Buying a house in 5 years time - can we do it?

[mizu]

We rent. Have no deposit to buy a house. I am 37 years old and have never been able to buy, work 4days a week as a teacher, DH unskilled worker full time. We have 2 dds who are 4 and 5.

Ok, so we have just set up a standing order for money to come out of our current account into savings and will have about £20000 in 5 years time.

But unless things change, this still won't be enough to buy a house around the area we live. Surely property prices will come down or something will change to help 1st time buyers more than that crappy stamp duty thing?

Yes they will come down eventually for the same reason you have given, houses are too expensive for first time buyers and its never going to improve until houses become more affordable.

We haven't felt the pain yet of all the borrowing, "Money printng" has just delayed the inevitable.

However it might take a bit longer than buyers had hoped before they can get a realistic priced house.

You are doing the right thing saving now especially as renting is much cheaper than a mortgage currently, so bank the difference or enjoy a better quality house than you would normally be able to afford.

It is an awful situation isn't it. I'm lucky enough to have bought a property 16 years ago when they weren't silly money but I do wonder how my children are going to get on the property ladder.
It sounds sensible to save as much as you can over the next few years.

Another option which you could maybe look into is a part rent/part buy scheme? Are there any of these in your area. You basically buy a % of the house (so smaller deposit) and then pay rent on the balance and can then over the years buy a bit more of the house until you own it.

Good luck

Yes, I know about part rent part buy schemes but there are none around here at the moment. I was on a key worker scheme last year but the funding for that ran out before we bought.

Starting to think i should have bought 16 years ago but when i was in my 20s the last thing on my mind was buying a house. I worked abroad for a few years and always thought having a mortgage would tie me down.

I'm just hoping that something will change and that buying a house will become something we can do in the future.

Shame about not having any schemes near you. I've noticed over recent years there are more and more springing up where we live (Sussex) so hopefully they'll start becoming more popular in other areas.
Good luck

Don't want to be a doom monger but watch out for those schemes - a few people I know have bought using part rent part buy and are being stung for the rent. Apparently housing associations are increasing the rent by RPI% every year so around 5%. A friend is paying £350 just for the rent each month!

We are considering buying atm but only because we are being forced into it as LL selling the house we are renting. I fully expect house prices to come down or flatline over the next year or two as any further big rises are totally unsustainable.

Hi mizu, me and my dh are in a similar situation to you - we have some savings but would need another 20k at least, as mortgage lenders will only lend us 175k maximum, which would buy us a two bed high rise in a run down area, where we live (London).

I've joined the PricedOut campaign for first time buyers who are stuck in rented due to ridiculous house prices. They think it is due to the rise in buy-to-let landlords, who get tax-breaks on their mortgage payments and make it impossible for first time buyers to compete. Also, the government has kept house prices artificially buoyant, and failed to build enough to meet demand (and the right type of housing at that). Yes, I too could join a keyworker scheme, but this would entail moving into a new build of very small proportions, and paying for a 70% share in a property that is still 40% overpriced.

I long to settle somewhere and decorate, make it my own etc. However, I realise that this is not going to happen soon, so we manage and I am giving some of my energies to campaigning for a saner housing market.