzlos

I agree the lack of pension foresight is chronic. Imsure I'd read that if you paid in until about 25 and then stopped, you'd have a bigger portion than if you started at 30.

The thing is that when people are squeezed now, the future will need to wait.
I suspect it's compounded by the lack of generous final salary schemes where you still have contributions taken but dont need to worry as much about pension pot performance.

It'll be an even bigger thing soon as there's going to be essentially no state pension for a lot of people under 40.

lisyloo

Herzlos wrote: »

So basically live like a pauper for 5+ years and hope the house price doesn't grow faster than you can save?


I agree some effort is needed to get onto the ladder, but the balance seems a bit off.

To many of us who are a bit older, this is not “living like a pauper”.
When I was young it was normal to have hand me down clothes, home cooked food and second hand items.

This is exactly the problem.

If you’re not prepared to make sacrifices then don’t be surprised if others who are can outbid you.
That isn’t a “rigged” market it’s simply some working harder than others.

Is it really that big a deal to have a second hand phone?
Each to their own but many of us that have bought in the past did not do it whilst having the lastest cars, iPhones and long haul holidays, in fact I don’t know anyone that did that.

lisyloo

ruperts wrote: »

But my lord when I see how cheap houses used to be... I'd probably have a dozen houses by now if I was born 30 years earlier. Things must have been so very, very easy compared to now.

This is completely factually incorrect.
Firstly you can pretty much take women’s income out of the equation so you’re down to one salary. That’s been a major change,
Criteria were much stricter. You’d need to have saved with a building society for years to get a mortgage with them.
But there’s also the obvious fact that houses sell to the highest bidder, so if they were very affordable then pice would have been higher. They weren’t very affordable by the standards of the day.

You need a history lesson before commenting on the past.

As an aside, what is the benefit of looking forlornly on different times or other people who appear to be doing better than you.
A. Absolutely none (unless you are planning to learn something from it).

lisyloo

snowqueen555 wrote: »

A lot of people make sacrifices, I don't think it is fair to assume the current younger generation choose to go on holidays and buy the latest tech gifts over other priorities.

The whole of the south is has high prices, not just London.

Playing devils advocate, why not move from the south? (Those who are able).
I’m planning on moving once I am able (family commitments) and property prices will be a factor in my choice.

When I was young we didn’t have tech (well vinyl). We had zero or one TVs in the whole house and one car. Second hand clothes were normal if you had sisters and brothers.
People definitely have more possessions now.

I never felt deprived or like I was “living like a pauper” as this was normal.

I would not expect anyone to live like that now, but I have a second hand phone and a 21 year old car. It gets me from A to B the same as everyone else. I don’t associate with the kind of people who think less of me because I have an old banger.

Can you educate me on what I say the hardship with having an older iPhone or older car (assuming reliability).
Is it a self esteem thing, want the features, keeping up with the Joneses?
I’d love to understand.

triathlon

lisyloo wrote: »

This is completely factually incorrect.
Firstly you can pretty much take women’s income out of the equation so you’re down to one salary. That’s been a major change,
Criteria were much stricter. You’d need to have saved with a building society for years to get a mortgage with them.
But there’s also the obvious fact that houses sell to the highest bidder, so if they were very affordable then pice would have been higher. They weren’t very affordable by the standards of the day.

You need a history lesson before commenting on the past.

As an aside, what is the benefit of looking forlornly on different times or other people who appear to be doing better than you.
A. Absolutely none (unless you are planning to learn something from it).

If he cannot get on the property ladder today then he wouldn't of managed 30 years ago either. So many times I hear this in life "it's not fair, you had it easier", these people really need to look in the mirror and look at the real person that is holding them back, and that will be their first day of a more successful life