Not Being Able to Afford Your Own Home

I remember talking to someone about this a decade ago, and he was saying that they are not as hell bent on home ownership in other parts of Europe, as most people were happy to rent, as I guess it was the norm. I suppose if you have a good living situation, is it necessary to buy?

I do sometimes wish I bought many years ago, but I really didn't want to commit to a mortgage as I wanted to have the freedom of travelling, not worry about being stuck somewhere doing a job I hate just so I can cover the mortgage. It is very difficult to even get something small in London - even a driveway can cost £50k!

hspexy I am amazed anyone can afford to buy property in London! I am glad we bought our house when we did, we will have our mortgage paid off before we are 40. We didn't want to pay what we saw as dead money on rent and our mortgage is a lot cheaper than rent would be

MrsCraig the prices are very high, and tbh even if you could afford anything, at the first rung of the ladder, it would be small. I’ve known people who moved out of London just to get more space, so they just suffer with commuting instead

hspexy I am not surprised people live outside of London. It is the same with any big city, it costs a fortune and you don't get much for your money! Even paying rent somewhere else and paying to commute probably wouldn't cost as much as rent in London. I wouldn't want to live in a big city, too crowded for me, but the cost is definitely off putting. We only bought our house 4 years ago and it would cost us a lot more to buy it now, I feel sorry for people trying to buy their first property.

I agree - if you really want something, you need to be dedicated to dong what you can to achieve it

Where do you live? I'm South East and it's crazy prices I'm not on a low income and not a higher tax payer either.

MumOfThree I’m in London, and there doesn’t seem to be one part of it that’s affordable for the average Jo. Im looking into renting out a garden shed

MumOfThree I live in London. Zone 3. South East. I bought 6 years ago though. My house has gone up in value by about 100k. It's nuts.

GlitchHunter you were lucky getting in when you did, Iv seen the houses round where I live increase massively.

MumOfThree I wouldn't call it luck. I call it working my arse off to get where I am today. I worked hard for it. Luck didn't come into it at the time. The luck is that the value of the house increased over the years.

Ah yes it’s become increasingly common, as kids nowadays cant make it on their own - not sure if it’s down to lack of opportunities, or just the youngsters these days not willing to seize opportunities? I personally think it’s never bad to have nothing to start with - when you’re at rock bottom, the only way is up

hspexy here in southern England property is rediculously overpriced!!!

I know what you mean. I have given up on the idea of retirement- if I can work at 80 or 90, I’ll do so...so I’ll just take it easy now and work my a#@e off later in life

hspexy Well my mortgage does not finish until I am 72 and I am constantly worried about maintaining my health in order to keep working. It only takes a heart attack, stroke or other dire health problem and bang, you can no longer work. Once my mortgage is paid I can then relax more as I will be able to get by on my pension.

We live just outside of Edinburgh. The house prices are still high, but not as bad as in Edinburgh. Our mortgage is less each month than if we were renting! How can they expect people to save for a deposit when they are paying out so much money? I understand the landlord needs to cover the mortgage and make some profit, but it just seems crazy rent these days.

Lynibis oh no sorry to hear that - must cause a lot of anxieties. Soneone many years ago pointed out to that there’s perhaps no real conincidence that the work mortgage is similar to mortuary...that certainly made me think!

hspexy I may be wrong but would feel just as anxious if I rented and suddenly couldn't pay. At least with my own home i can downsize if I need to and tbh i would sooner pay a mortgage for 25/30 years than rent for 50 plus. Possibly to a landlord who will not do repairs or decorating or replace wornout fixtures. I have a 3 bed house but only because I bought it with a partner 11 years ago and he had 4 younger children who stayed weekends. I will definitely downsize when time is right.

My son has rented a 3 bed house and his rent is twice my mortgage but of course the struggle is actually getting on the ladder in the first instance. They cannot save whilst paying such a huge rent.

Lynibis it’s true, and the main reason why people want to own their own home - which indeed forces up housing prices. Gone are the days where the landlords care about their tenants and ensure they’re being fair (I recall my dad saying that own granddad never thought of buying, as he was happy to just rent as pit was cheap and the landlords were flexible...but my grandma insisted that as the family grew, they needed something more stable, so they bought a house, I think it was the last one they’d rented)

I’ve known people to move up north for such reasons, so they commute and just suffer the journeys instead.