The 'We're saving for a deposit' thread

purplevamp

I haven't posted on here for a while (since 4 Dec :eek:) because things have gone a bit quiet on the savings. What with Christmas, no spare money went into the pot. Also I've booked a holiday for the 5 of us to Disneyland, Paris for half term :j:j. Kids under 12 are meant to go free but because there were no Eurostar tickets left we have to go by Rail Europe so we're having to pay for the travel ~ £135 per child!!! BUT it's my eldest sons 21st birthday whilst we're over there so this is his present/party, etc!! And I thought it would be nice to have a family holiday, first in a few years!

Last year I managed to sail over my yearly target, so I don't feel too bad, and I'm confident that I can reach this years too. I'm on track right now.

jencolescott

Well done everyone keep the motivation going. Im just at the very start of the journey for saving towards our house deposit. We have been working alot of overtime so payday for us should be good Actually cant wait for me hubbie and the kiddo to be in the more perfect detached house I swear our little house here is bursting at the seams. We are also trying to gradually make home improvements as we go in the next 18months so fingers crossed we can keep going.

tracy81

Hi,:wave:

Just found this thread, think its a great idea, some of you have saved so much its really got me motivated.
We are finally in a position to start saving for our house deposit :
I've even worked out a budget for us so we roughly know how much each month we can save.
It will be a long road yet but at least were on it now

samtoby

Great to see all these new joiners!

Simon11

I'm close to leaving this thread for good reasons

For the last 5 years I've been putting money away like a squirrel. I'm now 22 nearly 23 and have £50k in the bank.

Since leaving university last year I went straight into a job in London living at home and now I've got a new job based in Birmingham which means I'll be wanting to buy a 2 bed flat in the centre of Birmingham- My o MY its so cheap in Birmingham than zone 5 in London :O £130K seems to get really nice flats- Mostly looking forward to the 10minute walk to work instead of the 1hour 15 minute commute to work atm . Some flats in the £150k-£180k bracket seem to have concierge- What is the point of this (Security?) and how much does it cost per year? None of the houses which have concierge give the cost of having this....

Here comes the Q!
This job will be a huge step up and I estimate that I want to stay in this position for around 2-3 years. I'm planning to stay in Birmingham from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon and travel back to London for the weekend for friends, family, volunteering. I have the opportunity to buy, but I don't wish to remain permentally in Birmingham (Althought it might change depending how it goes with friends there etc). I also need to consider what happens if the job isn't for me(tiny risk) or I need to move to another location for a new job.

With starting the new job, what would you do?

1. Purchase a place in Birmingham
2. Rent a place for a couple of months, then buy
3. Lodging, then buy
4. Rent or lodge only

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Simon11 wrote: »

I'm close to leaving this thread for good reasons

For the last 5 years I've been putting money away like a squirrel. I'm now 22 nearly 23 and have £50k in the bank.

Since leaving university last year I went straight into a job in London living at home and now I've got a new job based in Birmingham which means I'll be wanting to buy a 2 bed flat in the centre of Birmingham- My o MY its so cheap in Birmingham than zone 5 in London :O £130K seems to get really nice flats- Mostly looking forward to the 10minute walk to work instead of the 1hour 15 minute commute to work atm . Some flats in the £150k-£180k bracket seem to have concierge- What is the point of this (Security?) and how much does it cost per year? None of the houses which have concierge give the cost of having this....

Here comes the Q!
This job will be a huge step up and I estimate that I want to stay in this position for around 2-3 years. I'm planning to stay in Birmingham from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon and travel back to London for the weekend for friends, family, volunteering. I have the opportunity to buy, but I don't wish to remain permentally in Birmingham (Althought it might change depending how it goes with friends there etc). I also need to consider what happens if the job isn't for me(tiny risk) or I need to move to another location for a new job.

With starting the new job, what would you do?

1. Purchase a place in Birmingham - Not if you think there's a chance of you moving again any time soon.
2. Rent a place for a couple of months, then buy - this seems more sensible, if you hate your job, or the location of the new place etc just give the landlord notice
3. Lodging, then buy - another sensible option
4. Rent or lodge only - trial it first and see how it goes

Thanks

I have made some comments above

HTH

D9

MandM90

Simon; I'd get a room/short term let and still save hard whilst you feel out the job, area and property market. I wouldn't think about buying until I knew the ins and outs of the city and whether I feel it was a place I could make my home. There is no rush as it doesn't seem a big rise in property is predicted anytime soon so I'd focus on settling in, doing the research and a bit of soul searching whilst increasing your deposit...the more, the better!

I used to have a friend whose (very rich) father had a house (there were other 'apartments' in the building but it was split level and had 4/5 beds) in a very exclusive bit of London. They didn't have a key or code, the guy would open the door but then obviously there was a key for the front door. Obviously it's nice, secure and 'randoms' can't walk in and ramble around your halls but flats tend to have a code for the front door anyway. I'm not really sure what the benefits are but I suppose it looks impressive - unless it is necessary because it's a particularly dodgy part of the city

beckythemadcow

Simon11 wrote: »

Some flats in the £150k-£180k bracket seem to have concierge- What is the point of this (Security?) and how much does it cost per year?

I have friends who rented a flat above the Radisson Blu Hotel, the concierge wouldn't let us in when we visited and my friend would have to get the lift 30 odd floors down to let us in as the intercom didn't work.

Seemed pretty useless!

quintwins

simon i think i'd rent for awhile first to get a feel of the area and if you could see yourself there long term, also mortgage providers like renters because it's proves you know how to budget and pay your bills..... well the theory anyway, if you can save while renting you can buget well

another £50 added today, i've been keeping a spending dairy it's a real eye opener, so far this month theres about 3 nsd i never relised i was spending so much, jan is always epensive tho, feb will be expensive for me aswell but i'm hoping to get over the £2.5k mark atleast

Suarez

samtoby wrote: »

January is such a hard month it seems to be going on and on and I get paid the day before the last day! Still over a week yet!

Not my favourite month. Ive got £400 car insurance and a final £300 payment of car finance this month And the car needs a service but it'll have to wait til next month now.

On the bright side, I have paid all of my bills off already this year