To think I'll never own a house?

[HotSun]

I'm 29, I have a DH and 2 lovely DD's who are 4 and 1. We have some debts, probably around £5,000, due to a family issue a number of years back. We are now paying this off. We have no savings.

We have £1200 a month after our bills, this is for food, fuel, any things we might need and then spending money.

I'm not working just now but will be in the next year or so but realistically, I won't be a high earner. I really expected that by the time I reached this age, I'd own a house or at least be a lot closer to it. I'm feeling rather deflated about it all to be honest and I just want a good future for our family but it feels like we'll never get there. Anyone been where I am and ended up getting to where they wanted to be? Hoping for some success stories to make me feel a little more positive.

I’ve been on internets forums long enough to see plenty of people dramatically proclaim how unfair it is they will never own property and then quietly purchase a house 3 years later when they enivitably find a way

If you wanted to buy you should’ve waited before having children. If you save £500 a month you’ve got between 5 and 10 years saving ahead of you before you’re in with a chance, and if it’s anything like the last 10 years house prices would’ve increased so much by then your cash value would be greatly diminished.

But life throws all sorts at us so who knows

This is why we bought before having children despite so many people telling me I didn't want to be an 'old' mum, better get on with it, etc 🙄 I'm 34 pregnant with DC 1, decent careers , nice house, no non mortgage debt, south East. We saved extra for our wedding and renovations by getting second jobs, but I'm guessing that would be harder with children. Still £1200 a month is a reasonable amount, how much do you save a month and then sit down go through three months statements and work out where money is spent on non essentials. You probably need around £40k for deposit, stamp duty, legal costs, a little bit of work/some basic furniture for a property around £300k. Even if you can only save £600 a month you'd do that in about five years if you have nothing saved now.

YABU

You are in a much more advantageous position than many because you are paying low rent and have £1200 a month after our bills!

You could save a deposit in a couple of years if you budget properly, open a Lifetime ISA and take advantage of an equity loan for first time buyers.

Plenty of people will never be able to do this!

If you save £500 a month you’ve got between 5 and 10 years saving ahead of you before you’re in with a chance,

This doesn't have to be the case at all. If you can save £500 a month for 2 years you will have 12k. Take advantage of what I've said below and then go and see a mortgage broker.

There is lots of assistance available- she could also look at shared ownership and help to buy. But traditional buying isn’t going to be easy

Every person I know, south east, waited until they owed to have children.

I'll be buying in the north of england when the time comes. So prices will be more reasonable which will be helpful. I think we'd love to be able to buy a house in the region of £180,000. Buying first then waiting to have kids wouldn't have been an option for us because we've had to move around for DH's job so we wouldn't have wanted to live apart.

Thats a strange post- seems like you won’t have any problem buying a house then?

Help to buy ISA is a good option. It would have taken us years to save for a deposit but we were very fortunate and had £10k given to us. We live in the north so that was a big enough deposit for a 2 bedroom house with the help to buy ISA boost. We didn’t have a baby until after we bought but if I’m honest, that’s because it took us nearly 2 years to conceive. Just try saving what you can, you have plenty of time

People have different priorities in life. You prioritised having children, while others chose to save for a house first.

If you are paying so little in rent and have a good amount left over every month, you should be saving hard. It takes a bit of effort you know, maybe you or your DH could get an evening/weekend job to add to the deposit pot - it's not going to be dropped in your lap.

Why can't you be a high earner when you are working?
You are only 29, got 40 years of working life ahead of you. Train in something that pays you more if you don't have the right experience now.

What are your qualifications and experience?

Living together makes sense but why did you have children if you wanted to prioritise buying a house

Write up your outgoings. For 180k you will need 5% deposit so 9k + circa 2k for solicitors, broker and moving. You could have that saved in year and half without really going frugal. You can get lovely large houses even for much less in NW, but I don't know where you are, so that might not be relevant.
1200 after bills is plenty to save from so you are provably spending more somewhere where you wouldn't have to.

Debt, disposable income and savings are somewhat irrelevant IMO although I can't imagine anyone being able to buy with less than £15k in cash savings.

You'll need a mortgage to buy a house so you'll need a job. If you want to buy a £180,000 house with a 10% deposit you'll need to borrow £162,000 which would require a household income of about £40k.

Home ownership isn't the end of the world OP. I am 29 and live in the South East; I was incredibly fortunate to be gifted a £35k deposit and we have a household income of around £90k- that situation is not normal; most of my friends are happily renting (often nicer homes than the one I 'own' owe the bank loads of money for)

@crisscrosscranky I needed 7k tbh. That included paint.

How come you only paid a 5% deposit oftenHangry?

It seems that now is a great opportunity for you to save your socks off, OP! If you cut back your on all but the essentials, you could probably save at least £600 every month.

That would soon mount up. In less than a year you would have paid off the debt. Then you can start saving for a deposit. You're very fortunate to be in the North, as prices are so much more reasonable.

You'll easily be able to do it, but only if you really want to.

@OftenHangry First time buyer

When I was a first time buyer the minimum I needed to put down was 15%. Is 5% that with help to buy?

I also only paid a 5% deposit. There are a few mortgage providers who will accept this for first time buyers...

If you have £1200 after bills then you can afford to save for a deposit.

It is so demoralising OP, I do understand. We have a six figure deposit ready due to inheritance, but to buy a pretty shitty two bed flat in either of the areas (or relatively nearby) our family live or where we work we would need to have a combined income of £80k to get the mortgage, even though our mortgage payments would theoretically be £500 less than we currently pay in rent. It's bonkers. We are in London though.

But with £1200 spare money a month you could definitely save a 10% deposit for a £180k property pretty quickly if you lived frugally for a bit. It's definitely within reach for you if you prioritise now while you have less outgoings.

You need to get a grip. You could be saving about £500 pcm already. Plus you could do a couple of nights in a bar or something after the kids have gone to bed, extra £150 - £200 ppm on top to save.
Make a list of your outgoings and see where you can save.

I don't see why you don't think you can do it?

Once you go back to work your income will rise somewhat, and with the spare money you have each month and not paying rent, a house in your region should be quite affordable. And you can save a deposit while paying low rent so...compared with many others your age, you are doing fine.

5% deposit is an awful idea; the interest rates going up + housing market slowing + very little equity = negative equity.