How did you manage to buy your house?

VintageBelle wrote: »

Hi all


I'm in my 30's and still renting. My dream is to own a home but I don't have a deposit. I started saving years back but lost the money to a thieving ex and won't ever be able to recoup it (whole other story there that I don't want to go further into).
I felt like I'd lost all hope of owning my home and due to recent issues with my landlord I've reached the point where I'm completely fed up of renting.


My job is quite low paid but I have been looking for better paid jobs which will hopefulyl happen soon.


Therefore my reason for this post is to see how others managed to get on the property ladder with little to no savings? Is it really possible?


I've seen all these schemes to help first time buyers but they seem too good to be true?


I have a partner but he isn't really that bothered about owning a home but I might be able to get him on board.


Any advice would be very much appreciated.


Thanks

My husband and I went had a similar conversation and decided that our three options were:

- slash our outgoings as much as possible. For us this meant moving into a room in a shared house that was walking distance from both our work/study places. The rent worked out to be about a quarter of the cost of renting a place of our own and also no commuting costs. We did that for two years and then the claustrophobia kicked in (no lounge or communal space meant we were always in the bedroom together!). Now we're three years into renting a three bed house and subletting the rooms (with permission of the landlord!) to people we know and get on well with. Depending on your circumstances, moving in rent-free with parents would work. We also LOVE travelling but haven't taken a single holiday in the last three years. Lastly, we have slashed our food costs by getting much better at meal planning and taking lunches to work every day (as opposed to our previous method of "maybe" taking some lunch in if we had some dinner left over, now lunches form part of our meal plan)
- move somewhere where property is cheaper (salaries may be lower, but if house prices are MUCH lower then you'll be better-off overall). We did the opposite and moved somewhere more expensive (with me taking a paycut in the meantime) in the hope that my husband would be able to find a job there. Fortunately, our gamble paid off Do you need to stay where you are for any reason? Or could you look at moving somewhere else in the country?
- boost our income. Change jobs to a better paid one, ask for a payrise, take on a second job. I opted for taking on a second job, my husband participated in a clinical trial and has also worked super hard at work to progress up the management chain to get the associated payrise.

You really do need to have your partner at least partly on board. My husband would still spend money left, right and centre if I let him, but is theoretically on board with the idea and although I have to do the meal planning, making lunches etc he is at least willing to not spend £5/day on lunches so long as I make him food to take with him!

Left school at 16.
Joined the Royal Navy. Then worked on an oil rig offshore.
Came back with a lump sum.
Bought a mid terraced house, that was basically four walls and a roof. For cash. Didn't even bother asking for a mortgage.
No bath. Outside toilet. No gas. Only bill was electricity. Paid neighbours to use the bath in their house.

Lived in it whilst working at a garage just across the road. (Boss was happy, because I was always watching his place at night, whenever I looked out the window).

The area was quite rough. A guy was stabbed just outside, football related fighting etc. But the neighbours were great, once you got to know them well.

Don't think I actually paid for any of the building materials I used. Just kept an eye out at scrap yards and skips etc.

No heating, just open fires. But there was loads of scrap wood around. I never remember being cold.


I was lucky because I had a good boss, who would let me take a van whenever etc. Good colleagues, mates who would help me. And a very good girlfriend, who wasn't ashamed to go out with a semi vagrant grease monkey.

I honestly don't think I would have done it, if girls back then were like the girlfriends my son has today. It would have meant being single for a long time.

After doing up the first house, sold it and bought a larger four bed. Moved in there with girlfriend. Got 3 lodgers. Actually missed the old place, but girlfriend wanted a garden and central heating. She was right though.

Never had any debt or mortgage. Probably wouldn't have been given any, even if I'd asked. But it never really entered my mind to try.

I don't think I even had a bank account for a few years. I was always paid in cash. Maybe the Post Office account?

I think years ago, debt collection was quite a rough trade. I certainly remember quite tough guys being afraid of debt collectors. I think the rules are much stricter now, regarding collection of debt.

We never rented stayed at parents. Saved for 8 years and bought a house at 29. In that time with two below average full time incomes we saved over £100k.