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

I'm a single parent housing three teens/young adults. Mine is the only salary that counts. Am I supposed to live in a cardboard box?

Just wondering where I'm meant to live 🤷‍♀️

YABU
What are newly divorced people supposed to do? Move back in with their parents?
Many people are single through no fault of their own.

Exactly right. I couldn’t afford to rent my home now. I feel very sorry for people renting and trying to get on the property ladder.

I bought my own home in London in my 30s. I guess it depends on your salary.

I bought my house when heavily pregnant and single - my mortgage is much lower than rent I would be paying

Dont be stupid.

Exactly my first thoughts.

Early 80s it would take 3x an average yearly salary for 1 person to buy an average house.
Now it's almost 9 times the average salary.
Peoples expectations aren't too high ...house prices are.

They aren't all 'utter shit-holes'. I have recently downsized to a flat and it is t isreally nice. I looked at plenty of good ones on Rightmove before deciding on this.

I know a couple in their thirties with a five year old who have bought a one bedroomed ex-council flat. It was sturdy. They've done it up beautifully, cordoned off a corner of the sitting room as a bedroom for their little one, had a new kitchen installed.

It was the right price, all they could afford, and they are as pleased as punch with it because it is theirs! It's not forever, they will move to a house eventually.

I don't know why you think flats in this country are shit-holes, presumably if you come across one that is, it's condition is reflected in the price. Some people don't mind a doer upper.

Maybe if the flats in this country wernt utter shitholes more people would want to live in them.

https://news.sky.com/story/buying-a-flat-ruined-my-life-leaseholders-plead-for-tougher-legislation-against-home-ownership-scam-13060858

HRTFT

Have a single family member. They live in a 2 bed apartment (small but lovely) and is now upgrading to a 2 bed terrace/semi with garden. That should be within reach of single people. They have no dependents.

I think single parents with 2+ children must find it really hard as you’re then looking at a 3 bed in 1 salary and other larger outgoings.

You're being a bit ridiculous. You don't need to be in a city center to meet someone. How do you think people in towns, villages and suburbs ever meet people?

Are you a bit dim OP? Not everyone in the country is single so why are you going on about the environment and talking about 38 million homes? Also what you mean is that people below a certain income level shouldn’t expect to buy homes which is pretty shitty and classist.

I don't think there is a place in the UK cheap enough for someone on NMW to buy if they are on their own.
People on NMW do vital jobs.
Pretty shit of you to say they are not "grown up" enough.

Right, but in the meantime there's this thing called life in which you all have to live somewhere, which is what your thread is about.

Exactly.
My ex bought a 3 bed house (with a massive garden) on his own.
It is about income, not relationship status. If you earn enough, you can buy on one salary. And like you said, some couples don't earn enough between them to buy too.
The thread title literally says "you shouldn't expect to buy a home on one salary", implying that single people should not expect to be able to buy... even if they earn loads.

@GettingAroundTown but that's exactly the point, I'm sure St Helens and lots of places 1.5 hours away from London are great places to bring up a family, for example, but if you're single but want to be in a relationship you need to be able to have a social life to meet people, and living somewhere which isn't a big city makes you much likely to stay single.

If you are going to live somewhere that is beyond a bus/taxi ride from a city centre, space to have enough people to stay for the weekend so that a friend might able to bring someone else with them to stay with you is necessary.

So the idea that single people have unrealistic expectations in terms of housing is unfair - to be in with the best chance of being in a relationship you need to ideally live in an urban area or, failing that, have space to socialise at home (even if that's a garden that your mates can camp in after a dinner party!!).

Pretty pathetic to have to depend on who you're sleeping with (and your parents) to buy your house, while there are plenty of us grown up enough to manage it on our own...

First property cost £125K. I bought it as a single person with a £18K deposit. It was a two bed flat in a lovely area (north).

What on earth are you on about?

Is there a worthiness scale for home ownership? Are single people less worthy of home ownership than married people? No I don't think so. I'm a single parent and I single handedly earn significantly more than your combined income of two people. I'll buy what property I like and can afford thanks.

Thankfully the housing market operates on supply and demand. Cold hard cash and assets. Marital status doesn't come into it.

Your response bears absolutely no relation to what I said.

But either way I’m afraid it doesn’t change the fact that I have just as much right as you to own a house. So I do!

The bigger point here it's really income , not relationship status, that's relevant.
I mean a lot of couples are also renting and can't afford to buy so what's the conclusion really..?

There are loads of houses in St Helens, for 130K, 1.5 hour from Liverpool but nobody's really rushing to buy there. Huh. It's hardly the middle of nowhere either.. I'd consider that rural Cumbria where property is actually ££££. Or maybe the middle of the lake district.

Or maybe you mean living a 1.5 hour train journey from Central London = the middle of nowhere...?

FWIW I think everyone should have access to a stable home whether it's home ownership or a secure tenancy.

I'm not sure about the 'homeowner' in isolation part, because, as I said, it's possible to build lots and lots of teeny tiny flats that nobody wants to live in.

Furthermore 'single' also covers parents with kids, if we had robust need based social housing, they could have a 3 bed for reasonable rent and still buy the one bed later in life If they really prioritised ownership over size.