To ask if anyone manages to own a property and still save money/afford other things?

[Poshpuppy]

Is everyone who owns a home in debt? (Excluding mortgage debt). I keep hearing that houses are money pits, you get used to it, you have to anticipate unexpected repair costs etc etc.

I know it depends on situations and can't generalise. Where do people get all the money from? What about if you're on a low income? It just seems to be widely accepted that even after a hefty deposit you'll be spending a fortune every month and yes you do have an asset, but I've probably been naive.

Honestly, we bought a flat and most of the deposit was a gift from my parents. Then we moved to a house, and had a higher deposit because we sold the flat for more than we bought it. I do think it depends what house / flat you buy. We bought a good condition 50s semi and haven't had any unexpected costs in 3 years. We did take on an interest free loan to part pay for a garden office.

Well doesn't get much better if you are paying rent instead of the mortgage.

Houses can be money pits. But it depends on what sort of house you buy and whether you are willing to get stuck into some DIY of your own.

A lot of DIY isn't really that difficult and can save you a fortune.

We are on a mega low income not are very lucky that our mortgage is tiny. We do most jobs ourselves where we can or make barter/deal with friends that can do it. The only things we don’t touch are plumbing and gas. That’s for the experts. We have spent £120 in the last 2 years for a gas service and are paying £75 a month off the new roof repairs but that will be done in 15 months. Other than that it’s not cost anything other than bills and £250 a month mortgage. Realistically I want the garden re paving and tarting up a bit in spring 27 so will need to start saving up and budgeting for that but it’s a choice, not a want/need. The place is secure, water tight and perfectly usable. I would like a new kitchen but there is nothing wrong with the old kitchen, so I’m thinking of just wrapping the doors, replacing the worktops and paint/new handles. Shouldn’t cost more than £500-750 and I can do it myself

Yes a great many people manage to own a property and afford to do other things.

No not every home owner is in debt outside their mortgage.
If you’re looking at a budget that means you can’t afford repairs or general life then you can’t afford the property.

I've found owning much, much cheaper than renting. It all depends, doesn't it?

Buy a draughty, old period cottage with 6 bedrooms as a doer upper and 100% mortgage and yes, you are likely going to be hit by constant costs, both anticipated and unexpected.

Buy a small home that's 10, 20 years old or a bit older but has been renovated (well) by the previous owner, with a good deposit, and you might have only minimal charges and most of those you can anticipate (i.e. boiler is working okay for now but will need replacing at some point, so instead of paying out £120 a year for a service plan I'll just put the money into savings for when I will need to replace it).

You also have more options- yes lots of people struggled when mortgage rates went up but they have now come back down again and you can shop around for the best deal. Rent is only ever going to go up, and usually not by an amount you have any control over.

We purchased a brand new house and love it and yes we have to invest eg decking down - garden etc but it’s a small price to pay. Wouldn’t go back to an older house. We love it despite the £4 K spent on the garden to date. And yes all the extras eg loft ladders and crap people usually have already done.

I suppose there's also a difference between paying for cosmetics because you'd prefer a more modern kitchen or so on, which is fine, vs paying for emergency repairs.

A lot of people have high or higher incomes.

I am on quite a low income but I own 2 houses and own another 4 jointly (all mortgaged) just careful planning and a bit of luck. My mortgage is almost all of my monthly wage so I supplement with part time work. I am rubbish at repairs etc but lucky enough to have some fab friends who arent and will do 'mates rates'.
I wouldnt want to rent. I can see the appeal and it must be good to just call someone else when something goes wrong, but i would be too anxious not knowing if I may be asked to leave.

A significant majority (65%) of the UK are owner occupiers so, on the most basic level, yes, of course they can afford to do other things, otherwise the whole entertainment/retail/travel/beauty/wedding industries would all be on their knees if only a third of the population had any spare cash!

Anecdata but it's the renters in "my circle" who have less disposable income month to month.

We've been home owners 12 years now and owing to a bit of luck with timings of the property market upturns/downturns we are now mortgage free. Our mortgage was always way lower than we would have been paying to rent the same property so the difference covered things that came up such as new boilers etc leaving us no worse off!

Yes. Most of my money goes on ot but ultimately its mine and mine to pass on. A nest egg for my kids.

Often mortgages are cheaper than rent. Our mortgage repayments are £1200 a month for a 4 bed, the rent on an equivalent would be £2500+ a month. We do spend on the house but no where near £1k a month, so it’s a big saving for us. We manage to save a decent amount each month too and we overpay the mortgage so have a good amount of equity.

I do think that often, a mortgage is less than rent for the equivilant.

(To avoid being tagged in all the exceptions, I appreciate they will exist).

My mortgage never went over £750 a month.

Is everyone who owns a home in debt? (Excluding mortgage debt). I keep hearing that houses are money pits, you get used to it, you have to anticipate unexpected repair costs etc etc.

No and why on earth would you think they are?

People have different incomes, saving & spending priorities and generally a different attitude to money and debt.
Also people have differing skills, someone may need a handyman to put a shelf up while others will tackle a new bathroom, kitchen & garden (admittedly with differing levels of enthusiasm, skill and ultimately quality of end result).

Other than the mortgage we never borrowed a penny or had anything on credit, if we could not afford it at the time (and there were many things we would have liked), we saved and then went out and bought it.
Our priority was always to pay down the mortgage, save and pay into our pensions. Anything else came second (and before anyone says it..... yes we do/did live a good, full enjoyable life).

It’s really not that common to pay for repairs-maybe a few times a year.

also consider how long people have owned houses and how much they’ve paid off- for example I pay £1500 a month mortgage on a house that would cost £2500 a month to rent, so every single month I’m better off aren’t I?

You do have to spend money on your house but most things that happen out of the blue are insurance jobs (leaks etc) ...other general maintenance things you can predict, plan and save up for like new gutters or repainting. It's not thousands every month unless you're actively renovating

People are buying the wrong types if they're money pits

yes you need to upkeep but it maintains the value and no one is repainting and re carpeting annually

I pay £1200 in mortgage that would be circa £1700 to rent so even if I was spending £500 a month on maintenance which I’m of course
nor, it’s still better

Yes I’m still able to save money and generally can purchase whatever I want and live a nice lifestyle, pay for issues/costs related to the house as they crop up etc. But I’m lucky to have a fairly well paying job and my DP is a v high earner.

Wierd thread

People generally do affordability checks prior to buying , most people get into debt buying tat or overspending

To rent the house Im in would be 3 times the mortgage
Repairs dont even come close to that

I bought a place that I knew would be cheap to run and unlikely to need significant repairs. I've had enough of old draughty falling apart Victorian and Edwardian properties. You'll need a sinking fund for house repairs going forward. The general advice is to put something like a minimum of 1% of the value of your house aside each year for maintenance/ repair costs.

If you buy a newish property you're much less likely to have to pay out for repairs.

My mortgage on my 4 bed detached is £1080, next door is a 3 bed semi rental cost £1300 per month. I guess you could say we have £220 more a month to put away towards repairs. Other than the boiler, most of our expenses have been cosmetic.

That does sound like a lot of things to go wrong in a short space of time, OP.

The number of fuses going is weird, unless you have old wiring. I had my house rewired nearly 28 years ago, and haven't had a fuse blow since. And if one does, all I have to do is go to the fuse box and flick a switch on the one that's gone. I've never had a radiator valve leak, either, and I doubt if replacing one is a big job.

You may find that now the agency isn't managing repairs, the costs may go down a bit. I'd sit it out for a while and see how things go for a few months, I think.

I don't know anyone who rents and don't know anyone who doesn't have cash to spare. This is a really odd thread.

We did now to be fair we were relatively high earners but we could do things ourselves. DH had me tamping down concrete for a shed base when I was 6 months pregnant. I am ok at DIY but he is really skilled though he is actually a retired Prof in a science subject. He built our kitchen has built me a fab shoe cupboard under the stairs, a huge patio, has plastered the sitting room. Our mate is a builder and said if he was faster he would have offered him a job. I remember demolishing the water tank in the loft and we boarded it together. I draw the line at anything in the roof.