Buying a house (and renting)

Cuttooth wrote:I used to have a dream of living in London but the costs are beyond a joke now and are just spreading to more and more of the surrounding areas. I'd quite happily move out of the South / South East altogether really...

Grumpy David wrote:

Moggy wrote:

Oblomov Boblomov wrote:How does a normal person (you are normal, right? ) get to a budget of £600k?

I had a pretty big deposit, but that was only because I got lucky and sold my flat for more than I bought the house! Surely even if you had something crazy like £200k to put down, you'd still need a household income of ~£100k to borrow enough to take you to £600k?!

Christ, what a ridiculous state the market is in. This is all Robbie Fowler and Marcus Rashford's fault .

I can never understand it either and that's talking outside of London. Basing it just on a single person (I know couples can get more), average earnings are £26k or so in this country. 5x that is £130k. Even with a £50k deposit (which is BLOODY hard for anybody normal to get hold of) that only gives you £180k.

It's beyond me how any normal first time buyers manage it.

2 people both earning 50k each would probably qualify for 5x income so that gets the other 500k sorted. If you had 200k and needed to borrow 400k that gets "easier" by London standards as that's 2 people earning a combined 80-85k.

And once people actually look to buy at that price range, it's almost always with significant help from the Bank of Mum & Dad.

Those are obviously very good salaries nationally and almost double the average, but London salaries of 40-50k aren't that unusual.

The deposit is the harder issue. Other than parents having the savings to gift tens of thousands of pounds, the next best option is to live at home for years after starting full time employment and save like crazy (assuming parents only want a token amount of rent instead of charging full whack).

Moggy wrote:

Jenuall wrote:[I drive to Southmead for work each day and it takes 45 minutes on a good day so it's not a crazy journey but appreciate that might be pushing it

Southmead? You go to the nicest places.

45 minutes from Cardiff? That's pretty good! I wouldn't have an issue but the wife would as she doesn't drive. I'll suggest it to her though if we can't find anything affordable that's closer to Bristol.

Moggy wrote:Yeah, I get how it's possible when people have large salaries, especially as a couple.

I don't see how people on average salaries manage it though.

Jenuall wrote:A brewery that does good food? When can we go!?

Grumpy David wrote:

Moggy wrote:Yeah, I get how it's possible when people have large salaries, especially as a couple.

I don't see how people on average salaries manage it though.

Average earners (especially single people) don't manage to buy in London. They're stuck renting a room in a shared house.

Unless they have very well off parents / grandparents able to provide an absurdly large deposit.

Victor Mildew wrote:

Jenuall wrote:A brewery that does good food? When can we go!?

There's a small tiny rebel in Newport high street, which we go to before gigs. They do amazing buttermilk chicken burgers

The BEST tiny rebel though is their proper brewery, which is in Rogerstone, a 10 minute taxi ride from here.

Food and drinks there on a sunny afternoon *chef's kiss*

Victor Mildew wrote:
The BEST tiny rebel though is their proper brewery, which is in Rogerstone

That's not a growth wrote:How do you all balance friendships / family relationships and your home goals / moving some distance?

As most of my friends in this area have young kids even if things weren't locked down I'd only see most of them a few times a year - but the idea of moving somewhere just for a house and being isolated is very unappealing. I like the idea that we *could* see each other quite easily, even if it doesn't always work out. But moving away just means I'm essentially admitting I'm going to be a hermit most of the time.

My family don't live around here, with me being in greater Manchester and them in Essex and Cumbria. But in Essex houses are more expensive, so I'd be less likely to afford anywhere and Cumbria has strawberry float all jobs. And my experience job hunting is not promising, either.

Since I'm 33 and saved up a 'decent' amount for a deposit I would like to get somewhere, but I'm concerned since I've been working towards it for so long I've become blinkered to the idea.

Drumstick wrote:

That's not a growth wrote:How do you all balance friendships / family relationships and your home goals / moving some distance?

As most of my friends in this area have young kids even if things weren't locked down I'd only see most of them a few times a year - but the idea of moving somewhere just for a house and being isolated is very unappealing. I like the idea that we *could* see each other quite easily, even if it doesn't always work out. But moving away just means I'm essentially admitting I'm going to be a hermit most of the time.

My family don't live around here, with me being in greater Manchester and them in Essex and Cumbria. But in Essex houses are more expensive, so I'd be less likely to afford anywhere and Cumbria has strawberry float all jobs. And my experience job hunting is not promising, either.

Since I'm 33 and saved up a 'decent' amount for a deposit I would like to get somewhere, but I'm concerned since I've been working towards it for so long I've become blinkered to the idea.

Bin off any preconceptions and weigh up the pros and cons between moving to a property still in your local, a property 10 miles away and a property greater than 20 miles away. Are you somoene that absolutely needs people around you, or are you comfortable being a short journey away?

Drumstick wrote:Have you considered buying a car which will then provide you with a greater breadth of options?

For instance, I couldn't live where I am without a car. There are public transport options but they are reasonably inconvenient, so having a car makes life possible.