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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you are under 35

239 replies

Marmaladedandelions · 27/04/2015 16:09

How you could afford to buy a house?

This is a genuine question: I have noticed a lot of people talking about how they can't afford to buy. I must admit that most people around my age (33) own.

We originally had a mortgage with money my dad gave us. Things have changed now due to inheritances but that was how we bought our first place, in 2005.

How about you? :)

OP posts:
Lemondrizzletwunt · 27/04/2015 16:25

I'm 27 and DH is 32. DH's grandmother left him something in her will, which covered a deposit. The mortgage we obviously handle on our own, but the irony is it's cheaper per month than renting...

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 27/04/2015 16:25

Some people buy houses that are neither lovely nor in great areas.

The cheapest 3 bed semis in Leeds on Rightmove cost under £60k. A couple earning NMW could probably get a mortgage for that amount.

Breadrocks · 27/04/2015 16:26

We had an inheritance (fil passed away quite young). If the inheritance hadn't come along we were on track to buy anyway, but would have bought a flat instead of a house. We managed to save enough for a small deposit on our own just by living in a small cheap flat and forgoing luxuries (holidays, meals out, clothes etc) for a few years.
We were undoubtedly 'lucky' in a bittersweet kind of way. Lots of friends have bought with family help or inheritance, but not all. Some just worked and saved for a few years. I think as long as you have no dc, or caring responsibilities it can be done, but throw childcare into the mix as well as rent, and I can see how it becomes impossible to save enough to buy your own place.

DonnaMoss · 27/04/2015 16:26

I was 27 at the time btw

PinkSquash · 27/04/2015 16:26

The only way we were able to afford our home was down to getting an inheritance.

Binkybix · 27/04/2015 16:27

I would add that I don't think my method would be possible now in the part of London we bought in. Plus we have a big mortgage!

KumquatMay · 27/04/2015 16:27

We bought in our late 20s; in-laws gave us half our deposit (10k), we had another 10k in joint savings and then we borrowed another 7k interest free from in-laws to be repaid in the next 10 years.

It also helps that we live in what's considered a very dodgy area and houses are regularly under 100k.

Elledouble · 27/04/2015 16:27

I'm 29 and in the middle of buying a very modest (well... small) house with my partner. I've saved up the 20% deposit myself - they're basically my life savings - a couple of bequests from late relatives, a tax rebate and a PPI refund helped but the rest has been squirrelled away from my wages since I got my first job.

It's not our dream home by any means but we're due to have a baby any day now and we wanted to have our own place ASAP but keep our mortgage repayments as low as possible.

We're both paid around/just over the national average but live in a reasonably expensive area of Birmingham.

DidoTheDodo · 27/04/2015 16:28

My two daughters are both under 35 and both own houses bought without parental help.

shewept · 27/04/2015 16:29

Just realised I didn't mention that I bought my first house alone then, now Dh moved in just before we got married. So he, obviously has paid partbofbthe mortgage. My posts makes it sound like it was just me. Although in was the one that insisted on making the extra payments.

RedDwarfPosse · 27/04/2015 16:29

We're 31 & 32 and we have absolutely no chance of buying unless a long-lost relative leaves us a massive inheritance one day or we win the lottery!

We spend so much money on privately renting wd have no money left over for any savings. Plus, as a result of paying such high rent (because low rent meant living in dingey shitholes with dodgy landlords) we struggle to pay bills which has destroyed our credit history. So unless we had the full cash amount to buy a property outright we'd never get a mortgage anyway, even with a deposit

Altinkum · 27/04/2015 16:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PutWittyUsernameHere · 27/04/2015 16:30

I'm 34, and if I'd stayed in my OK-paid, but soul-sucking job DH and I could probably have saved enough to buy about now. But at the moment I'm retraining so we only have one salary. We could just afford a mortgage on DH's income, but have no deposit and it would be a stretch. We'll be renting for a few years yet...

twirlypoo · 27/04/2015 16:30

I'm 34. My first house was £19k and we put the deposit on a credit card and panicked about how much debt we were in. I was 21.

We bought just before prices really kicked off here, and my ex now has Aprox £300k in equity in the house we bought just before we separated. In a naive move to just have him out my life I signed everything over to him.

Honestly don't think I'll ever get back on the property ladder again as not likely to get a mortgage, no inheritance due and no deposit saved.

Depressing as hell Confused

Bubbles71 · 27/04/2015 16:31

I'm fortunate enough to have a partner who never seems to spend money and who, despite being on a very modest salary, was able to save regularly over a 15 year period. Which meant we were able to buy with a decent deposit a couple of years ago. No idea how others do it though. I earn more than him but found it impossible to save whilst renting (granted, we were in different parts of the country back then).

MegMogandOwlToo · 27/04/2015 16:32

Bought a cheap flat with a loan as a deposit, then sold it on a couple of years later, made enough on it to be a deposit for the next house, and again made enough on that for a bigger house.

It's called a property ladder for a reason - start small, climb your way up.

Fugghetaboutit · 27/04/2015 16:32

I'm 28, partner 35 with toddler ds. We moved back to our parents house for a year and saved and saved. Parents gave us 50k from remortgaging their properties (divorced) and partner has put in 25k, we've bought a 3 bed in outer london for 450k.

mangoespadrille · 27/04/2015 16:34

We lived in my mum's spare room for two years and saved 18k. It was a nightmare at the time, but so worth it. I don't know anyone who has bought without parental help.

Fugghetaboutit · 27/04/2015 16:35

Forgot to say, we were privately renting and spending more than a mortgage a month on rent, didn't want to get caught in the rent trap with kids and went back home to save.

TarkaTheOtter · 27/04/2015 16:36

Dh saved up in his early 20s for a deposit and bought a flat. When we married late 20s he sold that and we added in some savings I had and bought a house. No inheritances but he has always been reasonably well paid and was able to save his initial deposit whilst young and childless which helped.

Ducky23 · 27/04/2015 16:36

Got ours when I was 21, inheritance covered a large deposit and mortgaged the rest. I had a well paid job (IMO) and it worked out cheaper than our rented properties

TheJiminyConjecture · 27/04/2015 16:37

The only people that i know who own in that age group ( we're also in that age group but rent) were able to do it with parental help. Either a big cash deposit ( circa 25k) or they lived at home with parents paying minimal or no rent until they reached 30. It's incredibly relevant that we live in the south so property prices are high!

TrollTheRespawnJeremy · 27/04/2015 16:37

I'm 29. I didn't go to Uni and got on the ladder early as did DP.

When we came to sell we couldn't shift one of the properties due to the financial climate so we became accidental Landlords. Then we bought our own home.

It's been a difficult balancing act and is sometimes very stressful but I know I am lucky to be under 30 and own a home big enough for a family to stay in for life.

SideOrderofChips · 27/04/2015 16:37

Im 30. And if you look at the prices of houses in Jersey we have no chance.

TrollTheRespawnJeremy · 27/04/2015 16:38

Should mention. We are in Scotland so you get more for your money anyway.