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Potential first time buyer seeking opinions (not just validation or confirmation): - Mid 30’s. - First time buyer - Engaged to be married. - Joint income 100k (70/30 split) - Work in London (no option to move) I’m on a pretty good individual salary, but have only been so for 1 year. Prior to that (and since leaving Uni) I had a string of £25K jobs, with a 25k student debt (thanks to interest accumulating even when not in work - thanks government / student loans company)). I’ve finally paid my student debt (as of about 6 months ago), and as I say, have a pretty good salary. Right now, between my partner and I, we can pay ~£30k deposit and ~£10k stamp duty to buy our first home. But I just can’t bring myself to spend a total of £40k on a place that is a small 2 bedroom terraced or semi. I have to work in London, so does my partner. It’s not that there aren’t places available for 350k (around our budget), it’s just that they’re awful. Abjectively, they’re simply not worth it for the quality of life I’d have. They weren’t worth it in 2010, and they’re certainly not worth it now. My partner is very keen to buy, she wants us to start our lives and have our own place and looks only to monthly repayments being manageable. I understand this, but stretching to a 35 year mortgage, wiping out any savings, just kitting monthly repayments, and getting a less than ideal home in return just seems craziness to me. But then, I’ve lived in the London rent trap for almost a decade (my mother has never let me live at home since leaving Uni) - and I’m scared to stay in it for too much longer. I’m also missing have a home since it’s never been something I’ve had in my adult life. I desperately want a place that is mine. I have zero interest in flipping it. I just want some stability. The only ‘plan’ I have right now is to somehow wait until end of 2016 and see if interest rates look like they may increase, or the housing market ‘cools’ (whatever that means). Compounding the issue is that I have a chronic health problem which, while I can work now, it’s unlikely I’ll make it to retirement. I need to somehow convince my partner that holding on for 1 year is the best thing right now (but, in reality I don’t think there’ll be a HPC until 2018), so even if she agrees to 6-12 months, I have a feeling we’ll just be in a worse situation.