New housing in the UK

[RichTea90]

Sorry this is a bit of a ranty post but I live in South East England I’m 33 years old. Trying to get on the property ladder with a 40k deposit and a joint income of £119k. We are looking at 3 bed new build as want to start a family but they’re all so expensive and about 30-40k out of our budget.

Why is the government letting all of these greedy house building companies build and sell properties that are just not affordable to normal, every day people / couples / families. I think it’s truly scandalous.

instead im staring at Rightmove looking at a lot of properties that are so outdated or falling down and we just don’t have enough money to / disposable income to then do the property up.

feeling rather stressed 😩 is anyone else in the same position or understands what I mean

Some people really don’t read OP’s posts! This is their third house move and they’re in their 30s. A three bed house to allow for WFH and a potential young family really shouldn’t be out of reach at this stage.

It “shouldn’t”be but it is in more expensive parts of the country.

Regardless of their position, we can all only afford what we can afford.

Just reading through comments but OP I wanted to say be v careful of assuming travel time around the areas you’re looking, the traffic is AWFUL. You’d be lucky to manage 1h 20 most days from west Kent, especially on that stretch or motorway. There are frequently delays ins 5-6, 9-12 and then 13-16… sometimes jn 7 for good measure.

Ignore those saying you’re being spoilt or demanding, I suspect they comfortably bought their own houses years ago when prices weren’t as they are and paid off much of their mortgage on far lower rates.

For a small family house to cost EIGHT TIMES the average salary of TWO working people outside London is astronomical. You’re not wrong.

I think your husband is right not to overspend, if you’re planning children then nursery fees are well into four figures a month as well, so you may need to factor that in.

Good luck

OP, can you look into some cunning space-saving WFH solutions that will allow you to WFH without dedicated rooms for it?

I agree it's shit. The UK really needs to start building a lot more housing.

You said your OH has to be in work sometimes but works from home. How often does he have to be physically in work. The less that is the further you can live away.

i only ask as I WFH and only have to be on site once every couple of months. So I travel to London for a day for that from the far north of England.

im just wondering if you could stretch your search any further, but I’d understand why not if he’s there every week.

If you want another child I’d go for it. We have a three bed and I use one bedroom as an office. It’s easy when they’re little as the baby was in with us for about 2 years anyway! And now they share a room. If they’re the same sex they can share for years easily. Then potentially look at a four bed later down the line. You can get a 4 bed here for about 650k which is out of our reach and half of them are so shoddy inside. Tbh nearly everyone I know has used inheritance or large amounts of money from parents. Or they work in software!!

We are Essex, so not cheap for SE by any means and in a commuter town so overpriced at best.

We also have a lower combined income, 5% deposit, are looking way below our affordability as I want to keep as much disposable income as possible and need at least a 3 bed as FTBs. I also work from home and we already have a child so need 3 beds even as a starter home and some decent living space as it's not just the 2 of us.

I would rather not go for a new build so not really looking there but we do also have 10 properties currently with viewings booked. There is loads on the market in this part of SE right now. Have you considered coming out this way?

And this is exactly my predicament. I am a key worker btw, but on a fairly OK salary though us key workers are never paid properly really. OH should be on what is considered decent pay as self-employed but the trouble is… our wages just really have not caught up with the cost of living in this country. It’s completely ridiculous. We have a household income of over £100k, but we are struggling to find a decent 3 bed where we can stay in for 10 years to start a family.

I will keep looking. And I read everyone’s advice on here and warnings RE new builds, so thank you!

I am not on FB so I can’t check these fb new build groups.

Ahh, thank you @PoppyAndParsnips (p.s. I love your username). I agree regarding the traffic on that stretch of the motorway. That is a v good point to be fair. The house we looked at was lovely though. It was 3 bedrooms over 3 floors which we loved. Means we could hide on the top floor from the kids!

I feel at a total loss if I am completely honest. My family live in Kent, so West Kent seemed a nice idea, but it’s his commute. Surrey would be perfect but we’re just completely priced out. I visited Hook in Hampshire but there was absolutely nothing there, it was like in the middle of nowhere. Finding this relocation lark very daunting! I am open to Berkshire and I wil keep looking but I’m just getting frustrated as time is getting on and I turn 34 next month.

I’m surprised as we’re earning similar and have been offered £550 k mortgage. Try a different broker.

Yes, we are definitely open to 2 bedroom houses with the ability to pop a garden room in the yard.

I would just like for it to be fairly sizeable as we wouldn’t plan to move again for quite sometime as we just wouldn’t be able to afford it. We plan to have children in the next 12-18 months, so we’d be relying on my partner’s income for a while so we wouldn’t really be able to save much more to move again. It’s tricky.

I really do think best bet is to find a 3 bed.

thank you all for your advice, I really appreciate it 🩷

Please read my post properly. This is our 3rd home. Our first house was a 2 bed cottage for £210k.

Sorry I didn't realise from your first post that you are not a first time buyer. You say you are trying to get on the property ladder.

Although, a lot of people saying that your being too demand long for a 3 bed isn't fair, even if you were first time buyers. We are mid 30s and only just in a position to buy. We need a 3 bed as our first home.

This might be a good one for you. off street parking on that road is hard to come by and the “summerhouse” has power so that could, in time, be a home office.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146036303

I think it’s because he’s self-employed so we’re limited for products. Also we do not want to max out our affordability. He’s being very strict with us and saying we must stay around 400-430 max. I agree with him to be fair with the current state of the economy.

Yeah, not first time buyers but trying to get back on it as staying with family currently to save up more

It says STC - sold subject to completion

Oh that makes sense. We went from renting to living with family and it's tough. I imagine it's tougher having owned before. I hope you find something soon!

Omg, so tough.

and to be quite frank, I don’t think my mental health can take it much longer.

Have decided to buy a map of the south east at the weekend and circle all the places we’d consider living in and contact local estate agents.

Have you considered Reading @RichTea90 ?

It is harder in the more expensive areas, but if I’m honest I don’t understand your problem. You have an income of £117k and you’re living with family. I don’t know the salary split but your take home will be t least £6k a month. Even if you’re paying family rent money you should be able to save £4k a month, that’s £48k a year and your 30’s so have had a number of years to save. Added to that you’ve owned houses before so presumably have equity from those? How do you only have a £40k deposit?

We are not dissimilar ages to you. We earn slightly less, have never had the option of living with family to save money and no family help to buy. We live in one of the areas you’re looking at and own a 4 bed house. We have 2 DC, one in nursery and one will be starting later this year. Even with paying nursery fees and a large mortgage we have £1.5k disposable income each month that we could save all of if we wanted. I genuinely do not understand how you can’t afford a 3 bed.

Some areas of Oxfordshire could work for you? We are in the process of moving to a village about 15 mins bus ride from the station and are getting a big 3-bed terrace for just under £350k.

I don’t understand your financial situation any more than PP, but I definitely think you’re barking up the wrong tree with new builds. Sure, there’s a guarantee, but the new build premium is probably more than that.

To be honest, I don’t really wish to go into the ones and outs of my finances on mums net. I am also getting a bit of a blaming tone from you, so not finding that helpful

You asked how you were supposed to buy a house, and the details are very confusing so people are struggling to follow what the issue is.

Thank you, will take a look!