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?

When they are both of state pension age they'll be able to claim Housing Benefit to pay their rent so don't worry about that aspect of it. Plus it's ages away. They can worry about that later.

We are saving for DS's house deposit have been putting away the child benefit plus extra every month since he was born. Our mortgage is considerably cheaper than that rent, could you sign a guarantor mortgage with them to make buying more realistic. I think we have accepted we will have to help DS onto the property ladder if we want grandkids!

People of this generation are going to be increasingly unable to buy unless they have very large salaries or their parents can give them substantial lump sums. I suspect the answer if the rental market changing to offer longer, more secure rentals, but no sign of that at the moment.

my own children are a similar age and it's a real catch 22. I don't necessarily want them to move out and pay exorbitant rents when they could be saving, but it's likely to take them a long time to save while house prices get ever higher and they look increasingly out of reach.

Meantime, our house is bursting at the seams, exacerbated by the wfh trend as it's now not only multiple adults living in the house, but working here as well, so actually I don't want them staying here for a protracted period either ...

That's still a really expensive rent for a one bed! Where in the south east are you??? I'm Tunbridge Wells/Sevenoaks which are mental prices, and you can still get a 1 bed for £900 (still crazy price, but a lot less that £1200!) might not be the most beautiful on Righthmove, but a one bed flat, perfect for two people starting out.

Are they definitely looking at the most reasonable options price wise? Or the ones that they are in love with?

@MomFromSE

op doesn’t want them to live with her.
that is understandable and her prerogative.

Well in 50 years time when the majority of residents will be renting.... Rent will have to reduce because there won't be enough people able to pay, so the market forces will drive prices and rent down.

Because rents will be forced to reduce because more and more people will be renting and market forces will drive rent down.

More demand in the rental market is what pushes prices up?

I guess I’m missing the point of the thread, but I don’t think I’d be encouraging my 21 year old to buy a property with their 19 year old partner, regardless of my worries about them getting on the property ladder.

I agree. This is a massive life step for them, not only moving out but moving in together. What if it goes tits up and they're stuck in a mortgage together?

I'm pushing 40 but insisted on a years renting with now DH before buying to make sure we lived together well.

My thoughts too.

I'd give them a deal where I'd let them live with me for a year, charge them £1-1.2k a month, put it in a savings account and give them it back at the end. They'll then get an idea of budgeting and come out of the year with a buffer of some money for a one-day house deposit.

£1,200 in rent sounds ridiculous to me, and I live in London.

I think they've made the mistake of finding somewhere to rent that they'd like to buy if they could, and therefore renting a house that is beyond their means.

Why does a young couple need to live in a house by themselves? Can't they rent a flat or a house share? That's how people afford deposits and go onto buy.

Also, they should really be looking at a house share, first. That's what we all did in London until you end up moving in with a boyfriend mid-late twenties.

If they can't stay at home and save for a few years, wouldn't they be better looking for shared house rather than going for a flat or small house of their own? They are very young and just starting careers. They are likely to end up in debt or seriously struggling.

But if no-one can afford it then rents will be forced down, because if rentals are empty, there'll be more properties on the market, less portfolio landlords, and purchasing and renting will come down

Why do they need a whole house anyway, a family could use that.

It's parents now helping kids to buy that is propping up the market.

Take away bank if Mum and Dad.... Then what? Most people couldn't afford it ...houses don't sell...prices go down.

Got back to 1-2 people buying houses with 1-2 incomes instead of 2-4+ people funding it.

Are they especially tied to the area? Could they move away? They'd get somewhere a fair bit cheaper in, say Milton Keynes, Northampton, or Bedford. None of which are that far away from London.

What's the difference between a 2bed House and a 2bed flat?

Seriously though, if they really do want to move in together, I would speak to them about renting a double room in a house share at first.

I know having your own house is nice, but it’s expensive and if things don’t work out between them (so many people underestimate how hard actually living with a partner can be), then it will be easier to move on from a house share than their own place.

Cost. But why does a young couple even need two rooms? A spare room is a luxury, not a necessity.

They might both work from home. They may want to take in a lodger to help with rent.

He is an adult and you sound like you are a very controlling and manipulative person. Your original information did not reflect that you are in a position to financially help him all you do is berate him. You already have a house deposit saved for him but you are not giving it to him even though him owning his own home and not paying rent makes the most sense financially. Seriously, he has a degree, he has a professional job, he has a girlfriend what more can the man do to prove he is an adult? Of course ring fence and protect the deposit you have saved for him but stop lording over him and give him a chance seems to be he’s done very well for himself so far.

I think you are very sensible @Menomaddness. My parents gave me a huge amount of money towards a house, but only once I was older and settled. If they'd given it to me when I was 21, I'd probably have ended up making a big and expensive mistake with the wrong person. Nobody knows what they want at that age, especially not nowadays. My DC are all students aged 18-21 and there's no way I'd be assisting them to buy a house with a boy/girlfriend at the moment.