Is it even worth saving up for a house deposit?

[AngelSlicesMrKipling]

Myself (26) and my partner (28) have just returned from travelling. No judgement please but we have pretty much no savings (he owned a house with an ex and she got the payout, I’ve rented my whole life).

We both have decent jobs, but if we rent, we wouldn’t save an awful lot.

We’re considering living with parents to save for a deposit. My partner is keen for this, as although it’s not ideal or private, he thinks it’ll be worth it for eventually having a place that’ll be ours.

I do agree, but also worry it’ll be a really difficult 18-24 months. I also feel it puts us backwards, if we just rented a lovely place we could start thinking about engagement/kids etc rather than putting everything on hold just to buy a bang average £250k flat.

Is it at all worth it?

I had my first child around the same age as you are, had a good job etc… but fell pregnant unexpectedly. I feel like you can’t appreciate how expensive children are until you have them. We only eventually bought a house because a relative gifted us a very large deposit. I can’t see that we’d have managed it otherwise. I’d move in with a relative and at least try for a shared ownership property to get you on the ladder.

Absolutely stay with parents if it's a possibility, and also work your butts off now, maybe even consider an extra part time job short term to have a bigger deposit and lower your mortgage. Ideally put aside 3 x a mortgage payment each month. 1/3 represents actual mortgage payment, 1/3 for expenses like insurance and bills, and 1/3 to represent savings for maintenance/improvements. It'll be your deposit as well as good affordability checker and practice for keeping the money aside later.

I listened to Dave Ramsey for help motivate me. He is faith based but I just mostly ignored that part! I was mortgage free by 36 as a single parent. It's a glorious feeling to know our home was secure but I wish I'd done it all before kids.

Absolutely worth it - we have a huge crisis coming down the pipeline where this generation is going to get to retirement age and have no assets but a huge drop in income. Owning your own home means you are putting your money into an asset rather than a landlord’s pocket. If you are in a position to do it, grab it with both hands.

The fact that I'd hate to be renting and at the mercy of landlord pricing in my 60s and retirement would be the deciding factor.

We're planning to be mortgage free by mid 40s. This will give us lots of options amd stability for the future and will be the ideal time to help with uni costs for the DC.

That time will fly by OP, honestly. 18 months - 2 years of saving those rental costs will make a huge difference, I think you’ll be so glad you did it. Plus you can still get engaged, plan a wedding etc. I would have jumped at this chance at your age.

*if we just rented a lovely place we could start thinking about engagement/kids etc

Completely upside down thinking. Mind boggling!

If you can’t afford to save up for a house now, when you have no children, how the bugger do you think you’ll afford it when you have a £1k monthly childcare bill?

What about when your landlord gives you and your toddles two months’ notice to leave the house?

crazy.

Don't rent any longer than you have to.

Absolutely stay with parents if it's a possibility, and also work your butts off now, maybe even consider an extra part time job short term to have a bigger deposit and lower your mortgage. Ideally put aside 3 x a mortgage payment each month. 1/3 represents actual mortgage payment, 1/3 for expenses like insurance and bills, and 1/3 to represent savings for maintenance/improvements. It'll be your deposit as well as good affordability checker and practice for keeping the money aside later.

This.
Once you are paying rent and childcare, you will have missed the chance to ever buy.

I know prices are different in different parts of the country, but scour the market and widen your horizons to buy something cheaper. Different area or in need of work maybe?

I wouldn't buy a flat if you're going to think about kids and stuff. We lived with family and saved enough to buy a house! Had my baby a week after we moved in. 😂 your age and the stress of moving etc just go for a house. X

No I’d stand on my own two feet and rent a home with my partner. I can’t imagine living off my parents if I was in a position to save £30,000 a year. Shocking.

It can be tough living with parents if you are used to living independently.

I'm 44 and have just had my elderly mother down to stay for a month and have been biting my lip a lot and it's my house!

That having been said buying is much much more secure than renting.

Could you stay with them for less time and get a cheaper house/flat? A lot will depend where in the country you are.

It's absolutely worth some sacrifices to buy. Once you have kids, you will want a secure home and you will have childcare costs so will be even less able to save.

But there are middle ground options:

You could live with your parents for less time, save more aggressively, and maybe buy somewhere in a year rather than 18-24 months

You could buy somewhere cheaper and therefore need less time to save, then look to trade up later

You could rent somewhere cheap not lovely, e.g. house share so you have more independence from parents but still more space to save

Definitely buy.

But you can rent also. We rented, it just took about 6 years to save up to relocate somewhere cheaper and buy. We will now hopefully be mortgage free by mid 40s. If you rent forever in 40 years time you will need a huge pension to be able to afford rental prices still.

I would maybe stay with family 18 months max to speed up saving. Then rent another 1-2 years in a small studio or 1 bed flat to continue saving. And look at moving to cheaper area so you can get more for your £

Definitely worth it. It won't get any cheaper I don't think and ultimately while it sounds a long way off, you won't want to be renting when you're retired. So owning a home is the way to avoid this. It also won't get any MORE palatable to live with your parents to save - this is basically the last moment (pre kids) when that's a realistic opinion. Unless you have a definitive better plan to ensure you are securely housed throughout your lifetime, spared constantly climbing rents, and the precarity of renting (imagine what it will feel like to be told by your landlord you have to move once you have kids in school, and the stress of finding another place in a location that still works)... This is your best option, I think.

Yes, definitely. Rentals are becoming less long-term with more competition for each property.

Having a child in school and then being served notice to leave is a nightmare because you can't just move anywhere. You have to try to stay near the school. A housing association rental would work but you probably wouldn't qualify.

Far better to bite the bullet and save your deposit now.