Do you live alone? How do you afford it?

[littlepieces]

My dream has always been to live in my own home - just renting would be fine. I grew up in a really dysfunctional family, suffer from anxiety and absolutely crave quiet and privacy. (I'm not a hermit, quite social in fact, but need a safe space). Despite working hard and earning an OK salary in a 'professional' career, I'm unable to afford either. I'm mid 30s and can only afford a room in a flat share which is really getting me down. To rent a very basic, not particularly nice studio/1 bed flat in an undesirable area that's nearish to my work and friends would be almost three quarters of my monthly salary.

Would love to hear from people who rent or own alone... seems like many people manage it. How do you afford it? Where do you live and how much does your home cost to run per month in relation to your income?

(I meant unable to afford either renting or buying)

Area of the country is a huge factor. I'm in the midlands and rent on a 2 bed terrace with garden would be around £500 a month. I was lucky enough to be able to buy and bought in a cheap area so mortgage is £440 a month for a 3 bed mid terrace.

Sounds like you're in a high cost area. Here it costs around £5-600 pm to rent a 1-2 bed flat or terraced house in an up and coming small town that's popular with young professionals or maybe an extra £1-200 pm in the centre of a large vibrant city.

Is there any chance of moving jobs or negotiating WFH most of the time?

Or if you have to stay put, can you try and find a like minded person to share a 2 bed flat with? Or maybe someone who only needs to live there during the week, so you get weekends and holidays to yourself?

I live in the North and have a council flat.

Perversely it can be cheaper to buy than rent. Where in the country are you?

I live in Scotland and for years I lived in council flats. Single parent in my 30s I worked my way up gradually (still earn less than £30k). I was also left a small amount by my mum (£8k) which went towards a deposit on an ex council house which I bought at 40.

Hasn't it always been cheaper to buy rather than rent, once you have a deposit?

The mortgage on our first house was £180 pm with a 5% deposit and interest rates that were much higher than they are today. It would have cost £300-350 pm to rent, which we couldn't afford at the time.

I couldn’t afford more than a room in my 30s I did get social Housing on disability grounds but other wise I’d still be there almost 50.
Moving to cheap part country is only real possibility but dependant on job as you could be no better off on lower wage and cheaper rent.

I live in a two bed mid terrace and pay £495 a month rent out of a take home pay of £1400. I just have to be careful! Xx

I don’t live in London.

That’s pretty much the answer. Managed to buy a one bed flat (6 years ago) on my own on a then salary of £29k.

It’s never going to be possible in London or most of the surrounding or equivalent areas.

Mid thirties here. I'm renting a spacious 1 bed flat in a picture postcard village in a very desirable part of the country for £700pcm plus bills council tax etc. It's a shortish commute to London. It's not cheap but I am on approx £30k gross salary and can put away some decent savings each month if I don't spend on luxuries. Normal rent for what I've got should be at least £950 per month but I shopped around on Rightmove for ages and this gem came up. I'd like the cut my living costs further so will be looking to buy a flat in a more affordable part of the country next year. Just saving deposit slowly. Like you I crave peace and quiet after growing up in a noisy dysfunctional family and feel too old for flat shares now.

@IRanSoFarAway1

Oops First mortgage was nearly £960 a month. Rent had been similar.

Yes, it was 25 years ago, but as it happens that house has just sold again last year for exactly 4 times what we paid for it.

If a FTB bought it now, again with a 5% deposit, the mortgage would now be about £600 pm, rent maybe £100 pm more.

Ultimately I moved to a cheaper area: where I first lived out of university, renting a shared place was £500 a month excluding bills, where I currently live is £500 for the mortgage on a two bed terrace. I have a job that doesn't pay the same in those areas but the pay differential is a lot less than the cost differential. And by the standards of my area I'm a much higher spec candidate: I have an equivalent role to people who are mainly 10+ years my senior.

Yes a 2 bed terrace in a small town on the outskirts of Leeds, with a station and good access to the motorway.

Similar to:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110075414#/

It's possible, even in London, but perhaps not in your favourite neighbourhood -- you may have to sacrifice proximity to friends, for example. Or be more open-minded about 'undesirable neighbourhoods'. Only you can say whether it's worth it for having your own space.

OP
Have you looked at the part ownership incentives?

My age at the time I first bought somewhere (24), being able to walk to work for many years (and now wfh), are probably the two main factors. Were I 24 on the income I have now I could not afford to buy.

It all depends on where you live and how much you earn! My first flat, one bed flat, in my early 20s I rented in a city centre, rent and all bills included was £575… I took home £1300. So half my wage went on my mortgage. But at the time I had v little outgoings so it was easier.
I live outskirts of a major city, it’s lovely. Here the cost for a 2 bed house to rent is about
550 per month, my mortgage for a 4 bed house is 620!

I can't afford to buy, so have been renting for the last 8 years. My rent and bills are over 70% of my income, so it is v expensive. However, I'm trapped where I am due to schooling for the next few years, so once that is done, I can move.

I live in the Midlands and bought my first house when I was 26 and interest rates were 19%.
I think my mortgage was over 50% of my income. I had very little left after mortgage, food, bills.
I didnt have many holidays until I was in my late 30s, unless it was visting my friends who lived in Cornwall.
It wasnt in the best area of town. I have usually been able to walk to work
I have never been able to run a car.

What is a 'Through By Light' Terrace when it's at home?