To worry how my children will buy a house

[Biggiebiggiecantuc]

I’ve been working in the head office of a large retail bank for the past 10 years.

I’ve worked with a bunch of slightly older colleagues who will blush when we discuss house prices. They mostly started working in the mid/ late 80s, after leaving school at 16/18, and were able to buy a property within 2-3 years of starting work.

Many have multiple BTLs and will head off into retirement in their late 50s with large final salary pensions.

I look at them with envy. I will need to find away to earn till I am in my 60s

However, I am terrified of what future my children will have. I jut don’t see how the will get into the property ladder. They, like me, are average. They won’t get into top city firms and earn £100k 2 years out of uni. Hopefully they will prove me wrong but I just see a future of misery, running just to stand still.

I have managed to save around £10k for them. A housing deposit. Is there anything else I should be doing to help them?

Agree. My DSD and her DH and child live in a horrifically expensive part of the UK. They actually earn well ( approx £100k pa between them) but house prices are insane (£700k for a 2 bed 🤯🤯🤯) They don’t want to leave the area as they have a very well established life with jobs, school, friends etc there and I understand that. But we are going to have to gift her a fairly massive deposit to get them on the ladder, which we can fortunately do and I am happy to do.
My DH grew up in that same area and he was able to buy a decent flat at 19 on a very average wage. Things have definitely changed.

Lots of places. Outside the SE the numbers look a lot more doable.

Lots of 2 bed terraces or even 3 bed semis in perfectly nice areas for £150-250k within 15 to 30 minutes of large cities with good professional jobs.

Even NMW will be £25k soon and lower paid professionals earning £30-40k so buying a house is doable especially as a couple for most people.

That's better than nothing but obviously you would ideally pay much more than that in + increased the amount each year however for some people £10 may be as much as they can afford.
We started with that from birth but have been able to increase it so that by time DD is 21 she will have 35-40K from us however that will only be on a matched basis so we will match whatever she saves up and then we can use any left over to give her towards renovation etc.

Brought my house in my early 30’s for £170k in 2020 had some money saved but my grandad died and inherited £10k so lucky in that sense but had lost my grandad. At the time was in £35k so just above avg salary. Would have got there eventually but this helped. I had to pick a house that was further out than I would have liked in an area I wasn’t familiar with on the outskirts of Sheffield and needed work doing. After 4 years the house is all done you just have to live in it and make the best you can and not have the perfect home in the the perfect location.

@SureLight my DD also earns that much some months. She started at 16 on £11.50 an hour and in April that went up to £12 something. High street retail chain. 8 hours a week contracted but sometimes does up to 13/14 hours.

She appreciates she is lucky as some friends are on £7/8ph

I have one DC living in London in a house share paying £1k a month for a small room. She earns well on a graduate scheme salary but I worry that when the friends go their separate ways she won’t be able to find somewhere.
Other DC didn’t go to uni and is living at home ( central U.K.) working their way up, has lots of savings and a LISA. I feel they may get on the property ladder first.

Many places pay adult NMW to all ages.

That's only 10-15 hours a week or less if you increase hours in the school holidays to compensate.

It used to be the absolute norm for teenagers to work a few hours a week and it's only really on here where it seems not to be.

I was working in retail at the age of 16-17 - my first job was a Christmas temp worker @ M&S!

It’s awful for Gen Z. Without family help they are fucked.

My DD and her partner really want to buy and start a family. They can’t afford to buy where they live now (London) or where parents live (Brighton and Hove) so will have to completely uproot and find (lower paying) jobs somewhere cheap.

But of course if they do that, they lose free grandparents childcare and family support.

People who compare it to how easy it was in the eighties and nineties have no idea.

I'm hoping to build a granny flat for my son to live in so he won't ever have to rent he can save to buy his own home. I feel very lucky we got on to the property ladder before prices went crazy.

That won’t be the case if it’s an asset they own before they get married. Or they get a prenup which safeguards the house in the event of divorce.

OP I don't know anyone who was able to buy a property at the age of 19 or 21 in the 80's. The older people you work with aren't typical, I don't know people with multiple BTL's. Your children will be able to buy properties but as others said, they may have to move to another area to do so.

Teach your children that it isn't possible to have it all. That if you want to own your own home then there are compromises to be made.

Save hard whilst living at home, if you want to get a degree, do it part time whilst also working. Eating out and 'just a coffee' are luxuries you can't afford, let alone holidays. Making do with cheap cars and clothes.

Being realistic on your location, condition and size of home, and being prepared to get your hands dirty and work your way up the ladder. Not having children until you've bought a house

So many younger people i see today just have their expectations set so high and aren't prepared to compromise on their lifestyle or expectations. My first house was literally falling apart and in a hideous location. After bills were paid we had £40 left at the end of the month. When I wasn't working, I was studying. But it was a foot on the ladder that enabled us to to continue to grow as our income did.

Our children will be fine because their generation is significantly smaller than the generation that currently holds the majority of housing stock. Inheritances and natural drop in house prices due to lower demand will help.

In London it's common for people on mere mortals' salaries/ single to house share well into their 30s. Maybe 40s or longer the way things are going. Having an alloted time to use the bathroom or kitchen and a shelf in the fridge, that kind of thing. Forgot owning a house many people aspire just to be able to rent their own place. It's dire.

How old are your DC? I think a lot of it depends on what area you want to live in terms of how achievable buying a house will be but you don’t have to be a high flyer at a top city firm to earn a good salary.

With grad schemes you can progress your career to a good salary fairly quickly - whether in one of the big four or the civil service or even the NHS. Maybe not £100k within a couple of years but £50k within a couple of years and then continuing to progress and increase your salary throughout your career. Even jobs like secondary school teachers and social workers - if you progress and take on more responsibilities you can earn a good salary in senior positions.

Like most people, they will probably start out buying a small flat and over time save more to move to a house.

It takes longer to save now - they might be in their early thirties when they get on the property ladder and it might take longer to work their way up to “family house” unlike my parents generation, most of who could buy a 4-bed house at 25 as first time buyers!

Please remember that most people are average and most don’t have any financial help from parents so your children are already at an advantage.

Oh and working from home (wfh) is fast becoming RTO ( return to the office) in many industries now.

They will do what people in other countries and some immigrants do:
Rent
Spend their entire.lives working to get into high earning professions rather than following their passions
Move to cheaper parts of the country.
Live at home until they are 30
Multigenerational living will come back

@usernother I bought my first house at 18 in the 90s. I also own a BTL. It was funded by a 2k deposit saved up whilst I worked and lived at home and paid rent too.

Whilst my peers were out enjoying their teenage years, I was working and saving. Paid off though

Spot on.
You just need to add they don't need to live in the country they were born. You can have an adventurous time abroad in your 20s, earning more money in some sectors, and then return to the UK. Or just stay abroad in a cheaper country with a higher standard of life. Of course this doesn't suit everyone, I realise that .

I’ve started a stocks and shares ISA for
my daughter. However, I imagine I’ll only be able to assist properly in helping with buying a property when my parents and in-laws die and we get an inheritance (assuming it isn’t swallowed up in care/health bills). Very bleak way of looking at it but unfortunately true

I have managed to save around £10k for them. A housing deposit. Is there anything else I should be doing to help them?

I think you answered your own question there.

My kids are this age. One just bought a house with his gf because her parents were able to help. He had been saving though, so would have saved enough, but would have taken longer.
Friends kids have lived with her at reduced rates, and saving ( but saved longer as they don’t want a starter property, they want three bedroom detached).

DH worked internationally the whole of his career. We lived in the Midlands so he commuted. The rail journey from Coventry to London is around 55 minutes and thousands do this commute regularly.

It depends where they buy. They don't need to buy in really expensive areas.

In the north West for example. In Bradford you can buy a flat for 25,000 pounds.

Bradford is close to both Manchester and Leeds where there are lots of jobs.

This is what I plan on doing as if you leave it too late, any hint of needing care in old age and it would be considered deprivation of assets. Better do it early on.