Her salary was enough to make the mortgage lender happy to loan her the money, but it isn't enough to cover her actual cost of living once you factor in food, bills, car, etc.
Homebuy = Ripoff
- Thread starter Wizzkidy
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Her salary was enough to make the mortgage lender happy to loan her the money, but it isn't enough to cover her actual cost of living once you factor in food, bills, car, etc.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
And we're just stating HOW possible it actually is if you stop the victim mentality and stop taking comfort in the 'fact' that it's impossible when it is in fact very possible. Trying to think back now, the people I know that recently bought houses within the past few months/years, not one did a job the required any skill, nor did anyone have any useful qualifications or paid particular good money. Just a dose of good old fashioned hard work, plenty overtime and sense with money saving.
But what's clear to me (And others) is the strange fact that people is unwilling to adjust their lifestyles according to saving up for a deposit or paying a mortgage. Not just from this thread, but from threads through the years. Nobody is willing to forego any suffering or belt tightening of any kind. They want their kickass new graphic cards, 3 holidays a year and house thrown into the mix.
Nobody needs to know anyone's situation. If you can pay rent, you can pay a mortgage.
[TW]Fox;17099713 said:
It's not a concern, as I am not going to run off.
And even if I did, she would sell up, the sale value would be split, though I think I'd find it hard to morally claim my share if I were to do a runner.
Have faith in human beings, makes life a bit of a happier place.
[TW]Fox;17099793 said:You can't sell up in 30 seconds flat and she is liable for costs until she does! But of course its ok as nobody ever splits up right
Well, the bills are all in my name, so if I did do a runner, it wouldn't hit her.
Also, she has a very wealthy dad, and even wealthier older sister to fall back on if she is in dire straits.
The only person that would lost out if I did a runner is me.
Total rubbish. How old were your friends that have recently bought houses? Isn't the average age for FTBs now 38 or something ridiculous? Even higher for people that can't scrounge a deposit from their parents. Did they get help from their parents?
Take this for an example, it pretty much explains the problem FTBs are having: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8454455.stm
It's the deposit that is a problem. I can quite easily rent a £1300pcm flat in Ealing with my girlfriend (which we do), which would sell probably for £350k. Can we buy it? Definitely not. Doing so would mean a 20% deposit minimum which is £60k! Get real. I know that's an extreme example (the one on the BBC link is more sensible).
So how about a 1 bedroom flat in Newbury, where I grew up. It's not as expensive as London, it's not a 'special' town. In fact it's distinctly average as far as I'm concerned. How much is a 1 bedroom flat? £135k. 20% deposit for that would be £27k. Assuming I wanted to buy that on my own (not unreasonable, it's a 1 bedroom flat for crying out loud, it's a great 'first step') I'd need to find £27k myself.
So. Let's assume I could stretch to saving £500pm. I can't, it's a huge amount, but that's what I'd aim for. You'd probably be over 25 to be earning enough to save over £500pm, so let's take that as my age (it is). It's take 5 years to save £27k. Great. I can buy a 1 bedroom flat at age 30? Or can I? Surely if this ridiculous property bubble keeps getting bigger, then prices would have gone up again. So let's say I could afford that flat when I'm 32. Brilliant.
Er hang on. When you're 32, don't you start thinking about settling down and maybe, just maybe, having kids? I don't think that's a good idea in a 1 bedroom flat, do you? This is all assuming you can save a massive £500pm, which I can't anyway, so the whole thing is useless. Not to mention the fact that I work in London so I'd either have to aim to buy an extortionate £250k flat, or move out of London and start paying an extortionate £100pw for the train fare. You can't win.
This is quite interesting: http://localhousingwatch.org.uk/
I dont know exactly how it works, and obviously the salaries it show are for 'average' proprties which are probably bigger than a 1/2bedroom flat. But still. I've been typing in random councils I know of in the South and not found any that dip below 40k. Something is wrong in the property market when you have to buy something that's 10x your salary as opposed to 3-4x and it's this generation that is getting screwed in the long run. To say we're not willing to 'tighten' our belts and forego luxuries is nothing short of patronising. I do enough of that just to be able to afford the rent thank you very much. MY prediction is that unless there is a huge housing crash (fingers crossed) then the wealth gap between generations is going to be huge. It'll be everyone over 50 owning all the properties in the country and renting them out at extortionate rates to the younger generation.
/rant
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Soldato
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Homebuy works for me. My situation was:
Paying £550 to rent a 1 bed flat
Situation now is:
Paying £500 to buy 33% of a much nicer 2 bed flat.
But yeah when I come to sell I'll only make 33% of any equity but its better than throwing my money away on rent. Best thing is to save/invest the money you save.
Paying £550 to rent a 1 bed flat
Situation now is:
Paying £500 to buy 33% of a much nicer 2 bed flat.
But yeah when I come to sell I'll only make 33% of any equity but its better than throwing my money away on rent. Best thing is to save/invest the money you save.
Associate
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It's not friends but more acquaintances or colleagues. Ages? 21 - 39. Also, who said you have to start now to save for 27k? Did you not take responsibility earlier and start saving already? You can't stretch to saving £500pm, fine, can you stretch to at least £350? If so, why did you not start years ago? You'd be nearing 27k by now. I finished uni and started work at 22, my first week's wages was £373 (I still have the slip). I saved £180 (ish, can't remember exactly) and subsequent weeks after. Some weeks there was extra to throw in the pot, other weeks less. Point is, some savings ALWAYS went into a separate account. Hell, some weeks £5 is all I managed to save, but I saved it regardless.
This post has been more about me than I care about typing, there's many people in far less fortunate situations than me that manage to rise above because they don't sit on a heap pointing fingers and ask sympathy. Is it hard? Off course it is, it's a hellish pain trying to get the money together, working two jobs, forgoing tons of basic necessities to reach a dream, but it's doable.
I feel irresistibly moved to draw an analogy between something I read in the Evening Standard and people in this thread. The poor boy that couldn't afford £19 for an UCAS application, yet was photographed wearing gold chains, diamond ear stud, Nike trainers and Levi denims. Tsk tsk tsk. Priorities people.
PS, my first paragraph wasn't intended as hostile, just asking questions about a hypothetical situation you offered. You can go on rubbishing advice or suggestions the whole day. As someone who has been through the process already of saving up and rebuilding a whole house without a mortgage, I know what a pain in the ass it is being skint as I spent half a decade being chronically skint. I also know it's completely possible.
Taking 5 years out of your life, possibly more than that, just to afford a deposit on a house is extremley harsh. I would imagine a lot of relationships would struggle with that kind of burden on their lives, just to get on the property ladder.
Don't know what to say then, nobody seems wanting to put in the effort. Nothing you can do. That's why brown, soulless, high tower council flats will forever and always be stacked to the brim.
I've been living with my girlfriend (also NHS!) for 2 years now, we have been renting a flat that we love in Bristol.
We have decided that we want to start saving to buy a house, doing the maths it's going to take us years to save a realistic deposit. I looked into homebuy but I am not convinced to be honest.
However luckily for us my parents have been really generous by offering us both a room at their house, paying them rent obviously, but will allow us to save a substantial amount of money in a small amount of time. Will probably be moving home just after xmas and I envisage saving for approx 18 months to get to where we want.
We have decided that we want to start saving to buy a house, doing the maths it's going to take us years to save a realistic deposit. I looked into homebuy but I am not convinced to be honest.
However luckily for us my parents have been really generous by offering us both a room at their house, paying them rent obviously, but will allow us to save a substantial amount of money in a small amount of time. Will probably be moving home just after xmas and I envisage saving for approx 18 months to get to where we want.
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^^ now thats the sprirt,
just remember, our parents saved for years for the deposit for their houses.
Its the Me! Now! thing again aint it.
just remember, our parents saved for years for the deposit for their houses.
Its the Me! Now! thing again aint it.
Exactly. And let's remember I'm talking about getting on the very bottom of the ladder. It's not like you can save for 5-10 years to actually buy a nice 3 bedroom house to live in for a long period of your life. You're saving for a 1 bedroom flat that you will soon grow out of, especially after 5 years saving for it!
I don't think they did. I can't remember off the top of my head but I'm sure my Dad was saying how he saved for a year or so to buy his first property at 22 years old. It wasn't a big deal. I ermember watching a program about a woman who bought her flat in Notting Hill for some paltry sum. She nearly didn't, but she certainly didn't have to save for 5 years for it. When she sells that flat she'll be a millionaire. Let's face facts; homes back then were 3-4x your salary, now they are 10x. On top of that the deposits are 20% as opposed to 5%. The burdens being forced upon this generation to buy a home for themselves are absolutely gigantic and anyone who thinks otherwise is mistaken.
And you're telling Crizzy "that's the spirit"? For being forced to move back in with his parents? You shouldnt have to move back in with your parents to save for a home.
It is absolutely not a case of a whiny generation wanting everything right now, as you suggest.
Soldato
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Coldasice has it spot on, you either want to save for a house or you dont - cutback and its incredible on how much you can save.
When i was 18 i wasted more money than i can imagine, i would say 1k a month went on nothing (having fun basically) a chap who i worked with (earning far less, i imagine a little over min wage) was very sensible and saved and quite quickly bought a house - he didnt even live in it as was cheaper to live at home and rent it out. Last i heard he has 3 rentals and his own house and still earns under 20k from his main job - 14 years later and i own a house (well the bank does) but it took me a lot longer to get onto the ladder, prices of course are higher and it was much harder to save whilst paying rent and having a family, the only one to blame for my late start is me - i had a good laugh at the time but my lack of saving skills went on for many years and i always valued material items over having funds in the bank.
My parets bought their first house after many years of saving, mortgages where harder to get back then as you had to meet the bank manager and prove to him, not just in terms of income, that you were reliable and able to pay the mortgage. When they first moved in they had no sofa or carpets let alone a TV. When i moved in i took with me several tv's, thousands of pounds worth of AV kit etc etc, we live in a different world where we seem to expect things rather than aspire and work towards them, many people live on credit and then we moan when we cant save for a deposit.
When i was 18 i wasted more money than i can imagine, i would say 1k a month went on nothing (having fun basically) a chap who i worked with (earning far less, i imagine a little over min wage) was very sensible and saved and quite quickly bought a house - he didnt even live in it as was cheaper to live at home and rent it out. Last i heard he has 3 rentals and his own house and still earns under 20k from his main job - 14 years later and i own a house (well the bank does) but it took me a lot longer to get onto the ladder, prices of course are higher and it was much harder to save whilst paying rent and having a family, the only one to blame for my late start is me - i had a good laugh at the time but my lack of saving skills went on for many years and i always valued material items over having funds in the bank.
My parets bought their first house after many years of saving, mortgages where harder to get back then as you had to meet the bank manager and prove to him, not just in terms of income, that you were reliable and able to pay the mortgage. When they first moved in they had no sofa or carpets let alone a TV. When i moved in i took with me several tv's, thousands of pounds worth of AV kit etc etc, we live in a different world where we seem to expect things rather than aspire and work towards them, many people live on credit and then we moan when we cant save for a deposit.
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yes, I admire crizzy's attitude, they want something, have worked out how to afford it, talked it over, and are doing it, save AND spend less=own home in future. nice un young 'uns, may it go well.
You know what maybe your right, I rent, so I must be able to afford a mortgage. I'll just go out and get one right now in fact.
Oh dear. You just don't get it. It's ok, I have to listen to various colleagues that have the same mentality as you and are all high and mighty with there mortgages telling me I am wasting my life renting. You show me someone that will give me a mortgage for the same amount that I rent for. Do you not think I would have taken it upon myself to see if I can get one? Where is the deposit coming from?
There's nothing wrong with renting, it serves a purpose and does so very well.
As for the ops circumstances, going from a 1 bed (I'm assuming 1 bed) flat to a 3 bed house is a reasonable jump up, especially for a ftb.
Would a 2 bed not do?
As much as I'd liked to have bought a 3 bed when we bought ours they just weren't available within budget in the area we wanted.
You've either got to compromise on the size or location (or rob a bank
), something which a lof of people just won't do.
Now this bit isn't directed at the OP, but I have found many people say omg I can't afford a house, I'll never be able to, they are all so expensive. Then they say what they want and it's just totally unreasonable to expect to get what they want (large house, nice area) for what they are willing to pay.
People need to be more realistic about things. We lived in a tiny 1 bed flat before moving here, wasn't great but did the job and rent was dirt cheap. And whilst a 3 or 4 bed detatched would have been an ideal house for us, a 2 bed semi is all we could afford.
As for the ops circumstances, going from a 1 bed (I'm assuming 1 bed) flat to a 3 bed house is a reasonable jump up, especially for a ftb.
Would a 2 bed not do?
As much as I'd liked to have bought a 3 bed when we bought ours they just weren't available within budget in the area we wanted.
You've either got to compromise on the size or location (or rob a bank
), something which a lof of people just won't do.Now this bit isn't directed at the OP, but I have found many people say omg I can't afford a house, I'll never be able to, they are all so expensive. Then they say what they want and it's just totally unreasonable to expect to get what they want (large house, nice area) for what they are willing to pay.
People need to be more realistic about things. We lived in a tiny 1 bed flat before moving here, wasn't great but did the job and rent was dirt cheap. And whilst a 3 or 4 bed detatched would have been an ideal house for us, a 2 bed semi is all we could afford.
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