Eddie_George Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) Will Robertson, 20, left, a recruitment consultant, recently bought his first home. When he was considering what to buy, he said he was interested in new-builds because he wanted something modern that would not need maintenance. He chose a two-bedroom flat at Crest Nicholson’s Halo development in Cambridge, where prices start at £475,000. “I really love the high-spec design, and the finish,” he says. “You can really see how great the quality is, and as soon as you walk into the apartment it feels open and airy. In particular, the glass balcony makes the living room even more spacious and bright because it lets natural light flood in.” This can't be true, surely. And guess what.... he has been an Estate Agent in his short career! Paywall: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/mortgages/article4678059.ece https://www.crestnicholson.com/halo/availability Edited January 30, 2016 by Eddie_George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 A flat that doesn't require maintenance???? Is there no service charge? He's one lucky boy to buy a dream home like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish I could afford one Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 This can't be true, surely. And guess what.... he has been an Estate Agent in his short career! Paywall: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/mortgages/article4678059.ece Good for him, only £475k (at least) left on the mortgage. F**k me, that's a lot of money. I spend little, now (didn't always) earn in the top 1%, am 43 years of age and still haven't managed to amass that outside of my pension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccles Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 What a mong! Why? If the worst happens he can just declare bankrupt and move on. Wish I'd done it when I was younger/single. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ah-so Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 This can't be true, surely. And guess what.... he has been an Estate Agent in his short career! Paywall: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/mortgages/article4678059.ece https://www.crestnicholson.com/halo/availability Given his description of the apartment, I would say he is a natural estate agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddog Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 This has to be fake, right??!! On the subject of who needs estate agents...who needs recruitment consultants? Nothing but untrustworthy middle men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 475k? At 20?? So he put down £23750 (at min - I guess he might have put down more but we'll assume), paid 12k stamp duty and 'got' 95k from help to buy and then borrowed another 350k ish. With mmr, that implies this kid is earning at least 70-80k pa. To repeat, at 20. In Cambridge. As a recruiter. This is ******** or I'm in the wrong job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I guess he might well be earning 80k in recruitment but that would be heavily bonus driven. My landlord is a recruiter in Cambridge (good bloke otherwise!) And I know his basic is half that. Are you allowed to include what could be highly variable bonuses under MMR? One lean quarter and this chap is potentially f**ked. A 350k repayment mortgage must be (finger in the air) around 1700pm. Assuming a basic of 35k, that'd leave him pretty stretched if the bonuses dry up. Madness at a new level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish I could afford one Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 475k? At 20?? So he put down £23750 (at min - I guess he might have put down more but we'll assume), paid 12k stamp duty and 'got' 95k from help to buy and then borrowed another 350k ish. With mmr, that implies this kid is earning at least 70-80k pa. To repeat, at 20. In Cambridge. As a recruiter. This is ******** or I'm in the wrong job. Let's assume £375k mortgage and 3% interest (how likely is that for say 25 years). If his mortgage is for 25 years he needs to earn £25k every year to just cover the mortgage. If interest rates were 6% then at current tax/NI rates that jumps to £36k. Good luck to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Let's assume £375k mortgage and 3% interest (how likely is that for say 25 years). If his mortgage is for 25 years he needs to earn £25k every year to just cover the mortgage. If interest rates were 6% then at current tax/NI rates that jumps to £36k. Good luck to him. Not to mention that after 5 years he has an effective second mortgage of circa 100k to deal with for the remaining 20. Another 500 quid per month to find. Does the story mention anything regarding his personal circumstances? Surely that's the story here. The geezer is either some kind of recruitment God who has been given a 25 year 100k per year contract or there's some huge thing (maybe a 200k inheritance, lottery win) that's glossed over. Or maybe he bought 5000 bitcoins in 2009. I either need this man as my life coach or he and his lender need to be institutionalised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish I could afford one Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Not to mention that after 5 years he has an effective second mortgage of circa 100k to deal with for the remaining 20. Another 500 quid per month to find. Does the story mention anything regarding his personal circumstances? Surely that's the story here. The geezer is either some kind of recruitment God who has been given a 25 year 100k per year contract or there's some huge thing (maybe a 200k inheritance, lottery win) that's glossed over. Or maybe he bought 5000 bitcoins in 2009. I either need this man as my life coach or he and his lender need to be institutionalised. If it's ok with you FG I'd rather not have him as my life coach. Not the type of life I'd enjoy and I only know 0.0001% about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie_George Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 I guess he might well be earning 80k in recruitment but that would be heavily bonus driven. My landlord is a recruiter in Cambridge (good bloke otherwise!) And I know his basic is half that. At 20 years old with just A-levels and 8 months' experience as a recruiter? I very much doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 If it's ok with you FG I'd rather not have him as my life coach. Not the type of life I'd enjoy and I only know 0.0001% about him. Haha - indeed. Well if my MMR derived assumptions about his salary are right, then if you were his life coach instead and he adopted your FIRE philosophy and tactics instead of signing up for a 475k flat, there's a good chance he'd be set for life well before 30 ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) At 20 years old with just A-levels and 8 months' experience as a recruiter? I very much doubt it.Well quite ;-) I really want to see what utter shite the full 'article' says about him. The pre pay wall glimpse looks more like a sickening ministry of lies advert. Edited January 30, 2016 by Frugal Git Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish I could afford one Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Haha - indeed. Well if my MMR derived assumptions about his salary are right, then if you were his life coach instead and he adopted your FIRE philosophy and tactics instead of signing up for a 475k flat, there's a good chance he'd be set for life well before 30 ;-) Quite. A quick fag packet calculation. Salary sacrifice £20k of £80k into pension and live off £20k. That leaves £22k after tax into ISA/non-tax friendly wrapper. Start building a balanced portfolio that earns a real 4% per annum. Result = £526k after 10 years. All of a sudden he's not trapped in some cr*p flat built by the lowest bidder but instead finds himself in a situation where the world is his oyster. I really struggle with why more people don't do what I do. Maybe I'm the nutter and everyone else is normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccles Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 When that flat is worth £1m in 5 years you'll all feel a bit daft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish I could afford one Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 When that flat is worth £1m in 5 years you'll all feel a bit daft. When seem to be in a period of deflation not hyper inflation... Have you time travelled to the wrong period in time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 When that flat is worth £1m in 5 years you'll all feel a bit daft. Yep. Can't wait. Lets hope my half decent Cambridge wage will have also risen 8x in the same period to make that starter flat sensibly priced by then too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Oh dear, this isn't going to end well. It's amazing how people just accept the £475k is worth it for a flat in Cambridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyBilly Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) That will be his forever home. There is no ladder if you join at those prices at that age. What he needs to earn after tax, factoring in the interest due on that mortgage amount over the lifetime to pay for that flat...its an extraordinary amount of money for anyone planning on being anything other than a top earner for several decades. The numbers truly are crazy. Perhaps because very few people are yet to earn these numbers through honest endeavors or have earned them thusfar through HPI they can rationalise it. For me, even on a pretty good salary a £100k debt sounds like a massive and scary burden. Obviously I am in the minority though. Edited January 30, 2016 by SillyBilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccles Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Yep. Can't wait. Lets hope my half decent Cambridge wage will have also risen 8x in the same period to make that starter flat sensibly priced by then too. Shut up, Ive heard news about a helpers to help buy scheme and a funds for funding lending money scheme. He'll be okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish I could afford one Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Shut up, Ive heard news about a helpers to help buy scheme and a funds for funding lending money scheme. He'll be okay. I quite like that... Even the government are going to some day run out of other peoples money. In the not to distant future they're certainly going to run out of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccles Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 They've spent yours mate, they're onto your great grand kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frugal Git Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Shut up, Ive heard news about a helpers to help buy scheme and a funds for funding lending money scheme. He'll be okay. Duly noted. Good to know common sense is returning to the market and the government are finally stepping in to help out the wealth generating lubricators of industry that are 20 year old recruitment consultants. With two decades under his belt already, this is absolutely the point in his life when he should be settling down. Perhaps he can finally enjoy glass of rose on his balcony overlooking the delighful Cambridge train station whilst reflecting on those hard won A Levels. I was beginning to believe aspiration was dead. I'll be signing up for a half million self cert tomorrow and gazumping this chump. Must make sure I don't miss the boat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I suspect a parent with a largly paid off house is acting as guarantor, what could possibly go wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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