In London, of course. No one needs to tell me to get over it, I tell myself the same every day, and at least I have a roof over my head and a job, etc. I am truly appreciative of this. So this is less a whinge, more asking if anyone has any bright ideas? If I had been in this position 5-10 years ago I would have been laughing, but the timing has been terrible for me, with house prices increasing exponentially and interest rates being virtually nothing, therefore leaving me with virtually no returns on my savings.
I'm single, 32 and have no children. It's not feasible for me to move to Grimsby or something at the moment, though I would definitely be open to it under different circumstances*
But my current living situation is a bit difficult. I live with my mum and pay rent to her, but way less than I would be paying if I were renting on my own. We share housework, bills, food etc but I just want my own space and to live like an adult. I've had enough of house shares, my current situation is better than that, and at least I get to keep saving this way. Renting would eat up my income and put my savings back so I would be in worse position in the long term.
But it feels like my saving is completely futile.
Without wanting to sound like an entitled whiner, I am so frustrated. I have been working and saving like mad, and I lead a really modest lifestyle (I'm quite boring and frugal anyway so this wasn't too hard, and I am happy to continue doing this). But it's getting me nowhere, especially with interest rates through the floor and no sign of them going up.
I know the answer is "too bad, suck it up, that's how cookie crumbles sometimes, no one deserves to own a house flat..." but surely it shouldn't be this difficult? I'm looking in the crappest, least glamorous part of outer London, not Hampstead or anything. The prices are going up faster than I can save, and I'm a bloody good saver.
I've spoken to a few lenders and they say they can lend me between £160k and £175k, which would buy me a property of up to around £200k, taking into account stamp duty and other fees. There is hardly anything on the market at this level - there are a number of "in need of TLC" derelict hovels on RightMove, between £150k and £200k. I'd be open to this in my desperation, but I'm doubtful they actually exist, because the estate agents never return my calls or emails about them. Even when I go in to their offices to enquire it's just "sorry, that's not on the market anymore". A lot of the properties at this level specify cash buyers or investors only, which rules me out.
There are a few properties a little above this, around the £210k upwards mark. In my cute naivety, I thought maybe I could look at these and make an offer 10-20% below asking price. Ha. Ha. Dream on. I've been to numerous viewings, all of these are hideous stampede-like open house affairs, where you get 2 minutes to look around. It's mostly young couples struggling to find a home (but probably on 2 incomes so they're more likely to succeed than I am), plus the odd single loser like me, and then an investment buyer turns up knowing they will be able to outbid everyone and offer at least asking price, and make a tidy profit. So I have no hope on these flats, which aren't even that nice.
I've been looking at the Help to Buy Equity Loans but it's all so mysterious, there seem to be hardly any properties around under this scheme, and describing them as "affordable" seems a bit generous to me. There's one down the road from me, but the 1 bed flats start at £350k! It's on a horrible roundabout in a crap part of a crap borough. And the affordability criteria seem to make it impossible for people of average or even slightly above average incomes to afford a very average home. Are they advertised elsewhere? Or are you supposed to just pick any new build and get a Help to Buy loan/mortgage for it? I made an appointment with my bank, which proudly declares they take part in the Help to Buy scheme, but the mortgage advisor did not have a single clue about it, I seemed to know more than she did. She had to look it up on the computer as she didn't believe that they offered such a scheme, even though I told her I was reading it on their website that very morning. The Help to Buy website is hopeless, it doesn't actually give any helpful, practical information.
I've thought about shared ownership, even though it seems like a massive rip off. But even then I sometimes don't even meet the income thresholds. I've contacted Housing Associations in my borough about new builds but I'm low on the priority list, understandably.
I honestly thought I'd be able to buy a house at 32, given that I've been nothing but sensible and taught myself about the market and followed all advice. I thought I had done all the right things but I am royally screwed. Lord knows what I will do if I ever want a family, there's no chance I can afford anywhere suitable for a child.
I have no hope, right? Should I give up and blow my deposit at the bingo or something?
I suppose I'm just wondering if anyone has any stories of eternal perseverance finally paying off!
*everyone has their reasons for wanting to live in a particular area. Mine are mainly: I'm having long term counselling and probably won't survive without it, and my mental state will deteriorate if I have to go through the mill of trying to find a new one. I'm not going to be able to move on from some of the issues that caused my problems by staying in my family home (I'm living in the house I was abused in, for one). Plus, I have a stable, good job (the salary is ok if not stellar, but the pension and other benefits are very, very good. Plus I like my work and colleagues, and don't think I can cope with the upheaval of looking for a new job and establishing myself elsewhere at the moment, especially as I will have no partner, no family and no friends around).