To ask how long it took you to raise a mortgage deposit?

[IamScarfaceClaw]

Just musing really, DP and I would love to own our own home one day, we live in a relatively low living cost area and a 2 bed or small 3 bed is about £140K. We earn about 25k combined and (obviously) currently rent so have all associated costs.
So AIBU in asking, without windfalls/inheritance etc how long did it take you to scrimp and save for your mortgage deposit?
disclaimer- I'm a list maker and a forward planner and I love having timelines to work with, so not just beingnosey.

33 years - that's how long I worked for the Civil Service before taking early retirement (aged 50) and was able to put the lump sum down as the deposit (45k).

It took us a year to save 10K. My mother gave me a present of 1k and told me I only had to save 9 more of them.

During that year we pared everything to the bone. No eating out, no newspapers or magazines, no coffees, no holidays/trips, no clothes, no presents for other people if we could avoid it, very frugal grocery shopping. We had one child in nursery which was about 1200 a month at the time and rent of similar.

As well as saving, I think it is good advice to see if you can increase your income in any way.

Without being rude, 25k combined is very low if you want to buy 140k

It took me 10 years to save £10'000, that was putting £100 a month or thereabouts into a savings account. Am a lone parent so money was very tight, have now bought 50% of a house in a shared ownership scheme.

Took us about 10 years, we raised 50k, which was about 25% of the purchase price and the minimum deposit (this wasn't the UK).

We're now abroad, trying to pay it off as quickly as possible. Blew my mind the first time I did the calculations and saw just how much the bank will actually get in the end. Makes you wonder why anyone bothers (aside from the whole security thing of course).

I was exceedingly lucky and my dad lent me the money for our deposit. IF we would have had to save and rent we would have probably managed to save about £200/£300 a month without living on the breadline so would have taken 3 years maybe depending on how much we needed. Just make sure you have another couple of grand spare for solicitors and other annoyingly expensive things.
Good luck tho :)

Wow! I created this thread just before bed and hadn't checked all day (been working) surprised at so many responses!
Yes I agree 25k is quite low, DP works part time at NMW as he is main Carer for DD (we only have one child but still means a 1 bed would not suit.) I am currently a trainee in a specialist role so my income will raise above 25k in a year or two when training is complete.

Lots of helpful suggestions, thank you.

There is a chance of a windfall when DPs parents pass away but I would rather they where still around than have the money to be completely honest!

were

It's so unfair now. My kids are all renting and saving hard.

We brought our new 3 bed detached with big garden in 1988 with a £300 deposit paid on a credit card.

House cost £34,000. 100% mortgage. Lovely area.

3k. It took 6 months and the bank questioned why we were putting so much deposit down as we could have borrowed 125%.

I bought a flat in the South East and to keep up with the increase in price over the 8 years I've owned it you would have to save £800 per month. It's madness.

2 years, 40k

65k. Had to put down 25% as was 2009. Took us around 5 years.

12 months - our deposit was £500 - we bought a house for £10,000 with a 95% mortgage.

My net pay - after tax/NI was £125 a month, and DH's was £180 - back in 1976/7.

We inherited 40k from my great-grandmother. I am so grateful to her. None of us expected her to split the inheritance equally between her son, grandchildren and great-grandchild (me) rather than giving the whole lot to my grandfather. It was an amazing thing to do as it enabled us to get on the property ladder years before we otherwise would have done. It really changed our life as we would have delayed starting a family too if we had to spend several years saving. I just wish I could thank her

I expect it would have taken us 5 years to save that sort of deposit if we hadn't had that help.

45k across about 3 years in London - but that was by renting a freezing, damp flat, having very few holidays and generally being too busy working to go out (which bankrupts you around here!). If we'd had the option to move in with family, we would have done so - but not practical for us, as we were both doing jobs that you can only really do in London.

I should add that we bought back in 2008, so this saving was happening from about 2004/5 onwards. I think that we were at the tail end of the generation who could scrimp and save early in their careers and get a deposit together. I don't think people in our position can do the same now, as house prices have risen so much faster than incomes and rents in London are insane. It's very unfair and I'm so grateful we knuckled down and saved when we did - the market would have run away with us if we'd left it even a couple of years later.

I bought my first flat for £47K in 2004, and was earning around £24K plus bonus at that time. I got a 100% mortgage so no deposit required, in fact I clearly remember the broker saying, if you want to get 125% so you can buy new furniture/kitchen etc then that is fine.. Even then I thought I was madness.. I was a saver back then but it didn't make sense to use savings for a deposit when I could borrow the full amount from the building society. It is a different world now, though, wishing you the best in your future plans.

We lived on boats, started small on a b

Didn't save anything as I had little available to save after rent and bills etc. I made an appeal to my parents to help me get on the ladder. They gifted me the deposit (7k) and fees to enable me to get a 95% Firstbuy mortgage on my first flat. Wouldn't have been able to get on the ladder in this area otherwise.

8k in one year in 2000. Spent nothing (except for petrol) as I lived with my parents. Have never had luxuries really. We have upsized but always to properties that needed work

Two years to save £3000 living with inlaws and doing two part time and one full time job. DH working full time as well. In 1984

After I graduated and got a professional job I stayed in grotty house shares for a couple of years saving min 500pcm. House was £126 with a 10% deposit.

Our in laws gave us 3k in 2002 to get a 65k house in 2003.

We've saved almost 100k in a year which will be our deposit for our next house. Husband has worked abroad for almost the entire year to enable us to do this though, we would never be able to have done it otherwise.

DH had a property to sell and we used the equity.