So how much of a deposit will I really need?

[mizu]

We are currently saving to buy a house. We don't earn a huge amount - both earn less than average salary in the UK but are putting away £200 a month plus any extra that we can, £100 here and there. We have not saved much but estimate that we will have £3000 by next Spring.

What do we realistically need as a decent deposit? I am thinking about £20,000-30,000 if we want to buy a house that is about £150,000. That will take us years won't it?

Also I am 37 so if it takes us 5 or more years to get a deposit together will age go against me when trying to get a mortgage?

Thanks

not sure about deposit but age won't go against you, some mortgage companies will lend up until your 65. We bought a house for £124,000 and had a deposit of £7500 (the last 5% one going) 2 years ago depending on the market in a few years i'd say £30,000 would be ok. Can you afford a financial advisor? ours is fab sorts it all out gets us the best deal for our situation would recommended it. Good Luck!

oh forgot to add we were 24 and 20 when we bought and I thought age would go against us but I saw no evidence of that.

We have just moved house. We lived like paupers and saved £900 a month to get us a 10% deposit (the minimum required) in 18 months. If you are serious about buying your own home I would say just save,save,save every penny you can as you will get ther in the end.

We had a direct debtit set up to come straight out of the account once we had been paid on the basis that if its not in your account you can't miss it/spend it.

I know this is a different point but from a legal perspective as to what you "need" for the purchase - most purchasers will accept a 5% deposit.

But surely a 5% deposit means that the interest rate you will pay will be higher?

Yes, notasize10yet, we have a direct debit set up too. Wow £900 a month is amazing.

We both work full-time (no DCs yet) but as we are TTC soon it was the right time to do it- we just had to bite the bullet and go for it and do it in as short a time as we could.

Ah, no children, that makes it easier I guess. My sister is saving too and they save a lot more than us and have no children yet either. Well done for doing it, I can't wait to have our own home.