On the face of it, this is pretty wealthy isn’t it?!

LBOCS2 · 13/07/2023 09:07

Yes that's definitely on the wealthier side, but you don't know their circumstances. It could be someone on a hefty salary with a decent deposit, or on the other hand they could have lost a family member and inherited at a young age.

Heronwatcher · 13/07/2023 09:09

No idea TBH. Depends on the area, whether they inherited the money, whether there is a mortgage.

£490 mortgage free at 34 with a decent salary and not living in the SE yes, pretty wealthy. The same with an 80% mortgage and low salary living in central London, I don’t think you’d feel wealthy at all. Plenty of people have a decent house but might have lost a job or been forced to take a step down in their career, so could be asset rich, cash poor. The better indicator is the job/ salary.

Also if your friend hasn’t asked for help and seems to be doing ok, I think it’s no one else’s business.

JennyForeigner · 13/07/2023 09:10

Honestly, there are a lot of t*s in this world and people sitting over dinner doing performative concern for a solo buyer in a half million pound house are definitely among them.

Abouttimemum · 13/07/2023 09:11

Tbh even a couple in a home of that price would be considered well off / wealthy and not struggling where I am in the north.

BitOutOfPractice · 13/07/2023 09:15

JennyForeigner · 13/07/2023 09:10

Honestly, there are a lot of t*s in this world and people sitting over dinner doing performative concern for a solo buyer in a half million pound house are definitely among them.

This.

Your “friends” sound absolutely vile, tone deaf and absolutely revolting OP.

Did you not ask any of them what actual planet they live on?

I would never ever want to sit round a table with these people again. I mean his knows that they say about you for starters.

I also, depressingly, think these are the kind of people running our country right now.

AlltheFs · 13/07/2023 09:15

I wouldn’t say that is wealthy, but I’d see it as doing well.
I had 2 houses when single at 35 worth £500k combined and was definitely not wealthy, I was absolutely skint. But it paid off longer term. Ten years on I have 2 houses worth around £850k (and am no longer single).

Oliotya · 13/07/2023 09:18

Lots of money =/= lots of disposable income.
In plenty of areas a house that price would be small and ordinary.
Do they have a mortgage? Did they inherit?
It's "how long is a piece of string" really.
Everything is relative and none of it is anyone else's business. I would find different dinner companions if that's the conversation they provide.

Yellowlegobrick · 13/07/2023 09:22

Clearly its someone reasonably off the but the details would give a better idea, eg:
Big deposit from family, huge mortgage stretched to the limit and in the shit the instant rates go up.... not that great
Property inherited from family & a low income - still going to face cost of living struggles
High income, decent deposit saved themselves, mortgage at an income multiple of no more than 3x - much better

wholivesondrurylane · 13/07/2023 09:23

this person must be struggling to be in that sort of home ‘by that age.’

why and how on earth would they be "struggling"? Did you mean people would struggle to reach that financial situation?

Gateappreciation · 13/07/2023 09:24

My house is worth that and i’m a lot older and I thought I was going well!

Shinyandnew1 · 13/07/2023 09:25

Can you clarify how they are struggling in your friends’ eyes?

Do you mean they are struggling with money so they could only afford to buy such a ‘cheap’ house?

Do you mean they have got this house and are struggling to pay the bills?

Do you mean they’ve bought it but are struggling to live in it as it’s small?

Adie1 · 13/07/2023 09:31

AlltheFs · 13/07/2023 09:15

I wouldn’t say that is wealthy, but I’d see it as doing well.
I had 2 houses when single at 35 worth £500k combined and was definitely not wealthy, I was absolutely skint. But it paid off longer term. Ten years on I have 2 houses worth around £850k (and am no longer single).

I genuinely don't think some of us know the meaning of skint. I'm grateful, that I've never been there. But owning an asset worth £500k and saying you were skint is pretty galling. Skint is people scraping by on minimum wage, zero hour contracts, paying rent and wondering how they're going to feed their children at the end of the month. Even if you were in the above situation, with an asset worth £500k you can hardly describe yourself as skint.

the80sweregreat · 13/07/2023 09:31

I knew someone whose partner was gifted a house in a will and they are only young
It's worth a fair amount , but not millions
They know they are lucky not to have a mortgage.
A few other people I've heard about have inherited money via property too.
I think this will become much more normal in time if you can keep healthy enough not to need a care home for any length of time that is.
People do say that some generations will benefit a lot from higher house prices and I think it'll be true for some people.

Original poster

umbtellasideup · 13/07/2023 09:33

I agree it’s bollocks, mine and dp’s house is worth a little over 490 so I was pretty surprised they were saying this given she’s done it alone! We are based in Warwickshire area

OP posts:

Mumtothreegirlies · 13/07/2023 09:36

Anyone couple or single person must come from a privileged background to Have a mortgage that size at 34. Even where I’m from In the south I know professional couples who are struggling to get on the property ladder at 34. It tends to be the ones who’ve had help somewhere along the line that do.
you’ll probably find they never had to struggle to get started in life, help with their education, deposit , supportive parents that allowed them to stay home etc. my husband and I were parents at 18 and had no one. So it took years of hard slog and stress to get on the ladder. Of course we brought that on ourselves becoming parents so young but we know other couples that also had children but thanks to their families chipping in for weddings, deposits, childcare and a roof they managed it a lot easier then we did.

Mumtothreegirlies · 13/07/2023 09:38

AlltheFs · 13/07/2023 09:15

I wouldn’t say that is wealthy, but I’d see it as doing well.
I had 2 houses when single at 35 worth £500k combined and was definitely not wealthy, I was absolutely skint. But it paid off longer term. Ten years on I have 2 houses worth around £850k (and am no longer single).

You’re living on cloud cuckoo land mate.
2 houses at 35 is not skint. You obviously have never lived in the real world.

Catspyjamas17 · 13/07/2023 09:43

I think our house was worth that as joint owners when we were in our mid 30s. They are fortunate, as we are, to own their own home but it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't skint. The longer ago the house was bought the smaller the mortgage is likely to be.

HeckinBamboozled · 13/07/2023 10:19

I think that qualifies as "land rich, money poor". Someone in that position can be broke, but are not poor.

jennyjones198080 · 13/07/2023 10:21

people sometimes have an issue with single females owning homes they can only afford as a couple.

when I bought my house the neighbours all assumed I was divorced - because how cold a little woman afford a big house all in her own!!!

basically these people are jealous because it means the person earns a lot more than they do.

Figment1982 · 13/07/2023 10:24

Can you confirm what you mean by struggling?

Are your friends saying that the person is struggling because they can only afford a 490 house when really they should be able to afford more?

Or are they saying the person will be struggling to pay the mortgage because a 490 house on their own must be very difficult to pay for?

As I write this I realise I don't really care other than to satisfy my own curiosity, because in either event they just need to keep their beaks out.

Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday · 13/07/2023 10:24

The key to that question is ‘own outright’ or mortgaged?

Curtains70 · 13/07/2023 10:27

Jesus, glad I'm not in your friendship group.

jennyjones198080 · 13/07/2023 10:27

Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday · 13/07/2023 10:24

The key to that question is ‘own outright’ or mortgaged?

but it’s really not.

The key question is can this home owner afford to run the house?

because if they can make the mortgage payments and cover all their other costs with money left over they are not struggling.

it’s bonkers to assume anyone with a mortgage is struggling - some are, some aren’t. Some people who own their homes outright are struggling.

Hugasauras · 13/07/2023 10:28

Seems like a weird conversation. I don't think I've ever discussed the worth of my friends' houses with other friends! Let alone made judgements about whether someone is 'struggling' or not (struggling how? do they mean she should have bought somewhere more expensive or that she must be struggling to maintain payments on it).

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 13/07/2023 10:28

The friends sound snobby. Are houses very expensive where you are, is it an awful house?

my house is worth half that amount. But it’s a nice, Victorian 3 bed house. I’m older and married, we both have good jobs. I can’t see we’ll ever move as we don’t want to. I could afford a bigger house. Maybe your friend could also afford a bigger house but is happy with what they have. Why are your other friends so materialistic?