No option to buy? Single people

littlemissbliss

I just wanted to know if there was anyone else in my situation.

I am a single female – and struggling like hell to get on the property ladder.

I am on a 37,000 pa salary and saving on average £700 month towards my deposit.

Unfortunately, Shared Ownership would be my only option as my lone salary wouldn’t allow me to borrow more then £166,000 and in surrey you can’t buy anything with that – even further out. I can’t do help to buy as the properties are still stupidly high. However, the issue I am running into with Shared ownership is I am never classed a ‘Priority’ – even on one bedrooms.

I mean its getting a tad ridiculous. I would have thought it would be based on if you could afford it, and reading that couples are classed more of a priority really annoys me.  I am on the edge of just giving up as there doesn't seem to be an option for those in my situation. At my age my friends have families so a house mate is out of the question. 

Anyone else finding this?

[Deleted User]

Hello,

I think it depends very much on where in the UK you live. I am in a similar situation (female, single, on a salary roughly in the same region as you) and live in Scotland. Although obviously it is more challenging to buy as a single person vs a couple with a joint salary, I do feel there are far more options up North. Having lived in Reading for 2+ years, I'm in a good position to compare the two regions in terms of rent, property prices. When I did a search for property within my budget down South, it was exclusively park homes! 

Of course, that's not much help to you, but I wanted to assure you, you're not alone. I also think this is a difficult time to buy - a seller's market, in which people are throwing money at property well above the valuations. This is just my experience, but I've more or less resigned myself to renting for the time being and buying when I've saved a bit more. What is your housing situation at the moment? 

Irishpearce26

Sorry to hear you're struggling but positive you can save the amount you can which is great.

In the new world can you work from home permanently? Perhaps look at areas outside of Surrey that may open up more options. Set a limit on commuting which could be offset with some flexible working from home unless your job needs you to be in a certain place.

Murphybear

Whereabouts in Surrey are you looking?  I put a search on Guildford + 10 miles with maximum price of £160k.  There were 394 properties 

moneysavinghero

Murphybear said:

Whereabouts in Surrey are you looking?  I put a search on Guildford + 10 miles with maximum price of £160k.  There were 394 properties 

Those are mostly mobile homes, retirement homes and 1 bed hovels.

AnnieB2018

Surely you will need to buy a 1 bed hovel then, same as thousands of other young  and young-ish single people before you.

FTB_Help

Remember to factor in a 10% deposit, so your budget is looking to be around 166,500/.9= 185k.

If you can gather a bigger deposit say 25k-35k your budget will be closer to 195k, which opens up a little bit more options for you

RoisinDove

I am a single woman too. Earning a bit more than you, which means I should just about be able to afford a one-bed flat, but it's really hard. I am shocked to hear there is any 'priority' system for shared ownership - that seems like downright discrimination! Why should a couple be more deserving of it than you?

Skiddaw1

OP, is it worth considering alternative options? Houseboat for example? Or moving out further?

littlemissbliss

AnnieB2018 said:

Surely you will need to buy a 1 bed hovel then, same as thousands of other young  and young-ish single people before you.

I am 40 - so i would rather not buy a hovel haha

littlemissbliss

Skiddaw1 said:

OP, is it worth considering alternative options? Houseboat for example? Or moving out further?

House boats you cannot get a mortgage for - and they are 2 small. Id have to sell half of my stuff. I am looking at moving further out but they prices are still high - and I need to be able to travel into London that wont cost the earth