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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Just can't get on the property ladder

131 replies

NoFrills01 · 19/02/2021 20:20

We have a DS at school, I've just got a PT job and he works FT our income is just over 50K we can scrape together a deposit of 25K if we beg parents for help.

Still we are struggling to get a mortage and struggling to find anything worth having, we have been stuck renting for years. We need to stay in the area as DS goes to a wonderful school and because of our jobs.

We are both over 30 and it feels so embarrassing to not have a home we can call our own, we have no family support (pre covid) to help with DS so we do everything ourselves.

I feel left behind, my friends all have lovely homes, and lives and we are always worrying about money and going without trying to save as much as we can so we can have a home that's ours, and a better future for us all.

Worried to get a new build and still don't think we could afford it.

Has anyone any advise? It's all I think about!

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 19/02/2021 21:54

There seem to be plenty of 2 bed apartments in that area for less than £150k. Why wouldn't that be affordable for you, OP?

rawlikesushi · 19/02/2021 21:57

It is hard to get a mortgage at the moment as a first time buyer. A lot of products have been withdrawn. Many providers advertising 90% mortgages have actually withdrawn them when you contact them. I suppose they are worried about falling prices as the mini-bubble built up over the past year may burst.

Sparklfairy · 19/02/2021 21:58

I'm not far from thanet. Theres areas that are very good value, areas that are cheap for a reason, and areas that are stupidly expensive for what they are. Imo if you're open minded you could get a great property there. Just don't move to cliftonville Wink

Cam77 · 19/02/2021 21:58

We are both over 30 and it feels so embarrassing to not have a home we can call our own, we have no family support (pre covid) to help with DS so we do everything ourselves.

The average age in the UK is 34, and that’s often with parental help. In Japan and Spain its 41. The difference is that in most other developed countries renting is decent and affordable.

We are all getting squeezed good and proper now in the UK - but hey we’ve all got mobile telephones and Costa coffees to keep us warm in our penniless retirements.

girlofnow · 19/02/2021 22:00

We didn't buy until our thirties and have twenty years left on our mortgage in our forties!

You should be able to get a two bed flat in Thanet for 250k or thereabouts. It might be a step down from wheee you are renting but at leafy it's yours.

PreyingMantlepiece · 19/02/2021 22:03

From your wording, it sounds like you're expecting something better than what is currently available. It's not that there aren't any properties, it's that you won't settle for them. We are two adults and two children in a miniscule leasehold newbuild flat which was near 250k, income similar to yours, deposit was 15,500 and my poor partner would have to work past his seventies to pay it off...

It's the best we could do for our situation and it's not OK and I hate it and lockdown have been awful on top of each other and no garden but we are on the ladder.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 19/02/2021 22:06

The only way I could afford to buy a house was to live in a not very fashionable area on a less than desirable street.

Symbion · 19/02/2021 22:06

Is it the "anything worth having" that's the sticking point?

We started out in a commuter town by literally buying the cheapest 3 bed terrace that was for sale. Too far to be walking distance to the station, woodchip and polystyrene ceiling tiles in every room, in a dodgy road. Loads of people start out in 1 or 2 bed flats. The first home you buy is all about compromise. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to make those compromises.

bridgetreilly · 19/02/2021 22:08

Agreed, @PreyingMantlepiece, it sounds to me as though the OP is expecting to get on the property ladder several rungs above what she can afford, rather than starting at the bottom.

VikingsandDragons · 19/02/2021 22:10

Everyone except the very very lucky need to make sacrifices for their first house, it's rare it happens just from working your normal chosen hours, and you can be in the right area, and buy the right house.
So I'd sit down and ask what sacrifices you are prepared to make to get on the property ladder, and which are not negotiable for you. If you go into this informed you are taking control of your own property journey.

  • Work more. Can you go full time, or get a second job, or can your partner?
  • Promotion/new job
  • Widen the search area, be prepared to move somewhere that isn't your ideal to get your starter house
  • Smaller house or flat than you would like
  • House in need of significant modernisation, can be done over time while you live in it
  • Plan to get a lodger
  • Move to the cheapest rental you can/back in with one of your families to help you save
  • Mortgage. You may need to take it over a longer term than planned, and make some of these changes afterwards to be able to overpay the mortgage while you live in the property, no one wants to be retiring and still paying a mortgage.
  • House share. As you mentioned, part ownership is an option. It's not one I like having seen several friends and acquaintances get stuck in a house with a growing family they can't change or sell on due to the balloon payment due and the rules applied to part owned homes. You have all the responsibility of maintenance but many more restrictions and fees.
  • Timescale. If the others are all non negotiable this is the only one left, instead of buying a house this year or next it'll be 5 years or 10.
MrsMoastyToasty · 19/02/2021 22:16

Buy a house or flat in a cheaper area. Get one that needs doing up. You don't necessarily have to live in it. Do the place up. Sell on ... and repeat .

OneRingToRuleThemAll · 19/02/2021 22:19

I'm another who noticed your comment that you can't afford to buy anything worth buying. I live in a flat above a row of shops on the main road. It was the only place I could afford to buy.

I notice how people in one breath say they wouldn't want to live here, bit in the next breath say they can't afford to buy anywhere. They can't have it both ways.

NotMeekNotObedient · 19/02/2021 22:22

Definitely consult a mortgage broker, see what they will actually lend you and go from there. I think a lot of people are shocked how little they can borrow these days as the lending criteria is so tough. And as you live near the London you really get very little for your money. Could you wait a year or two to get a bigger deposit?

You'll definitely need to redefine your expectations. I did have a cry at one mortgage appointment as we just couldn't get anything with what they'd lend us in the areas we were looking. 45 mins away however we got a tiny starter home. Broaden your horizons.

Ironmanrocks · 19/02/2021 22:23

This one is lovely for the price - detached as well!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89209876#/floorplan?activePlan=1

£254,000

Magicmonster · 19/02/2021 22:27

@Ironmanrocks that looks really nice!

Boatonthehorizon · 19/02/2021 22:34

There are hundreds on rightmove in your area. You can't whinge that you cant buy, if you WON'T buy.
My road is ex council and populated by young doctors, teachers and other professionals. We are not in the 1980s any more.

Ironmanrocks · 19/02/2021 22:36

😊 Not bad eh - I am slightly obsessed with searching for properties....wish I could do it for job!!!

To be fair, I found a few depending on what the buyers want - some really quite cheap but needing lots of work, and then some really decent ones.

Good luck OP!!

HerMammy · 19/02/2021 22:40

Moat Lane, Ash, Canterbury
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-90012053.html
This is a good starter home.

drkpl · 19/02/2021 22:44

Our joint earnings are 31k and we used the help to buy scheme to purchase a new build (admittedly, in a cheaper area). Nevertheless, we wouldn’t have had the house if it wasn’t a new build.

If you’re happy where you live and the rent is a steal then why don’t you just keep saving as much as possible towards a bigger deposit so you can have more choices? That is if you can afford to save. If not, suck up your pride and buy something with whatever deposit money you have (25k should get something ok).

RedHelenB · 19/02/2021 22:44

@Ironmanrocks the price is £385;000 unless you're over 60!

Nearlythere1 · 19/02/2021 22:51

If your rent is a steal then just stay put for a few years and save a bigger deposit. Early thirties is pretty normal not to be a homeowner yet these days!

RoseMartha · 19/02/2021 22:53

I dont know which area of Thanet you are in but there are properties out there which seem first time buyer amounts for South East.

These are two beds (hope links work).

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/96513677#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90861563#/

Just to get on the property ladder you sometimes have to compromise on what you want. Because you are unlikely to tick all your boxes.

What are you looking for?

InTheFamilyTree · 19/02/2021 22:54

Wow, a lot of judgement on this thread Confused I feel similar OP, thought if I had access to 25k deposit I'd be thinking about finding a Plan B to make it work.

To the poster who got a mortgage on a one year NQT contract, the pandemic means people are needing 15+% as a deposit and its much harder to get a mortgage now.

Dragonglass · 19/02/2021 22:54

@Ironmanrocks

This one is lovely for the price - detached as well!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89209876#/floorplan?activePlan=1

£254,000

That's for over 60's only though.
Sd352 · 19/02/2021 22:57

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/97594250#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88528864#/

Don't know where in Thanet you are but there are definitely quite good options for c.£250k

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