Rent, Buy, Shared Ownership or stay with parents?

Thanks for the comments all.

I met up with my friend last night and had a look at some flat prices, worked out we could get a decent place for £300-£400 a month each, so will need to do some number crunching.

I'm also going to have a chat with my bank today and see how much they can (or wont) hypothetically lend me and review my options.

I worked out last night if I stay at home and budget myself accordingly, I can save £750 a month. So realistically I could, for example, stay at home for a further two years, and have £23,000 saved up including what I have at the moment. Although saying this I have no idea what the housing market will be like at that time, nor do I know yet if I can put up with the commute/lack of local friends/etc.

mike66uk, I understand what you've said about making sacrifices, I've done just that with taking this new job due to the commute involved.

Not keen on house sharing with randoms, too much of a risk considering you have no idea what the other lodgers will be like (experience from uni)
 
stick it at your parents till you have saved a lump, then stay a bit longer and save some more, you can never have enough when you first leave home.

You want to make a success of leaving home and not be going back 3 times like a hobo because things end up costing too much, get enough to leave and do it right the first time.

Oh and dont rent, buy, no point paying someone elses mortgage for them.
 
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Stay with parents for as long as possible and save more. You're going to need at least 10% deposit just for the mortgage alone, and even that will be 7+% APR.

I've just sold my shared ownership house after 4 years of ownership. I've made a decent profit and it's an ideal way of getting on the property ladder IMO, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Some people's comments about shared ownership in this thread are complete nonsense. :rolleyes:
 
I was in a similar situation to this last year, except I wasn't lucky enough to have parents close enough to the City to commute rent-free. So I opted to rent with a friend which went full retarded pretty swiftly, you really get to know someone when sharing a central London 2bed :p

So now i rent on my own, in a fun area (clapham), but alas I save absolutely nothing and will need to make serious changes to have any prospect of jumping on the property ladder, at the moment something like 60-70% of my income goes on rent/bills, then obviously the remainder goes on party times :rolleyes:
 
don't rule out living on your own, i personally love it. i had a lodger for a while but didn't enjoy it and prefer having friends around rather than living with me. it does make things tight on budget but i love having my own space and essentially doing whatever the heck i want to do.
 
Well I've just got back from my bank..

He essentially confirmed what has been mentioned in this thread already - that it's going to be too expensive for me on my own. The bank can loan me a decent amount, but with 10% deposit I'll be paying 5.99% interest and for a £150,000 property that would equate to £821 a month, or £754 for a £130,000 property.

The only way things get cheaper is if I get 25% deposit, which for the kind of properties I'm looking at would mean I will need ~£35,000 not including soliciters fees etc. if I saved whilst living at home it would take me about 4 years, not sure if I could do it for that long, would mean I move out of my parents house at about 29 years old.

My bank "doesn't do" mortgages for shared ownership, but it's still an idea I'm considering, as well as moving with a friend. I know a lot of people here have managed to save up that kind of money quickly, but they're with a significant other which makes things a lot easier... If i had a girlfriend who earns near what I do then I would think much differently :).

Going to have a chat with the housing association people regarding shared ownership. Cheers for the comments everyone.
 
Breeny said:
Stay with parents for as long as possible and save more. You're going to need at least 10% deposit just for the mortgage alone, and even that will be 7+% APR.

I've just sold my shared ownership house after 4 years of ownership. I've made a decent profit and it's an ideal way of getting on the property ladder IMO, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Some people's comments about shared ownership in this thread are complete nonsense. :rolleyes:
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Hey Breeny,

Would it be possible to pick your brains over IM or similar and ask you a few questions please?
 
Hi,

Was in the same situation as you for the most part.
24 and was still with parents, the mrs also moved in for 6 months but we wanted our own space.
Although staying at home and saving to buy is the more sensible option it would have taken us years to save a decent deposit, especially with the other half in Uni.

So we decided to rent and we have no regrets.
Sure, it is essentially dead money but having your own space, rules etc etc is worth it.
 
DiscoDave said:
To be honest the £5k was saved up pretty quickly, considering I paid off £5000 (early) to purchase a car.

Obviously saving up at least £500 a month can rack up the savings quite quickly. It's just deciding if I want to put up with the commute/distance from friends etc
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The thing is £500/month only works out at £6k/year so added to the £5k you already have it could take up to 2 years to save up £17k (assuming no changes in financial circumstances). I'd imagine that's the sort of minimum deposit you'd be wanting to buy around Cambridge.

Obviously shared ownership is an option but you have to ask yourself what you are looking to get out of it.

My advice would be to hold fire on buying a house as you are still young and could experience significant changes in your life over the next decade which could alter where you want to live (specifically long term relationships or career moves). I still regret rushing in to buying my first house to some extent.
 
Thunderbolt said:
Maybe renting on the continent is cheaper than it is here.
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Not necessarily, but it *is* usually much more secure. You can plan your life around long leases. The insecurity most people have renting here is probably fine when you're young, but it's no way to live long term.

I own my flat, but I have thought for a long time that modern housing laws (and especially tax breaks) here are stacked far too heavily in the landlord's favour. The laws were designed to encourage more private landlords and make up for the lack of council housing after the right to buy scheme depleted stocks dramatically. And it certainly worked.

It also contributed greatly to rising house prices and a change, for the worse, in British culture.

IMO anyway. :-) But housing is an issue I feel very strongly about. I think everyone in this country should have the right to somewhere cheap and very small/basic to live in. Nothing flash, just something like those shipping container type dwellings. That'd be perfect for starting out, giving people independence at a price where they could still save and aspire to something bigger and better. Or just enjoy living a minimal life... as many people will have to do given the way wages are heading.

It's the kind of policy which could win Labour the next election if they had the balls to tackle the housing problem. But they don't, and they won't.

Andrew McP

PS Sorry, I appear to have gone off on a minor rant and offered no relevant advice whatsoever to the OP. I can only apologise!
 
OP: Only you can decide how much cost is worth it to move away from your parents. You need to sit down and seriously work out how much money it's going to cost you a month. Rent(or interest), council tax, gas, electric, sky/cable tv and tv licence, internet, phone, buying furniture and a TV etc.

The choice between rent and buying basically comes down to whether you want a place to live or an investment. As with all investments though, they are not guaranteed! Property has been a pretty safe investment in recent times, but that's not to say it can't go down as well as up. Also interest rates can go up pretty sharply if you haven't fixed on a mortgate, which can force you to sell when you don't want to.

In my personal opinion, you should try renting with a friend first. Property ownership is best for people who have financial security through a decent deposit or joint income before they buy. Renting lets you live the way you want to, but if your long term goal is to own a house then you should be saving what you can while you rent. Bear in mind though, it will be much harder to save when you're renting.
 
I would rent with a friend, that way you can slowly build up your own furniture etc so when you do get your own place you don't have to fully furnish it :)!

Also you might meet a lady and a couple of years down the line decide you want to buy a house with her!

Life is for living, go live
 
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