If your house is worth £1m+....

[cumlaude]

Where I live, SW London, there are rows upon rows upon rows of streets of average looking terraced houses worth £1m+

I can't imagine everyone living in these houses earns the £200k single income, or two people earning £100k each, to secure such a large mortgage plus a very hefty deposit.

So if you live in a house worth £1m+ how did you afford it? Did you ride the London property wave, inherit some money, or just earn loads?

FWIF I'm a renter in a share house and I'll NEVER be able to afford to buy in the area I currently live.

(Also a prolific name changer on MN in case anyone starts yelling at me that it's my first post!)

Bit of both. We're both in high earning jobs but we also bought in sensible places and made those investments work.

That said, we don't live in the poshest most expensive bit of London and if our house was five miles away, it would be worth about 2.5 times what it is, and we couldn't afford it.

Our kids also go to a fabulous state primary....we're very very lucky

Don't forget, a lot of people are mortgaged up to the eyeballs.

@BigTubOfPringles its astonishing, isn't it? I'm actually from Surrey (although I don't live there now) and still can't reconcile with the prices.

Don't forget, a lot of people are mortgaged up to the eyeballs

still have to have the income to approve the mortgage

I own and live in London and this baffles me too

A bit of all 3 here too. DH and I were given helping hands by parents to buy our first places (on top of good City salaries). That meant we were able to buy sooner than many peers which meant we benefited from the price inflation in the years to 2007. Then used that price increase plus savings plus high earnings to buy next place.

I’m in SW London too. £1m+ is standard for a terrace yes and it’s crazy- but to be clear, that’s generally for a good size house - 2000 sq ft, 4 bed/3 baths or 5 bed/2 baths plus 2 receptions and extended kitchen. Victorian and generally very nicely done up. Not the 2 up 2 down some people are picturing...!

A lot of the houses are still occupied by people who bought pre 2003 and so paid much less. Of those who have bought recently I would say the vast majority have at least one very high earner (250k+) or two pretty high earners (100k+). I bet a fair number get parental help too.

What surprises me is that people would spend £1m to live in a terrace house . If I had a million quid to spend on a house I’d want it to something a little bit special.

I challenge you to find something "a little bit special" for £1m in SW London...

I'm in a central London apartment rather than a house, but it is worth over £1m. I can afford it as I bought it ten years ago when it was worth less than that. We have high earnings but not enough for a £1m mortgage.

Our house is worth just under £1m.

DH's family had a large company which they sold and all family (blood related) had shares in, so they all received their percentage of the profits. DH used some of his money to buy our house outright

This is a good exercise pringles to do with children who think £1m is a lot of money! Let them loose on Rightmove and see what they could actually buy with a whole million. Scary though that £1m is not worth much these days.

Certainly if I had that much cash I'd go somewhere else and buy cheap and give up work as much as possible

We also live in the North East, so get a decent amount for your money

Most people fall into 2 camps, those that bought decades ago & those that have a combo of good incomes, equity from getting on the ladder early & parental help.

Even though I’ve benefited from it, I don’t think it’s a good thing & don’t see how it’s sustainable as I doubt we will see anything like the huge price growths that’s happened in the past.

I’ve said it before on other threads but I’ve got friends/neighbours who had budgets of 1.2m but they actually wanted more for their money or more disposable income so they have sold up & gone to other cities.

We live in the East Midlands in a 'naice' part of the world... House is about £1.2m. Achieved entirely though owning a profitable business and being heavily mortgaged.

I don’t doubt it would be difficult to find something special for £1 m in London . I’m just surprised that people who earn well would want to live in such mediocre homes . 2000 ft is not very big either .

I don’t think it’s necessarily a choice of choosing a mediocre home, I’m a Londoner as is DH so it makes sense to stay near family for us, my mum is a 15min walk away. Plus my small house cons are outweighed by the common at the end of my road, the outstanding primary around the corner, the tube & high street 10 mins walk & my work is a 11min walk. My life is fairly easy & a bigger house elsewhere would make it less so. However I didn’t pay what my current house is worth, I think it’s different if you having to pay 1m based on salary alone.

Ours is about £1.5m (not in the South/London)

Both had some equity when we bought our first house together 20 years ago (not masses). Improved and sold two properties for a profit. Bought this house, lived in it as it was until we could afford to improve it, increased our incomes (both now 6 figures) and have now improved the house significantly. We've never had any parental help and wont have any inheritances coming our way but we don't spend money on stuff like clothes, latest gadgets etc. We live below our means and have always been careful. We paid off the mortgage last year.

I think people's answer to "why would you live in a tiny terrace for £1 million?" would be "location, location, location " The location is important to people. Obviously, others would choose a different location.

Zebra 80% in a few years?!

I’m just surprised that people who earn well would want to live in such mediocre homes

If they didn’t live in London they (mostly) wouldn’t be able to earn so much.

So it’s not like they could just take their £1.5m and buy a castle in Northumberland. Then they’d have no job.

Combination of factors

Property price inflation
1996 - first flat 2 beds in Zone 2 for £73K sold for £250K
Current house has more than doubled in value in the last 6-7 years partly due to it needing a lot of renovation and extension work done and partly due to the whole area going up.

Deposit and renovation funded through a combination of inheritance, savings and high income.

My area of SW London hasn’t had any price growth though over the last 2-3 yrs.

I bought a flat in 1984 when I was early 20s through shared housing and had lodgers etc. Husband bought a small house in the 80s. We traded up selling both, did doer-upper, lived in building site, then bought this house in early 2000s, which needed massive amount of work doing to it but still had a humongous mortgage and have variously lived in building site over the years. Next time I move I would downsize and buy something already done up!

We could not afford to buy our house just based on salary even though husband has a good job.

I'm not sure who can afford to buy houses in our street now as people tend to be able to buy their first house at a much older age, so are also older when they build up equity. Unless they afford it through inheritance. It just seems unfair for those whose parents didn't have their own houses to pass to down as they will never catch up, however they do in their careers.

I understand that location is the selling point but when you come home and shut your front door , regardless of location , it’s still only a tiny terrace for £1 m quid . Does the location really make up for the lack of space ? What makes the location so special ?

I feel for Londoners who grow up in these areas and have to pay such inflated prices to stay there.
This is what 1/2 million can buy you where I live . Great primary school on your doorstep and easy reach to a free grammar school education. The road is beside a local park with a lake .

www.propertypal.com/fox-glove-hollow-102-edentrillick-road-hillsborough/527447

Minipie but their wages ( large as they may be don’t afford them the lifestyle one would expect from a high salary ) They’re no better off than someone living outside London on a lesser wage and probably living in a better house .

So if you live in a house worth £1m+ how did you afford it? Did you ride the London property wave, inherit some money, or just earn loads?

My parents' house is worth over a mil now , they bought it for £220k about 20 years ago iirc.

Our house isn't worth that as it's ex local authority but most houses in our area are 1m+ (also London) and most of our local friends live in these properties - 3/4 bedroom Victorian houses.

Most bought flats in neighbouring trendy areas between years 2000-2010, then sold them later on for double what they paid. Some couples owned 2 flats between them and pooled the money. Some had inheritance to add in. Then we all over-stretched ourselves with big mortgages! As far as I know, very few of us earn that kind of salary. We've obviously benefitted from property being comparatively affordable when we were in our 20s/30s.