Those who decided to buy their first home on their OWN instead of renting - what made you make the leap?

[Ukelele3]

Those who decided to buy their first home on their OWN instead of renting - what made you make the leap? What reasons made you no longer want to keep renting, how old were you when you bought your first home and looking back now, do you think you made the right choice?

I bought my own flat at 23 in 2010. I was fortunate enough to be able to live at home until then and save up a decent deposit. I always knew I wanted to do it on my own as female financial independence was something I always saw as important. Sold it in 2019, it doubled in price and I am now in a 3 bed house. It was a struggle in the early days and I had to make a lot of sacrifices but it was totally worth it,

I’ve still never owned a new sofa though and wouldn’t be at all surprised if I dont for another 3 or 5 years

I never thought of this until I read your post, but although I bought a flat at 28 I didn’t have a new sofa until I was 41. Even my carpets and curtains were second hand , the only brand new thing was a mattress and the bathroom tiles !

Thanks a lot everyone so far - was really interesting reading all your stories

It was interesting to read everyone's journeys and thinking wasn't it.

If you are a ukulele player OP have you seen Sam Neill's lockdown sessions?! Really brightened up some lockdown days here!

I was 23, single, and went from housesharing to my own house (tiny as it was). I could just about afford the mortgage, and intended to get a lodger if I needed one. But after a year, now DH moved in with me.
I didn't have anything new, apart from a futon my mum bought for me, hadn't ever had a holiday overseas or more than a night in a cheap hotel, no car etc and managed to save even through uni which made it happen

Wanted my own space after house sharing. Had just been promoted at work. Rented out the spare room for a few months to help with initial rent > mortgage step up.

@CalmConfident @CMOTDibbler interesting. What aspects of house sharing did you not enjoy that motivated you to buy your own place? Did you have to compromise on location to go from house share to homeowner?

I wanted to not have to think about other peoples rules really. And get a cat.
I compromised on buying a house I could afford, rather than the nicer house I'd lived in. At the time, the city I lived in was very affordable if you didn't have to worry about school places or living somewhere 'nice', so I chose a location that I could cycle or bus to work from.

I loved house sharing, but after uni plus another 2.5 years once working I increasingly craved my own space. Original fabulous housemates gradually left and were replaced by slightly more annoying folk (even though I upgraded to the best bedroom). I wanted to be accountable to no-one and come and go as I pleased without discussion or comment 😂 I had a long term boyfriend (but long distance) but I also ended things the week after I moved into my place. I wanted a clean start, though I did spend a month crying whilst decorating. Housemate moved in for a while but only mon-thu and was easy going.

I only moved round the corner from my previous place...and round the corner again after DH and I had been married for a couple of years and wanted something bigger

It was over 20 years ago so house prices a bit lower !

My last rental, was in a house share more like a sublet and was okay until new guy moved in and I shared bathroom with him and he never flushed the toilet.

At that point I had enough of shitty houseshares and wanted my own space and renting a one bedroom in London is double the price of a mortgage of a house slightly further out in zone 4

I was 29 and had been renting for a year after leaving XH.

It was a combination of things really - landlord had tried to sell (and failed), a lot of work colleagues were doing the same and at the time houses were affordable.
I also had 8k from work share option scheme.
Bought 2 bed terrace in 1996 for 62k, sold in 2001 for 100k. House is worth about 220k now.