The 'We're saving for a deposit' thread

pupsicola

Babymerlin wrote: »

hello!

my story. me and DH are in a 3 bed house now, we wanted to downsize and go to a different area, have had our house on the market since June 10....one offer yesterday at a silly price. since putting house on market, the houses have crashed and looks like we are not gonna get anymore (more likely less) than we paid for it, which means we do not have a deposit........so this is where i join.

due to this, we are now saving for a deposit (while paying a mortgage) and have worked out we are able to save £500 per month (thats really saving hard) and will take us 2 years to get a deposit (and EA fees, and stamp duty etc) - so as from 2 days ago we have started saving saving saving!!!!

Plus we are on our 6th IVF as we speak and at £5000 a go you can see where our money has gone. so fingers crossed that this one works for us as other wise it will be an extra year on to the deposit each time we have to got for IVF.:(:(

so save save save!!!! we have cut out going out, ALWAYS take our own sandwiches, have gone down to own brand food, we do not have sky never have as never could afford it, old cars. still lots we can do im sure.....any ideas?

I really admire you. My advice is if you can afford to dont sell at the moment. The market may rise and then release extra equity in your property.

It sounds like you are doing all you can to save on your outgoings. I spend alot of time making sure I get the very best deals for utilities, phone, broadband, car and home insurance. I always pay for things like car tax annually to take advantage of the slight discount.

When you mentioned your struggles to start a family I really felt for you. It took me 3 years to concieve my first child. We had all the tests going and they couldn't explain it. Eventually I went to see an accupuncturist and chinese herbal medicine specialist in London. Within 6 months I fell pregnant naturally. Im not saying it can help everyone, I was very sceptical for a long while.

Hope things work out for you

tara747

metaldud wrote: »

Thought id add myself to the thread here.

Me and my girlfriend have been saving since late April 2010 and managed to so far save £12500, We both earn a low wage but my girlfriend if temp so cannot be considered for the mortgage, with me alone earning £16500 and the deposit it seems after speaking with a local broker we actually can get a mortgage for the kind of homes we are looking at (90000-100000) so this is to everyone that is worrying to prove that even though i earn very little i can still get a mortgage.

Sorry for the format i am rushing as im at work right now.

Well done, that is really inspiring. :T

pupsicola wrote: »

Such an inspirational post. You remind me of when I started out years ago. Keep going, there is nothing like the buzz you get when you get the keys to your own place for the first time.

We bought our first place in '99. One of the main attractions, apart from being our ideal home, was the location and great transport links to London. It seemed well underpriced and we felt the value would rocket. By 2006 the house had more than doubled in price. We sold when houses were at there peak.

As we were moving to a new area due to work relocation we rented for a while. Didn't want to rush in and buy. Rented some cheap as chips place and during our tenancy term the market crashed. Result!!!! Finally bought a fab place nearly 2 years ago now and saved a fortune.

Dont be scared of buying somewhere that needs a bit of doing up. You can make alot of money at it. The first thing I look at is the land it sits on and the possibility to extend. Also catchment areas for good schools add loads of value.

Enjoy your house hunting when the time comes.

Thanks pupsicola, what a lovely post!!! Nice timing for you as well. We are looking at houses that need work as well as those that don't, we'll just buy whatever offers good value. I'm not afraid of doing a place up, but wouldn't want to take on anything too major/structural/expensive. What are the most expensive problems to fix in a house?

Babymerlin wrote: »

hello!

my story. me and DH are in a 3 bed house now, we wanted to downsize and go to a different area, have had our house on the market since June 10....one offer yesterday at a silly price. since putting house on market, the houses have crashed and looks like we are not gonna get anymore (more likely less) than we paid for it, which means we do not have a deposit........so this is where i join.

due to this, we are now saving for a deposit (while paying a mortgage) and have worked out we are able to save £500 per month (thats really saving hard) and will take us 2 years to get a deposit (and EA fees, and stamp duty etc) - so as from 2 days ago we have started saving saving saving!!!!

Plus we are on our 6th IVF as we speak and at £5000 a go you can see where our money has gone. so fingers crossed that this one works for us as other wise it will be an extra year on to the deposit each time we have to got for IVF.:(:(

so save save save!!!! we have cut out going out, ALWAYS take our own sandwiches, have gone down to own brand food, we do not have sky never have as never could afford it, old cars. still lots we can do im sure.....any ideas?

Aw, good luck with the IVF. There are lots of extra things you can do to make savings. Check out the Grabbit board for fab deals on everything, also Codes & Vouchers (for codes and vouchers ) and Old Style for thrifty household hints. HTH.

SG27

rictus123 wrote: »

Well done SG27...thats a fantastic amount! Great effort! Im at £604.34...but its my first month and iv got another 2 years or so yet! Another 24 months at this rate is £14,500. Enough seeing as i only need half...

Thanks I wish I started when I was 19 though! You definitly have time on your side!

pupsicola

tara747 wrote: »

I'm not afraid of doing a place up, but wouldn't want to take on anything too major/structural/expensive. What are the most expensive problems to fix in a house

When ive looked at purchasing property I always make sure the roof is in a good state of repair as that can be expensive to fix. Also if it is in need of doing there are probably other problems it could be causing. Replacing windows can add up dependant on how big the property is. Ive generally bought houses that dont need anything structural doing to them and need more of a cosmetic lift. A bit of damp doesn't deter me as that is pretty easy to fix. Am now not worried about knocking down internal walls and changing the layout. Can make big improvments

DanGTiT

pupsicola wrote: »

Such an inspirational post. You remind me of when I started out years ago. Keep going, there is nothing like the buzz you get when you get the keys to your own place for the first time.

We bought our first place in '99. One of the main attractions, apart from being our ideal home, was the location and great transport links to London. It seemed well underpriced and we felt the value would rocket. By 2006 the house had more than doubled in price. We sold when houses were at there peak.

As we were moving to a new area due to work relocation we rented for a while. Didn't want to rush in and buy. Rented some cheap as chips place and during our tenancy term the market crashed. Result!!!! Finally bought a fab place nearly 2 years ago now and saved a fortune.

Dont be scared of buying somewhere that needs a bit of doing up. You can make alot of money at it. The first thing I look at is the land it sits on and the possibility to extend. Also catchment areas for good schools add loads of value.

Enjoy your house hunting when the time comes.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I think for us personally it's a great time to buy. We both finished Uni 3 years ago and are settled in our jobs and after 7 years of living with our parents we are really looking forward to having our own space. Plus the recent fall in house prices can only help.

Well done to everyone else too, our deposit looks miniscule compared to some, but everyone has to start somewhere. Keep up the good work guys, it will all be worth it in the end I'm sure.

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone
My real push for a deposit started today!:T
I have a Santander 1st homebuyer account which will be fed the maximum of £300 per month and I am adding £100 into my ISA every month and all my babysitting money.
I added extra £127 to this today as well thanks to money refunded to my mobile phone account due to a mix up with my contract and also some overtime from work - So a total of £227 added to my house savings today and another £300 to come on the 2nd of each month as well.
Have a good weekend everyone.
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tara747

pupsicola wrote: »

When ive looked at purchasing property I always make sure the roof is in a good state of repair as that can be expensive to fix. Also if it is in need of doing there are probably other problems it could be causing. Replacing windows can add up dependant on how big the property is. Ive generally bought houses that dont need anything structural doing to them and need more of a cosmetic lift. A bit of damp doesn't deter me as that is pretty easy to fix. Am now not worried about knocking down internal walls and changing the layout. Can make big improvments

Mmmm, I wouldn't be keen on replacing a roof either, or windows! Interesting what you say about damp, I always thought it would be a major (and very expensive) problem to fix.

I don't mind doing cosmetic stuff either... in fact, I'd rather buy somewhere £30k cheaper that needs a new kitchen, bathroom, floors etc - and do it all to my (sorry, OUR ) taste. I hope OH would want the same decor as me... we tend to have similar tastes but I wonder how many couples fall out over how to decorate their house???? It's probably more common than I think...

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone
Another £140 babysitting money added to my account today from a job last night and monthly money from a family I take L to school 3 days a week and pick her up once a week.
The money is starting to add up again :j:j
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tara747

(shamelessly copied from the 'How much can you save?' thread):

I had a fab January!!!! Between careful spending and selling lots on eBay, I managed to save a whopping £2,313!!!!! Yippee!!! My best ever month. :beer: :j

My sig has been updated, I am now over the £44,000 mark and I am setting a new savings target of £55,000 by the end of 2011. That would mean saving £13,000 this year but I am well on track to beat that already. Yeeha!!!!!!

I am sooo chuffed. All the little sacrifices, purchases resisted, the time spent listing, packing and posting eBay stuff is really paying off. :T:T

Palema, you are doing really well. Can I ask - how do you get babysitting jobs? Is it for people you know? And did you get paid £140 for one evening? Sorry, I'm really nosy xo

[Deleted User]

tara747 wrote: »

Palema, you are doing really well. Can I ask - how do you get babysitting jobs? Is it for people you know? And did you get paid £140 for one evening? Sorry, I'm really nosy xo

Hi Tara
I look after a little girl who used to go to the Nursery I work in. I take her to school 3 mornings a week and pick her up once so £100 came from that.
I also was looking after a couple of kids and their brother and sister from work on Saturday and got £40.
I do also work for a babysitting agency and get regular work from them. Which is great for extra cash and boosting my savings
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