Never mind the house prices, I'm saving a deposit.

kunekune

Have worked out how to target savings without getting obsessive about hpc. We don't want to pay much more than £1000 a month in mortgage. We can definitely afford that - currently we pay £675 rent and have saved £1000 a month the last three months. But I also want to put £500 a month into another account, so it's a sensible target. That means that the maximum mortgage we should take, when we take one, is £150K. What we buy will then depend on how much we have saved (we have about £20K right now). And of course, if prices come down, we'll get more for our money, but it is nice knowing there are already houses out there we could afford ... and it helps stay focussed knowing that every £ I don't spend now is more for later.

simplicity

Hi everyone. I've been following this thread for a while. I have to shamefully admit that I've been rather good at taking from mse and not giving. Meaning I often drop by search out what I need but never actually post.

So thought it's time I change all that and join you guys in our shared quest if that's ok?

Briefly my situation:

24 years old and taking home around 1150 a month. Aiming to save as close to a grand as possible but isn't always possible when I have big spends. For example the month when car goes into service/insurance renewal etc.

My other half is an assistant psychologist and earning round about the same. We're aiming to buy around the end of this year (though now not sure due to state of the market) or start of 2009. It's difficult as I'm from Surrey and he's from London and both are pricey.

Oh and how do I find out what number member I am?

Ivana_B_Rich

I'm number 7, so I think you'll be 8.

The numbers started on this thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=789675&page=1

born_again_saver

Hi Simplicity, welcome to the thread and good luck with your savings quest. I have been lurking around this forum for a while too, but have now decided to start posting to keep up the motivation, and to chat to other wannabe first time buyers in a similar position.

Kunekune I think that working out the maximum mortgage you can afford and working back from that is a great strategy. I need to do a bit more investigation into what my monthly costs are likely to be when buying on my own, then I'll have a better idea of what my maximum mortgage and minimum deposit will need to be.

SarahNeedle1872 thanks for the moral support, you are right I do need to be happy about what I've saved so far, and not be so hard on myself about spending some money. I've got a couple of things I could really do with spending money on in the next few months, one of them being driving lessons to improve my employment prospects, it does seem hard to justify when I'm trying to save hard but I suppose life still happens.

simplicity

Oh ok. I'm there!

m00m00

born_again_saver wrote: »

Hi Simplicity, welcome to the thread and good luck with your savings quest. I have been lurking around this forum for a while too, but have now decided to start posting to keep up the motivation, and to chat to other wannabe first time buyers in a similar position.

Kunekune I think that working out the maximum mortgage you can afford and working back from that is a great strategy. I need to do a bit more investigation into what my monthly costs are likely to be when buying on my own, then I'll have a better idea of what my maximum mortgage and minimum deposit will need to be.

SarahNeedle1872 thanks for the moral support, you are right I do need to be happy about what I've saved so far, and not be so hard on myself about spending some money. I've got a couple of things I could really do with spending money on in the next few months, one of them being driving lessons to improve my employment prospects, it does seem hard to justify when I'm trying to save hard but I suppose life still happens.

it's important to focus on your whole quality of life. There is more to life than just owning a home to the detriment of all other things in your life. Things like driving lessons will be important for the rest of your life, so you should be easily able to justify the spending on them.

WTF?_2

Remember too that a large pool of cash saved for a future deposit can also be drawn on in other emergency situations. So it makes even more sense.

Just make sure it's put somewhere safe with a decent rate of interest to cushion against the inflation we are seeing and which is set to get worse.

bobby-boy_2

Saving as large a deposit as possible is a good idea but if you think prices are going to fall for years on end as they did in the 80's i think you are mistaken. The interest rate then was around 15%!!! House prices have "fallen" this month again but values are still higher than they were last year according to the Halifax.

Thats just my opinion but a large deposit is a good idea regardless of the price climate

Lavendyr

bobby-boy wrote: »

The interest rate then was around 15%!!!

For what, about 6 hours total? Remember, this is a totally different situation with different drivers, I don't think we can compare. But I agree, saving a large deposit is a good idea at any time

hunny

Hi Everyone,
I just found this thread today and have read it all with interest.

Like SarahNeedle1872 I am currently in debt. But will be following this thread from now on.

I am in a Trust Deed which is due to finish in February 2009. I have been thinking about what I am going to do with my money once it finishes since I entered into the TD 2 years ago!

Here is my plan of action as of March 2009!

I will be setting up an ISA account and another savings account to start saving for a deposit for my own place for at least 3/4 years. In that time my credit file will be clear as well and I am hoping I'll have less hassle with gettng a mortgage.
I'm 29 and at the moment single and still live at home, I pay rent to my parents and I have my own car and my mobile phone, which I pay out on. I am now very used to living on a tight budget so another few years won't hurt! I will be putting away the money I am paying towards my TD. I babysit for an agency, so any money from that will be put away, I will be continuing with that for as long as I need to, to help raise funds! I also babysit for a little girl several nights a week and this is long term so I'll hopefully have that money as well to put away.

Good luck to everyone who is saving for a house deposit.

Hunny