First Time Buyer

[Cav]

So I just did a Mortgage Calculator and to be able to afford a £130k house (which just about gets a 3 bed semi - a 2 bed terraced house is anywhere from £115-140k) with a 10% deposit I require a mortgage repayment of around £580.

On a current income of £19k (should be in the region of £22-23k next year) I can only get about £80k mortgage with my current bills - not including home insurance, council tax, etc, etc.

I don't even know if I can save the 10% deposit without selling my bike and not having any quality of life outside of a roof over my head and food in my belly. I guess my only option would be a 50% scheme where I get a £160k house for £80k, pay my mortgage AND pay rent. I'd then have to take out a second mortgage in the future or move house and cash in any equity to probably downsize and get a mortgage on the whole house.

This is kind of a rant to be honest - Grrrr.

[Kwacky]

It's crap. There's no excuse for house prices being what they are.

I bought a house about 19 years ago. It cost me £50,000 for a 2 bedroom terrace. I was on £20k a year at the time. That 2.5 x salary was about right. I could buy the house, have a bike, go on holiday and enjoy my weekends.

We're still in the same house, having had the loft converted. I would like a larger house but it would cost me in the region of £125k on top of what I got for my house to move to a 3 bed with a garage. What's the point?

Both Labour and Conservative have built houses but most of them are going to people who already have a house. Buy to let is making it harder for people like you to get on the market.

[duke63]

It is extremely difficult for many to even get a mortgage offer these days as the banks don't want to lend more than 75% of the value of the house.

Buy to let may well come crashing down in the next few years too. The government have seen there is a lot of tax to be had here and are introducing rules to limit mortgage interest against rental income and have just announced they will double the stamp duty for buy to let.

[Binno]

Don't buy a house yet then. And don't get involved in that 50% nonsense . You said you were an apprentice something ? Wait and get out of your time . Save like mad. Do as many foreigners as you can . Don't spend it and don't put it in the bank. Then when the time comes buy a wrecker and use your skills and trade contacts to do it up. It's the only advantage us trade lads have in life

[C00kiemonster]

This is the biggest concern for our kids now in their early 20s. They may well rent for their whole life. Not unusual on the continent, but that's beginning to change now too as house prices (certainly in France) are still falling. You can get a reasonable house for £70k.

The U.K needs to build more houses and limit individual home ownership.

[edd1e]

It's hard to save the deposit, took us a good few years to save the £25k + we needed.

Things are hard here for a lot of people, Oxford was voted most expensive place outside of London.. £130k would not even buy you a 1 bed flat.

Having said that, having money in a house is a good thing imo, in the 3yrs we've been in our house it gone up over £60k, which is pretty amazing.

[Monty]

What Binno says, and it's not often you can say that unless you're talking chrome buffing

Its going two ways, house prices will keep on rising or they'll start to fall if we start satisfying the demand. Either way though ultimately it's just a roof over your head which you're always going to need so the price is somewhat academic after the purchase.

I do feel for your generation though Cav and my kids.

If I had my time again I'd buy a wood, build a log cabin and screw the property market. Might still do it.

[Kwacky]

We don't need more houses. There are loads of empty properties lying about. These need to be upgraded. It's criminal to destroy the land to make way for new homes to be sold to current home owners and allow inner cities to decline

[Monty]

We do need more houses and we have thousands of acres of brown field sites in towns and cities all aver the UK. It just comes down to money, I work with house builders, developers, LAs, HAs and 90% of our profit comes from London and the South East of England simply because that's where the profit is not necessarily the demand.

[duke63]

New house building is suddenly going mental round here....with no thought to whether the schools, roads, drainage can cope with any of it. Its all about short termism as ever and sod the consequences resulting from it.

I'm still of the opinion that a mortgage is as much of a chain round your neck as it is an investment.

[C00kiemonster]

We don't need more houses. There are loads of empty properties lying about. These need to be upgraded. It's criminal to destroy the land to make way for new homes to be sold to current home owners and allow inner cities to decline

I'd agree with you but aren't a lot of these houses owned by something? You'd have to compulsory purchase them and then sell to people who want them - sounds legally messy.

[C00kiemonster]

New house building is suddenly going mental round here....with no thought to whether the schools, roads, drainage can cope with any of it. Its all about short termism as ever and sod the consequences resulting from it.

I'm still of the opinion that a mortgage is as much of a chain round your neck as it is an investment.

That's my biggest bugbear with new housing, there is no local plan. They may add planning conditions that improve a road or two, but not the overall effect. Some estates seem to have one road to get out of them into a main road system. Madness.

[duke63]

The only main ( its a minor road) road past one of these buildings sites has had two serious accidents on it in the space of two months since they started building, there were no accidents before. Should focus a few minds on what they are doing.

[Blade]

I know what you mean Duke. We have been on some huge new property developments that are on phase 10 so hundreds amd hundreds of houses and no extra schools, doctors, nurses, parks or other services.

[Cav]

I'm going to speak to my bank I think and see what they are willing to offer (as a rough guide).

I'd rather not do the 50% thing but if I have no other option then that's what I'll have to do.

The situation is pretty poor but if I don't start trying to do something about it I'll probably never end up with a house of my own.

[Frankie]

All I remember with my first flat, I was skint as hell, took in lodgers to help with cost, but a few years on the bones of my arse got me on the ladder.
Then a new landlord (it was leasehold) took over and screwed all the flats and the shops below.... I tried to give the keys back to the mortgage company it was that bad.... Very long story for another day. They would not not do it, sold in the end, I must have been one of the only people at the time who lost money with property!!!! Proper fecked off.

Stay away from lease hold properties if possible, if not read the smallest print when it comes to ground rents and maintenance charges.... Crooks will exploit to the limit.

[TonyB]

I qualified for a child trust fund when my boy was born and I've just moved that from shares to a junior cash ISA. I've upped the payments to £100pm so he should have a good £20k in savings when he's 18. I'll have to get another one opened when this one hits the cap though. I didn't get anything like that when I was growing up, money was always right so I want him to have what I didn't. Hopefully he'll keep saving it until he has enough to buy somewhere. Either that or he'll spunk the lot on something unnecessary, like a motorbike or something

[Monty]

All I remember with my first flat, I was skint as hell, took in lodgers to help with cost, but a few years on the bones of my arse got me on the ladder.
Then a new landlord (it was leasehold) took over and screwed all the flats and the shops below.... I tried to give the keys back to the mortgage company it was that bad.... Very long story for another day. They would not not do it, sold in the end, I must have been one of the only people at the time who lost money with property!!!! Proper fecked off.

Stay away from lease hold properties if possible, if not read the smallest print when it comes to ground rents and maintenance charges.... Crooks will exploit to the limit.

Freshwater?