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Original poster

How to afford a mortgage in south east?

73 replies

houseprob · 04/01/2019 20:15

I am not sure if I've just got this all wrong - currently rent - joint income £60k. We pay £1750 in rent to afford this payment we needed to earn 30x rent a year so £52k roughly. We are trying to save for a house but for a 3 bed the same as we rent the houses are £500k. We can't raise a mortgage high enough to facilitate this, I have been told we could probably borrow £300k at most (5x wage) so we need £200k deposit plus fees! Does this sound right? How does anyone buy in the south east?

I know people buy smaller to start with but not an option for us as we have children already.

OP posts:
WhatsUpHun · 04/01/2019 20:17

Well where are you looking? not everywhere Has houses costing 500+

Nightmanagerfan · 04/01/2019 20:26

Joint income of £60k isn’t that high to buy a 3 bed house in The SE. Most ppl start off in a one or two bed flat and work up - can you fit in a smaller place? You could maybe get a flat for £350k?

derekthe1adyhamster · 04/01/2019 20:31

Loads of places where you can buy a 3 bedroom house for £30000.
Try Eastbourne (and even Brighton!)

EmmaJR1 · 04/01/2019 20:34

We are in Kent and have a 4 bed 2 bath semi- detached and had a £37k deposit on a £325k house.

Where are you looking?

Holidayshopping · 04/01/2019 20:36

You need to buy a smaller house, one in a different area or earn more money.

E20mom · 04/01/2019 20:38

Loads of the south east seems very affordable compared to London where I live. Where are you looking?

bibbitybobbityyhat · 04/01/2019 20:38

Most people buy a 1 bed flat as their first home.

Holidayshopping · 04/01/2019 20:39

What area are you looking at?

mmmgoats · 04/01/2019 20:40

I live in the south east and most of the three bedrooms are around 300-350. Neighbouring towns the same. Whereabouts are you op?
Do you live in a particularly expensive part of town? If so you may have to compromise and change location slightly or downsize

Singlenotsingle · 04/01/2019 20:42

I've heard that interest only mortgages are returning. A good idea for a couple of years to get you on the ladder, then revert to repayment if you can afford it, or see what else your bank can suggest.

Floralnomad · 04/01/2019 20:44

Agree with pp , there are plenty of very nice 3 bed houses in lovely parts of the SE for £300k .

KanielOutis · 04/01/2019 20:45

Most people can't afford to buy the same house they they can rent. It's a trap that keeps people in the cycle or renting. My flat in SE is worth about £200k, much more affordable as a first home.

Lulutheboss · 04/01/2019 20:45

I think you could get something for less depending on where you are looking.

For example, some areas in Surrey/Sutton/Kingston are seeing a drop in house prices. If you prefer a bit more rural, Reigate/Redhill house prices are also a bit cheaper and falling.

It’s hard to say because we don’t know where you are.

Isthisit01 · 04/01/2019 20:52

I bought a three bed in the south east for 325000 last year. You probably need to be more flexible with location.

You could also look into a new build. You pay more but they can be quite flexible on deposits.

scaredofthecity · 04/01/2019 20:52

We couldn't afford to buy where we were renting, the rent was the same as our mortgage is now but the house we were renting was worth about 50% more than our house now. (We bought 2 years ago)

We ended up buying about 20 miles away from where we originally wanted. It turned out great and we love where we are, it did feel like a huge compromise at the time though.

KatherinaMinola · 04/01/2019 20:54

How many of you are there, and how old are the DC? Could you not get a two bed?

Some parts of Kent are still very affordable.

OccasionallyIncomplet · 04/01/2019 20:58

The maths you have provided are right, but as people have pointed out, your claim the houses are 500k is out. Nevertheless - my suggestions are as follows.

  1. you increase your salaries. 60k joint is only £6k each above average wage. You are then looking to live in one of the most expensive places in the UK. You might not be able to afford it.

  2. location. Do you need to live in SE? You are going to possibly have to look elsewhere. 300k house in South Wales will buy you a mansion, £300k in Guildford is going to buy you a small apartment. There are places in SE where things are cheaper, but that's because they are not close to commuting links or not that nice.....you have to make decisions about this.

  3. compromise. Are you looking at houses the 3rd bedrooms and gardens, with on site parking and near shops? You might have to lose parking or the 3rd bedroom to get yourself on the ladder. If your kids are young they can easily share until they are 10 with no detriment. Lower your expectations.

Good luck!

zoemelb · 04/01/2019 21:00

You will need to buy somewhere further out, factor in the costs of train tickets though or somewhere with local jobs.
Deposit mostly coming from our parent helping out to buy very cheap house as soon as I graduated from Uni --> house price rises over the 9 years and paying off the mortgage over time, it became a chunky deposit. Our joint income is a little over x2 your joint income, but our mortgage currently is only a little over your rent £2K/month (3 beds £600k). How can your rent is so high though? Can you stay somewhere cheaper? Can you change job and move somewhere with cheaper rent?

NeverTwerkNaked · 04/01/2019 21:03

This is why I rented tiny places until we bought.

But you are where you are. You are likely to need to look further afield / tolerate a smaller house

zoemelb · 04/01/2019 21:18

Try Bedfordshire - Bedford, Luton, Harlington, you can totally find 3 beds & near station for £300K. Depends on where you need to travel to in London, there are tons of local jobs - drivable distance from Luton or Bedford.

KatherinaMinola · 04/01/2019 21:21

Yes, Luton is good too, and some parts of Buckinghamshire/MK area.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 04/01/2019 21:25

Wow, am really surprised at those prices for a 3 bed in the SE. Round my way in liverpool that’s what you’d pay for the same thing, SE prices used to be so much more than here. In fact thst’s Why we moved out of London to be back up in our home town where housing was more affordable.
Am assuming the bubble has spread up north and is slowly starting to burst down there then?

Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of this city where you can get a 3 bed semi for much cheaper but they’re not in areas I would be keen to live in.

KitKat1985 · 04/01/2019 21:27

We started in shared ownership and built up equity.

There are cheaper parts of the South East too. I'm in a 3 bed detached house in the South East which cost under 300k.

Also could you downsize your rental property for a while. £1750 a month in rent is crazy money.

AwkwardPaws27 · 04/01/2019 22:21

We bought a one bedroom flat, then DH had a couple of promotions and we were able to buy a 3 bedroom house which needs work for £350k. We have delayed starting a family until the major work is done.

You could:

  • look at shared ownership or help to buy
  • downsize to a 2 bed, or to a flat
  • consider properties that need work (if you are willing and able to do most of it yourselves)
  • look at cheaper areas
NoArmaniNoPunani · 04/01/2019 22:23

I've got a 3 bedroom house in Worthing, worth 260k

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