Commander Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 For many, it's luck.. I skinted myself 4 years ago buying a 3 bed semi on my own for 190k. During the 3.5years that followed I met my girlfriend who had 20K in the bank and the value of my house went from 190 to 250k, with relatively little financial investment from me, just lots of graft... Now we're in a 390k house that's a bit rough around the edges, but with some more hard graft and some more good luck (sharesave scheme at work is about to mature with about 110% growth over 3 years), we'll be set to make a nice life for ourselves over the next few years, or we can keep up the hard work and a 500k house will probably be achievable. It's all a mix of luck, commitment, and an amount of 'you've got to be in it to win it'. You're young, with no kids, go take some calculated risks and see if they pay off... PS - Hi Sarnie, thanks for sorting our mortgage out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 My parents got really lucky. We left our rented large house in Birkenhead when we found out it was due to be demolished to make way for a by-pass. My dad saw this house advertised in Wales, 6 bedrooms, 5 acres of land but in a bit of a state as it had been unoccupied for about 3 years. The house was owned by a brickworks and they wanted something like a 1£ a week for rent. This was in 1961 and they offered to help us out with any jobs that needed doing. My parents got the house sorted and in 1974 the brickworks was taken over by Hanson. They decided to sell off all of the houses they owned (about 15) and as sitting tenants my dad got our house for the amazing sum of £3,950, I had just paid £6,000 for a semi a few miles away. A couple of years later the brickworks closed and Hanson sold all of the remaining houses and land they owned in the area and my dad bought the adjoining 5 acre field for £10,000. My parents moved away in 1985 as the house and gardens became to much of a burden and they sold up for £85,000. Just recently the house has changed hands again, the price.......£750,000 ! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bockaaarck Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 There's some solid advice here, but it's important (I think) to remember one thing. A house, flat, bungalow, narrow boat should primarily be one thing and that's a home. If it turns out to be a good investment then happy days. Secondly, you may feel that renting as you do now is throwing money down the drain. However; you do also have ultimate flexibility. Lose your job? Give notice and rent somewhere cheaper or move in with relatives. Find a terrific job across the other side of the country? Give your notice and just move. Boiler breaks, drains need doing, windows need replacing....at the moment none of those costs / worries are yours. This, in your circumstances, puts you In the ideal position to continue saving for that deposit. Property, which is a word with connotations I don't like, is statistically a solid long term investment. Having a home is what is really operant however. Don't get hung up on feeling you have to get a lovely, massive house. I realised that I actually didn't need a big house, I just need a yurt with garaging for 30 cars. Although the better half wasn't so convinced by that You can buy a home on your income and with your savings. You may not be able to buy a six story house in South Kensington (or maybe you can!). But i bet you can buy a nice home in a rnice place / town / village that you guys can live in for 2 / 5 / 10 years or for the rest of your lives. In my view taking on a mortgage in this or any economic climate which takes up 50% of your income is not wise. That has the potential to become a millstone rather than what it should be, which is a home. Still, you're the one who has to make the decision. There are some very knowledgable and helpful people here, particularly Sarnie in this case. Think about what you need rather than what you want. Then try and find a home that you need, that has as much of what you want as possible. Do the sums, weigh up the pros / cons and build in some contingency, then get some professional advice. All the best 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJRFulton Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I bought a fairly nice flat in September for 44k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I'll have a 3 of those when i win tomorrows euro millions lol.. 109m yes please. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddog1982 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 (edited) I bought at 25 (6 years a go) with 10% down and was fixed on a high rate for 5 years, I was broke at the time and for a couple of years after. This then fell to the base rate after the 5 years and I kept the payments the same for the next 12 months. This month I check and I had enough LTV in the property (combination of house going up and my over payments) to refix for 2 years at a much lower rate. I'm now over paying £200 a month on the mortgage, taking advantage of the low rates. I live on my own, the house is only a small 3 bed terrace but with a Zed on the drive and a motorbike in the shed im happy. I want to keep over paying as much as I can, I took out a 30 year mortgage but should be able to pay it back in under 20 if everything stays the same. My sister has rented since 19 and goes on some lovely holidays but to me I want to get as much equity in my property as quickly as possible. Edited June 13, 2014 by maddog1982 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 working in sales always helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sipar69 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 The housing market round our way has gone mad(der) recently. Tidy little Victorian terrace in our road with two bedrooms and a loft room (ok size garden but no off street parking) went for £900k with sealed bids. Even on just shy of £60k a year and my other half on nearly £40k most of the places round here are out of our price range. She was smart and bought a flat years ago which she rents out and will have paid the mortgage off soon, but I'm still not on the property ladder at 45. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I think there is a small amount of everything needed to be successful or wealthy unless of course you are born into wealth. You dont necessarily make loads of money just from working hard, you need a bit of luck and timing thrown in and possibly a good idea. A couple of examples down my way, a lad late 30's has just sold 50% of his company for £19.2 million after 8 years, what did he start off as, a personal trainer!!!! He set up a company teaching people to be personal trainers! Another lad in his 30's left the marines and set up a private security firm, mainly anti piracy (armed) on container ships/cargo etc and has just started putting security on oil rigs, its been rumoured he has been offered in excess of 50 million after just 6 years. Problem is, i dont see the opportunities to make large sums of money like perhaps when our parents were young and i also think if you want to be wealthy, you have to be ruthless and perhaps even a bit dodgy, so if you have a conscience you wont sleep at night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I've seen enough people repossessed by living on the 'never never'........just remember when your looking at all these big houses with nice cars outside....all that glitters is not always gold. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve916 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Sounds like you have a plan. If I could have my life again, I probably would've bought a house at a younger age, instead of spending tens of thousands on cars. I would've loved to have been through 3 or 4 properties by now and made money on each after refurbishing them, but I didn't. Too late for me to be doing that now as it wouldn't be fair to uproot family each time. Having said that, when we bought this house, it was in a poor condition, which we repaired and it's doubled in value since we bought it. Family are growing now, so need a bigger house which is why we are moving. I also want to be closer to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) I wouldn't be in that much of a rush to get a big house. Big house = Big Mortgage = Big Council tax = Big Insurance = Big Bills. I see our house as home first and foremost, at some stage we'll be moving to something bigger but I cannot see the point of moving just for the sake of it. I really feel sorry for people in London though, even 500K will barely buy you a flat. I really cannot see how any one can afford to buy/live in London unless your joint household income is well over £150k+. As for % income to spend on the mortgage, remember currently interest rates are at a historical low and due to go up next year. I think roughly a 1% rise on a 300k mortgage can result in £200-300 rise in monthly payments....I certainly would not be comfortable if 50% of my post tax income is tied up with the mortgage it leaves you with very little wiggle room incase some unexpected bills tune up. I have been there before and can tell you first hand worrying about if you have enough in the bank to cover the mortgage repayment is not a nice thing to lie in bed worrying about!! Start small/cheap and work you way up..... Edited June 14, 2014 by gangzoom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhorno Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 No such thing as luck, just conviction. If you want it, you have to step out of your comfort zone to achieve it. Risk adverse people will forever wallow in a world of self doubt calculating all the permutations. I was on £60k+ ten years ago in my early 20's and walked away to set up my own company. Now my company is thriving and my old company went to the wall in 2009 with all the employees being made redundant. My house is worth about £250k but we have been in it for nearly ten years and we bought it as FTB's without any kids etc. In that time the Mrs has been on unpaid maternity leave for circa four years which has been tough and curtailed my car buying wants!! We now have two kids and are rapidly outgrowing the house and will be looking for something that will be a fair step up on our current house eg £700k - £800k. The moral of the (my) story is that if I'd stayed put in my 'safe' salary I'd have ended up redundant and scrapping arounf for crap paid jobs with a load of other people during the credit crunch. I didn't and have an expanding business that hopefully will get us to where we want to be! 60k ten years ago , what do u do 😳 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_89 Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Is it possible to get a mortgage to build your own place then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Is it possible to get a mortgage to build your own place then? Yes is called a self build and he payments are released in stages (land purchase, footings, wall plate, roof, fixtures and fittings etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 No such thing as luck, just conviction. If you want it, you have to step out of your comfort zone to achieve it. Risk adverse people will forever wallow in a world of self doubt calculating all the permutations. I was on £60k+ ten years ago in my early 20's and walked away to set up my own company. Now my company is thriving and my old company went to the wall in 2009 with all the employees being made redundant. My house is worth about £250k but we have been in it for nearly ten years and we bought it as FTB's without any kids etc. In that time the Mrs has been on unpaid maternity leave for circa four years which has been tough and curtailed my car buying wants!! We now have two kids and are rapidly outgrowing the house and will be looking for something that will be a fair step up on our current house eg £700k - £800k. The moral of the (my) story is that if I'd stayed put in my 'safe' salary I'd have ended up redundant and scrapping arounf for crap paid jobs with a load of other people during the credit crunch. I didn't and have an expanding business that hopefully will get us to where we want to be! 60k ten years ago , what do u do í ½í¸³ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk He's as high class mail escort 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhorno Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 No such thing as luck, just conviction. If you want it, you have to step out of your comfort zone to achieve it. Risk adverse people will forever wallow in a world of self doubt calculating all the permutations. I was on £60k+ ten years ago in my early 20's and walked away to set up my own company. Now my company is thriving and my old company went to the wall in 2009 with all the employees being made redundant. My house is worth about £250k but we have been in it for nearly ten years and we bought it as FTB's without any kids etc. In that time the Mrs has been on unpaid maternity leave for circa four years which has been tough and curtailed my car buying wants!! We now have two kids and are rapidly outgrowing the house and will be looking for something that will be a fair step up on our current house eg £700k - £800k. The moral of the (my) story is that if I'd stayed put in my 'safe' salary I'd have ended up redundant and scrapping arounf for crap paid jobs with a load of other people during the credit crunch. I didn't and have an expanding business that hopefully will get us to where we want to be! 60k ten years ago , what do u do à½Ã¸³ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk He's as high class mail escort Any jobs going 👌 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 I wouldn't be in that much of a rush to get a big house. Big house = Big Mortgage = Big Council tax = Big Insurance = Big Bills. .. We have a 5 bed detached in one of the most expensive counties in England but paid off our mortgage in 15 years , we extended from a 4 bed so pay less council tax than the next door neighbours 3 bed cottage but it will get reviewed at some point , insurance is about £200 per year but being out in the sticks we have to buy heating oil which is £1k per year on top on £1500 in electric . Moving on a regular basis is wasteful IMO , a lot of the costs in buying and selling houses is just dead money and lost , plus moving cost etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 Thanks for all the advice and messages so far everyone, i'm taking it all in. I think the biggest think i've taken note of so far is the mortgage percentage thing... it sounds like 50% of my take home on mortgage payments would be over the top. I know it's horses for courses as, i dont really have anything to spend my money on (no kids, dont smoke, rarely drink, no hobbies other than cars), so perhaps 50% of my income might still leave me with more free cash than others, but still, i hadnt considered what it would be like trying to make those large payments if something bad had happened etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) Thanks for all the advice and messages so far everyone, i'm taking it all in. I think the biggest think i've taken note of so far is the mortgage percentage thing... it sounds like 50% of my take home on mortgage payments would be over the top. I know it's horses for courses as, i dont really have anything to spend my money on (no kids, dont smoke, rarely drink, no hobbies other than cars), so perhaps 50% of my income might still leave me with more free cash than others, but still, i hadnt considered what it would be like trying to make those large payments if something bad had happened etc. Say your take home pay is £2.5K/months, and your end up with a £1.25k mortagage, so you have £1.25K 'spare' a month post mortagage. Essential bills: Council tax will be about £100/months, SKY/Internet £30-40/months, Phone contract £30/months, Gas/water/electric £150/months, home insurance £20/months, Car insurance £50/months, petrol £50-100/months, servicing etc £30/months, Food £200/months... So after all that your have a total of £580/months left to spend on everything else, that not a lot of money, <£20 a day....Now imagine whats going to happen if interest rates go up 1% and your mortgage payments go up £200/months and one day you get out to start the car and nothing hapeens Edited June 14, 2014 by gangzoom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonPG Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Bought my first house last year at 23 after saving for the past few years (aside from buying the car)! Now skint after having to buy everything to put in the house IMO the sooner you get on the ladder, the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 No such thing as luck, just conviction. If you want it, you have to step out of your comfort zone to achieve it. Risk adverse people will forever wallow in a world of self doubt calculating all the permutations. I was on £60k+ ten years ago in my early 20's and walked away to set up my own company. Now my company is thriving and my old company went to the wall in 2009 with all the employees being made redundant. My house is worth about £250k but we have been in it for nearly ten years and we bought it as FTB's without any kids etc. In that time the Mrs has been on unpaid maternity leave for circa four years which has been tough and curtailed my car buying wants!! We now have two kids and are rapidly outgrowing the house and will be looking for something that will be a fair step up on our current house eg £700k - £800k. The moral of the (my) story is that if I'd stayed put in my 'safe' salary I'd have ended up redundant and scrapping arounf for crap paid jobs with a load of other people during the credit crunch. I didn't and have an expanding business that hopefully will get us to where we want to be! 60k ten years ago , what do u do í ½í¸³ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Mortgages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Had a property since i was 19. (31 years ago) So yes i have made a few bob along the way on the property ladder after moving a few times But Getting divorced knocks a big hole in your plans as you have to either sell up and split the profit or buy her out. Basically you start all over again. This happens more than you think it will. You can also meet someone else who may come with a few quid from her own situation. Still done ok and due to move soon from greater london to the south west so will be mortgage free. Point is all good plans can come unstuck due to divorce etc but can still end up back on track. Just remember. You have one life and its to be enjoyed. Dont forget to live 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I got my first mortgage when i was 18, and stuck around £8k down on it. Spent nearly £9k in work to it, and have recently just sold it. Im now 24 and looking to get a detached house with my girlfriend for a max of £250k. I have no further savings, but i have made back all the money i spent, plus a £5k profit from the renovations. Because of the lack of savings, we are maxing out at £250k (plus the 3% stamp duty over £251k is a killer), although the banks were prepared to offer us around £350k. We agreed that we were not comfortable with the monthly spend, and still wanted to have money for things we want. Mortgage at 18 was the best move i made. Yes every penny i had went on it, but with all my mates being students (and having no cash), i still managed to have a good time with them. Now they are all ready to start looking, and they have no money for it! As for the OP's question, i have no idea how i will get to the stage of owning a £400k house!! I guess the best/easiest way is to buy a place that needs alot of work doing, and renovate it for a profit. The right place could make a very nice profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skahigh Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I think you need to set your sights a little lower and accept that it takes time to get in to a nice big house in a nice area if you don't currently have the funds. Inheritance is a large part of it I think unless you happen to have a brilliant job with bonuses in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Wife and I have been in our first house 3.5 years now and desperately keen to get the mortgage paid off as soon as possible because we're thinking about the long term. A big house would be nice but I'd rather be mortgage free in a smaller house with the prospect of early retirement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.