Investments and don't buy house

Rocksolid

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?

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).

Sure, but a detached house with a garden is the only option for me.

What about that zone? Are there cool IT jobs? Only in remote that is possible, not always easy to find such jobs, so when you say I should buy far away from London, you don't quite consider that I need to have a job or possible jobs available in that zone.

Rocksolid

pioruns said:

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

This is what I was asking, stock investment, avoiding daily trades, too much time on it, I already work full time.

Rocksolid

fiisch said:

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.  

Thanks for the message.

I didn't get the investment ladder in house, you mean shared ownership?

In that case, I'm not gonna do it.

VLS yes, that's one I will use for sure, just need to set my budget on it.

The FIRE strategy is the one I should follow I think, but I need to evaluate it better

ZeroSum

Rocksolid said:

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?

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).

Sure, but a detached house with a garden is the only option for me.

What about that zone? Are there cool IT jobs? Only in remote that is possible, not always easy to find such jobs, so when you say I should buy far away from London, you don't quite consider that I need to have a job or possible jobs available in that zone.

If you're young & not on mega money moving to London, it's pretty much accepted that housing wise you have to make do with 1 bed flats & house shares, etc

If you want an affordable 3 bed detached with garden, then you have to look up north.

It's a simple as that. 

I'm in the North & pretty much average earner, have a nice 3 bed semi with garage & garden. House is as good as paid for by age of 40. I've got a pretty decent quality of life. The town isn't a vibrant as London but there's still plenty going on. The other big plus with not being in London is that it makes car ownership more viable so easier just to get in it & travel to other places.

Even if you doubled my salary to move to London, my quality of life would reduce mainly due to the housing situation. 

benbay001

Rocksolid said:

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?

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).

Sure, but a detached house with a garden is the only option for me.

What about that zone? Are there cool IT jobs? Only in remote that is possible, not always easy to find such jobs, so when you say I should buy far away from London, you don't quite consider that I need to have a job or possible jobs available in that zone.

Probably best to keep renting then.
Good luck.

Rocksolid

ZeroSum said:

Rocksolid said:

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?

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).

Sure, but a detached house with a garden is the only option for me.

What about that zone? Are there cool IT jobs? Only in remote that is possible, not always easy to find such jobs, so when you say I should buy far away from London, you don't quite consider that I need to have a job or possible jobs available in that zone.

If you're young & not on mega money moving to London, it's pretty much accepted that housing wise you have to make do with 1 bed flats & house shares, etc

If you want an affordable 3 bed detached with garden, then you have to look up north.

It's a simple as that. 

I'm in the North & pretty much average earner, have a nice 3 bed semi with garage & garden. House is as good as paid for by age of 40. I've got a pretty decent quality of life. The town isn't a vibrant as London but there's still plenty going on. The other big plus with not being in London is that it makes car ownership more viable so easier just to get in it & travel to other places.

Even if you doubled my salary to move to London, my quality of life would reduce mainly due to the housing situation. 

I also realized that up north is the best of UK, in every sense, and that's the plan eventually if I reconsider to buy an house.

Car ownership is crucial, one more point to stay away from London.

I don't care about London, I don't waste my time drunk in the city.

coyrls

I like living in London.

fiisch

Rocksolid said:

fiisch said:

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.  

Thanks for the message.

I didn't get the investment ladder in house, you mean shared ownership?

In that case, I'm not gonna do it.

No - as in property lifecycle.  It is said, on average, property prices double every 8 years.

Therefore, if you buy a not-so-nice property for £200k with a deposit of £40k and mortgage of £160k, you have a modest 80% loan-to-value.  If after 4 years the house price increases to say £300k, you still have the same mortgage (a little smaller from making your monthly payments), but you now have around 50% loan to value and £140k worth of equity.  This gives you a bigger deposit and makes moving up the ladder easier.

I also work in London, but my wife absolutely would not live there.  I've commuted from South, West and North, and it is not so bad, although hoping remote working arrangements are here to stay...

I think your mind is made up, but I think you're missing a critical piece in your planning - investing is a great move, but it comes after property.

Rocksolid

fiisch said:

Rocksolid said:

fiisch said:

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.  

Thanks for the message.

I didn't get the investment ladder in house, you mean shared ownership?

In that case, I'm not gonna do it.

No - as in property lifecycle.  It is said, on average, property prices double every 8 years.

Therefore, if you buy a not-so-nice property for £200k with a deposit of £40k and mortgage of £160k, you have a modest 80% loan-to-value.  If after 4 years the house price increases to say £300k, you still have the same mortgage (a little smaller from making your monthly payments), but you now have around 50% loan to value and £140k worth of equity.  This gives you a bigger deposit and makes moving up the ladder easier.

I also work in London, but my wife absolutely would not live there.  I've commuted from South, West and North, and it is not so bad, although hoping remote working arrangements are here to stay...

I think your mind is made up, but I think you're missing a critical piece in your planning - investing is a great move, but it comes after property.

Interesting, but I don't like this model.

To have a sense, I should live 8 years minimum in a place I don't like, quite too long time .

Also, it depends if you can sell it when you want to, if you just re-mortgaged that's not possible , I believe...

Very good the last point, it makes so much sense.

I'll see, eventually I'll stick with properties around Manchester or Birmingham, the problem is to go to see them, I'm at least 70k miles away (one way).

So, for the moment, stock life time through Vanguard or similar.

eToro seems also a nice option, especially when you can follow someone else, not that I like it or that I should blindly follow them, but good to know.

I'll see if I can do something in the tech bubble, it's quite interesting and risky ...

Now it's time to build a portfolio I guess -_-

barnstar2077

eToro?  Now you are just trolling,