How to get onto the housing ladder

Hey all.
I am 24 and have recently left University for a full time job. I plan to start saving towards a house deposit, but what is the amount that I realistically need?
Home life is good and very easy, but I lived away from home until rectently and find that home somewhat makes me feel like a child again as I am not standing on my own two feet.

I have moved back home as my job is only 13 miles away. This coming payday I am starting to live my life as though I have a mortgage, which means each pay I intend to put away £500 towards a deposit. I currently only pay £200 to my parents for cover. Whilst I realise £700 is less than the cost of moving out, I feel this is a good starting point. I occasionally go out for a drink but I like my PC stuff and have an MX5 as a hobby. Aside from student loans I have no outstanding credit.

There are lots of schemes out there but I wondered what schemes exist that people on here have used?
I am interested in what experience OCUKers have had of getting onto the property ladder. I have no desire to rent. If I must stay at home for 2 years to get a decent deposit together then that is fine with me.

Good luck mate.

In all honesty i got a bit of a break in Project Management which literally meant i could save huge amounts very quickly.

Before that i lived in and owned an ex-council house. That was bought with one of the now infamous 100% mortgages.

Again, all the very best!

£500 per month over 2 years is only £12k. A 90% mortgage is pretty much best you can hope for at the moment, though I expect that we may well see the 100% mortgage coming back in, in a few years.

That can afford you a £120k home. You will need to be earning over £25k per annum with no financial liabilities to obtain a mortgage for a property worth £120k. Student Loans are taken against you as well so you will need to be earning £30k plus and then some if you have student debts.

Your have to bear in mind that the average age of the first time buyer in the UK is now 37 which says something about the state of the property market.

PapaLazaru said:

Your have to bear in mind that the average age of the first time buyer in the UK is now 37 which says something about the state of the property market.

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Wow, that is incredible. :-\

You pretty much want a 20% deposit to get a decent mortgage rate.

I'm buying ATM and hopefully the total cost of fees and stamp duty cost will be £4,110 for a 225k house so makes sure you factor that bit in. I wasn't expecting it to be that much when you add all he little costs in.

Thanks for the comments so far .

PapaLazaru said:

£500 per month over 2 years is only £12k. A 90% mortgage is pretty much best you can hope for at the moment, though I expect that we may well see the 100% mortgage coming back in, in a few years.

That can afford you a £120k home. You will need to be earning over £25k per annum with no financial liabilities to obtain a mortgage for a property worth £120k. Student Loans are taken against you as well so you will need to be earning £30k plus and then some if you have student debts.

Your have to bear in mind that the average age of the first time buyer in the UK is now 37 which says something about the state of the property market.

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I am earning just over the 25k area and have only 5k student loans against my name. The only direct debits I have are for a sim only contract and contact lenses! No credit card debts.
I enjoy my job and the pay is pretty good for a graduate, but **** me is Mr Average stuck! It would be so easy* if I was buying with somebody.

My parents are willing to lend me some money to offset some of the mortgage, but I really couldn't pay them back in the foreseeable future.

If I have to I will buy nearer to Stoke where the prices are lower, but I would never buy a house in a scabby area that I would really struggle to sell.

I realise I would only have saved 12k after two years but this would be pure house money. Other things such as saving £100 each month towards a new car (so in 3+ years time I can get a newer one) would be completely separate.

*In comparison.

Get on top of your credit rating too.

billysielu said:

Get on top of your credit rating too.

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How do I do that? I never use credit cards and do use my student overdraft purely for convenience. I will loose that soon though.

swillsy said:

I'm buying ATM and hopefully the total cost of fees and stamp duty cost will be £4,110 for a 225k house so makes sure you factor that bit in. I wasn't expecting it to be that much when you add all he little costs in.

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That plus solicitors fee's which be around £1000 as well.

I have given up ever thinking I will be able to afford a decent mortgage on my own. I will either wait for inheritance or meet a girl and sacrifice like mad, but I can't see that ever happening. I like holidays too much

Lets say 200k property.

at least a 15% deposit = 25k

Stamp duty = 2k

Solicitors fees = 1-2k

Moving in = about 1k (assuming you have everything furniture, kitchen and bedroom)

Upfront bills = 1k(water, council tax installment, gas, electric, phone connection)

200k house = at least 30-33k upfront. That is with a 15% deposit which will leave you with a high mortgage rate.

£500 a month will give you the deposit in 5 years.

Just be thankful you are living in Stoke. It appears your money can go quite a long way compared to us living in the South East.

You cannot buy anything in Reading for £120k unless you want a really small flat.

PapaLazaru said:

A 90% mortgage is pretty much best you can hope for at the moment, though I expect that we may well see the 100% mortgage coming back in, in a few years.

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Actually, Yorkshire bank are doing upto 95% FTB mortgages at the moment.

PapaLazaru said:

Just be thankful you are living in Stoke. It appears your money can go quite a long way compared to us living in the South East.

You cannot buy anything in Reading for £120k unless you want a really small flat.

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I would imagine 99% of single people are screwed. I bet many couples cannot afford to buy either.

If you are single on a decent wage still living with parents you have a chance of getting on the housing ladder. Otherwise "screwed" pretty much sums it up.

Save as much as you can, if parents are offering an interest free loan then take advantage of it and then just pay them back each month.

As said, you want at least 10% deposit, 20% will open up better (cheaper) mortgages.

Also, don't underestimate the cost of setting up home - furnishings, white goods, even stuff like curtains.. it all adds up. Obviously you don't need anything straight away but you do need a minimum amount to begin with.

Save what you can, £500 a month is a good start. Your wages should increase and you will be able to save more but the 12,000 over the next two years will be invaluable when you come to buy.

With regards to products, I'm trying to get my parents to use the lloyds tsb 'lend a hand' product (do other banks do similar?). Not sure what I'll get with a very old bankruptcy though. Once I get asked the dreaded 'have you even been bankrupt' question then I'm fairly screwed.

I would hate to be on the mortgage scene these days. Must be almost impossible for a vast % of people these days. Had 4 mortgages in my time, paid off the last one several years ago.