julieannboo Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I am 37, on my own and still at home. i make a modest wage for london. i have a 25k desposit. i cant afford to buy now as prices are around 160k upwards for studios in london. question - will i ever be able to buy? or has that ship long sailed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Of Highbridge Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Save up and buy a nice cheap retirement flat in Portugal. Better food, fewer underclass and sunshine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montesquieu Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Move away. London is a dump anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifes a game Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Its not looking good for you. How much would houses need to come down before you think you could buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 You are not alone, OP. I'm the same age as you and I can't afford a studio flat in Norfolk - never mind London! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaX Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I recently moved down from the Midlands to Reading. Although earning potential is much better, (I earn £35K vs £25K I was earning in the midlands) buying a house is not really an option. I've seen a few English speaking IT jobs in Germany that I'm quite tempted to go for.... On my travels around town, I wonder how on earth minimum wage workers afford to live here. I am also astounded by the number of very poor immigrants we have living down here. The housing benefit bill must be mind boggling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronyx Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 +1 in Surrey. +2 in Surrey. 30 this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streamingfreedom Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I recently moved down from the Midlands to Reading. Although earning potential is much better, (I earn £35K vs £25K I was earning in the midlands) buying a house is not really an option. I've seen a few English speaking IT jobs in Germany that I'm quite tempted to go for.... On my travels around town, I wonder how on earth minimum wage workers afford to live here. I am also astounded by the number of very poor immigrants we have living down here. The housing benefit bill must be mind boggling! We also moved from the midlands (Nottingham) to Reading and in a similar boat. We can afford a new flat or run down 2 bed maisonette/terraced but we need a family home now as have a daughter. Unfortunately even on 46k one wage still isn't enough. 2 incomes is the only way so we are limited to one child in my wife's eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streamingfreedom Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 We have a few friends poorer paets of Europe who came to the uk and bought 1 bed places in Reading a few years back, they work 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs at once, 18 hour days etc and think it's great..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaX Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 We also moved from the midlands (Nottingham) to Reading and in a similar boat. We can afford a new flat or run down 2 bed maisonette/terraced but we need a family home now as have a daughter. Unfortunately even on 46k one wage still isn't enough. 2 incomes is the only way so we are limited to one child in my wife's eyes. I was also in Nottingham prior to moving down here. I work in IT and was stuck in a rather dead end role, working for a large outsourcing company. Got offered an interesting job with a firm in Reading. Moving down here was the only way I could kick start my career again. My OH has stayed up in Notts so that we are in a position to buy before the market starts leaving us behind. Spent 3 years supporting my girlfriend through nurse training while living in Notts, expected that when she qualified we could save a deposit and buy a reasonable place to live. A child is on the horizon in the next few years (we are both 33), so buying a house and banking on two full time wages is not an option. This restricts us to living in grottier / benefit street type areas of Nottingham if we buy. Resigned to the fact that governments of all colors will keep using HPI to "create" growth. No idea where to go from here. Feel quite disheartened and demotivated at the moment. Ironically, had we not spent the past 10 years working and striving to improve our career prospects, we'd have probably been no worse off. I have friends who've never left my home city (Lincoln), earn very low wages ~£16k, and have a much better quality of life than I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StainlessSteelCat Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I am 37, on my own and still at home. i make a modest wage for london. i have a 25k desposit. i cant afford to buy now as prices are around 160k upwards for studios in london. question - will i ever be able to buy? or has that ship long sailed? Hard to say. London has crashed before - but a lot has changed since. Note it has always been difficult for a single person to buy anywhere, but especially in London. I think you really have three options; wait a bit longer, move out of London, or if you get on well with your parents simply stay put and pull back a little on your saving and spent it on enjoying yourself while forgetting about housing. The only consolation is that you are not alone or even unusual. There's no sigma in being in your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 There's no sigma in being in your situation. Correct. Not one iota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeeky Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Not sure what a modest wage is for London (~30K?), but if you are looking to buy a studio for around the £160K mark and have 25K deposit you should be able to get a 135K mortgage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northerner Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 It’s not so grim up North. http://www.buzzfeed.com/parahax/many-reasons-to-be-proud-of-yorkshire-avdw ... and we have jobs too. How many more reasons do you need to make your deposit go further? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Not sure what a modest wage is for London (~30K?), but if you are looking to buy a studio for around the £160K mark and have 25K deposit you should be able to get a 135K mortgage. And then what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streamingfreedom Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I was also in Nottingham prior to moving down here. I work in IT and was stuck in a rather dead end role, working for a large outsourcing company. Got offered an interesting job with a firm in Reading. Moving down here was the only way I could kick start my career again. My OH has stayed up in Notts so that we are in a position to buy before the market starts leaving us behind. Spent 3 years supporting my girlfriend through nurse training while living in Notts, expected that when she qualified we could save a deposit and buy a reasonable place to live. A child is on the horizon in the next few years (we are both 33), so buying a house and banking on two full time wages is not an option. This restricts us to living in grottier / benefit street type areas of Nottingham if we buy. Resigned to the fact that governments of all colors will keep using HPI to "create" growth. No idea where to go from here. Feel quite disheartened and demotivated at the moment. Ironically, had we not spent the past 10 years working and striving to improve our career prospects, we'd have probably been no worse off. I have friends who've never left my home city (Lincoln), earn very low wages ~£16k, and have a much better quality of life than I do. We also are disheartened by it all. Feel your pain as long distance relationships are not good. My wife and 2 year old daughter are moving in with my parents in Nottingham next month while i commute down here in the week to try and save deposit for 6 months. Very sensible to bank on the single wage long term as many havent and will feel the pain from it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherebee Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 We also are disheartened by it all. Feel your pain as long distance relationships are not good. My wife and 2 year old daughter are moving in with my parents in Nottingham next month while i commute down here in the week to try and save deposit for 6 months. Very sensible to bank on the single wage long term as many havent and will feel the pain from it soon. Emigrate. Emigrate. Emigrate. The ruling classes are ruining your lives. Move somewhere where you can have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearwithasorehead Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 snip. Very sensible to bank on the single wage long term as many havent and will feel the pain from it soon. This. It is not so much deposits, or stuff like that, but the inevitable going from two to one wage that is the killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streamingfreedom Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Emigrate. Emigrate. Emigrate. The ruling classes are ruining your lives. Move somewhere where you can have one. Funny you should say that as only yesterday I was approached for interest in a move to the US with my company. The timing is unbelievable as we are in the process of moving in with my parents, 150 miles away from work and all our stuff will be boxed up in my sister's garage for the next 6 months while we try and save a deposit with a plan to buy what we can in the new year. Now this has come up and I need to let them know by the end of next week... we've lived abroad before so we know it's not always easy, we like the UK but the government is doing everything to force me away. Might go for it a keep an eye out for a crash and move back when it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherebee Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Funny you should say that as only yesterday I was approached for interest in a move to the US with my company. The timing is unbelievable as we are in the process of moving in with my parents, 150 miles away from work and all our stuff will be boxed up in my sister's garage for the next 6 months while we try and save a deposit with a plan to buy what we can in the new year. Now this has come up and I need to let them know by the end of next week... we've lived abroad before so we know it's not always easy, we like the UK but the government is doing everything to force me away. Might go for it a keep an eye out for a crash and move back when it happens. As long as you are not financially worse off (in terms of post tax income) in the US job, what the hell are you waiting for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeeky Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 And then what? *shrug* I assume you'd live in it, and pay off the mortgage. Ignoring the buy to let brigade, I think that is what most people do when they are trying to buy somewhere to live with a mortgage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 *shrug* I assume you'd live in it, and pay off the mortgage. Ignoring the buy to let brigade, I think that is what most people do when they are trying to buy somewhere to live with a mortgage. , A studio flat? Jeez, you really are spoiling us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamnumerate Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 It’s not so grim up North. http://www.buzzfeed.com/parahax/many-reasons-to-be-proud-of-yorkshire-avdw ... and we have jobs too. How many more reasons do you need to make your deposit go further? It’s not so grim up North. http://www.buzzfeed.com/parahax/many-reasons-to-be-proud-of-yorkshire-avdw ... and we have jobs too. How many more reasons do you need to make your deposit go further? I am not wishing to insult the north but don't you think it is wrong that people who work in London have to leave but not those who don't? I am 41 and just got on the boat (paid a lot more than I would have done a few years before but not today's crazy prices). However I know pro single parents who live in houses than I could never dream of living in and the OP has no chance. Why should someone like Heather Frost have a better house than the OP (I know she doesn't live in London but Gloucester is quite expensive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeeky Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 , A studio flat? Jeez, you really are spoiling us. The OP stated that they were on an average wage, with a deposit and studios were 160k... So the assumption was they were looking for studios, otherwise the question would have been 2 bed terrace are half a mil. have I missed the boat? The studio's are within the OP's budget, just about. A 2/3 bed terrace/semi (still not most peoples idea of a 'forever home') in London is probably well and truely out of reach. The mansion on millionaires row unless you have a substantial bout of good fortune, is probably always going to be out of reach... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pras Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Some people are so desperate they would resort to studio flats! Why?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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