My 21 yo son and 19yo GF plan to rent a house together

[Menomaddness]

This is a good thing generally, they've been together 2 years, spend a lot of time sleeping here and it's time. They both work but not in especially well paid jobs. About £45k income between them, but DS is on a decent career path. GF less so but she's very young.

Rent will be £1200 pm plus bills.

They do not have £1200 left at the end of the month currently, both spend money like water, but I guess when they have to they'll sort that out. DS pays keep of £200pm currently.

What worries me is the future. If they spend all this on rent, they'll never buy anything, but I also recognise that feels like an impossible dream anyway. An ex council flat is about £250k to buy here, so even if they saved 10 or 20% deposit, they wouldn't get the mortgage on their income.

However, I also know that as someone close to retirement with the mortgage paid off, buying young has made my current situation much better than it would otherwise be. I really can't imaging paying £1200 pm rent throughout retirement (more if they don't stay in a starter home forever).

Where will generation rent live as retirees?

Obviously it's a really long way off, but is there something of a time bomb for this gernation of young people?

They spend money like water because they CAN. When they have to make bills, they will.

Let him go.

They start renting...

We are in the cheap area round here. The next towns around are all more "desirable". Their jobs are here.

Ps: generation rent is actually about 35-40 now. Your son's retirement is so far off that we'll have been through endless government and policy changes then. I don't know the answer to your question but worrying 60 years into your son's future seems a little extreme

Oh hang on, you mean how does a retiree pay continuing rent

Sadly they have to budget for that or move somewhere cheaper, or house share

I only know what my friend's experience has been and that is that you can tell them it's time to leave, having them actually go is different.

That rent is expensive but they have a lot of life to live yet. No one I know bought property at least until their 30s - everyone was studying, travelling, living in shit holes, building their careers and finally saving for deposits once their earnings got a bit better. Many of them now overpaying mortgages because they are in better positions financially to do so.

Yes, things are more difficult now but there are options. They could rent a room in a shared house rather than trying to get a house to live in for example. Or move to a cheaper area. At this stage they probably just need to learn how to live as adults (if they go through money like water) before thinking about the future

They would be better off renting for a couple of years so they can do that last transition into full adulthood, have their independence and then when they want to buy perhaps move back in to save.

Much easier to have proper adults back in the house who will have had a taste of independence and be more focussed about saving to get their independence back!

I didn't ask how they can buy, I asked what lifetime renters do in retirement.

There is more to your 20s than buying a house.

They will work it out eventually.

I would enjoy their growing independence and you might just have to accept that for younger generations it will be different trajectories than for ours.

Well yes, this is what happens if you want to live independently but you're not wealthy enough to buy. We rented for 10 years (thankfully rents were a bit lower then, more like £8-900pcm) until our salaries were high enough that we could afford to rent and also save for a deposit. We were a bit older, after uni so more earning potential.

No way we could live with either of our parents, and we did choose to wait until we could afford a small house because didn't want a leasehold. But still - yes it's a waste of money, but what's the alternative?

Well, quite a lot of your OP was about young people buying or not being able to.

But ok, I'll leave you to it as you seem quite spiky and I haven't had a cup of tea yet.

Yes, I wouldn't encourage them to buy together so young anyway really. GF is nice and DS is decent but they got together very young and I expect there's a strong possibility that the stresses of living together and having no money will not be great for their relationship.

It just got me thinking, not just about them but their whole generation. (And the one before them as PP points out).

DH and I didn't rent a flat together until we were 29/30. Before that we lived in big house shares, which worked out cheaper - and was fun! Would they consider something like that?

That rent does sound high on their wages, especially as you said they're big spenders.

Agreed!

Exactly. They will make their own way in life.

He is more likely to be back in your house by the end of the year, then, due to them not actually being able to afford it.

So you wouldn't encourage them to buy together so young.

You are concerned about the affordability where they want to rent even though they aren't being greedy, it's just the price (extortionate that it is)

You are concerned that if they rent that they'll get stuck in a cycle of renting for life.

You aren't willing for them to stay at home with you to save up enough for a it deposit, reduce would solve all the problems you've posted above.

What exactly are you after here?

you said yourself his wage will go up. As I’m sure hers will too! As long as they continue to rent small relatively cheap places and don’t keep increasing how “nice” the place they live in line with increased wages they should be able to save and buy a cheap house/flat.

having to pay rent should really focus their minds as well and may help them both get better at saving, even if they don’t have much at the start.

I understand the logic of kids staying at home now well into adulthood but I think it’s a real shame.

also they are very young and if they stayed at home for a year, saved like mad then bought a house with a partner he’d never even lived with, or only lived with her at his mums house then how good an idea is it really for them to get a mortgage together? Risky risky. By renting they can test it out and see how compatible they are and grow up together.

Let them get on with it.
Time to grow up and start adulting.
Don’t think of this as a lifetime of renting and “dead” money.
Think of it as:

• a year to learn how to budget (really, really budget!)
• a year to realise that focusing on career and earnings is worthwhile (maybe more for your son’s girlfriend)
• a year to think about the reality of carrying a lower earning partner (your son) Not that it’s always a bad thing - but go into it eyes open
• a year to think about location

A year of eye watering rent might be the thing that has them politely asking to run back to respective parents to save like crazy… or to really push and go for that career move…

My biggest concern wouldn’t be my son spending £600 a month on rent, but if he was paying say £900 on rent to subsidise someone barely into adulthood who should still be at home until she can pay her own way. I doubt that’ll be a popular view!

"I didn't ask how they can buy, I asked what lifetime renters do in retirement."

Downsize and claim housing benefit, pension credit and other benefits if their private income doesn't meet costs. Some will also qualify for social housing/extra care housing.

Isn't this just life?

This is exactly why people struggle to buy houses. In Cornwall the salaries are like £19500 for a professional role.

Rent is £1000 for a shitter or £1200 for a narrow 366cm wide 2 bed with a tiny garden.

House prices are ridiculous

This isn't a new problem 🤣 it's been going on for decades. And salaries don't always increase. (Although they will in the SE!)

We pulled a deposit together when people started dying and inheritance trickled down. That's just the way it is. (And not everyone has that!)

OP I am impressed you've had your head in the sand for so long 😊 and now ya know. Its just life.

Lifetime renters would get housing benefit/universal credit/whatever the future version is.

So the taxpayer subsidises second home owners/major corporations for life.

Renting at 21 doesn't mean renting at 70.

After? Just a discussion 😆