Mid-20s, buying alone. Would you buy a fairly ok starter home and then hope to move up the ladder or continue renting and save up enough for your forever home?

[Jaybird100]

I’m renting at the moment, mid-20s, first time buyer considering buying a 3 bed Victorian build terrace close to railway station but 15 miles from where I work (I currently live 4 miles away from my workplace renting a room) but do drive.

I have a partner but we’ve been together slightly less than a year (not living together) so I didn’t want to buy with him as it’s too soon (plus I like the freedom of decorating it exactly how I want etc. esp it being my first time) but I do know I could have afforded a much bigger place in the city of my workplace if we’d bought together but I’d only own a portion of it.

So I’m in two minds - would you still buy the starter home, decorate it how you like etc. live in it for a few years and then sell and upgrade (hoping positive equity). I’m guessing I could also rent it out if I wanted to rent in the city again.

I always have the grass is greener on the other side mentality so please tell me your thoughts and experiences.

I would MUCH rather buy a 1-2bed to myself than share a 3 bed with a lodger. I bought a 1 bed then later rented it when I moved in with dh. Eventually we sold both flats to buy our current house.

Starter home. I bitterly regret not doing so myself many years ago.

Could you buy a 1/2 bed flat closer to your workplace?

If you're buying somewhere for yourself as a "starter home", it's doesn't need to be a 3 bed house with a commute. That's the kind of house you buy when you're a couple planning to start a family or with a child already.

I’d say buy as soon as you can afford it, prices only ever seem to go up! I would check out the area first though. Would you feel safe living there on your own?
I bought my first home at 29 and went for a 2 bed flat 10 minutes from a station. OK for commuting and big enough to share if I needed/wanted to. Could that be a good compromise?

Personally in your situation I'd buy a flat closer to work.

Although - why 3 beds? It seems a lot for one person.

Not really, bedroom for yourself, spare room and study. Pretty normal if you're not in an expensive area and means you'll pay fewer moving costs if you don't need to keep moving to get more space. House prices haven't recovered round here since 2007 though so don't assume house prices will always rise.Check your local market.

OP, how long does your current commute take? How long do you plan to stay with your current employer? Are there plenty of job opportunities within commuting distance of the house? You are very young and it's common to move employer quite a lot while at the beginning of your career so think about the impact on that, a house ties you down and makes it harder to move where the jobs are because moving house is expensive.

Thanks so far, all of your anecdotes are interesting to read.

The 3 bedrooms are 1 medium size, one slightly smaller and then a small bedroom.

@Lightsabre Hate to break it to you but we left the EU last Friday. Brexit has already happened.

I went for the starter home, was all I could afford.

When DH and I became serious he invested in it and extended. We have now moved to our forever home ( well the shell of it as we are extending again😃) .

Doing it in stages means it is more affordable and the money I would have paid in rent I am investing for my future.

NameChange84 Yes, we have sadly left the EU but we won't know how bad the economy will get until the trade deals have been negotiated and that won't be clear until the end of this year. A no deal (Australia option) might be on the cards and most economists, as I'm sure you have read, feel this will be disastrous for the U.K. economy.

Housing has boom and bust cycles - I think we are heading for a bust so in the OP's shoes would be more cautious. Many first time buyers, myself included, were burnt in the housing crash of the 80's. Flats halved in value in some parts of London for example and lots of people were stuck for many years in tiny places they couldn't sell.

If the OP goes for it, then it's best to buy a solid place that can be lived in if the family grows/room for lodgers, near amenities etc.

Starter! Good for you!
Im in a startrr home at 49

@Lightsabre ah right, I was confused as in my eyes Brexit has already happened in that we have left albeit in a transition period. I see you are referring to outstanding negotiations. Whilst I was a remainer I am trying to be optimistic. I bought my first home close to when we thought we really would be having a No Deal Brexit after taking a lot of advice as to whether or not I should wait to see if Brexit was going to happen. The advice at the time was to go ahead. I am trusting that I was given good advice as what is done is done now.

The maintenance costs on a bigger house with garden would be higher. Why buy something much bigger than you need and overstretch yourself?

Why do you want a house bigger than 3 bedroom to live in alone?

Don't forget a big 4 + bed detached will cost far more to heat and maintain, and a big garden is also a lot of work. It could also take longer to sell.

Buy something that you can add value to by upgrading or something always in high demand (not a new build if it's a stepping stone).

Thanks so far for the replies everyone.
By bigger I meant a bigger kitchen, living room and bedrooms, not necessarily more bedrooms.

There are always people around saying that the housing market is about to crash so you'd be an idiot to buy. People said that to me in 2015 when we bought our house. If I'd listened then we wouldn't be able to afford to buy now and we'd have thrown away £60k in rent in the meantime.

I agree in theory to buy a starter home to get onto the ladder. Just a few things to consider that nobody told me: How long will the 15mile commute take to get to work in traffic? What is the additional cost of fuel? Can you easily get to work on public transport if your car breaks down? How much do you need to spend on the property to make it 1.(initially) more comfortable 2.improve the resale value? (I.e. does the house need any of the following: new roof, rewire, central heating, new boiler, new kitchen, new windows, new bathroom, new floors/carpets). Be careful that you don't spend too much on improvement's/pay too much for the property and find you can't recoup your investment.

Good luck x

Buy now, move up in time.

100% get the starter home.

I got a 2 double bed terrace. It was enough for me at the time. I think if i'd had a 3rd bedroom I wouldn't have even gone in there.

I look back at my first house and miss it!

I'd get a flat either close to work or good transport links. Location location location. Pay down the mortgage as fast as you can bear. Smaller means cheaper to furnish, carpet, paint etc. I now live in a big house and every job is expensive because the sq footage makes it expensive even with cheap materials. Go smaller and use the money to pay off debt not flooring and sofas.

Id absolutely buy now.

We did and 4 years later bought the "forever home" - though actually regret it and personally would move back if i could.

15 miles is quite a way for commuting. How much would this cost in extra time, fuel and wear and tear on your car? Is the train reliable? What's the noise like? Do people park on your road for the station?

I would be wary about buying anything for the sake of it.

Certainly a smaller first time purchase is absolutely fine. We did the same with a small 2-bed. It was cheap to heat and bills were low, including the cost of redecorating as it was so small! However, be sure of how things sell in the area. We bought a smaller house in a desirable area with parking for 2 cars (which was rarer as most only had space for 1). It made it very popular when we sold it (7 years later) and we accepted an offer within hours of it going on the market. That meant it rose in price despite a longstanding stagnant trend. I think you need to have more of an eye on these things if you're buying and potentially selling fairly quickly.

15 miles is quite a way for commuting.

It depends on the commute surely. 15 miles across London would be a nightmare and take forever, but I'm in the north and have a 20 mile commute that takes 25 mins. First job I had I had a 32 mile commute that could take 45 mins to an hour and that was too long but anything under half an hour each way is fine.

Buying a flat means you need to pay maintenance.

You also don’t have a garden. Many people like gardens!

Unfortunately it's a gamble, and no one can tell you what will happen. Those (including myself) who stretched themselves in the past to buy as big as they could as young as they could and now (including myself) feel a bit smug were lucky enough to benefit from a rising property market and interest rates at unprecedentedly low levels.

It might carry on. Brexit might make us all very rich. But it might not. And brexit might be a disaster.