Teenage reality hitting home

[Globules]

My teenagers will be voting their first GE.

We had a chat last night about it, and the conclusion they've come to is that their age group is screwed.

Uni loans, house prices, single life.

DS actually held his head in his hands recognising that his £30k house deposit is pointless until his salary is at a ridiculously high level to service a mortgage.

DD pointed out all of the parties are being silent on policies around their age group.

Whilst they have every right to feel negative about it all, they're optimistic beans. I was listening to them talking and feeling so despondent that life ahead looks so tough for them.

I was married aged 22. Bought our first house aged 24 on just my basic teacher salary (he was self employed, so he was a dependent). They just don't have the same outlook, do they?

I really feel for our under 25s. Just me?

Well I hope all these parents bemoaning how fortunate they are to have bought a house for peanuts are ready and willing to give their DC a substantial financial helping hand now things are tougher?

A large number of under 40s I know and work with are renting. The rents are extortionate but they have no hope of buying. We are talking people on decent wages here who are struggling to rent. It was not like this 10 years ago. The whole system is broken now. If people earning a good salary cannot afford to live, we are in deep trouble.

Sorry but your ds had his head in his hands due to only having a 30k deposit???

Meanwhile in the real world...

I remember seeing an article 20-30 years or so ago that was tracking the houses generations of the same families were living in/ able to afford when they started off with great grandparents living in very large houses/country estates - it was definitely all downhill!

There was a thread on here recently that was looking at where and what you could afford to buy for 100k and in many parts of the north, Wales and Scotland you can still get a decent terraced or semi-detached house for that in a not too shabby area.

£18k means he is on minimum wage and working part time so not comparable to your teaching salary.

Full time over 21 on minimum wage is nearly £21k a year.

And on £21k plus a £30k deposit that gives him £110k to £130k budget which in many areas will buy you a nice property.

£18k isn't minimum wage for a teenager working part time.

I'm guessing you haven't rented recently?

All the properties my Dc has rented over the last few years have fitted this description in some way or other. That hasn't stopped her paying through the nose for them.

He's full time

Is the 30k inheritance money or did he actually save it up himself?

Exactly. He's only a teenager so PLENTY of time to buy a house! And with a £30k deposit then much better off than other teenagers!

but not many 18 year olds would expect or want to get onto the housing ladder in the near future?
the average age now of 1st time buyers is 34, by the time he's that age it will likely be higher. He already has a large amount saved, in twenty years he could be on a good salary even if he stays in retail. He could meet someone else, if they also have a £30kplus deposit and a decent salary they'll be fine. Why are you a) equating his life happiness with owning a house and b) so convinced this is an impossibility?
Owning a house has never been the perogative of the vast majority. The absolute peak of ownership was in 1991, and that was 57%.
I appreciate it's harder for young people now in some ways, but in other ways things are better than ever before. When people are comparing lives of previous generations, how far are you wanting to go back to?

Yes my parents (born in 60s) bought their first house in their early 20s, but neither of them stayed in school past 16, they didn't travel abroad until their honeymoon, my mum didn't have an indoor loo until she was in school - not an easier life than mine.
Yes my grandparents (born in 30s) inherited a house and could run a household on one manual workers salary - but my gran grew up with 4 siblings (the same house with no bathroom!) in a 2 and a half bed house and didn't have her own bed until she was 12. My grandads mother died when he was young of something that would have been curable today, and he had to do conscription. Neither of them were educated past 15 - not an easier life than mine.
Great-grandparents (born 1900s) left school before 14, bought up 4 kids (and had 2 that died of things that would have likely been curable today), in same tiny house with no bathroom, lived through WW1 and 2, never went abroad, no chance of 'careers' - not an easier life than mine.

Mine have zero interest in mortgages but they are very angry and passionate about Palestine and global warming, vegetarianism/veganism… students. If we have to we would give them our house to share when they are older and live somewhere far enough away very happily and quietly in a 1-2 bed flat with lots of culture on our door step.

I remember feeling so sad that I couldn't conceive a sibling for my DD. Now she's 21 and soon to graduate with a year's masters to follow. She'll have £80k student debt at the end of it, but thank goodness she's an only child so we can help her financially. It's awful to think like that, but at least she'll get a realistic house deposit from us, and will inherit everything later. Thank god she's got excellent god parents, uncles, close cousins and good friends too, but knowing that we can ease her life with finance helps me worry less about her future.

I feel the same. My nephews have good jobs but won't be able to rent never mind buy in Berkshire. They'll have to move far away. Also, I notice that working rights seem to be eroding for people in 20/30's - they get stat sick pay only and are expected to do unpaid overtime in jobs that will only give them a contract. For the niece who did buy, Liz truss's actions have endured a £700 PER MONTH increase in mortgage.
It's truly awful for youngsters now but they must vote and engage in the process.

Move North…I am as North as I can be in Wales. Not an option.

I live in the midlands and if you earned 30k a year (which is about average) the 30k deposit would get you fuck all. For £150k (4 x 30k plus 30k) you'd get a shit flat in a shit part of town.

Well with these types of attitudes they will all be bloody suicidal. Rather than thinking they are screwed how about thinking what you can do to help them because the reality is voting isn’t going to help them in the short term. As others have said my kids won’t be asked to ir expected to move out. I have a three storey house which would have been sold once the kids were in college but I will now retain it as it will give us enough space for us all to live together as adults.

Respectfully, what the fuck are you on about?

Children are dying due to mould infested housing. Standards are extremely low with many landlords refusing to keep houses safe - some of those landlords appear to be funded by the same government that sets the regulations they ignore.

Yes, housing is a major problem. There is too much demand and insufficient supply so most young people are going to really struggle. That said, for me it's the fact the planet is almost on fire and the world is doing bog-all about it that worries me when thinking of the future. When I read Americans ( or anyone for that matter), who writes that climate change is all a conspiracy I think we're all doomed.

Good for you. I clearly said the North.

Here, 30k would give you a 20% deposit on a lovely 3 bed semi detached in a nice area with a big garden.

And 30k a year isn't average in the north is 34k.

@Ritasueandbobtoo9 - tell your son that's nothing new. When I was a teenager there WAS war on (Vietnam, I grew up in the US), we had petrol shortages, soaring inflation, and the planet didn't start dying post 2000, it's been happening since the Industrial Revolution.

@JustFrustrated no, you clearly said outside of the south. £30k/£34k it's about the same. I didn't say around £30k but I'm sure it's clear I didn't mean to the penny. Are you ok hun?

You can buy a 2 bed flat in the pretty Lincolnshire market town of Louth for £550 a month with that kind of deposit. He could even rent out the other room. I think he’s doing pretty well.

He’s a teenager with £30K behind him, and he doesn’t need to take on uni loans unless his uni plans will news him either to a salary to make them worthwhile, or job satisfaction that make them worthwhile.

I don’t think he’s in the worst position!

You keep talking about the £18K salary. But he’s a teenager. Is that after uni? Seems not with his age. So has he actually got uni loans? Or are you all generally all handwringing about things that don’t apply?

I do actually agree that young people have in incredibly tough on housing, but I think one with their head in their hands over £30K needs to check their privilege 🤷🏻‍♀️