To think that house buying is the norm in my world?

[Friendly1234]

NC’d for this, I was reading an article this morning about how ppl are finding it hard to get on the property ladder these days and I realized that literally every single one of my friends and family have been buying houses with relative ease for the past 10 years (I’m in my early 30’s!) so from what I can see it’s the norm to buy (and build houses) at around 24-26!! I wouldn’t say my friend have particularly high powered jobs either, most are nurses, teachers and have apprenticeships. A few even work in retail!!

I bought 20 years ago so obviously times were far easier then housing wise.

But still in our favour was the fact we left the South as even then it was more expensive, DH and I met in the same workplace as both relocated alone. My friend bought a small flat in Clapham for about 30k, just up the road in an ex mining village nearish me you could buy almost two houses for that sum.

I grew up in a Southern rural area that’s beautiful but rubbish for a decent career. All my close friends relocated, you had to if you wanted to achieve anything. I think people that are willing to move around versus people that want to stay where their family are will both be hard pressed to fully understand each other.

Agree Ninja, there was a thread on here a few months ago and the crux of the story was that a young City solicitor ‘couldn’t afford’ to buy in London because she needed 500k, but when I pointed out she could afford to buy where I live(d) if she saved for 2 years quite a few people claimed, and one in fact said ‘lol at the idea that a city solicitor should be expected to live in a shithole like that’. Not a verbatim quote but near enough!

(I’m City solicitor )

It is ok you know. Why is the OP unreasonable for having a different experience?

It’s not unreasonable to have a different experience but it’s unreasonable to assume it’s the same for all.
I’m off to the South of France for a month in the summer as my parents have a house there. Many of my friends also have parents with homes abroad. Do I assume it’s the same for most people? No.

It's like we should be putting which are we are talking about at the beginning of each post. NW, SE, Lon, NE etc.

But in all of those regions, the number of young people buying has dropped. So it’s not just London and the SE vs, everywhere else. I’m nowhere near the south-east, I couldn’t afford to buy until I was in my 30s, and it really wasn’t a case of just not being willing to go without holidays for a couple of years (I bloody wish!).

It’s not unreasonable to have a different experience but it’s unreasonable to assume it’s the same for all

Not sure how she did really when she quite clearly stated “in MY world”.

If I had said it’s normal in my world to live in 800k plus homes & have help with deposits, childcare etc many posters would rightly tell me I was being a dick!

I think it's interesting that lots of the "I can't move away from my family" type posts come from people who live in London or the South East. They're never from people who live in tiny rural villages in the North West where the job opportunities are few.

It’s not unreasonable to have a different experience but it’s unreasonable to assume it’s the same for all.

Except that OP didn't assume it's all same for everyone, did she. Talking about your experience and how your surroundings are different to the things in an article is not assuming it's like that for everyon.

It's not OP's little bubble. That bubble is actually quite big.

In fact I would argue that London and the SE is the part of the country in a bubble!

More & more people will leave London or not bother going there in the first place in the future, particularly with increasing numbers of people working remotely.

@adaline Agreed

Just in case there’s anybody having trouble saving for a deposit who isn’t just here to get cross with the Northerners... 😊

Lloyd’s and Barclays have recently launched no deposit mortgages at sub 3% interest rates. You do need to have somebody who will deposit savings with them for 10% of the value as security but they don’t have to gift it to you.

I accept not everybody has that, but it may help some people and avoids the problem of trying to pay rent and save at the same time.

I'm in my early 30s and my friends range from my age up to mid-40s. Only one of my friends, who is 35, has bought a house, and they were only able to do so because of an inheritance. They also moved over an hour away (we all live in SE) to get more for her money. Another friend and her DH have just put an offer in for a 3-bed, over £300k and the mortgage is 95%. They told us the monthly repayments are £1200 a month! As they are currently in council housing, that's more than double their rent. They think it's great that they'll finally have a home that's truly their own, which is great, but I really wouldn't want a 95% mortgage and £1200 going out each month for the next 30 years.

I moved out at 19, DP was also the same age. So we've been paying rent all that time, paying off debts, had children. Saving up a deposit feels, and is, impossible at the moment. We could afford the monthly mortgage payments, as we have no family ties to this area so we'd be willing to move, but we can't get the deposit together. We absolutely want to buy a house one day, but that one day is very far away.

Except that OP didn't assume it's all same for everyone, did she.

And you don't think this:

I was reading an article this morning about how ppl are finding it hard to get on the property ladder these days and I realized that literally every single one of my friends and family have been buying houses with relative ease for the past 10 years (I’m in my early 30’s!) so from what I can see it’s the norm to buy (and build houses) at around 24-26!!

Sounds a bit like she's saying she did it so why can't everyone?
"From what I can see it's the norm..."
Doesn't that sound a bit like they should open their eyes and see that her norm isn't anyone elses norm?

It's an op ladies with wide eyed naiveté, same as we get on MN all the time.

@MonkeyToesOfDoom
No. I don't. Because I read OP AND title. It's normal in her world.

MonkeyToesOfDoom That’s how I read it!

It’s really not a good thing to have so much tied up in property. We need people to be spending money. We have a shrinking tax paying population, higher education costs, questions over the viability of the NHS, pension demands. If I was in my 20s Id be off!

Not RTFT but why does everyone think it is easy to buy a house in the north? I love up North and house prices around me are extortionate. Last time I checked 3 years ago I needed a deposit of at least £50,000 for the cheaper houses in my area, me and my DH make just over 20k a year combined. I don't think we will ever be able to buy our own house.

It’s really not a good thing to have so much tied up in property. We need people to be spending money

How do you mean "so much tied up in property"?

@VampirateQueen are the cheaper houses a million if you are an FTB? Are you in that super posh village in Cheshire😮

It can be detrimental to some people's mental health to move away from their support network, that's true. But I think the same is often true of staying near it, living in precarious conditions, and not everyone feeling they have to stay in or near London for their career even has one anyway. I have read so many threads on here from people who just cannot realistically afford to stay there anymore, or not without making more sacrifices than the situation appears to be worth. One of the most extreme examples, there was someone the other week who was on the bones of her arse already and was looking at maybe terminating a wanted pregnancy on cost grounds

Stop the press, an OP starts a thread about a part of the country that isn’t London. It is ok you know. Why is the OP unreasonable for having a different experience?

Because it's imperative we centre the south east in all discussions!

NinjaInFluffyPJs

Ok..
Let me rephrase a little.

"I read an article about people that are finding it hard to pay for childcare and look after their kids!! Everyone I know just claims benefits and lives in housing association houses!! Not working and raising their own kids is the norm in my world!!"

You can't see how someone working 2 full time jobs to make ends meet might find that slightly insulting? Patronising? Misguided?

Especially as it's "Read in an article" and isn't borne from real world experience. As if people that might not be able to do what they've done exist?

A lot of people have read the OP in the same fashion I have deciphered it. Maybe because we're the ones that haven't had the opportunity and the luck some of you others have.

I doubt many people are unaware that there are some pockets of very expensive housing north of the Midlands. It's just that even then, you can still live quite nearby and get something much cheaper.

Laki I am further along the coast by about 10 miles in West Sussex and prices are cheaper. I would say from those prices you are looking at hove or Brighton. 10 miles from Brighton you can buy a new build one bed flat for £150k.

Nope, not Hove or Brighton! About 10 miles away, like you, but in the opposite direction.

How do you mean "so much tied up in property"?

Spending £1200 plus on a mortgage for 25-30 yrs. Not that long ago they would be considered a hefty mortgage but I would say that’s very normal (320k property) now, wages have not increased that dramatically.

In the SE/London it's a different world. "London allowances" in terms of higher salaries can mean a job is paid say £35k vs £28k... after tax/pension (and corresponding reductions in benefits etc at lower pay levels) kick in, the extra salary nowhere near bridges the gap between the £160k or so you need to buy a semi in the Midlands, and the £600k or so a similar property can cost in London. It impacts both the huge deposit & stamp duty to be saved, plus the large salary required just to borrow enough.

I agree. And there are plenty of places further out in the SE where housing costs are comparable to the cheaper London boroughs but there is no London weighting to compensate. Public sector jobs outside of London pay the same whether you're in Sussex or South Yorkshire. It's causing real problems for recruitment in jobs like teaching or social work.

My first job was in local government and even then (1972) people were arguing for a "Roseland" (Rest of South East England) allowance to be implemented.