To think it IS possible to get on the housing ladder?

[SleepyHeadThisTime]

I'm not talking about people living in London - god I would not like to be a first time buyer there!

However, I live in one of the most expensive areas for housing in the country and DH and I have spent the last 10 years scrimping and saving to make it to our 'forever home'. Our first house was an ex council house and an absolute dive but we ploughed all our savings into it, did it up, sold it and did the same again twice more. We have never earned more than 40k per year between us.

AIBU to think there is an element of choice about getting on the housing ladder? I have friends who say we're so lucky to be in the position we're in, however when we were spending every weekend sanding, painting, tiling and the rest, they were having holidays abroad, meals and nights out and new cars?

I don't begrudge them this (we're now enjoying all these perks) but I am a bit irked that it's put down to 'luck' and not bloody hard work and very frugal money management?

Surely if you're earning there is the potential to get on the property ladder? I know some who weren't willing to go down our route but still managed it through the government help to buy and shared ownership schemes.

I understand circumstances such as buying on your own and being on a low salary etc make this much more difficult but when I read about 'millenials' earning 30k plus per year and living at home with parents because they can afford to buy it makes me a bit

Btw DH and I bought our first house in 2010 so not in the golden era when houses were only about 3 times yearly salary!

ravingroo We ideally need more space so would be looking to go to somewhere for 5 years. I'm anxious at getting caught out. If it was our "forever home" I would not be as worried as I think long term your right.

YANBU - there are some people who could afford to buy if they set their minds to it.

I also think a large part of it is that people don't realise they REALLY need to be buying in their 20's. 30's is pushing it and 40's is when you should be thinking about paying your mortgage off!

It's all this faffing about in your 20's I really don't get. What exactly are people doing if their not buying houses?

I think the op is talking about specific circumstances. Most posters are talking about their own circumstances which are obviously different. Yes, some of those couples that are similar to the op could make sacrifices and do the same as the op but chose not to, but the op has already said it wouldn't apply to London prices and as can be seen on here, it wouldn't apply to lots of other sets of people either.

I get what you're saying. I have a friend who insists that it's impossible to save up for a deposit these days whilst leasing a new sports car every year or two and renting two or three bedroom places for him and his partner.

I'm sure the average age of a ftb is 32 or similar & more & more ftb are taking out longer mortgage terms so I think the days of being mortgage free by 50 are over.

A 1 bed flat in this town (not London) is £250k.

My much younger brother is in his mid twenties and earns thirty grand, which is a decent wage. That would get him a 90k mortgage. So he needs to find £160k just to get on the housing ladder. Even if he saved half his wage that would take him at least ten years, and he needs to live in the meantime.

It’s impossible to get on the ladder here without parental help or similar. We bought in the mid nineties, thank god. DH earns a huge salary but we still wouldn’t be able to afford our house at today’s prices.

SpottedOnMN funny you should say that, I've also got a friend who has rented 4 bedroom detached houses for herself and her husband all her life - the mind boggles

YABVU

Some people do fritter away their money on pointless things then complain they have no savings to buy property.

Other people a lot of them use every penny they have on keeping their family warm, fed and housed. No holidays. No fancy cars. No fancy phones. No designer clothes. No premium TV. No savings to buy a property

People like you make me sick. Keep being smug in your ivory castle whilst other's stress about if this is the year that the landlord will want you to move for X, Y or Z reason.

"I'm sure the average age of a ftb is 32 or similar"

I expect thats right Getsorted21 - but IMO it's too old - what has the 32 year old being doing for the last 10 years? Where exactly have those earnings gone?

There have been a few threads on mumsnet on recent years where people ask how old everyone was when they brought their first home and the vast majority of these people were in their 20's.

Another point is that people have children now before they buy a house whereas people used to buy a house and then have children.

Once you have children you prioritise them and they get all the money thats spare.

I agree with Biker. OH and I bought a 3 bed, semi, new build using help to buy in Scotland. We could have purchased a bigger home but at the time worried about mortgage repayments and decided to go mid budget range to make sure we could afford any interest fluctuations.

We only bought it two years ago but now need to move in the next 5. We had an unexpected and unplanned DC and our 3rd bedroom isn't going to last him. We don't know if we will be able to move because we won't be eligible for help to buy and cannot guarantee we will get a mortgage to suit the house despite earning almost 60k between us (by the point we want to move).

However I have friends who put my house purchase down to luck. What I saved for a deposit they spent twice over each year on nights out, holidays and shopping trips.

Forgot to add we already have DS1. We've not just stuck baby DS in the small room for shits and giggles.

280k for a house here minimum. Say plus costs and legals, you need 35k. 3.5 grand a month for an average couple coming in after tax. So minus basics of rent, insurance, utilities, student loan payment, pension, food, petrol, 2 cars to run, childcare.
How?!

Don’t even know by I’m bothering to reply to such a stupid thread, but a quick google could tell you what millennials (people born in the generation starting in 1985) are up against. The economy, housing market and job availability have been abosolutely annihilated by previous generations. Those who left school, had free university and got jobs for life and cheap mortgages and were able to afford for only one parent to work. Those days are gone and no amount of ‘don’t get an iphone’ will help anyone save 100,000 for a deposit whilst paying off their £40,000+ student loan, transport costs, rent, food, bills and childcare, etc. etc,

Have a wee think yourself, and look about the internet for what’s happening in the economy now, and it’s going to get much much worse thanks to people who voted to leave the EU.

Notsuch I assumed it wasn't necessarily a choice but more that was the age ftb had the necessary earnings & deposit?

I wish I got on the ladder in my early 20s, in those days I could have had an interest only mortgage 5x my salery & would be sitting pretty in my 1mill pound house now 😫

I don’t know if yabu really, as it sounds as if you’re talking about particular RL acquaintances of yours who spend too much and then dismiss your hard work to get on the property ladder as “luck”. I get why that would be irksome.

The thing is though, as people have said, if you managed to buy your council house ten years ago, that is quite lucky (sorry). There are people who are utterly desperate for a council property to live in and there just isn’t enough to go round now. So, in that respect, you are one of the “lucky” ones.

We’ve managed to buy a house. It isn’t big, but we’re near London and it’s all we can afford. I don’t think we’ll ever move. Even if we technically ‘outgrow’ the house, I don’t think we’ll have any option. We have enough bedrooms to go round for now, so just won’t have any more dcs (we’re expecting our second and that will be it for us). And if the dcs moan when they’re older about not having enough space that will sadly be tough luck! I’ve had people say “oh how will you manage in that little house with two dcs, as they get older”? Um... we don’t have any option!

And the reason I didn't buy in my early 20s was I prioritised paying off my student debt & saving for a deposit as I thought it was risky to only put down 5%. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

OhChill your last paragraph is how I feel. Our house is brand new and we'll outgrow it very soon. DS2s room is big enough for a cot, mini wardrobe and narrow, tall drawers. He will have no room to swing our cat never mind play but we very much doubt we'll be able to move and if we are able to we may have to stay put because of the mortgage repayments and pension crisis.
I would love another DC but tough.

My rent is £300 a month more than my mortgage would be. I’ve never missed a payment in 5 years. Still couldn’t get a mortgage if my life depended on it. Would need to save 30k and then borrow about 7 times my income.

No amount of staying in and eating rice can make those numbers add up.

Actually no, would be about 12 times my income. Know any mortgage companies offering that kind of deal?

there are still houses in my area for the same price as when we bought our first home

Um, do you not think this might not be true for large swathes of the rest of the country?

In my area, where I have a permanent stable job (so don't want to move and take up contract work/probationary period elsewhere), house prices have leaped up in even the last five years.

Ex-council houses are around £200 grand, so not affordable on a wage of £40 grand at all. They were £160 three years ago.

You were able to operationalize your plan through luck and hard work combined, it's stupid, really stupid not to realise the part luck paid in this.

I'm inclined to agree. Many of us started with a home that wouldn't even be considered today. Our first home was a mid terrace in East London with no indoor plumbing or heating. DH plumbed in a hot water heater himself in the kitchen and that was our bathroom for the year it took to convert a bedroom to a bathroom. We didn't eat out (or have a TV) for almost 3 years. Certainly there was no money for kids.

My point is that although it is certainly harder to get on the housing ladder now than then, it is still about making life choices. If you want to get on the housing ladder, you will have to make some sacrifices.

YANBU OP!

I bought this year (a one-bed for 200k) in a very expensive SE city. I've been saving at least 1/4 of my net income for eight years whilst paying high rents, working in a well-paid industry I hate. I bought alone and have delayed having children, pets or a car. I had no family help.

I hate it when friends say how lucky I am - yes, I am lucky to be of reasonable intelligence and reasonable health, but the rest was bloody hard work and sacrifice.

PS I am a millennial and I had avocado toast for breakfast

We bought a house not long ago, in our mid/late-20s. Took a few years of being very frugal and we are still being frugal as the situation has changed a bit and house needs lots of ongoing work that we are trying to do ourselves to save money.
We're constantly trying to decide if we should do it up and move or do it up how we want and stay here forever so we don't have the stress of moving ever again. But we want kids (although not sure we can afford them) so might have to move to somewhere bigger anyway.