My fiancee and I have a combined income of about 33K a year and I cant see anyway we can afford to buy a house. However I see people who I know earn less than us do it so what am I missing? Is there some big secret I dont know?

The councils do a scheme where you buy half the house, or so. Its a % around that figure, so in essence you pay half as much.

I might not be spot on, but it works something like this.

Quote from: RivkidMy fiancee and I have a combined income of about 33K a year and I cant see anyway we can afford to buy a house. However I see people who I know earn less than us do it so what am I missing? Is there some big secret I dont know?

knock her up, leave her... wait for a council to give her a house & then move in

Quote from: BaconThe councils do a scheme where you buy half the house, or so. Its a % around that figure, so in essence you pay half as much.

I might not be spot on, but it works something like this.

they called starter homes & TBH its a bad Idea.

If I paid £200k for a new build, then I wouldnt be happy if the c**t next door paid £100k for an identical house, just because they are a first time buyer.

Simple.. you save or you live in a caravan.

Quote from: Eggtastico

Quote from: BaconThe councils do a scheme where you buy half the house, or so. Its a % around that figure, so in essence you pay half as much.

I might not be spot on, but it works something like this.

they called starter homes & TBH its a bad Idea.

If I paid £200k for a new build, then I wouldnt be happy if the c**t next door paid £100k for an identical house, just because they are a first time buyer.

Simple.. you save or you live in a caravan.

Not all of us were born with golden spoons.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and with the way the market is, its the 1 and only option for most people, instead of renting which is even worse because you dont end up owning any of the property...

I responded with some solid advice and all you can do is get on your high horse.

Quote from: BaconNot all of us were born with golden spoons.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and with the way the market is, its the 1 and only option for most people, instead of renting which is even worse because you dont end up owning any of the property...

I responded with some solid advice and all you can do is get on your high horse.

and theres still plenty of people who own houses without golden spoons.
£33k & you cant afford a house? I think your being fussy or not putting a house before your luxuries.


How did you parents get their own place? I would guess they saved their arses off & possibly a handout from a parent.


Its quite simple.. if you cant afford it you move to somwhere you can afford.

Im not the OP of this thread. Its not about me so quit aiming it at me.

Go find a good independent financial advisor (not one of the chains like One Stop or MortgageIQ) and ask them to look at your situation and actually find out what you can afford and what the banks will offer. At the minute you pretty much need to have at least a 10% deposit to get any sort of deal, not to mention it will save you getting into negative equity if the price of the house falls after you buy (which is likely for the rest of this year).

Once you know what you can afford, start looking around the local area, you may be surprised at what is about at the minute. If you see something you like that is a little over budget you can still make an offer on it. The way the housing market is at the minute means sellers are more likely to take a low offer just to have a chance of getting moved out this year.

Be prepared that you will need to go in at the very bottom rung of the ladder, so expect the places you can afford to be ex council, in the estates. If it suits you may also be able to find a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment close to budget. Have a check for ones that are being sold off plan that are near completion as builders are hurting because of the slump and may be open to lowering prices just to generate some cash flow from their new builds.

Also depends on where you want to live. If you move outside of Shrewsbury to some of the more outlying towns you can find some within your likely budget A quick look on the RE/MAX listings shows several apartments and small houses in Wellington and Newdale, though I have no idea if they are close enough to where you want to be. There should be a local property website that covers all the estate agents in the area.

Your final option is getting something that is in need of renovation that has a low listing price and roll your sleeves up.

Contrary to the doom mongering press there are mortgages available and first timers can afford to buy. First step, find someone who knows a good IFA and go speak to them, they shouldnt charge to find you a mortgage but probably will when you take out life assurance etc via them.

Oh, by the way, if youre thinking of looking at a RE/MAX property give me a shout and Ill refer you, gets me a kickback from the agent

Quote from: Eggtastico

Quote from: BaconThe councils do a scheme where you buy half the house, or so. Its a % around that figure, so in essence you pay half as much.

I might not be spot on, but it works something like this.

they called starter homes & TBH its a bad Idea.

If I paid £200k for a new build, then I wouldnt be happy if the c**t next door paid £100k for an identical house, just because they are a first time buyer.

Simple.. you save or you live in a caravan.

No they arent.

Theyre called "shared ownership" properties and "starter homes" is simply a name for one of the schemes.

Depending on where you live in the country depends on what deals and schemes are in your area.

Typically the maximum you can hope for is a 25% share in a property, where the company pays 75% of it..and you pay the company rent.

Sounds bad straight off except give this a thought.

I currently pay roughly £500 for a 1 bed house, thats renting which is completely wasted money.

My friend... pays £350 a month (there abouts) in total, including mortgage and the rent share (they also had a deposit of 15% from inheritance so mortgage was smaller than they thought mind), she pays 50% mortgage, 50% rent (the more common case).

She now is a title and deed owner of her 2 bed apartment.

What will happen the next few years is something they call "staircasing", depending on the lender these steps vary, but typically the company you pay rent to, will allow you to buy back your home in 10% increments, lessening your rent costs over time.

What the beauty of it all is, is that youll likely get a brand spanking new place, and in some cases be able to dictate what goes into a property as most of the ones sold in this manner are "off plan" or rather still in construction. In my mates case it was a showhome property.

Its a great time to buy property right now providing youre smart. See a mortgage advisor and ask him about shared ownership schemes in your area, hell be the best bet

wait until late 2009, thats my advice.

Why pay £140k now for a house that will be worth rateable value + 10% in a very short time.

Mark has a good point but remember the cheaper a house youre buying the less real amount it will drop if the overall market falls 10-15% this year. Decide if the amount youre spending in rent will be compensated for by the fall in prices over the rest of this year and also if you want to be living in a new house together sooner rather than later and decide if that is also worth having a slightly higher mortgage payment each month.

Of course, we dont know exactly what drop the market will experience, but on cheaper properties the overall saving compared to the month on month may not be that great.

Youll also be doing your bit to help the market pick up as you free someone else to move up the ladder

the general public tend to have retarded views on markets & come out with dumb statements like property only goes up, renting is throwing money away etc...

If property now only rises at a rate below inflation or stagnates & the cost of renting is the same or less than the interest portion of a mortgage then it can easily be more beneficial to rent and save the equivalent amount youd be using for repayments in a savings account.

To put it simply renting is taking a short view on house prices buying is taking a long view - it is as simple as that - the people who say oooh its best to get on the ladder - are complete simpletons end of - no one actually knows where the property market will be within 20 years. On continental Europe renting is pretty normal yet you dont see loads of retired german people scraping by to save for their heating bills yet today its quite common for old people in the UK to enter a scheme where they basically promise their home to a finance company and receive an income/pension in return (and most likely get screwed over a bit too)

If you cant afford a house then dont get one - there really isnt any point scraping together in desperation just to get on the ladder" as these days youll just get screwed over on your mortgage if you dont have a decent deposit and may well find yourself buying at the top and in negative equity the next year.

Quote from: DaveIf property now only rises at a rate below inflation or stagnates & the cost of renting is the same or less than the interest portion of a mortgage then it can easily be more beneficial to rent and save the equivalent amount youd be using for repayments in a savings account.

How is that any different to renting?

Advantage with it being that you own a home, its yours to do with as you want and would probably have benefits in terms of credit scoring as well.

I sold my house last year to rent, and I got almost 4 times what I paid

Im going to rent until the end of next year, or maybe middle of next, when I will pick up a great place from a distressed buyer.

Quote from: MarkI sold my house last year to rent, and I got almost 4 times what I paid

Im going to rent until the end of next year, or maybe middle of next, when I will pick up a great place from a distressed buyer.

Was it mortgaged?

If so why didnt you just switch to interest only?

Unless the prices were good at the time and you sold it to make money, not because it was costing you excess money.