How do people afford it alone?

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Loz01
Loz01 Posts: 1,848 Forumite
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in Mortgages & endowments
Trying to buy my first house. I work, earn £10.70 an hour working in an office (so not exactly low pay, in my books anyway) - it seems impossible Im ever going be able to buy a house! Is it only possible in a couple or with a friend/sibling? According to a mortgage calculator, they'd lend me 61k. Down here, that would buy you a garden shed (....maybe!!! :D) - seems like Im destined for renting forever. Is it do-able to buy a house alone, has anyone done it?
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  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,744 Forumite
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    I bought my first home on my own 5 years ago. I was earning around £17-18k at the time (less than you are now assuming you are working full time).

    I could not afford a place in the area I wanted so I had to buy a doer upper 5 miles down the road. I spent £10-12k doing the property up over 4 years and sold it for a very big profit which then allowed me to buy a bigger family home in the area I want to live in.

    Chances you are wont be able to have everything today, there needs to be some give and take.
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • Dandytf
    Dandytf Posts: 4,820 Forumite
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    edited 10 December 2018 at 10:32PM
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    I was full time 1st flat 23k 2003-100%mrtg.
    Current flat 2009 65k-15%deposit from 1st flat sale.
    Since part time-more difficult financially though managing though not much room to manover payments wise.
    I had to move to another town as 'affordable' flats were fast becoming triple figure sums -I didn't feel comfortable purchasing from 1xxxK etc -at least not on my own salary.
    It's been excellent making my own decisions -not all of which have been correct or best decisions.
    I like to look a year or two ahead and continue as best during some simple plans ahead.
    I'de honestly consider private rental property though costs seem way above my part time earnings -though some lovely modern flats which I haven't managed to afford.
    Replenished CRA Reports.2020 Nissan Leaf 128-149 miles top charge. Savings depleted. VM Stream tv M250 Volted to M350 then M500 since returned to 1gb
  • tacpot12
    tacpot12 Posts: 8,005 Forumite
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    You could move to somewhere where the property is cheaper. There are two bedroom maisonettes for sale in Sheffield for £40K.
    The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.
  • cjv
    cjv Posts: 513 Forumite
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    I earn minimum wage (but work lots of hours) and have just had my Mortgage offer, to buy a new build shared ownership flat in the SE.

    The Lifetime ISA handed me a £2000 bonus as I managed to save the maximum possible since it was launched, that was a big help and took care of the majority of my deposit.

    Maybe those are some things you could look in to, but it will depend on the price of property in the area you are looking at vs your income, size of deposit etc.
  • nyc_451
    nyc_451 Posts: 502 Forumite
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    edited 10 December 2018 at 11:18PM
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    I couldn't afford anything in my area so I moved...:rotfl:

    I'm commuting to my work in a posh university town for now but will be looking for a local job at some point. Bloody South East, too expensive for simple people!!

    Added: keep saving, your circumstances may change in the future and you may qualify for a bigger mortgage or settle down with someone and buy a house together.
  • -taff
    -taff Posts: 14,537 Forumite
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    I bought a flat instead of a house in an expensive area, I did shift work that paid more, and I overpaid the mortgage.
    You decide what you want and what you are willing to do to achieve it
    Shampoo? No thanks, I'll have real poo...
  • Zero_Sum
    Zero_Sum Posts: 1,567 Forumite
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    My 1st house I bought on my own in 2002. I was earning around £13k at the time (it was a bit of a doer upper). Then 5 years down the line a couple of promotions (upto about £25k) and i'd had cleared mortgage. Then 5 years further with a nice lump sum saved moved into a more expensive new build (again on own)

    But then I live in north east where houses are really cheap.
  • stator
    stator Posts: 7,441 Forumite
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    £10.70 is pretty low to be honest. You'd be surprised at the number of people who are paid a lot more than that.
    It probably won't be long until £10.70 is the minimum wage.


    I would start looking for career options to increase that if you want to be buying a house.
    Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.
  • Loz01
    Loz01 Posts: 1,848 Forumite
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    stator wrote: »
    £10.70 is pretty low to be honest. You'd be surprised at the number of people who are paid a lot more than that.
    It probably won't be long until £10.70 is the minimum wage.


    I would start looking for career options to increase that if you want to be buying a house.


    This is my new "higher paid" job :rotfl: I went up from earning £9.50....... I'll keep looking though.
  • ndf9876
    ndf9876 Posts: 404 Forumite
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    Help to Buy, start small and work up, stay with your parents as long as possible to save, buy with someone!
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