To ask how you managed to buy a house?

[ditziness]

We pay close to a grand rent a month. It's of our friend's mortgages are cheaper. As a consequence it's very difficult to save. But save we must to tryand get a deposit. So we have to continue to rent

Stuck in a vicious circle.

How the hell did you manage to buy a house?

Any financial, deposit raising, mortgage getting advice welcome

I went to work full time at 18. I got engaged and then married at 19. We had a small wedding (paid for by my parents) so we had been saving for a year, this gave us the deposit for a one bed flat. We lived there for 2 years and then moved to a house.

The scary thing now is that if our house was on the rental market, we would not be able to afford to rent it I live in the south of London and prices are just silly.

In the same boat OP.

We are 30, pay over a grand a month to rent a one bedroom flat. Need at least £60,000 deposit to buy a 2bed flat near where we live now. I have friends who have bought flats in London and all inherited/were given over £100,000 for deposits.

Other friends lived at home rent free for years (not possible for us) in order to save, none of who have then been able to buy in London and some have lost money/negative equity etc. they have also been given money.

I don't know anyone who saved a deposit while paying rent.

We have only been in a position to save for 6 months so far. Choice for us I think over the next couple of years is- do we keep saving a grand per month for the next four -5 years (while our rent goes up by 5% every year and all cost of living goes up too) to buy a flat or do we just get one with our lives and have a family and realise that home ownership will never be for us. We can not save and pay nursery fees. In fact nursery fees and rent for a second bedroom will be hard enough.

I read threads like this and feeling a mixture of 'good for you' and 'you have buggered house prices up' with so many stories of people buying and then selling and doubling their money for essentially doing nothing.

I feel v sorry for anyone younger than me, generally and wonder whether I should actually bring kids into it at all.

I bought my first house in the early 90's- it cost £40,000, it was a new build so the company paid the deposit- dh already had a house when we met, so were lucky.

I really sympathise with people trying to buy today, we just lucked out with timing.

(£60,000 deposit is 20% deposit as that's what the banks I have been to say what we need.)

I think the key to this is a) parental help b) a lucky break c) living in a part of the UK where house prices are significantly lower than in London d) being very frugal with money and living well within means. Or a combin

I've had three mortgages and didn't make a penny on the first two but that's because I lived in one of the only Boroughs in London which didn't really benefit from house price inflation in the 1990s. DW came to house buying late but had been very frugal with her money (so had the required deposit for her first property) and had lived somewhere where she paid a peppercorn rent for a couple of years which helped her considerably.

However we don't live in a particularly nice part of London or have a dream house so luck hasn't really paid big in our tale!

I managed it easily because I bought before prices became stupidly inflated in yet another house price bubble (as in 1970's, 1980's, 1990's) fueled by irresponsible lending from the banks.

Be patient and wait for a correction, OP.

Well since I started this thread things have changed! We are now actually buying a house. Meant to get the keys in 2 weeks.

Mental!

Because we were homeless we got offered a council house, which meant we became eligible for the LIFT scheme ( government shared equity in Scotland) and so hurray!

So we started looking, got excited, then realised that the LIFT scheme wasn't going to work for us, as the calculations, stipulations and restrictions on what you could or couldn't buy priced us out of the areas we can affordably live and work ( without changing jobs, life entirely). We had 12 weeks to buy somewhere that had to be exactly 155k but must be 4 bedroom and must be a house rather than a flat. Which would have meant us moving 30/40 miles outside the city we live and work in, essentially meaning we'd have to have got new jobs as the commute time and money wise would not have been doable.

So we started trying to work out what to do, accept a council house ( too small for us ( max 2 bedroom for 2 children) and no choice of location, and therefore schools, but beggars can't be choosers) and try and save on the lower rent. Buy a house through LIFT, and change jobs and our lives completely by moving to an area we didn't want to live. A lot of worrying and soul searching resulted in an unexpected phone call from a relation who had heard through family of our position and wanted to lend us a deposit. We had no idea she had the means to do this.

So the house we're buying now is because this relative has generously lent us 15% deposit on a 120k 3 bed ex council flat. It's not the biggest or best flat ever, but it's warm, watertight, big enough, close to our jobs, near good schools. So we're very very happy. It needs a lot doing to it, hasn't been renovated seemingly since it was built in the thirties, but fuck me it'll be ours and ateast I can paint a wall and buy a bed!

So in conclusion, we've been very lucky to be able to buy what we wanted, with small compromises through the help of a relative. But with bigger compromises we could have bought, or been in a better position to save. So the situation wasn't as impossible as I first thought. So my advice would be to those in the same position, take some chances, talk about your position ALOT, explore as many options as possible. There are other options out there.

Oh and the cost of our new mortgage, plus council tax,insurance, and paying back the kind relative still isn't as much as our rent was!

Save save and save. Friends and family used to take the mickey out of us as to how tight we were. At the time we were earning jointly over 100k. Paid of mortgage, bought investment property, saved 30k before conceiving.

Ten years later we have developed garden of 1st house, live in our dream house and I work in a job that I love but earns below living wage. We still are frugal with money much to the annoyance of DB. He however still rents lives like a god in France and has nothing to show for it.

We had no help on home buying front from parents but have since inherited money ( dasly way too early)

Bought the year I graduated with 100% mortgage in 2001. Big 4 bed terrace in crap part of town, cost £52k. Mortgage was £260 a month on a 40yr mortgage. I rented two rooms out for £250 a month each thus effectively having mortgage and bills covered. Lived there 2yrs. Sold house to one of my housemates for £30k profit which paid deposit on next house.

I think we just got lucky at the time to be honest, I was about 22, dh late 20's and we bought our home with 110% mortgage for 40k and sold about 7yrs later for 55k. We''re in no better a position now though because to move to be near our families we had to buy a shared ownership house with the housing association otherwise we couldn't afford to live in the area. That said, our monthly payments are low c.300 pm so we are saving to buy another chunk of equity in 5 years or so and keep doing that until we own it and we have hung onto the equity from the first house to do improvements. It's really not easy and those who have had help from relatives with deposits etc are in a very fortunate position. Our parents would never be able to do anything like that. But we're happy with the home we have, I would love a bigger house but not the bigger mortgage so for the foreseeable future we are staying put.

Glad worked out for you op.

the housing schemes are very restricted as freind nhs looked at keyworker schemes and hardly any and rule has to work in same are when hospital wasentin keyworker area,

people profited from buying council houses know people who took over tenancies from elderly relatives and brought, made a profit.

The latest scheme new buy only which are like shoeboxes we live in 3bed new build rented does my head in. plus new builds depreciate quicker.

All the doer uppers been brought and sold by property developers.

a good school can add silly value.

most mumsnetters will have kids.

we currently have single income
no rich relatives
no option of moving back in with parents with 3kids.

I pretty much 95%sure we will never own.

my only hope is we rent something bigger and better.

First bought in 2004 when you didn't need a deposit - i remember we were even offered an 105% mortgage which we declined!

I feel for people now who struggle to get on the ladder - you need such a big chunk of deposit (especially in London which is where i was)and it is very difficult to save for if you can't live at home or ask for help from your parents etc.

So OP in answer to your OP- get given money!

Lucky you. Enjoy your new home

I suspect council tax cant be frozen forever.

when we moved to area nd started looking at rentals there was so much competition had to be so quick then went so soon couldent even be fussy about areas we had a month to find somewhere in half decent area.

we made comprimise as the kitchen and bathroom are dire but its in ok ppostcode, nice garden. we rebt trhoiugh gtreedy agent who change annual admin fee for each contract as landlord wont give more than 1year so he can up rent every year.

recently had broken fire waited weeks.

not allowed a dog that kids so badly want.

Im not sure council tax is fair as its based on value of home which renter does not benefit from maybe renters should get reduced council tax.

Also something has to be done about 2nd homes.

I dont get why they dont regulate the private rental market give tennants some rights and protection.

even a social housing tennant has more freedom and security than private renter.

Must leave this thread as all the gifted money depresses me.,
The dire lengtsh people have to go or adavantages they need its crazy.

My DP helped us out with our first flat. They loaned us their savings (we had a proper legal 'mortgage' document drawn up and everything) which meant we could afford to buy. We bought a doer-upper which we did-up, lived in for about 6 years and then sold.

We gave them their investment back with a little bit of interest, and bought a 3-bed house which is where we live now.

We couldn't have done it without them.

Yes, it's very strange, I started this thread thinking that it was impossible and that we'd never make it, and feeling jealous of people with rich relations.

I think it just goes to show that nothing is impossible. ALl yous that want to buy something, then start actively trying to do it, talking about it to everyone. Who knows?

and btw, thank you everyone who contributed to this thread, it has been very inspiring for me x

Well, OP, you didn't 'make it'... Like a lot of others on this thread you've had to count on someone else having the deposit for you because you would never have done it yourself.

Sadly I don't think most people not giving up is going to make tens of thousands suddenly pop up.

Yes we would have, we would've have bought through the government shared equity scheme or would've taken a council house and been able to save. Both of these things would have been a compromise in terms of size of house, location and required a big change in our lives, but we would have done this.

And my other point is that we had no clue we knew anyone with the means to help us financially either, we only find out by being vocal and talking about the problem. We were also offered a loan by a work colleague of my husband, but decided against it as a loan through family felt preferable.

None of these things felt possible at all a few months ago. We only found out all these options were available to us because we were forced out of our rented property and into the situation where we had nothing to lose and started looking and talking about it.

Regardless of means sought, a happy ending was had.

In these difficult times that's all that we can hope for!

Pleased as punch for you OP! Hope your move is not too stressful!

Anyway, I still think that the whole thing stinks and that housing isfucked up. That it is far too difficult to get secure affordable housing. But I no longer believe it's impossible, as four months of active searching for a solution brought three our way. I feel incredibly lucky to have been loaned money so we had the chance to buy where we wanted to live, but it wasn't our only option. And I'm grateful to this thread, because it encouraged me to explore shared equity and social housing.

Thanks mrscrimbobash x

In the OP's defence, the money was a loan. Not a gift. She is paying it back.

Personally I don't know how anyone who doesn't have cash-rich parents, an inheritance, a bonused job in the city or a lottery win, can afford to own their own home in this country. People need help to get onto the property ladder and it's not something they should be shamed about.

I am really lucky (or smug if you prefer). 100% BoE tracker mortgage in 2004. My rough area of Zone 2 became gentrified. Interest rates plummeted, property values rose. Our joint income doubled in that time. Sold in 2010 with 35% increase in value.

Used equity and higher salaries to buy a house this time in a nicer area a bit further out. It was absolute shithole (we didn't know how shit until we moved in). Got a gift from MiL to do it up along with stretching ourselves on personal loans and credit cards. Took us 2 years and nearly killed us but we now have a three storey period home in a good area of London in the catchment area of an outstanding school. Trust me, I know that sounds like a boast but I am so acutely aware that our modest Edwardian terrace is genuinely 'living the dream' these days!

Our mortgage is very high - it makes me weep when I read about all these £300 PCM mortgages!!! But so are our salaries and equity. We have also improved the value significantly and paid off our debts. I'm aware that we have also ridden the crest of the credit boom and have taken huge risks that might not have paid off if it wasn't for luck and London house prices.

I think our generation (1970s babies) is the last to have social mobility. My parents were registered homeless when I was born. I grew up in a council house. The state paid for my education and enabled me to get a good job. My DS won't have this luxury. My sisters don't and my mother lives in a rented studio flat.

And to those who say 'move out of London', don't you realise that property values are so high and salaries so low outside London as well that the gap is insurmountable. My DSIS and her DH have good secure professional jobs but average prices in the village they grew up in are ten times their joint income. It's a popular area for second homes btw.

It was luck in our case. We're old enough to have bought in London before things went crazy, so had the equity to be able to move a bit further out of town and swap a flat for a house. We couldn't have done it if we'd started five years later, even though I'm decently paid, which is a sobering thought.I'm lending my sister a deposit for a house out of London (in north east which is why I can afford it) as she hasn't a Snowflake's chance in hell of saving it while paying rent.