To think you shouldn't expect to buy a home on a single salary?

HRTFT but I think a lot of people are mis-interpreting OP - I think the point is that these days single people on part-time or min wage salaries living in central London are all over the media complaining that they can't afford to buy a three bed house. Expectations and demands have changed; not saying that's right or wrong, but in the "old days" people started off with a one-bed fixer-upper and moved up the ladder, whereas these days people seem to want to start near the top of the ladder. Kids want to move straight from university to buying a house, despite not having secure jobs or savings. Aspirations have changed and it's not necessarily for the better; with single people without children buying family homes, it's no wonder there's a housing shortage.

aren't there numerous articles about how the property ladder is dead cos the increase in price in flats is far smaller than increase in prices for houses.

having said that i am glad i bought my flat as it enabled me to have my own place and have fixed mortgage payments for 5 years which enabled me to stay in London.

Yes, they should, obviously something appropriate to their salary though. A single person on a low/medium salary shouldn't expect to be able to afford a detatched house. Should be able to buy a 1 bed property of some sort though (flat, apartment). Obviously housing costs vary enormously depending on location, so they might have to compromise there.

Getting on the ladder as early as possible is key really. Easier to move up the ladder than to try and jump on later.

My parents stayed at home until they married. But I guess that's less common now that so many young people move away from their home towns

I bought my house alone. I bought my house 13 years ago while a single mother and working full time on quite a low salary. I was lucky I had enough saved for a deposit and I had to mortgage over 30 years to keep the monthly costs down but I've managed it.

But they are expected to pay rent, which is more than a mortgage a lot of time ?Maybe single people should just expect to be homeless 🙄

Christ, this reminds me of one of my colleagues, who reacted to my buying my house with much head-tilting and blinking because "only parents need the security of not renting". Single childless people don't have to worry about being evicted, we can live in the woods or something.

Seriously - it's no wonder women end up staying in crap relationships when being single is apparently some kind of second-rate citizen status.

That's a strange question. There are plenty of places where you can buy a house for £140k. The UK extends beyond the SE of England you know.

No, it is possible to buy your own home on a single salary, with no family support, no inheritance, no “help to buy ISA”, just your own salary. You just need a really good job and a lifelong healthy saving attitude.

I bought a 1 bed flat in 2018, zone 2 London, with no help (not that I was looking for it). I had 3 payslips from a new job where the Salary was 45K (previously it has been 35K), and I had savings of 70K. This was 5 years post graduation, and some of the savings pot had included income from my very first student jobs.

During uni days, I held down 3 jobs at a time, got a 2:1, financed my own masters, went on multiple trips abroad for concerts and events, stayed in really nice hotels (Dubai/ Vegas / etc).

it is possible (or was possible in 2018) to do all this on your own back - I won’t accept when people say you can’t.

But I recognise that with interest rates where they are, cost of living, sky high, etc we are living in a different world now.

I bought my house for 120 in 2017 on a £28,000 salary and no family support for a deposit. I saved hard and went without things to save up for a deposit. Ironically my rent would be much more than my mortgage is - I personally think they should do something about rent to enable people to save more - my brother lives in London and pays almost £2000 per month for a tiny 1 bed flat - not much chance of saving up!

I live outside Cardiff (around 11 miles) you can get a house between 120 - 140k. No work needed. It's not a deprived or depressing area either.

I bought my first house when I was single. Back in the early 00s. 2 bed new build for around £45k on a 125% mortgage. Sold it after a year and paid off said mortgage fully. Bought my next house with partner. Sold that a few years later and was meant to buy next house with partner now husband but there was an issue with his credit score so we actually got the mortgage based only on my salary at the time. Wasn’t a huge salary either. But wasn’t an expensive house either. 3 bed old terrace. Under £100k. Sadly house prices took a plummet and it lost its value. Wasn’t able to remortgage for many years and add him on. We split. I still live there. Continued to pay mortgage myself. If we had sold it we would have ended up with a debt to share and not equity. Took a number of years of my own to actually gain some equity in it. I’d love to move to somewhere nicer/bigger as I’ve kids now and would love the extra space - bigger bedrooms, extra bathroom etc, but other than the similar houses the next price bracket up for the same number of bedrooms with more space and the extra loo is 2 and a half times what mine is currently to worth and on my now part time salary since having the kids I just can’t afford to move. BUT rent is more than my mortgage for the same house. Neighbour’s house for sale as potential investment and rent definitely double what I’ve paid on my mortgage.

I guess it depends where in the country people live and what they are earning. It’s not always grim up north!!

I would say it is reasonable that rent isn’t significantly more than a mortgage … but here we are

I bought my first flat in the eighties, but I had worked a couple of jobs as well as my full time job in order to get a deposit. One of my jobs was working in a pub, so I could go out, still meet people get a couple of free drinks/tip. If you want something hard enough you will find a way to do it. I had no help from family.

This is exactly right. Plenty of single people make more than some couples combined.

A single friend of mine owns 2 houses. Does that offend you OP?

Nice bit of blasphemy to end your tirade. Was that absolutely necessary?

That’s a very discriminatory point of view. I’ve been single for over 10 years. Should I have been condemned to renting forever because I can’t get a boyfriend 😂

So he is! I’m so unobservant.

Wow! What so everyone buying a house has to be a couple?! I think you are very unreasonable to discriminate against single people!
I bought my house on my own 20 years ago, should I have stayed ar my parents into my 30’s?