To feel so frustrated that I can't afford to move out of my parents' house?

[CantAffordIt]

I'm single and earn £32,000. My career does not have much progression, so I doubt my pay will ever increase by much more. I can't afford to move out of my parents' house. I feel like my life is on hold, I'm 30 and I can't afford to live alone and support myself. It's so embarrassing and frustrating.

I don't meet the affordability criteria for renting a 1-bedroom flat (£1000-£1200/month) or buying one on shared ownership. I don't want to live in a house share because I feel like it is the same situation I am in now, but instead of sharing a kitchen/bathroom/lounge with family it will be with housemates.

I'm living at home to 'save up and move out' - but there's nothing to save up for really. It's not affordable on my salary, and I can't retrain as I have already used up all of my student finance.

I feel so hopeless, life feels very bleak.

Do you have debts that are affecting the affordability score. 32k is an ample salary to live on. Unless you live in the SW?

Could you move somewhere a house is affordable at that salary?

I work in the NHS and lots of people on salaries similar to yours have moved to Manchester or Liverpool or Glasgow to buy houses.

If you don’t mind me asking, where in the country are you, roughly?

You will have transferable skills….what is your degree in?

House share or bedsit is how many people started out. At least it's some independence. Maybe living with others your own age will be more fun? Do you have any friends in a similar position?.

I’d echo the house share suggestion. I lived in one in my early 30s, with a group around the same age and it was great. I was concerned that I was too old, it looked sad, etc. but everyone was very similar in age and situation and it was a great way of meeting new people in a new city (appreciate that’s not your immediate concern!). Just look thoroughly for the right people.

Buy a house with a mate

It doesn’t sound much of a career if your pay ceiling is so low, sounds more like a job. Look at other jobs where the ceiling is higher, make a plan for your future, that might involve more training or moving away. Never limit yourself

Loved house shares
Feel like the fun times would have been far less in my life without those house share years. A world apart from
living with parents.

You can afford to you just don't want to live in what your rent will buy you. (The shared house).

There are areas of the country you would be able to buy. Are you in a national scale and can move - eg teacher or similar?

I don't want to sound harsh but you can afford to move out, you could have a house-mate and move out and be independent.

You are choosing not to and that's fine, but you have a healthy salary for your age so you can't say you can't afford something that you just don't actually want that much.

You may have to relocate or look for less desirable areas. I bought my first flat in a slightly less desirable area to get on the ladder. First flat cost 75K, cheap mortgage and bills. Now in a much nicer area and property worth about 260K. Did this on my own. If I had waited around to be able to afford a nicer area initially I would never have moved out. North East so plenty of cheaper property available.

You could save up for a deposit then look for a 2 bedroom flat and rent the spare room to a mate. If not then go for a studio flat.
On your salary you’ll be taking home about £2000 a month. If you lived like a pauper for a couple of years and totally scrimped and saved you could save a decent deposit.
If you give a breakdown of bills people on here would tell you how to save.
Money Saving Expert is your friend

I think you need a different job.

look where you could move sideways.

+1 on a house-share.

Everyone has to start from somewhere, so I lived in a house-share for about 4 years and saved up for a house deposit. If you're going to be paying £1k-£1.2k on rent for a 1-bed, then you're also living in the wrong area! Rentals up here in the West Mids are about £450-£500 for a 1-bed.

Does it make sense to change careers?

I thought most houses rentals needed a salary of 32x the monthly rent. Sounds like you're almost there.

I agree that I'd rather live at home than house share, but at age 30 you should have flown the nest long ago.

On your salary you should be able to get a mortgage of around £135k-£140k. How much deposit have you got saved up & could your parents help you bridge the gap at all ?

How much are you saving each month towards a deposit? How much do you already have to date? What kind of savings account is it in (high interest, etc)

not sure where you live?

So confused. You're 30? Living at home? How much is that costing you exactly?

Just save as much as you can. In theory, if you can save the lot, you'll have £70k+ in just 3 years as a deposit. If you've got that you can easily buy a cheap house. Makes no sense. You can't just expect to walz into the house of your dreams. And you can't just stay at home with no plan!

Personally didn't have the luxury - stood on my own two feet from the age of 18 but appreciate things were cheaper relatively. However, I certainly didn't manage to save up £100k+ from living at home! So actually it's probably about the same.

You could afford to move out , you just don’t want too

On that income I don’t understand why you can’t afford to rent? You’d need a houseshare possibly. How much are you saving by living a home?

This! I wish I’d done this rather than rent for years. Do you have any friends in a similar position who you could get a joint mortgage with?

Maybe a shared ownership with a friend on a joint mortgage, if would get you both in a better position in the long run.

Obviously I don't know where you live and how much prices are but it seems perfectly doable to me! I bought and rented a flat on a lower salary than you are on.
You could afford this (If you lived in Birmingham!)
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150177281#/?channel=RES_LET

Put your name on the local authority list. Even if it takes 5 years to get a one bedroom flat, it could still be the best way to get you moved out.

You can borrow 160k if not more a specialist broker might get you more.

what deposit do you have?

my salary was 38k, I had 60k saved and I borrowed 190k to get my first place… it was 10 years ago but it was a big 2 bed in zone 3….

i would look to buy a flat/house with a friend just agree you put it on the market after 5 years
I know 4 people who did it and it panned out well for all of them BUT they were careful/lucky with who they bought with.