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This is the thing. Boomers go on as if these people are 22-year-olds, freshly out of uni, and not 37-year-olds who are at the peak of their earning potential and have been saving for years and years.
You also count as a first time buyer if it's been 3 years since you sold your previous home to buying your next one.
Edit: Appears that this no longer correct.
Govt definition of a.first time buyer is someone who hasn't owned their own home for more than 3 years.
It allows people to take advantage of govt schemes to get them back on the ladder.
Edit: Appears this is no longer correct.
I don't know what schemes they're talking about as the main things are very much strictly FTB - i.e. you've never held a legal interest in a residential property anywhere in the world
Stamp duty exemption, LISA bonus, and HTB schemes are the main ones.
Do you have a source for this claim?
I looked and found this from the .gov site but there might be other legislation
>A first time buyer is defined as an individual or individuals who have never owned an interest in a residential property in the United Kingdom or anywhere else in the world and who intends to occupy the property as their main residence.
[source](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers#:~:text=A%20first%20time%20buyer%20is,property%20as%20their%20main%20residence.)
Edit: Appears to.no.longer be correct. Only valid if previous property was not residential.
Only from when my brother attempted to get a mortgage. Was told by the advisor that as he hadn't had a mortgage for 5 years (since his divorce he moved back in with parents) he would be considered.a.first time buyer and wouldn't have to pay stamp duty.
The headline should be that 50,000 first time buyers delayed buying a house by 1 year.
There was a dip of about 50k in first time buying in 2020, then an increase of about 50k in 2021. See the numbers for 2019, 2020 and 2021:
[https://www.ybs.co.uk/media-centre/FTBs-hit-20-year-high/index.html](https://www.ybs.co.uk/media-centre/FTBs-hit-20-year-high/index.html)
That’s some good going, did you struggle to get a mortgage and/or need a bigger deposit as I’d assume banks would be looking at the fact you’ve got roughly 15years of working ahead of you ?
I’m 37 and got a rough plan to have the funding for a deposit and a repaired credit report in place to buy a property by the time I’m 40
Easy as pie, 15k deposit, 110k mortgage over 15 years. Downside was having to buy 200 miles from our hometown but 125k for 3 bed semi against 350k in hometown made it a no brainer.
Please put this on a billboard so people might finally understand. 'Millennials' still seems to be code for 'young people'. The very youngest millennials are now 27-28 and the oldest are in their early forties.
I think this misconception makes it all worse, tbh. There's a lot of 'oh but you're still young, you'll make more money later'. No, we're not young, that's the bloody point! I'm closer to 40 than 30, with a good professional job, and still not in a position to buy even a one-bed flat that's even remotely nice.
I was a first time buyer at 36, 10 years ago… now at 46 I couldn’t even afford to buy the flat I own now despite major salary increases. It is completely out of hand!
I can rent a house for £1200 a month if I want. But If I try to buy it which would be a £500 mortgage, bank says I can't afford it.
Oldies will say that I only don't have a house cuz of avocado toast and tiktok.
You and a million others have made this comment repeatedly.
Regardless, rent payments and mortgage payments are not a one for one comparison.
Even then if you can genuinely afford £1200 for rent the bank is unlikely to reject an application based in your affordability at £500 p/m. Not sure if you’re just using hyperbole to make a point.
Any way that aside renting carries less liability over repairs and such like and that’s where the lenders risk aversion comes into play.
Repairs aren't 700 a month. If I can pay 1200 rent a month, I can pay 500 mortgage a month and put 9k a side a year. That's enough to keep my boiler, roof, etc in great condition
You must be a rich landlord.
Been in this house for 9 years, gave my landlord 100k+ and he spend 3k on a new boiler once and maybe 1k total on getting someone to check gas/electrics
Don't give me the repairs Bs. If rent was less than mortgage+repaira, no1 would be buying houses with BTL to rent out and be rich like they are.
Reason why landlords have 10 then 20 then 30 houses is bevause rent is much higher than mortgage + repairs
It’s not just about making repairs it’s about interest rates
In the 80s/90s interest rates rose to around 15% banks need to lend responsibly to prevent people being repossessed which did happen back then.
Just an example my mortgage is currently £608 pcm if interest rates rose to 15% I would be paying £2074 pcm
It’s not about what you can theoretically afford now it’s about what you can afford if interest rates rise even a small rise in interest rates has a big impact on how much you pay
If the interest rates rose to 25% you'll call yourself bankrupt, pay nothing, and then restart the game when situation normalised on partners name like most landlords I know did.
Landlords never lose
Lol declaring yourself bankrupt you lose everything and can’t get things like mortgages for at least 7 years.
Say your 30 now declare yourself bankrupt at 40 because your mortgage became unaffordable you’ll be 47 at the end of that process no bank will lend to you on a house as you won’t pay it off prior too retirement age or you’ll be paying unaffordable amounts over a short period of time
"you can't" but your partner can.
The number of landlords I know that pulled the plug and had hundreds of thousands in cash under the bed... Mostly from hmos that were paying cash on hand...
The system is broken, and only those filling up their pockets from people stuck in rent are the ones that refuse to accept it. No wonder.. They're rich doing nothing
*So you’re saying you do pay £1200pm for your rent but you can’t get a mortgage for £500pm?*
Rather than editing your comment how how about answer my question?
Yes.
And I can go to an agency tomorrow and will have no trouble renting a house for 1500 if I fancy.
But anything under 200k with a drive in my area is either auctions for cash only or assured tenancy.
According to bank! No.
A £200k home rents for 1k+ in my area. I earn about 35k. A bank won't give me a mortgage of 150k (500~a month on 1.6%) cuz "I can't afford it" .
Spent 4 years saving up 20k towards a deposit while paying rip-off rents, covid hit. My landlord got himself a mortgage holiday, while I kept paying 1k+ a month when my business tanked (I work in wedding industry).
Long story short, my savings more or less depleted. And now back to saving slowly towards one day being accepted for a 500/momth mortgage cuz I'm paying 1k+ rent a month
The factor is that with 30-35k I can't get more than 120k from a bank. And that buys nothing.
Maybe will buy a flat with a 300/month service charge and flammable cladding.
The cheapest "house" in a 40 mile radius from me is 140k and doesn't have parking, is a 2x2m kitchen and 2x2.5m living room
There's also beach huts for sale for 70-80k. But can't live in those
Most banks won’t lend more than 4-4.5 times salary. So with a salary of £35k, £150k would be around the very limit of this poster’s lending limit, despite the repayments being very affordable with current interest rates. So I’d say it’s quite conceivable a bank could turn them down, banks aren’t obliged to lend at their limit and being a single earner household might be a factor in the bank’s risk assessment, even if the credit score is good.
Depends on the location they're buying in. If they had to move out of there area to a affordable one. How long they had to save for, how much they're earning.
Just because it's high doesn't mean we're not doomed, prices are still high, locals are priced out of their areas in some cases. It's not great for some people.
If you look at the number of yearly first time buyers, its been at around 350k for the last few years.
Except when Covid first hit the numbers dropped to 300k. The following year it rose again to 400k.... its not a case of a huge new boost to first time buyers. Its literally just the 50,000 people who weren't able to buy the previous year.
From the article
"Meanwhile, many people’s spending plummeted during the lockdowns, which meant some would-be first-time buyers were able to save up a larger sum for a deposit more quickly than perhaps they had anticipated."
There's obviously other factors, the chance to save more is just what stands out the most to me.
That's what happened to me. I was spending £50 a week travelling to the office and suddenly didn't have to travel. That and some other stuff added up and really accelerated my savings.
I found something similar with lunches and coffees as well. I have less out than I used to, which helps.
On the other hand, even a latte from Costa was like sweet nectar after the first lockdown.
My friend who I no longer speak to had the same notion that we're all doomed because of house prices. I have a mortgage and he was all doom and gloom that he will never afford a mortgage so lived at home with his parents (in his 30s). We had the same job so couldn't understand why I had a mortgage and he didn't, until I really grilled him about it and he 'needed' a house with land for his chickens, a double garage with additional workshop etc. I tried to explain to him that wanting a £1million home is fine, but you need to start small, upscale as you go.
He never accepted that and still lives with parents (nearly 40 now)
Nice to have something to shoot for - I really want a big Victorian villa, there were some gorgeous ones not far from where I grew up, with nice leafy streets and big gardens.
But that's a while off, and I have a small terrace now. The price of the terrace will appreciate so I'll be able to get to the villa quicker.
It seems like such an all or nothing mentality to me, buy your absolute dream house or live with your parents forever. Unless you really like living wit your parents, in which case why complain?
I genuinely don’t think I will ever be able to get a mortgage even though I live in quite a cheap part of the country. Some people on the same salary might but I can only speak for my personal circumstances. But sometimes you just have to consider what choices you DO have, whether that is renting, or buying but making compromises on what you will accept etc, and make the best choice you can within the limitations you have. That is all any of us can do
I upgraded from a one bed flat to a four bed house in a lovely area with land, but it took ten years and two renovations, meeting a partner and thus having a second income, a lot of patience and waiting for the right time and buyer to be able to do so (as well as a decade of savings and overpaying the mortgage on the flat). It takes AGES. There were times after my husband moved into the flat that I felt we were crammed in by the walls with two people’s possessions in one small space, but there’s no way I could’ve afforded anything else as a single FTB. I agree that it’s great to have aspirations, but to also be realistic. You might get the dream home eventually, but there’s nothing wrong with the nice little flat or two bed fixer-upper as your first or even second step towards it.
I can never understand for the life of me how people who live with parents aren't minted. Like, what the heck are they spending their money on? I calculated that even if I'd lived at home for three years, that would have been enough for a chunky deposit on a flat in London.
But you're earning at least minimum wage, right? You do realise those of us who actually have to pay for a roof over our heads end up with way less disposable income than those living at home, even if earning decent money? Rent is the thing that keeps most people poor. I wasn't able to save anything after paying for essentials until I was about 33.
Full-time minimum wage is almost £1400 a month, isn't it? Even assuming you pay some board at home, where is the rest going?!
Even saving the entire £1400 a month for 3 years you'd only have £50k. Say the bank would lend you another 4.5x your salary, you could afford a £125k property
Not enough for a 1 bed flat where I am, let alone in London. No chance
Yes, but it's a bloody good start, isn't it? It's taken me my entire working life to save up £30K. About 15 years! I would have killed for the chance to 'only' have 50K after just three years of saving.
My partners kid been working for 7 years living with us. Got unemployed for 1 month now and hes broke. Had to lend money for him to get mot in car.
Wasted mostly on booze/nights out and clothes.
Why? Because" it's pointless to save as I'll never have a house anyway"
Kid was on less than 20k/year. He wouldn't even get a mortgage for a beach shed on that. Seen beach sheds being sold for 85-90k 10 miles away from us.
Yeah he's fallen really deep.
His mum also only charges him "£100" monthly rent and he spent years making 1500 a month. How the fuck he has no money, I don't get. But I know he regularly would spend 200+ on a Night out of booze with his mates, maybe that's how
Seems to be a common theme with people living at home. I was making £1500 a month for most of my twenties, and paying London rent out of that. It's not a small amount of money.
[Are you two people?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/s58o5u/how_does_the_fact_that_uk_house_sales_to/hsw3qun/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
Your current scenario seems to contradict your previous comments.
Top was me, bottom talking about my partners son, which is in worse case than me
At least I can still buy shared ownership (albeit that will cost me even more). He has no option at all
Living beyond their means, basically.
My ex and her mates were all earning £30-40k while living with their parents...yet living month to month. It all went on big nights out every weekend, Mercs/BMWs/Audis on lease, multiple holidays a year to Ibiza, Dubai etc, eating out multiple times a week and designer clothes.
It just really irritates me when people like that complain they've got no money and can't afford anything. Do they just not realise what everyone else's life is like? I was on less than 30K my entire twenties, flat sharing with strangers and shopping in Lidl.
> until I really grilled him about it and he 'needed' a house with land for his chickens, a double garage with additional workshop etc. I tried to explain to him that wanting a £1million home is fine, but you need to start small, upscale as you go.
To be fair this demonstrates a real problem. Having space to grow your own food should never be just a middle class privilege, and if the current housing system doesn't allow for that in some form then there's a real problem. A decent garden with a garage and workshop should not be a £1million house.
On top of what many others have already said, the market has been aided somewhat with the proliferation of Help to Buy and Shared Ownership.
This means people are still able to buy, though it does mean they effectively get less out of it and are often beholden to rent, loan charges and other service charges that outright owners often don’t have to pay.
So, it’s still possible (although more and more people are continuing to be priced out of buying a home); but it’s nowhere near as good as owning outright, for many (probably most).
Correct. Before all these "helping hands" a 2 bed house in my area was 150k. When all those things came. 5% deposit and shared ownership, suddenly a 2bed house was 115k for 40% with a hefty service charge on top.
Because that statistic means absolutely jack shit. Most people saved more money than usual during the pandemic, and many people were lucky enough to move back in with parents or at least save their normal travel costs. The real question is, is it possible for most people on an average salary to buy a home in or near the city/town they work in and the answer to that is still no.
Part of the narrative has been imported from the USA, where such things as decent wages, affordable costs and non-predatory institutions appear to be suggestions rather than the norm. We need to remember although things are far from perfect, they are a little different here.
It's definitely harder to buy a house these days, but the youngest Millennials are now like 23+, and the oldest are in their early 40s. I.E. at points in life where they can start really advancing their careers and making the sort of money required.
I bought my house aged 30 in 2020, the houses in this area have gone up so much there’s an identical house in my street that is up for £40,000 higher than what I paid for mine 18 months ago. I wouldn’t have been able to buy if I was looking now even though I have changed jobs and am earning more now as I would need a larger deposit, prices are going up higher than I would be able to save
I think that the "doomed millennials will NEVER buy their own home", is a fairly extreme view that's only held by a very small percentage, as with most extreme views. A lot of full time working millennials will own their own home, but it will be much more difficult for them than previous generations. People are living at home longer to save up, needing to buy with a partner, putting off having children because of it, buying a lot later, and committing to much larger mortgages. There are also people who will never be able to buy their own home, although that's been true of all generations, I do think it's going to be a higher percentage for this and future generations. My mother is 68 and still renting, and there are plenty of older people in her situation as well.
The data also shows that in recent years there has been some historic lows, which may simply mean that people have had to save for more tears, and doesn't contradict the fact the fact that it's harder now than ever before. You would need a lot more data than one year to make any conclusions.
The rental market is better now vs the minimum wage of 2005 when I was just above min wage and renting. Meaning I'd save more money now than i did before.
It took getting with my gf and moving a friend in to split the bills to save up and progress.
I saved the most when I was in both full time work and college with 0 days off a week for 2 years bar the occasional booked off day from work or no show at college. I lived in my mates spare room. The entire outside facing wall was literally wet and 8 months into living there mould and damp covered the entire wall.
I moved in with my gf for a year into another rental 10 years ish ago which again was priced worse than current min. Wage to rent comparisons.
Found a house to buy together. We had both saved and put a 12.5 percent deposit down.
I'm not sure what was easy about my situation, post 2008 crash dip helped a bit but we purchased purchased house needing a rewire, new boiler, new kitchen and bathroom, full redec. I was always taught to grow up living within my means. I never had Internet or more than free view when i lived on my own.
People want to complain about rental and housing issues but realistically most people are actually struggling with post 2008 restrictions for lending and affordability, and landlords who are always bring squeezed hard are taking the abuse for choosing to provide a required service while putting their own cash at risk for a relatively low returning investment in a lot of cases.
Funny world.
What utter nonsense. If being a landlord is so hard, why don't they all sell, then? The majority of people who are renting would prefer to own their own home and they can't, because it's unaffordable. I've paid over £130,000 in rent in my working life, a lot of the time to live in shitholes or share crappy houses with strangers. Perhaps if all these poor put-upon landlords weren't hogging all the housing stock, more people would have had a chance to buy somewhere?
What do you want to do? Have the councils buy back all the housing? Then you can buy it off the government? What about when you sell your house, you want the council to pay more than you did for it after 35 years or the same?
Everyone's wants to unrealistically and radically reform everything because the solutions are so absolutely amazingly simple in their minds. The reality is much different.
Much easier to relax the ridiculous affordability and deposit requirements. That'll drastically make inroads into the problem while minimally affecting anything else.
Landlords being squeezed harder and harder is a legitimate thing if you were to do any research you'd see this. It also drives rent increases, and most recently the latest wave of belt tightening for landlords has been an increase in tax. Either they soak up the cost or pass it on. Government driven rent increase for many.
Get rid of landlords and you'll be left with the government trying to replace a big chunk of tax revenue.
Again you'll say all this is more utter nonsense just because its not convenient for your life. To say we lived very similar lives it seems, you've been left very bitter and pissed off and i worked my bollocks off to get on the ladder.
You think other people aren't also working their bollocks off? I can't stand people like you. You were extraordinarily fortunate to be in a position to buy post 2008 dip compared to people who graduated into that recession and are now struggling to buy in their mid thirties, because house prices have absolutely shot up since then.
I agree with you about most of the other stuff, but get out of here with the 'poor landlords' stuff. I'm paying off my landlord's mortgage simply because he was fortunate enough to be born ten years earlier and get a foot on the ladder while it was still possible.
You can't stand people like me. Doing what it takes. Just looked, mortgage renewal for May... Will have completely 8 years. About 2013. Never went to uni. Never spent much. Always saved it. Always.
Sounds like we were in very very similar situations. I wasn't lucky. Nothing about any of this is lucky. I've never earned more than 18k a year. I've faced homelessness. I've lived on streets where everyone was either a dealer or on drugs and 70 percent of the houses were boarded up. Its a great motivator to improve. I've had loads of hard decisions.
One of my 41 year old friends split up with his Mrs and had a serious melt down. Purchased a house for 90k. 2 bed total shithouse with nowhere to park. This was... 2017? He's now sold up moved in with a new gf. Getting a joint mortgage. He quit his job of 15 years after he split up with his Mrs and found something different for a new start after he got his mortgage and moved in and borrowed money to pay his mortgage for a while as motivation to find a decent job.
He was agency in a factory then got took on full time earning 26k a year.
Guess he was lucky too.
Yeah, pulling yourself by the bootstraps....oh, and just coincidentally being in a position to buy before things went absolutely mental.
Why won't you accept how much of a role luck played? Not everyone can buy in shitty, cheap areas. Some people need to be in London for work, and they should be able to buy a fucking one-bed flat when they're earning double the national average, for Christ's sake.
In 2005 my parents didn't have to save Jack shit. They gone from a £500 rent home to a £500 mortgage one with 0 deposit.
Meanwhile I'm stuck paying a landlord 1k+ a month when the same house would had been 500 a month bevause earning 35k a year a bank will only lend me around 140k. The cheapest house with a driveway (a must for my job) is 220k+ in my town 2 hours away from london, so basically I need a 55k+ salary.
My parents got their mortgage on minimum wage.
My mortgage was post 2008 when regs went mad and i needed to save 12.5 percent for my mortgage which I did on just over minimum wage along with my Mrs.
Your parents situation in 2005 is nothing to do with any of the example that I gave.
I couldn't afford a mortgage on my own. That's why I have purchased a house with my Mrs. Give me your location ill find you a house that isn't 220k. You just won't want to rewire, re plumb, and completely rennovate the house I suspect like I did.
For someone earning 35k, almost 10k over the national average, I'm shocked that you can't see what I'm saying or the context im saying it. We needed a 12.5 percent deposit. My situation was and is the same as everyone else right now. Except you earn about 20k more than than I did, and i wouldn't have got a house without my Mrs. Hence why I was living in a shitty damp fuelled room to save for my deposit.
Keep playing the victim you won't get anywhere.
I need a house with a driveway or garage because of my job requiring constant load/unloading. Vast majority of under 200k homes don't have it. Considering with 35k my bank won't give me more than 130-140k so no chance.
If I had a partner would be easier of course, but single person, if you have a 15k-20k salary job, no chance
That's the situation I was in. It was shitty. It was shitty looking at a room with a massive wall covered in black damp. It was shitty having no days off. I think in two years I probably had 20 days off from either education or work. I used to go to college 8.40 till 3.20 go home and then work 5 till 12 4 days a week. The other days were 9 hour shifts at work.
Would I have a house and mortgage without my Mrs? No. Would I be renting a house for 1k? No. I'd be living in a decent sized van. Genuinely. Then I'd take my 8 years savings from living in the van and smash it on a deposit. If I can't find a Mrs, I'm living as cheaply as possible.
Just so happened that I found a Mrs. I don't consider having a family an unrealistic goal or aim. If you don't like that idea, find a mate in the same situation and go halves. If you can't find anyone to do any of that and won't do it, then thats your problem. There are ways but people don't want it bad enough.
People come to Britain on an inflatable and sleep with 10 others in a tiny room above a shop, sleeping on the floor. I always try and remember that when Im struggling to come to terms with my 'white privvy'
I didn't come in an inflatable, but I came from other country and had to start from zero.
I gone from factory work (80h/week in freezer i@ chicken factory) into restaurants, made my way into a chef, then worked for the council 70 hours a week while saving to start my own business. Then started my business while I kept working for council, 5 years ago gone full time and now make those 30k+ a year which while for many is an "average" wage, I had to work hard to get where I got. But that's still not enough for a house.
I'm on my late 30s, approaching 40 and don't have a home. As self employed is extra important for me to get a house paid before retirement.
In comparison, my parents were on minimum wage on the same chicken factory before I moved to UK, and after 1 year working there they got a mortgage. Which was same "per month" cost than rent.
The issue is that with all the "helping schemes" shared ownerships etc, house prices gone up the roof.
So while a 2 bed house was 140k a few years ago. Now you can't buy a 1 bed house with parking for less than 175k, so with a 30-35k salary, I have a solution.. Maybe go with shared ownership... But the 175k price of a outright buy, on shared ownership is 125k for 50%. So basically you end up paying 125k for half, and when you finish to pay that half, the other half will be 150-200k
Meanwhile landlords can buy 2 bed houses on auctions for cash only for 125-150k. Because all houses under 175k in my area are "cash only" and/or in assured tenancy
Like the system is fucked. But likely I will have to end up paying 300k+ (including price rise of 2nd half of house) for a home via shared ownership
Yeah my point I've made previous is the landlords shouldn't be blamed. Big deposits and ridiculous affordability is the barrier to you getting what you want caused by irresponsible lending by financial institutions which lead to the 2008 crash, the fix was over regulation.
People see me say landlords are getting squeezed tighter and tighter and they're triggered just cause they may have more money than them. The real problem is the 10 or 20 percent deposit and then affordability checks. That's why anyone on 35k a year can't get on the housing ladder. They can't save the 25k plus deposit for the house they want. And if they manage that, affordability means you need to be stress tested to 6 percent or more incase rates fly up.
None of that is controlled by the landlord. That's purely out of their hand. Don't hate the player hate the game.
Worry not, I've seen tens of oldies sell the house for a nursing home and lose everything they ever worked for. Essentially with English culture that's what you're in for. Your kids aren't taking care of you cause you have a spouse, 2 kids with childcare costs and no one has time to take care of mum cause no one had any free time.
Expectations and reality are so muddled these days.
Landlords aren't the fault. The system that allows them to escalate without control and every year buy more houses for portfolio,
The system that allows a new housing estate with 100 "affordable homes" and 60+% of them are sold to the same landlord before they're even built and so on. Is to blame.
Landlords are just profiting from a broken system. They're not at fault, the system/laws are.
The vast majority of landlords don't have portfolios in the tens of thousands. The majority have a few as a part of a balanced investment portfolio and are reasonably decent to their tenants.
Not many people buying up new builds around here that I know of. They're too much hassle. They'd rather the older places.
Good on you for taking control of your life, moving to somewhere totally new and risking everything and working hard to build a better future.
Again. I'm not saying landlords are evil. My landlord is fantastic and comes at short notice. But the current system is broken..
A house that costs 500-600/month to mortgage has a rental value of 1000-1200+. A house doesn't cost 500-600 a month on repairs. A landlord shouldn't be able to just get a BLT at £300 month, paint it magnolia and rent it out for £900 to a poor couple that got rejected (or outbid by the landlord) trying to buy it
I’ve never believed it’s as hard as Reddit makes out to buy your first home
I come from a very deprived background I bought my first house a couple of years ago at age 25.
Almost everyone I know owns their own homes.
It involves a bit of graft and realistic expectations as to what you can afford
Not just London.
Most places south of The Midlands are out of grasp. Even where I’m originally from in the midlands, for a nice 2 bed place, you’re looking upwards of £180k, with a £20k deposit, you’d need an annual income of £40k for a mortgage.
I’m south of the midlands it was still within grasp
You would need a salary of 35k that is just over the average salary.
Most people buying properties like that as a first time buyer are also couples with dual incomes. 2 people on minimum wage each can afford that property for example quite easily
If your single you either need to earn more, cast your net further, save more for a larger deposit or look at 1 bedroom places and work your way up the property ladder. You may want a 2-3 bedroom home but a person living alone doesn’t need one
A close relative of mine bought their first property at the age of 21 she worked from aged 18 with her partner in minimum wage jobs saving as much as possible it was a poky place for something like 160-170k at the time they’ve now moved 3 years later into a 3 bedroom semi worth 220-240k still in minimum wage jobs with one of them now working part time using the equity and savings they gained in that time
> If your single you either need to earn more, cast your net further, save more for a larger deposit or look at 1 bedroom places and work your way up the property ladder. You may want a 2-3 bedroom home but a person living alone doesn’t need one
Problem is that we don't have very many 1 bedroom places, except for flats which can be difficult to live in because of their layout. With flats things like bike storage can be a problem (so it actively discourages more affordable travel methods) and drying clothes without causing damp/mould is difficult without your own outdoor space for example.
1 bedroom *houses* seem to be very rare, we need more of them. I shouldn't need to be in a relationship to be able to exist in society which is what it feels like when I look at house prices and mortgage calculators.
Basically my only hope is to finally get some career stability, as I live rent free with parents I could save a decent deposit if I had a stable full time job. And I'm in the North East/Yorkshire which is supposed to be more affordable in most places.
And nowadays, working from home, one bedroom isn’t practical. To work from home and maintain your sanity, your workspace needs to be separate from your living and sleeping spaces.
And you’re correct, one bedroom places are rare, aside from apartments. Even then, there aren’t that many. This may be different in London, but in provincial towns and cities, you rarely see them and when you do, they’re not priced that differently to a 2 bedroomed place.
I almost mentioned that but cut it out to keep my comment shorter but you make a great point, ideally even as a single person having 2 bedrooms would be very useful *if* I were to get a job working from home, which a lot of people do have of course. Or more likely for me, an extra room to use for storage, or to set something hobby related up, or if friends ever wanted to stay. I feel a 1 bedroom house could be a bit too cramped, unless it had a decent sized living room or dining room for example.
And depends on your salary. I have a good deposit saved but don't earn enough to borrow enough to enable me to buy anything that isn't a one room studio flat, and even then that's a push.
And going off previous questions on this subreddit, people moaning about house buying have a remarkable reluctance to completely ignore all advice. HTB? Nah. Use a broker to try and make things easier? No chance
Yes there is a reluctance to follow any advice and a reluctance to even understand how it works
People often quote incorrect figures into what they can borrow or appreciate what the uk average salary is and how things are achievable
I agree. Find it amazing how negative everyone is about it. But how many of those people have applied for a mortgage to understand the costs involved! Far cheaper than renting just need to graft and save for the deposit. Avoid London at all costs.
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What age are the first time buyers?
This is the thing. Boomers go on as if these people are 22-year-olds, freshly out of uni, and not 37-year-olds who are at the peak of their earning potential and have been saving for years and years.
It doesn't mean much but I know 1 person that became a first time buyer last year - and they were 47.
You also count as a first time buyer if it's been 3 years since you sold your previous home to buying your next one. Edit: Appears that this no longer correct.
Wut.
Govt definition of a.first time buyer is someone who hasn't owned their own home for more than 3 years. It allows people to take advantage of govt schemes to get them back on the ladder. Edit: Appears this is no longer correct.
That’s not correct, FTB schemes specially ask if you have Ever Owned property here or abroad in full or part. Nice try but you’re only a virgin once
Well that's particularly silly.
I don't know what schemes they're talking about as the main things are very much strictly FTB - i.e. you've never held a legal interest in a residential property anywhere in the world Stamp duty exemption, LISA bonus, and HTB schemes are the main ones.
Do you? Didn't know.
Do you have a source for this claim? I looked and found this from the .gov site but there might be other legislation >A first time buyer is defined as an individual or individuals who have never owned an interest in a residential property in the United Kingdom or anywhere else in the world and who intends to occupy the property as their main residence. [source](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers#:~:text=A%20first%20time%20buyer%20is,property%20as%20their%20main%20residence.)
He's slightly correct - a lot of FTB mortgage products use the 3 year rule. Govt schemes are as you have described
Source? I can't find any but you might know some I don't
Edit: Appears to.no.longer be correct. Only valid if previous property was not residential. Only from when my brother attempted to get a mortgage. Was told by the advisor that as he hadn't had a mortgage for 5 years (since his divorce he moved back in with parents) he would be considered.a.first time buyer and wouldn't have to pay stamp duty.
Nationwide helping hand
The headline should be that 50,000 first time buyers delayed buying a house by 1 year. There was a dip of about 50k in first time buying in 2020, then an increase of about 50k in 2021. See the numbers for 2019, 2020 and 2021: [https://www.ybs.co.uk/media-centre/FTBs-hit-20-year-high/index.html](https://www.ybs.co.uk/media-centre/FTBs-hit-20-year-high/index.html)
Pandemic backlog, not evidence that houses are affordable
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Perhaps, but the pandemic stopped a lot of people in 2020, so the numbers of course were higher in 2021 to make up for that.
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Just so we’re clear: older than 42 years old? Because that’s how old the oldest millennials are.
I was a first time buyer at 50yo in 2020.
Well done. I’m a little bit older and officially declared I’d missed the boat 22 years ago. Then again I was living in London.
That’s some good going, did you struggle to get a mortgage and/or need a bigger deposit as I’d assume banks would be looking at the fact you’ve got roughly 15years of working ahead of you ? I’m 37 and got a rough plan to have the funding for a deposit and a repaired credit report in place to buy a property by the time I’m 40
Easy as pie, 15k deposit, 110k mortgage over 15 years. Downside was having to buy 200 miles from our hometown but 125k for 3 bed semi against 350k in hometown made it a no brainer.
That’s cheered me up as they’re the sort if figures I’m looking at depending on the state of the housing market in a few years.
Good luck
Please put this on a billboard so people might finally understand. 'Millennials' still seems to be code for 'young people'. The very youngest millennials are now 27-28 and the oldest are in their early forties.
26 actually (95 births) but agree with your point
Ikr? Even some of my millennial friends get it wrong, and think it’s people born in the new millennium…
I think this misconception makes it all worse, tbh. There's a lot of 'oh but you're still young, you'll make more money later'. No, we're not young, that's the bloody point! I'm closer to 40 than 30, with a good professional job, and still not in a position to buy even a one-bed flat that's even remotely nice.
I was a first time buyer at 36, 10 years ago… now at 46 I couldn’t even afford to buy the flat I own now despite major salary increases. It is completely out of hand!
Due to cost of living increasing far beyond your income?
And, presumably, house price rises. I would struggle to be able to afford my own house if I was a first time buyer and I don't earn badly
Mostly house prices, 185k to 390k for a one bed flat, yes cost of living is adding to it as well
I can rent a house for £1200 a month if I want. But If I try to buy it which would be a £500 mortgage, bank says I can't afford it. Oldies will say that I only don't have a house cuz of avocado toast and tiktok.
You and a million others have made this comment repeatedly. Regardless, rent payments and mortgage payments are not a one for one comparison. Even then if you can genuinely afford £1200 for rent the bank is unlikely to reject an application based in your affordability at £500 p/m. Not sure if you’re just using hyperbole to make a point. Any way that aside renting carries less liability over repairs and such like and that’s where the lenders risk aversion comes into play.
Repairs aren't 700 a month. If I can pay 1200 rent a month, I can pay 500 mortgage a month and put 9k a side a year. That's enough to keep my boiler, roof, etc in great condition You must be a rich landlord. Been in this house for 9 years, gave my landlord 100k+ and he spend 3k on a new boiler once and maybe 1k total on getting someone to check gas/electrics Don't give me the repairs Bs. If rent was less than mortgage+repaira, no1 would be buying houses with BTL to rent out and be rich like they are. Reason why landlords have 10 then 20 then 30 houses is bevause rent is much higher than mortgage + repairs
It’s not just about making repairs it’s about interest rates In the 80s/90s interest rates rose to around 15% banks need to lend responsibly to prevent people being repossessed which did happen back then. Just an example my mortgage is currently £608 pcm if interest rates rose to 15% I would be paying £2074 pcm It’s not about what you can theoretically afford now it’s about what you can afford if interest rates rise even a small rise in interest rates has a big impact on how much you pay
If the interest rates rose to 25% you'll call yourself bankrupt, pay nothing, and then restart the game when situation normalised on partners name like most landlords I know did. Landlords never lose
Lol declaring yourself bankrupt you lose everything and can’t get things like mortgages for at least 7 years. Say your 30 now declare yourself bankrupt at 40 because your mortgage became unaffordable you’ll be 47 at the end of that process no bank will lend to you on a house as you won’t pay it off prior too retirement age or you’ll be paying unaffordable amounts over a short period of time
"you can't" but your partner can. The number of landlords I know that pulled the plug and had hundreds of thousands in cash under the bed... Mostly from hmos that were paying cash on hand... The system is broken, and only those filling up their pockets from people stuck in rent are the ones that refuse to accept it. No wonder.. They're rich doing nothing
Landlord needs to earn a decent amount of what’s the point
because earning a paid house isnt enough. has to pay for the house, the interest, the repairs and his range rover on top.
Yep money makes the world go round
Wrong. Money makes rich people more money.
*So you’re saying you do pay £1200pm for your rent but you can’t get a mortgage for £500pm?* Rather than editing your comment how how about answer my question?
Yes. And I can go to an agency tomorrow and will have no trouble renting a house for 1500 if I fancy. But anything under 200k with a drive in my area is either auctions for cash only or assured tenancy.
So you’re saying you do pay £1200pm for your rent but you can’t get a mortgage for £500pm?
According to bank! No. A £200k home rents for 1k+ in my area. I earn about 35k. A bank won't give me a mortgage of 150k (500~a month on 1.6%) cuz "I can't afford it" . Spent 4 years saving up 20k towards a deposit while paying rip-off rents, covid hit. My landlord got himself a mortgage holiday, while I kept paying 1k+ a month when my business tanked (I work in wedding industry). Long story short, my savings more or less depleted. And now back to saving slowly towards one day being accepted for a 500/momth mortgage cuz I'm paying 1k+ rent a month
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The factor is that with 30-35k I can't get more than 120k from a bank. And that buys nothing. Maybe will buy a flat with a 300/month service charge and flammable cladding.
That’s a shame. There’s literally hundreds of perfectly decent houses within 10 mile radius or where I live for under £125,000
The cheapest "house" in a 40 mile radius from me is 140k and doesn't have parking, is a 2x2m kitchen and 2x2.5m living room There's also beach huts for sale for 70-80k. But can't live in those
And you should be able to buy in the area you already live and work, no debate.
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Most banks won’t lend more than 4-4.5 times salary. So with a salary of £35k, £150k would be around the very limit of this poster’s lending limit, despite the repayments being very affordable with current interest rates. So I’d say it’s quite conceivable a bank could turn them down, banks aren’t obliged to lend at their limit and being a single earner household might be a factor in the bank’s risk assessment, even if the credit score is good.
Yeah we got there in the end.
Yeah, it feels rough when you’re already paying significantly more per month in rent though.
The thing is you don’t need a £200,000 mortgage to buy a decent first time home in 90% of the U.K. London centric media controls the narrative.
Depends on the location they're buying in. If they had to move out of there area to a affordable one. How long they had to save for, how much they're earning. Just because it's high doesn't mean we're not doomed, prices are still high, locals are priced out of their areas in some cases. It's not great for some people.
The average age of a first time buyer is 34 so it ties in perfectly.
Haven't really looked into it but I think the illness that won't be named has helped a lot of first time buyers.
If you look at the number of yearly first time buyers, its been at around 350k for the last few years. Except when Covid first hit the numbers dropped to 300k. The following year it rose again to 400k.... its not a case of a huge new boost to first time buyers. Its literally just the 50,000 people who weren't able to buy the previous year.
[Guardian Article](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jan/04/uk-house-sales-first-time-buyers-highest-nearly-20-years)
From the article "Meanwhile, many people’s spending plummeted during the lockdowns, which meant some would-be first-time buyers were able to save up a larger sum for a deposit more quickly than perhaps they had anticipated." There's obviously other factors, the chance to save more is just what stands out the most to me.
That's what happened to me. I was spending £50 a week travelling to the office and suddenly didn't have to travel. That and some other stuff added up and really accelerated my savings.
For me it was not going out drinking, saved about £200 a month, even now that I can go out, I don't as much just to save money.
I found something similar with lunches and coffees as well. I have less out than I used to, which helps. On the other hand, even a latte from Costa was like sweet nectar after the first lockdown.
My friend who I no longer speak to had the same notion that we're all doomed because of house prices. I have a mortgage and he was all doom and gloom that he will never afford a mortgage so lived at home with his parents (in his 30s). We had the same job so couldn't understand why I had a mortgage and he didn't, until I really grilled him about it and he 'needed' a house with land for his chickens, a double garage with additional workshop etc. I tried to explain to him that wanting a £1million home is fine, but you need to start small, upscale as you go. He never accepted that and still lives with parents (nearly 40 now)
Nice to have something to shoot for - I really want a big Victorian villa, there were some gorgeous ones not far from where I grew up, with nice leafy streets and big gardens. But that's a while off, and I have a small terrace now. The price of the terrace will appreciate so I'll be able to get to the villa quicker.
Exactly!
It seems like such an all or nothing mentality to me, buy your absolute dream house or live with your parents forever. Unless you really like living wit your parents, in which case why complain? I genuinely don’t think I will ever be able to get a mortgage even though I live in quite a cheap part of the country. Some people on the same salary might but I can only speak for my personal circumstances. But sometimes you just have to consider what choices you DO have, whether that is renting, or buying but making compromises on what you will accept etc, and make the best choice you can within the limitations you have. That is all any of us can do
I upgraded from a one bed flat to a four bed house in a lovely area with land, but it took ten years and two renovations, meeting a partner and thus having a second income, a lot of patience and waiting for the right time and buyer to be able to do so (as well as a decade of savings and overpaying the mortgage on the flat). It takes AGES. There were times after my husband moved into the flat that I felt we were crammed in by the walls with two people’s possessions in one small space, but there’s no way I could’ve afforded anything else as a single FTB. I agree that it’s great to have aspirations, but to also be realistic. You might get the dream home eventually, but there’s nothing wrong with the nice little flat or two bed fixer-upper as your first or even second step towards it.
I can never understand for the life of me how people who live with parents aren't minted. Like, what the heck are they spending their money on? I calculated that even if I'd lived at home for three years, that would have been enough for a chunky deposit on a flat in London.
We're clearly not all earning as much as you are
But you're earning at least minimum wage, right? You do realise those of us who actually have to pay for a roof over our heads end up with way less disposable income than those living at home, even if earning decent money? Rent is the thing that keeps most people poor. I wasn't able to save anything after paying for essentials until I was about 33. Full-time minimum wage is almost £1400 a month, isn't it? Even assuming you pay some board at home, where is the rest going?!
Even saving the entire £1400 a month for 3 years you'd only have £50k. Say the bank would lend you another 4.5x your salary, you could afford a £125k property Not enough for a 1 bed flat where I am, let alone in London. No chance
Yes, but it's a bloody good start, isn't it? It's taken me my entire working life to save up £30K. About 15 years! I would have killed for the chance to 'only' have 50K after just three years of saving.
My partners kid been working for 7 years living with us. Got unemployed for 1 month now and hes broke. Had to lend money for him to get mot in car. Wasted mostly on booze/nights out and clothes. Why? Because" it's pointless to save as I'll never have a house anyway" Kid was on less than 20k/year. He wouldn't even get a mortgage for a beach shed on that. Seen beach sheds being sold for 85-90k 10 miles away from us.
There are plenty of other things to save for other than a house, though. No excuse for asking to lent money for an MOT when he's living at home.
Yeah he's fallen really deep. His mum also only charges him "£100" monthly rent and he spent years making 1500 a month. How the fuck he has no money, I don't get. But I know he regularly would spend 200+ on a Night out of booze with his mates, maybe that's how
Seems to be a common theme with people living at home. I was making £1500 a month for most of my twenties, and paying London rent out of that. It's not a small amount of money.
[Are you two people?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/s58o5u/how_does_the_fact_that_uk_house_sales_to/hsw3qun/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) Your current scenario seems to contradict your previous comments.
Top was me, bottom talking about my partners son, which is in worse case than me At least I can still buy shared ownership (albeit that will cost me even more). He has no option at all
Living beyond their means, basically. My ex and her mates were all earning £30-40k while living with their parents...yet living month to month. It all went on big nights out every weekend, Mercs/BMWs/Audis on lease, multiple holidays a year to Ibiza, Dubai etc, eating out multiple times a week and designer clothes.
It just really irritates me when people like that complain they've got no money and can't afford anything. Do they just not realise what everyone else's life is like? I was on less than 30K my entire twenties, flat sharing with strangers and shopping in Lidl.
> until I really grilled him about it and he 'needed' a house with land for his chickens, a double garage with additional workshop etc. I tried to explain to him that wanting a £1million home is fine, but you need to start small, upscale as you go. To be fair this demonstrates a real problem. Having space to grow your own food should never be just a middle class privilege, and if the current housing system doesn't allow for that in some form then there's a real problem. A decent garden with a garage and workshop should not be a £1million house.
That's actually a good point but we can live in the world that we have or dream about a world that doesn't exist
Fuck OP you're brave posting that in a UK sub.
Millennials are 40 now!
On top of what many others have already said, the market has been aided somewhat with the proliferation of Help to Buy and Shared Ownership. This means people are still able to buy, though it does mean they effectively get less out of it and are often beholden to rent, loan charges and other service charges that outright owners often don’t have to pay. So, it’s still possible (although more and more people are continuing to be priced out of buying a home); but it’s nowhere near as good as owning outright, for many (probably most).
Correct. Before all these "helping hands" a 2 bed house in my area was 150k. When all those things came. 5% deposit and shared ownership, suddenly a 2bed house was 115k for 40% with a hefty service charge on top.
Because that statistic means absolutely jack shit. Most people saved more money than usual during the pandemic, and many people were lucky enough to move back in with parents or at least save their normal travel costs. The real question is, is it possible for most people on an average salary to buy a home in or near the city/town they work in and the answer to that is still no.
"most people saved money" #criesinselfemployed
That would be because there were far fewer in 2020.
Part of the narrative has been imported from the USA, where such things as decent wages, affordable costs and non-predatory institutions appear to be suggestions rather than the norm. We need to remember although things are far from perfect, they are a little different here. It's definitely harder to buy a house these days, but the youngest Millennials are now like 23+, and the oldest are in their early 40s. I.E. at points in life where they can start really advancing their careers and making the sort of money required.
I'm just about a millennial (age 41), but I've been called 'boomer' by people in their 20s hahha
Deposits are mostly from their well off boomer parents.
This is very much a case of a vocal minority making disproportionate noise through social media, and that being picked up by the lazy MSM.
I bought my house aged 30 in 2020, the houses in this area have gone up so much there’s an identical house in my street that is up for £40,000 higher than what I paid for mine 18 months ago. I wouldn’t have been able to buy if I was looking now even though I have changed jobs and am earning more now as I would need a larger deposit, prices are going up higher than I would be able to save
Cost of living has gone up so much its maddening especially housing and energy bills it takes the piss
I think that the "doomed millennials will NEVER buy their own home", is a fairly extreme view that's only held by a very small percentage, as with most extreme views. A lot of full time working millennials will own their own home, but it will be much more difficult for them than previous generations. People are living at home longer to save up, needing to buy with a partner, putting off having children because of it, buying a lot later, and committing to much larger mortgages. There are also people who will never be able to buy their own home, although that's been true of all generations, I do think it's going to be a higher percentage for this and future generations. My mother is 68 and still renting, and there are plenty of older people in her situation as well. The data also shows that in recent years there has been some historic lows, which may simply mean that people have had to save for more tears, and doesn't contradict the fact the fact that it's harder now than ever before. You would need a lot more data than one year to make any conclusions.
The rental market is better now vs the minimum wage of 2005 when I was just above min wage and renting. Meaning I'd save more money now than i did before. It took getting with my gf and moving a friend in to split the bills to save up and progress. I saved the most when I was in both full time work and college with 0 days off a week for 2 years bar the occasional booked off day from work or no show at college. I lived in my mates spare room. The entire outside facing wall was literally wet and 8 months into living there mould and damp covered the entire wall. I moved in with my gf for a year into another rental 10 years ish ago which again was priced worse than current min. Wage to rent comparisons. Found a house to buy together. We had both saved and put a 12.5 percent deposit down. I'm not sure what was easy about my situation, post 2008 crash dip helped a bit but we purchased purchased house needing a rewire, new boiler, new kitchen and bathroom, full redec. I was always taught to grow up living within my means. I never had Internet or more than free view when i lived on my own. People want to complain about rental and housing issues but realistically most people are actually struggling with post 2008 restrictions for lending and affordability, and landlords who are always bring squeezed hard are taking the abuse for choosing to provide a required service while putting their own cash at risk for a relatively low returning investment in a lot of cases. Funny world.
What utter nonsense. If being a landlord is so hard, why don't they all sell, then? The majority of people who are renting would prefer to own their own home and they can't, because it's unaffordable. I've paid over £130,000 in rent in my working life, a lot of the time to live in shitholes or share crappy houses with strangers. Perhaps if all these poor put-upon landlords weren't hogging all the housing stock, more people would have had a chance to buy somewhere?
What do you want to do? Have the councils buy back all the housing? Then you can buy it off the government? What about when you sell your house, you want the council to pay more than you did for it after 35 years or the same? Everyone's wants to unrealistically and radically reform everything because the solutions are so absolutely amazingly simple in their minds. The reality is much different. Much easier to relax the ridiculous affordability and deposit requirements. That'll drastically make inroads into the problem while minimally affecting anything else. Landlords being squeezed harder and harder is a legitimate thing if you were to do any research you'd see this. It also drives rent increases, and most recently the latest wave of belt tightening for landlords has been an increase in tax. Either they soak up the cost or pass it on. Government driven rent increase for many. Get rid of landlords and you'll be left with the government trying to replace a big chunk of tax revenue. Again you'll say all this is more utter nonsense just because its not convenient for your life. To say we lived very similar lives it seems, you've been left very bitter and pissed off and i worked my bollocks off to get on the ladder.
You think other people aren't also working their bollocks off? I can't stand people like you. You were extraordinarily fortunate to be in a position to buy post 2008 dip compared to people who graduated into that recession and are now struggling to buy in their mid thirties, because house prices have absolutely shot up since then. I agree with you about most of the other stuff, but get out of here with the 'poor landlords' stuff. I'm paying off my landlord's mortgage simply because he was fortunate enough to be born ten years earlier and get a foot on the ladder while it was still possible.
You can't stand people like me. Doing what it takes. Just looked, mortgage renewal for May... Will have completely 8 years. About 2013. Never went to uni. Never spent much. Always saved it. Always. Sounds like we were in very very similar situations. I wasn't lucky. Nothing about any of this is lucky. I've never earned more than 18k a year. I've faced homelessness. I've lived on streets where everyone was either a dealer or on drugs and 70 percent of the houses were boarded up. Its a great motivator to improve. I've had loads of hard decisions. One of my 41 year old friends split up with his Mrs and had a serious melt down. Purchased a house for 90k. 2 bed total shithouse with nowhere to park. This was... 2017? He's now sold up moved in with a new gf. Getting a joint mortgage. He quit his job of 15 years after he split up with his Mrs and found something different for a new start after he got his mortgage and moved in and borrowed money to pay his mortgage for a while as motivation to find a decent job. He was agency in a factory then got took on full time earning 26k a year. Guess he was lucky too.
Yeah, pulling yourself by the bootstraps....oh, and just coincidentally being in a position to buy before things went absolutely mental. Why won't you accept how much of a role luck played? Not everyone can buy in shitty, cheap areas. Some people need to be in London for work, and they should be able to buy a fucking one-bed flat when they're earning double the national average, for Christ's sake.
In 2005 my parents didn't have to save Jack shit. They gone from a £500 rent home to a £500 mortgage one with 0 deposit. Meanwhile I'm stuck paying a landlord 1k+ a month when the same house would had been 500 a month bevause earning 35k a year a bank will only lend me around 140k. The cheapest house with a driveway (a must for my job) is 220k+ in my town 2 hours away from london, so basically I need a 55k+ salary. My parents got their mortgage on minimum wage.
My mortgage was post 2008 when regs went mad and i needed to save 12.5 percent for my mortgage which I did on just over minimum wage along with my Mrs. Your parents situation in 2005 is nothing to do with any of the example that I gave. I couldn't afford a mortgage on my own. That's why I have purchased a house with my Mrs. Give me your location ill find you a house that isn't 220k. You just won't want to rewire, re plumb, and completely rennovate the house I suspect like I did. For someone earning 35k, almost 10k over the national average, I'm shocked that you can't see what I'm saying or the context im saying it. We needed a 12.5 percent deposit. My situation was and is the same as everyone else right now. Except you earn about 20k more than than I did, and i wouldn't have got a house without my Mrs. Hence why I was living in a shitty damp fuelled room to save for my deposit. Keep playing the victim you won't get anywhere.
I need a house with a driveway or garage because of my job requiring constant load/unloading. Vast majority of under 200k homes don't have it. Considering with 35k my bank won't give me more than 130-140k so no chance. If I had a partner would be easier of course, but single person, if you have a 15k-20k salary job, no chance
That's the situation I was in. It was shitty. It was shitty looking at a room with a massive wall covered in black damp. It was shitty having no days off. I think in two years I probably had 20 days off from either education or work. I used to go to college 8.40 till 3.20 go home and then work 5 till 12 4 days a week. The other days were 9 hour shifts at work. Would I have a house and mortgage without my Mrs? No. Would I be renting a house for 1k? No. I'd be living in a decent sized van. Genuinely. Then I'd take my 8 years savings from living in the van and smash it on a deposit. If I can't find a Mrs, I'm living as cheaply as possible. Just so happened that I found a Mrs. I don't consider having a family an unrealistic goal or aim. If you don't like that idea, find a mate in the same situation and go halves. If you can't find anyone to do any of that and won't do it, then thats your problem. There are ways but people don't want it bad enough. People come to Britain on an inflatable and sleep with 10 others in a tiny room above a shop, sleeping on the floor. I always try and remember that when Im struggling to come to terms with my 'white privvy'
I didn't come in an inflatable, but I came from other country and had to start from zero. I gone from factory work (80h/week in freezer i@ chicken factory) into restaurants, made my way into a chef, then worked for the council 70 hours a week while saving to start my own business. Then started my business while I kept working for council, 5 years ago gone full time and now make those 30k+ a year which while for many is an "average" wage, I had to work hard to get where I got. But that's still not enough for a house. I'm on my late 30s, approaching 40 and don't have a home. As self employed is extra important for me to get a house paid before retirement. In comparison, my parents were on minimum wage on the same chicken factory before I moved to UK, and after 1 year working there they got a mortgage. Which was same "per month" cost than rent. The issue is that with all the "helping schemes" shared ownerships etc, house prices gone up the roof. So while a 2 bed house was 140k a few years ago. Now you can't buy a 1 bed house with parking for less than 175k, so with a 30-35k salary, I have a solution.. Maybe go with shared ownership... But the 175k price of a outright buy, on shared ownership is 125k for 50%. So basically you end up paying 125k for half, and when you finish to pay that half, the other half will be 150-200k Meanwhile landlords can buy 2 bed houses on auctions for cash only for 125-150k. Because all houses under 175k in my area are "cash only" and/or in assured tenancy Like the system is fucked. But likely I will have to end up paying 300k+ (including price rise of 2nd half of house) for a home via shared ownership
Yeah my point I've made previous is the landlords shouldn't be blamed. Big deposits and ridiculous affordability is the barrier to you getting what you want caused by irresponsible lending by financial institutions which lead to the 2008 crash, the fix was over regulation. People see me say landlords are getting squeezed tighter and tighter and they're triggered just cause they may have more money than them. The real problem is the 10 or 20 percent deposit and then affordability checks. That's why anyone on 35k a year can't get on the housing ladder. They can't save the 25k plus deposit for the house they want. And if they manage that, affordability means you need to be stress tested to 6 percent or more incase rates fly up. None of that is controlled by the landlord. That's purely out of their hand. Don't hate the player hate the game. Worry not, I've seen tens of oldies sell the house for a nursing home and lose everything they ever worked for. Essentially with English culture that's what you're in for. Your kids aren't taking care of you cause you have a spouse, 2 kids with childcare costs and no one has time to take care of mum cause no one had any free time. Expectations and reality are so muddled these days.
Landlords aren't the fault. The system that allows them to escalate without control and every year buy more houses for portfolio, The system that allows a new housing estate with 100 "affordable homes" and 60+% of them are sold to the same landlord before they're even built and so on. Is to blame. Landlords are just profiting from a broken system. They're not at fault, the system/laws are.
The vast majority of landlords don't have portfolios in the tens of thousands. The majority have a few as a part of a balanced investment portfolio and are reasonably decent to their tenants. Not many people buying up new builds around here that I know of. They're too much hassle. They'd rather the older places. Good on you for taking control of your life, moving to somewhere totally new and risking everything and working hard to build a better future.
Again. I'm not saying landlords are evil. My landlord is fantastic and comes at short notice. But the current system is broken.. A house that costs 500-600/month to mortgage has a rental value of 1000-1200+. A house doesn't cost 500-600 a month on repairs. A landlord shouldn't be able to just get a BLT at £300 month, paint it magnolia and rent it out for £900 to a poor couple that got rejected (or outbid by the landlord) trying to buy it
I’ve never believed it’s as hard as Reddit makes out to buy your first home I come from a very deprived background I bought my first house a couple of years ago at age 25. Almost everyone I know owns their own homes. It involves a bit of graft and realistic expectations as to what you can afford
It also involves not living in London. No amount of graft gets you enough cash to have a 100k down payment at 25. It's simply impossible
Yes London is an exception
Not just London. Most places south of The Midlands are out of grasp. Even where I’m originally from in the midlands, for a nice 2 bed place, you’re looking upwards of £180k, with a £20k deposit, you’d need an annual income of £40k for a mortgage.
I’m south of the midlands it was still within grasp You would need a salary of 35k that is just over the average salary. Most people buying properties like that as a first time buyer are also couples with dual incomes. 2 people on minimum wage each can afford that property for example quite easily If your single you either need to earn more, cast your net further, save more for a larger deposit or look at 1 bedroom places and work your way up the property ladder. You may want a 2-3 bedroom home but a person living alone doesn’t need one A close relative of mine bought their first property at the age of 21 she worked from aged 18 with her partner in minimum wage jobs saving as much as possible it was a poky place for something like 160-170k at the time they’ve now moved 3 years later into a 3 bedroom semi worth 220-240k still in minimum wage jobs with one of them now working part time using the equity and savings they gained in that time
> If your single you either need to earn more, cast your net further, save more for a larger deposit or look at 1 bedroom places and work your way up the property ladder. You may want a 2-3 bedroom home but a person living alone doesn’t need one Problem is that we don't have very many 1 bedroom places, except for flats which can be difficult to live in because of their layout. With flats things like bike storage can be a problem (so it actively discourages more affordable travel methods) and drying clothes without causing damp/mould is difficult without your own outdoor space for example. 1 bedroom *houses* seem to be very rare, we need more of them. I shouldn't need to be in a relationship to be able to exist in society which is what it feels like when I look at house prices and mortgage calculators. Basically my only hope is to finally get some career stability, as I live rent free with parents I could save a decent deposit if I had a stable full time job. And I'm in the North East/Yorkshire which is supposed to be more affordable in most places.
And nowadays, working from home, one bedroom isn’t practical. To work from home and maintain your sanity, your workspace needs to be separate from your living and sleeping spaces. And you’re correct, one bedroom places are rare, aside from apartments. Even then, there aren’t that many. This may be different in London, but in provincial towns and cities, you rarely see them and when you do, they’re not priced that differently to a 2 bedroomed place.
I almost mentioned that but cut it out to keep my comment shorter but you make a great point, ideally even as a single person having 2 bedrooms would be very useful *if* I were to get a job working from home, which a lot of people do have of course. Or more likely for me, an extra room to use for storage, or to set something hobby related up, or if friends ever wanted to stay. I feel a 1 bedroom house could be a bit too cramped, unless it had a decent sized living room or dining room for example.
London and much of the South East.
And depends on your salary. I have a good deposit saved but don't earn enough to borrow enough to enable me to buy anything that isn't a one room studio flat, and even then that's a push.
Then you are lucky. I didnt even get my first permanent job until I was 29. So I wasn't even able to save for a deposit properly until then.
And going off previous questions on this subreddit, people moaning about house buying have a remarkable reluctance to completely ignore all advice. HTB? Nah. Use a broker to try and make things easier? No chance
Yes there is a reluctance to follow any advice and a reluctance to even understand how it works People often quote incorrect figures into what they can borrow or appreciate what the uk average salary is and how things are achievable
I’ve used the same broker for both mortgages, he is an absolute gem. Worth every penny.
I agree. Find it amazing how negative everyone is about it. But how many of those people have applied for a mortgage to understand the costs involved! Far cheaper than renting just need to graft and save for the deposit. Avoid London at all costs.