Not owning a property

[Blondie789]

Does anyone else NOT own a property and worry about it? I'm in my 30s and (if I'm lucky) a good three years away from having any realistic deposit. I rented for years and threw so much money away, when I should have just house shared in my 20s and saved my arse off but I was too immature and carefree to think ahead.

What if I have to lodge for the rest of my life? What if my parents get ill when I'm older and I can't reduce working hours because I don't have a mortgage free house? Why didn't I think the way I do now 10 years ago? I honestly believe I've fucked my life up by renting for all those years.

Does it bother anyone else? I really feel like not having a mortgage at my age is pretty much the be all and end all. I think about it all the time, I still try to enjoy myself but I'm so tight with money I pretty much exist rather than live.

Sorry for all the negativity x

Can you get a 5 percent deposit together and use help to buy? Although they only do it for new builds but worth looking into if thats what you want.

I've just bought in my 30s. I have scrimped & saved for years & then got a mortgage & started house hunting. I have been left with no savings & I need to do a few bits to the house before I move in, but definitely worth it.
The mortgage is so much less than my rent was.
If it's what you want OP, could you save really hard for those three years then reevaluate your situation?
It's entirely up to you, but I'm glad I now have a house I don't need to worry about moving from in the years to come if you see what I mean.

OP, you did not throw money away, you put a roof over your head. Keep saving, get a Help to Buy ISA and who knows, house prices may be lower in a couple of years' time.

My partner was 39 when we bought, based on his wage alone due to my disability. We had a very frugal couple of years, we’ve never been on holiday together etc and bought the smallest house ever but it is possible.
Also, bear in mine it’s common to be offered mortgages over longer terms now, or up to age 70. Not ideal but gives you more options.

I bought when I was 38 and that was primarily due to the fact we got some help. I think it's completely normal to buy in your 30s particularly if you're in an expensive location (we are in London).

Some friends of ours have never bought a property. They turn 50 this year, they made a conscious decision not to buy and to save money in stocks and shares / various other investments etc.. I’ve never quite understood their logic but they insist they’ve done the clever thing.
But of course they do have savings which is their security.

Please don't worry. The ONS has the average age of a UK buyer as 34. Rising to to 36 in the South East & East Anglia. For comparison in 1974 it was 30.

I felt exactly the same as you did, particularly as I made the decision to pay off uni debts before buying somewhere. Turns out that house prices rocketed meaning that I would have been far better off now if I'd got 105% mortgage then!!

We were both 39 when we bought, with a 5% deposit. It didn't matter how much we saved, the market was going up faster and we were chasing 10% for about a year-in the end we just decided to go for a 2year fixed rate 95% LTV.

We are now coming to remortgaging and although house prices are staying mostly static here we will be 90% LTV. My anxiety now is that prices fall and we end up in negative equity - but then we aren't planning on going anywhere so will just ride it out.

Don't beat yourself up, you make decisions at the time and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Wouldn't use the 5% help to buy as I want to own 100% of my property, I call the shots and nobody owns me etc. I do have an ISA account though, which is different.

I should also try and stop comparing myself to people who are more successful than I am

Ours wasn't help to buy, just 95% LTV. But in reality you don't own your house until you are mortgage free so it might be a while yet

We don't own and it really worried me.
We used to have a mortgage, we sold to move to another area and stupidly went into rented to decide where would be best to buy a house. During this time my dh lost his job and our money from selling had to go on rent and living expenses as we weren't entitled to any benefits.

So, now we're stuck renting and unlikely to be able to save for a deposit to buy again. The insecurity bothers me the most, we had to move again recently as the landlord was selling and with 4dc it's awful not knowing when/if we'll need to move again. I have a dc with asd and the lack of stability for them really worries me

Could you get a lodger and get a lodger mortgage? Yes the smaller lenders do these. I think the most worry is that overall renting or buying is just so expensive. Could you buy with someone else? A friend of mine did it as a purely business arrangement . I think renting is ok if you are doing something worthwhile alongside it eg job hopping so not wishing to settle in one place otherwise buying is better

Blessed - sorry to hear that mate x

Lovely - I'd never buy with anyone else. Even if I met the man of my dreams, I've always been pretty solitary and I wouldn't want to be tied in with a property to absolutely anyone. That way if a relationship or friendship goes sour the house is always my security. The plan is once I get there (if I ever get there) get one or two part time lodgers for at least two years to bulk up my savings and hopefully do the house up etc. I've such a good, sound plan. I just need the deposit! Wish I was ten years younger x

Plus I'd want to decorate it my way, pick the furniture I want, have people over when I want. Buying with someone means compromising and sharing and I've always been shit at that, but that's another story 😀

buying with someone else is how I got started - a friend and I bought a hovel together - all we could afford, but once you are in the mortgage system, it somehow seemed easy.

DH and I now own our 3 bed mortgage free.

"Wouldn't use the 5% help to buy as I want to own 100% of my property"
You do in the end like any other mortgage its not the same as shared ownership or are you looking to save up for a house without getting a mortgage at all?

Pretty - no I thought the 5% deposit tied in with part own part rent etc but I googled and looks like I was wrong. The thing is... I need the bank to lend me as much as they can, which is maximum 4 and a half times my salary (I asked them). But they will only lend me 4.5 if I've saved a deposit of 15% (which is what I'm aiming for anyway) so if I get a 95% mortgage they wouldn't lend me as much? I'm not being a snob I promise, it's just that where I live a lot of the areas are rough. I don't care if it's a house that needs updating etc but I don't want to live in an unsafe area x

Go to a mortgage broker. They were much more useful than a bank as they have access to the whole of market and can also advise on the help to buy if you need that.

Our mortgage is actually the same as our rent was. Like you I wish we'd done it a whole lot sooner though.

Kirimn - congratulations on buying ANY kind of property in or anywhere near London I honestly don't know how anyone affords it unless you're a doctor or lawyer or secretly related to Walt Disney! Prices are completely and utterly obscene. I'm in the Midlands x

With help to buy you need to get at least a 5% deposit and then the government give you a 20% loan making up the
rest of the deposit needed so you can get a 75% mortgage, which then intern gives you access to better mortgage deals and a leg on the ladder.
Its worth talking to a newbuild mortgage advisor if you are interested.

Go to a mortgage broker OP. There will be lenders who will offer you more on a 5% deposit. Don't only look at your bank.

Are you looking for something of a certain side, or the 'bare minimum'?

Echoing previous suggestions of a mortgage broker; they were able to offer so much more than our bank.
London&Country are free and could be a good place to start.
We bought with a 93% mortgage - the first two years was tough as the interest was high, but we were able to remortgage to a much better rate after two years. It was a Help to Buy mortgage but we didn't do shared ownership or anything, it was just a mortgage that was restricted to first time buyers (there are a number of different schemes).