The 'We're saving for a deposit' thread

Iamdave

Thought i'd introduce myself here too,

24 year old, full time employment on approx £40k a year. Have around £21k in savings with £20k in shares also. Usually look to save in the region of £2000 a month (if overtime allows).

Am in a postion to buy whenever I want but looking for a non-project home, one i can pretty much move into so have a house price search generally anywhere between £150k and £200k although would rather look at the higher end of that scale when hopefully my deposit fund is around the £60k mark.

lvm

Eponym wrote: »

I've been reading through this thread when I have some spare time for ages now, just finished!

I too am saving for a deposit.

I'm 25 in just over a week, single so will be buying alone unless Mr Right turns up before then! Planning to get a two-bedroom place and rent out the spare room to a friend, or a lodger I don't know if necessary. I've just had a small promotion so my wage is just over 18k and I live at home where I pay a small amount of rent to my parents.

I'm a natural saver but have become increasingly serious about saving for a deposit over the last year or so. I'm aiming to save at least £600 a month but I tend to find I do less well in summer and better in winter!

I currently have £19,912, of which £17,629 is in the Halifax 3.2% ISA and £2,283 is in the Santander First Home Saver. I also have some money in an instant access savings account which will go into the ISA next year.

In my area I'm expecting to be looking at houses costing between £100k and £120k. My deposit amount is essentially enough for a 20% deposit (which is the lowest I would want) on the lower end of that scale but it would clean my out financially! I'm budgeting on about £6k for fees, furniture etc. Ideally I'd like to keep saving for a bit even once I get that so I can get a bigger deposit and / or better house, plus have some emergency fund. I anticipate I will be looking to buy in 18 months to a year.

However, I am a bit concerned about whether I would even get a mortgage on my low wage. I couldn't count on always having income from renting a room so I would need to be able to pay it myself and be able to pay the bills alone as well. So the affordability factor might be an issue, which is another reason to keep saving and increase the size of the deposit!

Hey Eponym!

Well done on saving so much already - wish I'd started off like you (although I bought when I was 20, I've no equity and only started saving this year!)

A lodger is a fab idea - I started taking lodgers in from April and it's such a great income booster. Should have done it earlier to be honest.

Where will you be looking for a property? It's easier in some areas than others to find lodgers. I'm in Edinburgh so pretty much as soon as one leaves, I could get another easily. Guess it depends if you're near the centre of any cities or near large work organisations. You might find someone you work with will be looking for somewhere and if you drive you could even save costs for car-sharing etc.

Good luck for the rest of your savings and finding the right house! x

funkcake1

Hi,

I'm a newbie to this site's forum, and currently trying to save for a deposit for my 1st home.

I'm earning £23k a year, and so far got savings of approx £30k. That's through avoiding foreign holidays, being frugal in supermarkets and selling my junk on eBay.

What's really holding me back is my location - London! Buying alone in the capital seems near-impossible if you're not a silly-high salary or got wealthy parents. But I'll keep saving relentlessly anyway, in the hope that I'll somehow be able to buy in the future!

J

Eponym

lvm wrote: »

Hey Eponym!

Well done on saving so much already - wish I'd started off like you (although I bought when I was 20, I've no equity and only started saving this year!)

A lodger is a fab idea - I started taking lodgers in from April and it's such a great income booster. Should have done it earlier to be honest.

Where will you be looking for a property? It's easier in some areas than others to find lodgers. I'm in Edinburgh so pretty much as soon as one leaves, I could get another easily. Guess it depends if you're near the centre of any cities or near large work organisations. You might find someone you work with will be looking for somewhere and if you drive you could even save costs for car-sharing etc.

Good luck for the rest of your savings and finding the right house! x

I'm in Solihull, so quite close to Birmingham which should help, and we have Jaguar Land Rover nearby.

Thanks for the welcome!

ceh209

Hello again!

Things will be changing a bit in my deposit saving plans, as I've just split up with my bf

But i'm looking at it positively - we will have our rented flat till then end of November, then I'll be moving back to my parents (for physical as well as emotional health reasons). Haven't discussed rent with the parents yet as its only been a few days, but I should be able to save more even though my travel costs will go up. I was considering asking for help with a deposit at one point, but I think they'll give me low rent as a substitute for a lump sum as help.

Also this means I'm likely to buy a smaller place (prob aiming for 2 bed terrace instead of 3 bed semi lol) so I may be able to buy sooner!

scudz05

Hello all,

I am new to the forums, but this topic fits in with exactly what I am doing. I currently live in York with my partner and we are 24 and 22, we have recently decided that we should start saving for a deposit, we have 4k already saved between us and aim to save atleast £450 a month combined. Although I am hoping for a pay review next month with my companies that should increase this amount.

We will probably eventually in 2-3 years time be looking at houses which are currently in the 100 - 120k range. And as we are both on pretty average salaries being in the travel and retail sectors will be aiming for 15-20% deposit minimum.

The one slight set back is that we are currently considering taking the additional step of moving from our dated furnished rented place to a more modern unfurnished apartment which may use up the best part of our 4k savings but would mean not having to save for furniture with the deposit. Not sure on peoples opinions of this?

Eponym

The problem with that is that you don't that the furniture you buy for the flat will work in the house you end up buying. It might not fit, or the colour might not be right.

Beckyy

Unless your current home to really, really difficult to live in then I would stick it out until you can buy your own place. You'd have the cost of your furniture, then you'd have the cost of moving it to the new house, and it might not be what you want then. I wouldn't blow your deposit, and would stick where you are and keep saving for now if I were you.

beckythemadcow

Beckyy wrote: »

Unless your current home to really, really difficult to live in then I would stick it out until you can buy your own place. You'd have the cost of your furniture, then you'd have the cost of moving it to the new house, and it might not be what you want then. I wouldn't blow your deposit, and would stick where you are and keep saving for now if I were you.

I'd agree. It can be hard when a lot of your fiends have swanky pads, and you live in a dated flat. But my friends aren't thinking about the future, and spend a lot on new cars, expensive rents and the latest mobiles.

In a year or so, we'll have our OWN places, and our friends will probably be jealous of us and wonder how we could afford it.

Once you have your own place, worry then about making it swanky!

Tiggy10

Hi everyone, I would quite like to join. Im in my last year of my teaching degree and as of the end of June I will need to find somewhere to live. Looking at renting a small 2 bed flat or house with 600-800 pcm rent. What would i be looking at deposit wise. This will be split with my OH whos moving with me.

Just need to start saving now!