I’m never ever ever buying a house. How do people even do it?!

[misstartan]

I’m 26 and I just feel like giving up. I currently flat share with a friend but want to move in with DP soon.

I have £2500 saved up and that’s it. DP has about the same so we’re nowhere near a deposit. We’re both earning a decent amount but we’re not putting enough away. I’ve tried budgeting etc and put about £300 a month away if I’m lucky.

But realistically deposits will be around 30k now, so I’m only about 28 away… 😂😭

Thing is, I’ve always had it in my head that I’d have bought a house and got married before I have kids. And I’ve always wanted to start having kids by 30. Only gives me 4 years..
I genuinely genuinely do not see how this is going to happen and it really upsets me 🙁

How do people do it?! The

First of all don't give yourself arbitrary deadlines of when you should own a home.

DH and I got married and had DC1 in a rented flat. We saved a big deposit over 5 years (cheap holidays, cheap cars, 2nd hand baby stuff) we by-passed part of the housing ladder and bought a 4 bed detached when I was 36.

The biggest tip I could give you was that we moved to a cheaper area but still with good transport and an amazing outstanding girls secondary school virtually over the road. We bought this place because we knew that if we wanted to sell it, it would go quickly.

We had 5 happy years there and then relocated to another area due to DH's job. Crucially we made 45% when we sold it so we could buy our long-term home

House prices vary a lot depending on which part of Essex you are in, it's a big county. You could definitely get something in Colchester for example but not so much in loughton. Where abouts are you looking?

For less than £350k I mean

I was 31 when I got on the housing ladder with my husband in 2020, we were both in okay paying jobs at the time...we paid a 5% deposit on the help to buy scheme at 20k.

It is doable, dont give up. Keep saving.

I bought in my twenties but, I had low standards! £350K even for your area sounds unrealistic, as others have said I am sure there are cheaper properties than that!

I bought a cheap, almost derelict property the first time I bought. It was a tip.

Kitchen falling apart and mostly unusable, no heating, no hot running water. But it was cheap. I stand by the advice my parents gave me-buy the worst (and cheapest) house, on the best street.

This was around 2012. I did it up. Of course some professionals had to be paid for, but for things that just needed graft and elbow grease, I did it myself or used friends do it, whom I rewarded in beer and a cooked dinner (once I had a kitchen!) which worked great.

I bought it for £27K, and although not in the nicest of areas it was a desirable area-near motorway, near good schools, near a lovely park, near town centre and it was worth more than that just the ground it stood on. Then I sold it and bought a nicer place with what I'd earned on it.

As PPs say, are you willing to compromise on the type of place you want? It's not easy for most people to buy their dream home first time. If you want to get on the property ladder, get some good advice and be prepared to work a little-property makes money if done right!

We have just bought a house but we had a family member pay the deposit for us, there is no way we’d have managed to save 20% while having young children. The only way we would have managed it would be shared ownership, it isn’t perfect at all but it allows you to build up your equity to progress.

Though people retrain, work two jobs and all of that kind of stuff at all ages it is much easier before kids and when young as you have more energy.

What sort of trajectory is your career, is it one with a clear structure? is it something you always wanted to do ? I have three sets of professional qualifications and studied for almost 11 years while working full time. It was a bloody crazy time but it paid off. Okay I’m older so obviously ratio of wages to housing was much better there is no denying that.

So after essentials you have £400 for fun stuff. I would be saving £300 every month. But I am very self disciplined and also the stuff I genuinely love has never been that expensive even when young.

DH's very young cousin (30) just got her keys. Saved and saved and saved. No holiday for god knows how many years. No money from family etc.
Not sure what part of the country you are. The further south, the less feasible it is.

It depends what your goal is. If you’re looking for a 3 bed house straight away that seems unrealistic for you.
I would adjust your thinking/expectations to be let’s get on the first rung of the housing ladder. My first property was a 2 bed shared ownership flat. It was a minimal deposit and an affordable option. After 2 years the house price rise gave me the deposit for a 3 bed house. After 4 years the house price rise (plus joined deposit with husband) enabled us to buy our forever home.

It’s horrific OP we’re the same but live in a marginally cheaper area. I don’t know what the answer is. It’s not as simple to PPs saying just buy a flat when moving is so extortionate and stressful each time. What if you lose equity and get stuck in a one bed flat and you’ve got a young child soon needing their own room? Not a solution really

My brother and his now wife tell anyone who'll listen they had no help, did it all themselves etc.
What actually happened was that she got pregnant backing her parents into a corner and so they had to let the pair of them live rent free with them for 8 months and they just about saved £8000 between the two of them which was a 5% deposit on a tiny house.
That's gone up £50,000 because of work her parents did on it for free too.
So they now live in a bigger £300,000 ish house.
But OP they had help, you will need it too.

OP I read that 100% mortgages are set to make a return so that might be your answer.

Watch The Rich Life on Netflix. Owning a home vs renting isn't the same as it was 30 years ago. You don't have to own a home to have a good life.

You'll have to move where it's cheaper

Oh and my first house was a three bed semi with a garage. 3 times my single income in a good area next to the train station. Why shouldn't the OP want the same. It's all gone nuts imo

If you and dp can each save £300/m, in 4 years that’s £28,800 + the £6k you both have in savings. That’s more than the £30k you say you need for a deposit.
Don’t despair, it’s doable.

Exactly this.

It's hard. My ds has quite a lot saved ( around 25k) for a house deposit but he lives at home, lives very cheaply and manages to save a lot despite being on a lowish wage. We don't charge him any board. It helps not having rent/ board to pay although I appreciate that's not possible for a lot of young people.

Hustle!!! Get a second job, work evenings and weekends, cut all luxuries, sell your car and take the bus, get more roommates, get a raise/promotion, do whatever it takes seriously. Move to a cheaper area. You CAN get a home!

You need help from your parents and grandparents, and to give up the idea of home owning before having babies.
absolutely nothing wrong with renting at that stage

My husband and I managed to buy our first home in our mid-20s. We worked non stop, including a 4am paper round. And we literally did nothing for over a year other than work and eat sandwiches! We also used a mortgage broker to get us the most money possible (did mean paying a worse rate for 2 years though) and help to buy ISAs.

Our first house was in Kent in an undesirable area and in terrible condition (170,000 in 2017). We lived without central heating or hot water (no boiler), no water supply to the bathroom and no electricity upstairs for a long time (best part of a year). To flush the loo we had to fill a bucket from the garden tap! Every extra penny we had went into paint, tiles, electricians, new kitchen, bathroom, lighting. This old house on YouTube basically taught us how to rebuild our whole house!

Then after nearly 5 years of living in a building site we sold it and walked away with 120,000 worth of equity.

And with that equity a great rate 75% ltv mortgage at 5 times salary was easy and so now we are two under 30s with average earning jobs in a beautiful 4 bed forever home.

It wasn't easy and felt really shit at times (we survived the beast from the east with an electric fire and a camping stove!) But it was also the most incredible adventure.

So my advice to anyone struggling to get on the housing ladder is seriously consider buying a shitter. We had no building or decorating skills just slightly insane, it's made us a tough bunch as a family!

I know it sounds glib and a bit like "just stop buying avocado toast" but we wouldn't be where we are now without some serious serious hard work and trying to be as tough as nails. Using a bowl of water heated on the stove to have a flannel wash by candlelight in a 10 degree house will never be someone's first choice, but it got us where we are now.

No, we had no help, none of us have rich parents and did not move into a rent free accommodation. We are mid 30s and started to save when covid hits whilst renting. Cut your outings, i was not allowing myself to shop like I used to (and believe me i am a spender!), it’s possible but realistically give yourself 2-3 years.

I feel the same as the OP
there's so much more to it than just 'earn more or lower your expectations'
Even if houses are put up for 250-300k, the surge of buyers means houses are being sold in record time for 20-30k more than their asking price
My sister tried relentlessly for months last year to buy a house with her boyfriend and they physically couldn't even see/put an offer in quick enough. They had to give up.

So yes there 'could be' homes for under 350k but it's not likely going to be as cheap and cheerful as 200k as some are suggesting to lower your expectations

I have lived in Essex my whole life - it is expensive, and moving to the completely other end up in Clacton or Colchester for a bit of a cheaper house doesn't mean it saves you money if you have to travel to Chelmsford or London everyday for work so it isn't viable either.

I totally feel your pain, I'm saving, alone, and work two jobs. I just put it down to it'll happen when it'll happen sadly

i wish you all the best!!!

I really wouldn’t panic. We bought our first flat early 30s, did a complete renovation and lived there 4 years. Consider buying a flat to get on the ladder. Or can you live with parents for a short time to save up? Unless you have a reason that getting pregnant will be harder, I do t see any reason to rush.

I think the UK should go down the "older" German system. You save for 7 years, but specifically for house purchase, and then can borrow up to 100 % of your savings to buy or build a house. You then pay back over 7 years.