First time buyer - my situation .

FrancisBegbie

Hi,

I am 35 years old and no children . 

Between hard work & saving plus a leg up from my Father I have 50k for a house

I currently earn 30k although this is expected not to last forever which is the nature of my work. 

My Dad is adamant I buy a 3 bedroom house with resale value however this sounds like a brilliant idea however when I crunch the numbers it’s a tough ask to have a quality of life on my own being single.

I take home £1700 after tax NI and student loan. 

The house would cost £1000 to run.

My personal bills are £500 - which includes things like paying off a small credit card gym membership and dog

Leaving me with £200 to live on make house repairs etc. 

I feel I want to play safe and buy a flat but everyone I know who has one can’t sell it . 

Cheaper houses where I live aren’t really there or in run down and dangerous areas ( where I’ve lived before so I know )

I’ve had various relationships and no doubt will again when I want but I’ve made the mistake of being frivolous with money and never securing my living, now is the time , does anyone have any advise ?

thank you in advance 

donutandbeer

Where are you based? Are there any smaller houses?

Husband and I were looking for 2/3 bedroom and ended up going for a 2 bedroom mid terraced house. It’s tiny (even smaller internally than some 2 bedroom flats we’ve seen), but it’s a freehold house with a nice garden and some potential to extend in the rear. We do not plan to have kids. This is by no means a forever home, it is just something that we can see ourselves in for at least 5-10 years, and what we can comfortably afford.

There are not that many of these very small freehold houses in our area, and we were looking for months (offering on all sorts of places as well) before this one came onto the market. We are now very glad that we went for this one we can more comfortably afford, especially on only one small (but stable) income. 

Martico

FrancisBegbie said:

The house would cost £1000 to run.

That seems excessive to me - I'm in a 3-bed terrace and house costs (insurance, gas, elec, water, broadband, council tax) come in at around £300 per month

SiliconChip

Martico said:

FrancisBegbie said:

The house would cost £1000 to run.

That seems excessive to me - I'm in a 3-bed terrace and house costs (insurance, gas, elec, water, broadband, council tax) come in at around £300 per month

I would assume that the OP has included their predicted mortgage repayments in the £1000 running cost.

Martico

SiliconChip said:

Martico said:

FrancisBegbie said:

The house would cost £1000 to run.

That seems excessive to me - I'm in a 3-bed terrace and house costs (insurance, gas, elec, water, broadband, council tax) come in at around £300 per month

I would assume that the OP has included their predicted mortgage repayments in the £1000 running cost.

Ah yes, good point, thanks

Martico

Back to the main point - £200 per month to live on would be too fine a margin for me. Costs are only heading in one direction at the moment and I'd be looking at a cheaper property

Tiglet2

FrancisBegbie said:

Hi,

I am 35 years old and no children . 

Between hard work & saving plus a leg up from my Father I have 50k for a house

I currently earn 30k although this is expected not to last forever which is the nature of my work. 

My Dad is adamant I buy a 3 bedroom house with resale value however this sounds like a brilliant idea however when I crunch the numbers it’s a tough ask to have a quality of life on my own being single.

I take home £1700 after tax NI and student loan. 

The house would cost £1000 to run.

My personal bills are £500 - which includes things like paying off a small credit card gym membership and dog

Leaving me with £200 to live on make house repairs etc. 

I feel I want to play safe and buy a flat but everyone I know who has one can’t sell it . 

Cheaper houses where I live aren’t really there or in run down and dangerous areas ( where I’ve lived before so I know )

I’ve had various relationships and no doubt will again when I want but I’ve made the mistake of being frivolous with money and never securing my living, now is the time , does anyone have any advise ?

thank you in advance 

My advice would be to buy whatever you can afford.  Ignore the advice about buying a 3 bedroom house - this is not possible for the majority of first time buyers, particularly in the South. 

If you really want to get on the house ladder and have your independence then go for a 1 or 2 bedroom home.   I would not buy a run down home in a dangerous area - think location, location, location.

In London there are too many 1 and 2 bedroom flats, which is why there is stiff competition when selling.

In other areas a 1 or 2 bedroom flat is an ideal first time buyer property and there will be first time buyers wanting to buy yours in, say, 5 years time.

FrancisBegbie

I agree I need to look cheaper . 

Mortgage £500
Council tax £140
Sky / Wi-Fi £100
Energy £200
Insurance £60

£1000

comeandgo

Another option with a three bedroom, if you get one, is you have two rooms for lodgers which can help towards your costs.

gwynlas

You really need to consider renting out a room which will help tremendously with costs, You could set up one of the larger bedrooms as a bedsit with use of the kitchen and bathroom so that you retain your own living space.. Read the forum for some ideas of taking in lodgers, dependent on where you are in the country there might be some call for Momday to Friday lets. If you buy a flat you would also have to factor ground rent and service charges into your budget, there are maintenance charges with any home but with a house they would be under your control.

youth_leader

Has your Dad got Sky so you can still see sport?  I do miss it, but manage with Netflix and Amazon Prime, far cheaper.  Signed up to Now TV to watch House of the Dragons.  Lots of cheaper Wifi options.

Do you have a phone contract as well, or giff gaff etc?