R.E Home Ownership feels so unattainable

[MotherOfRatios]

Hi,
I am in my mid-20s and I already have £10,000 saved through hard work. I save around £500 a month.

I live in London, and before you say to me, just move out of London, it's just not realistic. My job is heavily London-based, depending on what is happening in the news, I can be called to last-minute events in London pretty quickly, so for that reason, moving up north isn't realistic because the transport in this country is expensive and unreliable.

I have considered moving Kent way and outside of London just but I still enjoy a night out with friends or a late night event in London and I would then have to get a taxi home which would be expensive because transport out of London doesn't run at 1am/ 3 am like the tube does on the weekend. I'm still young and still live very much a young and care free life.

I was looking at shared ownership, but since the massive mortgage rates increase the prices I just so so expensive but to buy without S/O it is also incredibly expensive.

I guess this is just a rant because I am just so fed up of house-sharing, but also it seems like it will take forever to get a mortgage.

London doesn't reward people who aren't on very high salaries and/or in a couple, it never has.

Unfortunately the only way home ownership is going to be possible is to compromise. You have thought about moving to Kent but won't compromise on your lifestyle. Getting the train home from nights out at 11.30pm honestly isn't the end of the world. It feels a bit crappy leaving mates who will be out til 1am (even on a school night) but it could at least afford you a decent home in the future.

Most of my single friends who were the 1am ers and never did couple up are still living in house shares in their 30s.

You have to ask yourself: what's the worst of the two evils?

Yes it's unfortunately ridiculous even transport from Kent is very expensive for some reason so I also have to weigh up this cost, of is it actually cheaper once factoring trains in.

I understand it’s really hard to give up a lifestyle but realistically, you probably can’t afford to buy in London. I would be looking at places just outside London like Reading (25 min fast train into Paddington) or Hertfordshire (fast trains into Kings X) or Essex (fast trains to Liverpool street & Stratford).

Hopefully some other people will be along soon to suggest cheaper places on the outskirts of London. None of them will look ideal to you but you are going to have to compromise on something. And honestly, there are a lot of problems associated with shared ownership so I think you dodged a bullet there.

It's not that I can't afford to buy it in London. I could impossibly four years just I would like to buy sooner.

S/O is increasingly becoming more unaffordable

I wouldn't want to live in Hertfordshire as I am black and being in area that where there is people that look like me is really important to me. Not to mention amenities for hair etc

Go buy outside of London and when you want to stay out late book a cheap hotel room in zone 4 or 5 or stay with friends.

I agree. It was never particularly cheap when I left Kent circa 20 years ago.

I think more Londoners should pool resources and buy with mates.

But we are all obsessed with having our OWN place. Which I don't disagree with. Personally, I would hate to live with someone just like me!

But it would get folks on the property ladder.

It's not as simple as just moving further out though, because I am Black and living in an area where I have certain amenities and people that look like me is in important, some of the outskirts not like that.

It's also transport I have some friends that have moved out to save money to buy in London and sometimes they can't even get a reliable train into London because that real line is pretty unreliable. Not to mention the cost of rail tickets you would think some Kent, it would be cheaper, but sometimes it's really not.

The average age of a homeowner in London has always been much higher than elsewhere in the country. If you’ve chosen a career path which relies on you being in London it’s unrealistic to expect to buy in your mid twenties when you’re just establishing your career. Yes, it sucks if you hate house sharing, but the reality is that the pay off for having access to a brilliant job market, lots of opportunities, and being in one of the greatest cities in the world is that it’s expensive.

I know several people who spent their twenties in London having an amazing time and furthering their careers before leaving after 30 in order to buy: the sort of career experience they’d been able to achieve gave them the edge in applying for jobs in other parts of the country whether local candidates had less experience of big projects / prestigious events / high profile cases. That seems like a realistic path for somebody in your situation to work towards: prioritise your career and increasing your income, keep saving, and then in several years’ time evaluate whether you’re then in a better position to stay and buy, or a better position to leave and buy.

How about Brighton? Last train is 1.08am based on a quick google search. Journey is about an hour and trains are frequent. Property is cheaper and it's a very diverse city from what I can tell.

Edit: just to add that it sounds like you are in the media, and a lot of journalists / TV people seem to live in Brighton.

I'm in zone 4. It's very multicultural. As are many Kent Towns.

Perhaps you're just putting mental blockades down.

I am a good salary for my age and my wage goes up each year, it's not really possible to move out of London with without spending a significant amount of rail tickets which I don't want to do as they are not reliable, and it could affect my career.

It's not that it's not realistic it will just take a lot longer and I've had some pretty horrific experiences in House shares including racism and sexual violence so I would like to move out of house shares.

Reading is very multi cultural @MotherOfRatios and cheaper than London.

Was really just giving examples of places that have fast trains into London which could be an option for someone in your position.

Im sure there are also cheaper places on the outskirts of London like Croydon or Walthamstow area. I don’t know them well but other people will be able to make suggestions.

I currently live zone 4 and I'm happy to be there for if it's within the London Boundry. If it is definitely Kent and not Kent/London border that's where I have some difficulty because the train says become more expensive and unreliable.

I was recently offered a S/O property that I could afford in Croydon. However, I was advised against taking it when speaking to other people because it is hard to resell the property. Otherwise, I probably would live in Croydon.

You're going to have to compromise on something. By the sounds of things, it'll have to be the "when".

The nice parts of Brighton and Hove that are handy for the trains to London are not really cheaper than the outer zones of London in my experience plus there’s the cost of the train.
I agree it’s a brilliant place to live though!

It’s generally difficult for single people to afford anywhere. If I was renting in London I’d consider buying a property outside of London and renting it out so you’re on the ladder. Mind you, we moved from the south east in our early 20s so we could afford housing. It depends what you prioritise. We don’t have London weighting on our salaries but have a lovely house in a beautiful location. You have choices.

I think you got good advice about not accepting the S/O property. Though I also know friends of my daughter who have them and think it’s better than renting. You just have to be aware of all the pitfalls like they can be hard to sell/may decrease in value for the first few years due to being new build.

Basically, if you can afford to buy in Croydon or wherever in a few years time you are probably better off waiting to buy rather than rushing into S/O now.

Oh, for sure. If you don't live close to the end line you may have to wait for the third train to get on.

But I also experienced that IN London too. Got to work 20 mins late twice in a row one week, so I left 45 minutes earlier on day 3, then ended up getting to work an hour late where there were absolutely bun fights to get on an earlier train.

No one outside London ever elbowed me in the ribs and winded me to get on a train ahead of before.

I remember many a miserable bitter winter night when it took me hours to get home from one side of London to another, with constant cancellations too.

Transport inside London can be just as horrific, so don't have rose tinted specs on in that respect.

The best thing you can do for yourself is try to find somewhere where two different train lines run through it.

Edit: readers, you may or may not be comforted to hear that the arsehole who winded me and doubled me over in pain later got a stiletto ground into his toes. Ooopsie.

Are your friends and colleagues of the same age not in similar situations as you are? Not even one of them, who you could flatshare with?

Quite honestly once you live alone, and are solely responsible for the mortgage, council tax and bills without anyone to split it with, you're not going to be able to afford the social life you currently enjoy.

You can probably live quite cheaply in a house share but with no one to split bills with, you won't anymore.

Drop the 1am to 3am nights out as a reason not to move as you won't afford those very often.

I bet you could afford somewhere with shared ownership in somewhere like Leighton Buzzard. Not glamorous but 30 minutes on the train to London.

maybe I am just very lucky as to where I have lived, but I have always found transport in London. Pretty reliable unless the cheap drivers have obviously been on strike, but I find it a pretty good transport. I have lived here 7 years now

I can, but I definitely don't want to live in somewhere like Leighton buzzard and again, the transport is certainly unreliable from somewhere like that.