Investments and don't buy house

Ciprico

You seem to want a London salary/job market and provincial house prices.
Good luck in finding that....

Emmia

Rocksolid said:

That 1 bedroom detached is the 1st of 5k houses I saw in UK, happy to see that they are so rare, so basically in Maidenhead for 335k... ... ...

I only see detached from 2 beds at least.

I know the point to have an house, but I don't care of my life after 60, even after 50 if I have to be honest, the life is now.

Moreover, I work here and there, my projects are few years only, I mean, it's IT environment.

I would be always not constant with the pension contribution and every new company will make me to start from the basic, that is 4% from their side... (as I understand)

Anyway the point of this conversation was the investments, not house, even if I mentioned the house as investment, but it's not something I can do, I won't buy at these prices, have an high mortgage and have anyway a crap small house 50 miles away from London, sorry guys.

Not sure if you also considered this, not everyone will allow me to work from home, they should for me but it's not a warranty in a new company...

Probably in other countries is called in another way, anyway I've meant a small amount each month (~100 pounds) through ETF, so called life insurance investment in other countries.

I have another life insurance regarding illness, death and other things + a private health insurance.

If you're looking in London commuter belt, then £350k and 2+ bed, probably means a semi, end of terrace or maybe link-detached.

It won't be a mansion. 

Rocksolid

benbay001 said:

What country are you comparing the houses to?
If you move to any major western European capital city, you will pay alot for a square meter of property.

Your comment in the opening message about the quality of the builds being lower is simply not true. The lack of concrete and use of floor boards used in construction may come as a shock if you're use to concrete floors and rendered walls used in some countries but building standards are very strict in the UK and houses generally last 100s of years compared to 10s of years in other countries. (i remember visiting my Spanish GF's gran and her expressing shock that the house opposite hers was 50 years old as if that was an impressive age).

Comparing buying a property for personal use and investing in stocks is not comparable. You have to find somewhere to live regardless of which you choose, so dodging a £1k mortgage payment doesnt save you £1k because youre now paying rent and therefore paying someone else's mortgage.

Working in London with the high salaries that go with it can set you up well for life, if you reduce your monthly outgoings and save hard. But if you decide you want the same lifestyle and same quality of housing as someone in another part of the UK, then youre going to be running a very tight budget.
I thought that everyone that moved to London on a less than 0.01 percentile salary accepts that they will have a really long commute going from the suburbs to their place of work?

Personally, i live in Southampton and bought a very cheap flat. Its not the greatest place to live but it costs me next to nothing (total running costs including mortgage are less than £750 a month) yet it allows me to have more spare cash at the end of each month than would be normal for someone on many multiples of my salary. Maybe in a few years when i get bored of living in a small flat, i can cash out my investments and move to somewhere much bigger.

On top of that, buying a house with leverage is basically standard practice so any small % of house price growth will massively increase your equity. (and the opposite is true)

Mate...

I will modify the post if I need to , I just mentioned the house, I don't care about it in this thread, the thread was already discussed previously and it was also closed, for some reason, this thread is just about investments.

I was comparing with Germany (top quality in western, any doubt? Then north and center of Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Austria and neighbors communist that I know well, here well, only detached house are under my consideration, let's be clear , panel apartments are to be put in fire, unless reconstructed outside and inside)

I didn't understand the house with leverage, but I'll find it.

No, I can't waste my time in 2-3-4 hours commute, the life is one and now, how the hell should I commute from Southampton, are you joking?

Rocksolid

123mat123 said:

You seem to want a London salary/job market and provincial house prices.
Good luck in finding that....

You looked the wrong point, in London the absurd difference salary/house price is nowhere else in the UK.

No one in London has the salary to buy something inside the "Greater London", oh wait, does it count the 0.001%? The rest that can do it are people, usually foreigners, with a very extensive family, and guess the rest of the story...

Come on, do you know a bit of arithmetic? Can you buy 900k house? You need more than 170k just to qualify for a mortgage and you need at least 20% down, but I bet that they want it much higher considering the risk level.

Here is the trick, or both of you gain at least 90k (yes a bit more because 2 people are more risky, from a certain point of view), or nothing mate, did you get the point? It's simple math, it's not my opinion.

Rocksolid

Emmia said:

Rocksolid said:

That 1 bedroom detached is the 1st of 5k houses I saw in UK, happy to see that they are so rare, so basically in Maidenhead for 335k... ... ...

I only see detached from 2 beds at least.

I know the point to have an house, but I don't care of my life after 60, even after 50 if I have to be honest, the life is now.

Moreover, I work here and there, my projects are few years only, I mean, it's IT environment.

I would be always not constant with the pension contribution and every new company will make me to start from the basic, that is 4% from their side... (as I understand)

Anyway the point of this conversation was the investments, not house, even if I mentioned the house as investment, but it's not something I can do, I won't buy at these prices, have an high mortgage and have anyway a crap small house 50 miles away from London, sorry guys.

Not sure if you also considered this, not everyone will allow me to work from home, they should for me but it's not a warranty in a new company...

Probably in other countries is called in another way, anyway I've meant a small amount each month (~100 pounds) through ETF, so called life insurance investment in other countries.

I have another life insurance regarding illness, death and other things + a private health insurance.

If you're looking in London commuter belt, then £350k and 2+ bed, probably means a semi, end of terrace or maybe link-detached.

It won't be a mansion. 

Be careful to mention mansion, I didn't ask it , I just asked an indipendent 2-3 beds house, something normal in other countries +-.

You should say: here the price for what you want is the price of a mansion.

Here it is, now I can agree with you .

bigadaj

OP you are just talking to yourself now. Either move somewhere cheaper or accept that you won't be able to buy in London, it sounds as though you may well move elsewhere at some point anyway so buying isn't necessarily a good thing if you are not staying in one place for a long period of time. 

benbay001

Rocksolid said:

Emmia said:

Rocksolid said:

That 1 bedroom detached is the 1st of 5k houses I saw in UK, happy to see that they are so rare, so basically in Maidenhead for 335k... ... ...

I only see detached from 2 beds at least.

I know the point to have an house, but I don't care of my life after 60, even after 50 if I have to be honest, the life is now.

Moreover, I work here and there, my projects are few years only, I mean, it's IT environment.

I would be always not constant with the pension contribution and every new company will make me to start from the basic, that is 4% from their side... (as I understand)

Anyway the point of this conversation was the investments, not house, even if I mentioned the house as investment, but it's not something I can do, I won't buy at these prices, have an high mortgage and have anyway a crap small house 50 miles away from London, sorry guys.

Not sure if you also considered this, not everyone will allow me to work from home, they should for me but it's not a warranty in a new company...

Probably in other countries is called in another way, anyway I've meant a small amount each month (~100 pounds) through ETF, so called life insurance investment in other countries.

I have another life insurance regarding illness, death and other things + a private health insurance.

If you're looking in London commuter belt, then £350k and 2+ bed, probably means a semi, end of terrace or maybe link-detached.

It won't be a mansion. 

Be careful to mention mansion, I didn't ask it , I just asked an indipendent 2-3 beds house, something normal in other countries +-.

You should say: here the price for what you want is the price of a mansion.

Here it is, now I can agree with you .

Can you send me some links to these cheap 2 - 3 bed houses in Zurich, Paris, Madrid or Geneva?

Most people- If they cant afford to live in an area, they move out. Salary isnt the be all, end all. It would take a substantial salary to get me to move to London.
With regards to your reply to my previous comment about Southampton, i wasnt suggesting you commute, i was suggesting that not aiming for your dream home can put you in a great financial position and set you up for life (unless youre intending to die in the next few years).

Emmia

benbay001 said:

Rocksolid said:

Emmia said:

Rocksolid said:

That 1 bedroom detached is the 1st of 5k houses I saw in UK, happy to see that they are so rare, so basically in Maidenhead for 335k... ... ...

I only see detached from 2 beds at least.

I know the point to have an house, but I don't care of my life after 60, even after 50 if I have to be honest, the life is now.

Moreover, I work here and there, my projects are few years only, I mean, it's IT environment.

I would be always not constant with the pension contribution and every new company will make me to start from the basic, that is 4% from their side... (as I understand)

Anyway the point of this conversation was the investments, not house, even if I mentioned the house as investment, but it's not something I can do, I won't buy at these prices, have an high mortgage and have anyway a crap small house 50 miles away from London, sorry guys.

Not sure if you also considered this, not everyone will allow me to work from home, they should for me but it's not a warranty in a new company...

Probably in other countries is called in another way, anyway I've meant a small amount each month (~100 pounds) through ETF, so called life insurance investment in other countries.

I have another life insurance regarding illness, death and other things + a private health insurance.

If you're looking in London commuter belt, then £350k and 2+ bed, probably means a semi, end of terrace or maybe link-detached.

It won't be a mansion. 

Be careful to mention mansion, I didn't ask it , I just asked an indipendent 2-3 beds house, something normal in other countries +-.

You should say: here the price for what you want is the price of a mansion.

Here it is, now I can agree with you .

Can you send me some links to these cheap 2 - 3 bed houses in Zurich, Paris, Madrid or Geneva?

He also wants a detached 2 or 3 bed house, (semis and terraces, aren't good enough for him) and there aren't many detached houses in central London.

[Deleted User]

Rocksolid best course of action for you would be to open a new thread. Ask specifically what investments you want to speak about, be short and precise, don't say anything about accommodation/renting/owning etc, just concentrate on investments. Maybe then you will have posts relevant to what you want to learn, instead of topic being "Investments and don't buy house" and 90% of posts being about house you are not buying.
I am not judging, not my business, others in this thread have voiced their opinion about investment before houses and so on. Good luck

fiisch

Read the site Mr Money Mustache if you haven't already, and other "FIRE" (Financial Independence Retire Early) sites.

It seems from your post that you're wanting to follow a similar ethos (albeit without the retire early bit).

I also work in IT.  I am fortunate in that I am a contractor and had a good run of contracts, so income is high at the moment, but with all the Covid/IR35 stuff going on at the moment, I would not recommend a move into contracting if you are not doing this already.

Personally, I invest a set amount via monthly DD in the Vanguard Life Strategy 100 via their own platform.  Low fees, easy to use, and a good starting place to get my eye in.  Once my pot exceeds £25-30k, I'll move to Hargreaves Lansdown platform or similar and likely add other funds to VLS100.  (I also use my wife's ISA to play in some stocks (very low value, no expectation of a return, anything is a bonus)).

However, I do own a house.  Buying a 2-bed flat in an area I didn't want to buy in in 2012 allowed us to buy a 4-bed in 2015, and then to move up again in 2019.   OK, our timeline perhaps accelerated because 2012 was a good time in hindsight to get on the property ladder. cycle, but I do think you're missing the point about the property lifecycle and how property no.1 may not be everything you want, but it'll get you well on your way to no.2/no.3 which may be a lot closer.

If you're happy renting and want to get on investment ladder, advice would be to read, read, read, and learn as much as you can about investing, including the benefit of using different tax wrappers (ISA vs pension/SIPP for example).  From your comments, it seems ISA is preferable due to timeframes.