How to get onto the housing ladder

mrbell1984 said:
Why do people have to be in a relationship to get a mortgage. I'm single and I have one. I put 15% down.
Click to expand...

Well I did say at the end of that sentence you quoted "I don't know where I'm going to end up".

To me a mortgage just seems like a weight around your neck. If you were offered a great job elsewhere or met someone and wanted to move to be with them you'd have a lot of hassle to go through with selling / renting the property.

If however you are at a stage in your life where you have "settled" then it's not such a big deal.
 
King Damager said:
I'm so envious of Aberdeen prices.

Seems like it might be worth me just paying off my student loan though. Was going to keep it for a deposit or such like, but if its counted against you I might as well pay the thing off rather than paying whatever inflation is in interest..

kd
Click to expand...

Aberdeen isn't a particularly cheap place to live, it's one of the most expensive places in Scotland....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/html/qa.stm

It may not be as expensive as Chelmsford (although it depends what you want) but it's hardly so cheap it's the envy of everyone.
 
I'm in a similar situation myself. Just moved out of the parents' house a couple of months ago at 27, now renting and plan to do so for quite some time unless circumstances change.

Currently my living costs are around £750 a month including all bills, food etc. On top of this, I'm managing to save around £20,000 a year at the very least. Ideally I'll stay where I am for a while as it's highly convenient and a great little place. I figure that if I save for around five years, I'll be able to buy a property outright without needing a mortgage which would obviously be great.

That said, if house prices start to rise during this time then it might be time to pull the trigger and buy whilst the prices are rock bottom.
 
MonkeyMan said:
Well I did say at the end of that sentence you quoted "I don't know where I'm going to end up".

To me a mortgage just seems like a weight around your neck. If you were offered a great job elsewhere or met someone and wanted to move to be with them you'd have a lot of hassle to go through with selling / renting the property.

If however you are at a stage in your life where you have "settled" then it's not such a big deal.
Click to expand...

ah I get you. You should have just said. :D
 
King Damager said:
I'm moving to Nottingham!

Nice flat where it'd be nice to live for me, good commuting into London etc...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-24326196.html

1 Bedroom flat, £195,000 :( (Admittedly 2 beds in the same block go for a similar price)

£30,000 deposit (ish) and then a £40,000 salary (ish) to get a mortgage!

kd
Click to expand...

tbh there isnt a lot around here at that money but heres an example

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-38687174.html
 
PapaLazaru said:
Which is what most people do in Europe anyway. We are slightly obsessed with buying in the UK. Go to Germany for instance and the vast majority rent all their lives.
Click to expand...

This is what I never understood about the UK. Why is everyone obsessed about buying a house, in most other countries in Europe you have absolutely no expedition of buying. Everyone rents, at least until they are married, middle aged and both have high paying jobs.

Why are people swing they are screwed if they are single and cannot afford a mortgage?:confused: you are not screwed, a house is a very expensive thing so why do you expect to be ale to buy one. Are you also screwed because you cannot buy a yacht, a Bugatti veyron, etc.

There is nothing wrong with renting, maying money to have a roof over your head is not a bad thing!
 
billysielu said:
You pretty much want a 20% deposit to get a decent mortgage rate.
Click to expand...

^^^ this, less than 20% and you're not likely to get a particularly good deal

budget in another few grand for solicitors fees, stamp duty, new furniture etc... I thought I had a reasonable amount left after a 25% deposit... after some delays in completion leaving me to fork out more rent (then having to pay rent for an additional month in my old flat after completion).... your other savings not being used for a deposit can easily get depleted (this might be easier if you are staying at your parents). You probably also want to maintain some level of savings to cover a few months of being out of work (just in case) - obviously you can/do get insurance to cover this too but it shouldn't necessarily be relied on to pay out instantly and can be somewhat limited in scope.
 
D.P. said:
This is what I never understood about the UK. Why is everyone obsessed about buying a house, in most other countries in Europe you have absolutely no expedition of buying. Everyone rents, at least until they are married, middle aged and both have high paying jobs.
Click to expand...

They have different laws governing tenancies and in some cases more reasonable rental rates. Your landlord is often a reasonable size company expecting a modest margin not the bloke who also owns the local chip shop and wants as much % yield as he can get from his handful of buy to let properties.

I live in London and the typical rental rate for a similar flat in my building is about 40% more than what I pay for my mortgage. Low interest rates and high demand for rental properties make buying a fairly sensible option at the moment.
 
D.P. said:
This is what I never understood about the UK. Why is everyone obsessed about buying a house, in most other countries in Europe you have absolutely no expedition of buying. Everyone rents, at least until they are married, middle aged and both have high paying jobs.
Click to expand...

Why is what people do in Europe relevant? Are they some kind of higher authority on which is better? Most Italian men live with their mothers until their late 30's so should we do that here too? :D

As someone who has rented and purchased both in the UK and Germany I can see pros and cons to both ways of doing it. The one thing I do know is that whenever I rent it never really feels like a home, it's just somewhere I'm staying. We now have enough equity in our home that we could move to a family home in a cheaper area and be mortgage free and I'm not even 40 yet. I'm personally glad I stopped renting about 10 years ago and got us into this comfortable situation. Our mortgage has never been as much as it would have cost to rent either.
 
Last edited:
Crafty said:
Christ, £1750 a year.. screw that.
Click to expand...

We managed to get a 1 bed flat, brand new build, Zone 4 London, 7 minutes walk from Morden tube, for £153k 2.5 years ago.

Services charge is £900 p/a and £250 ground rent.

The development is still being completed, and the brand new 1 beds are going for £170ish.

That £190k flat in Chelmsford seems a right rip-off as a result.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom