If you bought property in Zone 1-2 London, what do you do?

[meemeethemeerkat]

How old were you? Did you have financial assistance from family?

We were 33/32. DH works in tech and I am a tutor. Bought a flat in zone 1, then a house in zone 2. No help from family. Large deposit as we saved from starting our first jobs, so over a decade's worth.

My daughter bought in zone 2 at 30 she’s a marketing manager. But had help from family gifting a big deposit or it wouldn’t have been possible for her as a single person.

Bought in Zone 2 in early 1990s. Journalist in my 30s. Had a family inheritance of 5k towards the down payment but I would have been able to buy even without that.

I recognise how lucky we are, and how much harder it is for young people now to get a foot on the ladder.

My husband and I bought in zone 2 together in our early thirties. We had £80k deposit, £40k of which was inheritance and the rest was savings.

I work in financial services, he works in politics.

I bought a flat in zone 1, I was 30, no help from anyone, I was a CRO.

What’s a CRO please?

Contract Research Organization? They work with pharma.

Thanks

How things change! I was a journalist in the 2000s but the money was so poor I really struggled to rent and live in London. There was no way I could save any money so I had to change career to get onto the housing ladder.

I thought the answer to the original heading was "feel very pleased with yourself" but then saw it meant what did you do.

We’ve bought a run down house in zone 2 in early 90s. Worked in banking tech. DH worked in public sector. No help from family. - we had also helped my parents buy a house out of London.

Moved to London from a rural barn conversion which we had bought as a wreck and had developed while I was in my 20s.

Sold and moved to what was then a dodgy area of London to reduce mortgage (interest rates were double figures) and commuting costs.

I know a lot of people who own in z2 in places like Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, Hackney, Stockwell. They all bought decades ago bar one couple who paid 600k for a shared ownership place in Stockwell. Some of the ones bought decades ago were right to buy. In-laws Hackney house which was approx 35k in the 80s is probs 1.8k now.

Chief risk officer (in the pensions sector), worked up from being an actuary. Now back being an actuary.

A trainee solicitor. Huge two bed ex council flat in Brockley. £181,000. It was 2014. No one wanted to live in Brockley, let alone in an ex council flat.

I had lived in a horrible shared house for years to save £18,000. No family help.

Bought flat in '99 with my then partner - his family lent him his share of the deposit from memory ( i had to buy him out when we split in 2000/2001)- accountant/civil servant- at the time it was cheaper to buy than rent (if you could cover deposit/fees)

Oh & I did have a colleague who was a few yrs older than me that managed to buy a place in Clapham with an interest only 95% mortgage. She worked in retail (I worked p/t around uni). This was early 00s. She made a lot of money but lending rules are much tighter now.

Thank you

Phew. CRO has completely different meaning in my line of work ( ex police)

Early 2000's. Civil servant. Had saved the deposit by saving small amounts from all earnings from PT jobs in school/uni/summers and two years living in a tiny tiny room in a shared house.

Bought a very run down (no functional bathroom run down) flat in an undesirable but well-linked part of Zone 2 on a 95% interest only 35 year mortgage. The world will tell you that 95% interest only 35 year mortgages are the work of the devil, but it has been brilliant for me.

In the early 2000's my interest free mortgage was vastly cheaper than renting like my friends were doing, so I saved the difference. Saved enough to combine with DH and buy a house outside of London while keeping the flat in London.

The at is still on the same mortgage, but the value has soared. When the mortgage runs out I hope to have saved enough to pay it off. If not, I'll have to sell it to pay off the mortgage, but will then have money left to help with retirement/kids houses etc.

I feel incredibly fortunate. I bought just before the mid-00's boom while mortgage products were irresponsibly generous (which worked perfectly for me, though it got others in trouble). At the rush of sounding like a "don't eat avocados" boomer though, I did also save like crazy through school/uni/my 20's when my friends were going on holidays and had gym memberships and went out several nights a week. In the early 2000's, forgoing those sorts of things (the "avocados" of life) really did make it possible to buy houses . I know it doesn't now.

I’m presuming you’re looking for fairly
current info as you are hoping to buy in zone 1/2 London soon and wondering how to make enough for it?
zone 2 house bought about 3 years ago
lived abroad and then with parents to save a very large deposit (in excess of 300k) DH is in publishing, I’m in consulting.
we were advised to go for 5yr fixed which has really helped us.
i do love our little house but our area is far from smart. We are the gentrifiers tbh

I'm in real estate and my husband works in the civil service. Bought when things were a bit cheaper in 2009 in a cheaper area. Did also have significant family help with the deposit. Area has got a lot less cheap since.

Bought an ex local authority flat in now much sought after zone 2 area in early 90s with 10% deposit I’d saved from my wages as a teacher.
It more than doubled in value.

Sold and bought 4bed house in now much sought after zone 2 area late 90s with DH, also a teacher. It has risen 8 x in value.

We are incredibly lucky (as were all our friends here) to benefit from better wages:property prices ratios and the huge property boon in the 2000s.

I was 26 the first time! A journalist. Didn’t earn much. But it was more than 20 years ago, so…

Oh - no financial assistance from family. They couldn’t have afforded to help me!

Mr Monkey bought an ex Council flat in zone 2 the late 1990s when he was 23. He was a public sector accountant and had a v small inheritance (think a couple of thousand pounds).

Things have changed.