Ok.. Without sharing with a partner/friend.. How am I supposed to be able to get onto the property ladder, considering the prices of houses these days? A 2 bed terraced house would cost at least £90K. where I live. How am I meant to be able to afford that?

4/5 years ago it would have only cost £30K - £35K and would obviously have been very easy to get a mortgage for, but being only 19 and nowhere near earning £30K+.. I have no idea how I am expected to be able to afford a house!

Is there any banks that offer decent mortgages for first time buyers?

I blame the depletion in the council housing stock :mad:

The houses traditionally owned by first timers are now not only purchased by landlords for students, but landlords looking to rent to young working people have taken the houses further out of town too. And just to exacerbate the situation, companies are now buying up portfolios of houses to let out, because the bottom dropped out of the stock market. Then there's the people who have been ripped off on a pension scheme - they are now landlords to provide a retirement income.

Nightmare :(

HSBC will lend you 4 times your wage and up to and above 100% of the value of the house. You can do a calculation on the website but this is a bit innacurate as it works it out on wage multipliers, this is fixed to about 3.5 times. However, if you go in and talk to em they do it different. They work it out on what they reckon you can afford to repay, taking credit card repayments, bills, other loans etc into account. This works out as much more.

Also, If you can get a bit of a deposit you can get more. They WANT you to be in debt! I got nearly 5 times my wage as a result of a decent deposit. In fact they offered me 5.4 times but that would have been absolutely ridiculous and I wouldn't have been able to eat anything other than my newly bought lawn.

Tim

Some of the house builders offer good deals too :thumbsup:

A-ha.. Might have to take a look at HSBC.

Not looking to move out just yet. My plan would be to pay off my personal loan (by next year) whilst saving around 5% - 10% deposit for a house, ready to get my own house when I'm 21/22 and on a couple more grand a year.

I'm looking at the mo and I'm not on a bad wage, but my absolute limit is about 110K for a house and that is with a decent deposit - Ive looked at about 20 and bid on 2 - both of which I have lost when they have gone to sealed bids.

Currently houses in Sheffield - 2 up 2 down terraced - that end of the market - are going for 10-15% up to 20% above their asking price.

Its ludicrous and very frustrating!

BBC Teletext lists the top mortgages without all the advertising guff you get on the internet

Alliance and leicesrer are one of the best at the mo.

My advice would be to work out how much you can aford a month on outgoings - taking into account gas,,elec, water, council tax, food, insurance, entertainment, credit cards etc etc and then see how much you have left that could go on a mortgage.

I did that and it scared me! I thought that I could afford a much higher repayment amount until I put it all down on paper!

Originally posted by BruciesBabe
I'm looking at the mo and I'm not on a bad wage, but my absolute limit is about 110K for a house and that is with a decent deposit - Ive looked at about 20 and bid on 2 - both of which I have lost when they have gone to sealed bids.

Currently houses in Sheffield - 2 up 2 down terraced - that end of the market - are going for 10-15% up to 20% above their asking price.

Its ludicrous and very frustrating!

I know, the sheffield market is strange like that. People are amazed when you say you offered OVER the asking price, normally people offer under! I had to look at houses 10 or 15 grand less than I could afford. The one I bought I offered 20 grand over! Madness.

If you can be bothered living with people, get lodgers. its a pretty easy source of income and covers quite a lot of your mortgage.

Thats exactly what I'm doing at the mo tim - but there are none in the area I want to live in. Back to old drawing board!

Originally posted by BruciesBabe
Thats exactly what I'm doing at the mo tim - but there are none in the area I want to live in. Back to old drawing board!

At least the houseprices arent shooting up anymore... :)

I just can't believe the prices have tripled in just a few years :(

Originally posted by Strix
Some of the house builders offer good deals too :thumbsup:

True, I know someone who bought a £150K apartment in town without earning the £40K+ a year that you woud usually need to get the mortgage. I'm sure there is some kind of catch though with getting a mortgage "deal" like that though.

Don't mean to depress you BruciesBabe, but in a couple of years time, when you are ready to buy, the house prices will have risen either further (even if the housing market continues to slow).

Have you thought about maybe looking for another area to live? Who knows what will happen in a couple of years- your priorities about where you want to live may completely change.

Lib1

The rise in house prices is causing a lot more people to look into building their own home (acording to my dad, he's a joiner), I've often wondered how much it would actully cost to build a house.

I sometimes wonder though

http://212.50.188.105/cgi-win/vebra.cgi?details1?src=vebra&PropertyCode=1086003/DUNDA/51039/12

It's not impossible, but do the younger generation expect more than those of us who grew up knowing what it was to have to work/save/do-without for what we really want?

You can get one of those massive wooden chalet type properties for 50k plus land and services. Pehaps 120-150k in total. There doesn't seem to be many decent plots of land available though.

Ive just bought my 1st house , Heeley Green 2 bed terrace paid 86 which is a very good price.I had to shop around and be prepared to expand your horizon to where you wanna live.I started saying just woodseats but soon realised i just wouldnt afford one there to shopped around checked out areas ,by driving round at night poping in the locals for a pint ect but then as luck would have it came across this house very soon after id had a night out down heeley and fell in love with it.
Good luck!

Id reccomend Bristol & West ,as they had the best 3 year fixed rate and doing 4 times your salery and taking into consideration overtime

Originally posted by nick2
True, I know someone who bought a £150K apartment in town without earning the £40K+ a year that you woud usually need to get the mortgage. I'm sure there is some kind of catch though with getting a mortgage "deal" like that though.

the catch is that it costs you more in the long run.

SHARED OWNERSHIP

Do they do it here? You buy a house with a housing association and you purchase say 50%. Then after 1 year you can buy extra shares 25% etc until you own a whole house!

You pay a mortgage on 50% and also rent to the HA, but it is really cheap.

That is how I did it originally in London.

What you need to do is do a search for Housing Associations and contact them - most of them do this shared ownership scheme.

It is a way of them getting people on the property ladder and making some money themselves.

Hope this helps x

Originally posted by Juicyb125
SHARED OWNERSHIP

Do they do it here? You buy a house with a housing association and you purchase say 50%. Then after 1 year you can buy extra shares 25% etc until you own a whole house!

You pay a mortgage on 50% and also rent to the HA, but it is really cheap.

That is how I did it originally in London.

What you need to do is do a search for Housing Associations and contact them - most of them do this shared ownership scheme.

It is a way of them getting people on the property ladder and making some money themselves.

Hope this helps x

I've seen this sort of thing in the estate agents window now and then, so it does exist around here.

Lodgers is another good route, we had a friend as a lodger for about 2 years.

Originally posted by Cyclone
Lodgers is another good route, we had a friend as a lodger for about 2 years.

Yes that is good - if you don't mind sharing...

Before I bought my house I had shared a 4 bed flat with other people, but eventually wanted my own space - no prying eyes!

I did the shared ownership thing and it mean't that I bought a 2 bedroomed house with garden in a quiet area - instead of having to live in a studio flat.

Originally posted by Strix
I sometimes wonder though

http://212.50.188.105/cgi-win/vebra.cgi?details1?src=vebra&PropertyCode=1086003/DUNDA/51039/12

It's not impossible, but do the younger generation expect more than those of us who grew up knowing what it was to have to work/save/do-without for what we really want?


How is it possible that a house can be this cheap? Not knowing the area is Tinsley really crap?

Originally posted by Juicyb125
How is it possible that a house can be this cheap? Not knowing the area is Tinsley really crap?

Tinsley is probably one of the most neglected areas of sheffield.

And the advert says "in need of modernisation". That probably means it needs gutting and a virtual rebuild on the inside.

Originally posted by Strix
I sometimes wonder though

http://212.50.188.105/cgi-win/vebra.cgi?details1?src=vebra&PropertyCode=1086003/DUNDA/51039/12

It's not impossible, but do the younger generation expect more than those of us who grew up knowing what it was to have to work/save/do-without for what we really want?

I thought you were 28, not 68. :confused:

Originally posted by GazB
Ok.. Without sharing with a partner/friend.. How am I supposed to be able to get onto the property ladder, considering the prices of houses these days? A 2 bed terraced house would cost at least £90K. where I live. How am I meant to be able to afford that?
4/5 years ago it would have only cost £30K - £35K and would obviously have been very easy to get a mortgage for, but being only 19 and nowhere near earning £30K+.. I have no idea how I am expected to be able to afford a house!
Is there any banks that offer decent mortgages for first time buyers?

To be fair to you first of all, it is harder these days - OK, everything goes up in price, but the problem with houses is the disparity between salaries and prices. If you compare the rise in price of, say, a pint of milk, then it's phenomenal.

On the other hand, you may well be expecting too much, too soon. At the age of 19 I had only just left my parents' home to go to university. I lived in shared houses throughout my early twenties, started renting with my girlfriend when we moved in together when we were both about 25. We became homeowners ten years ago, at 26 - but only by default because our landlords wanted to sell, so we got our rented house cheap.

Most people I know didn't get on the property ladder until they were 27 or 28, and some still haven't at 35/36. And most of us didn't start out living in our ideal area, or even in houses - I know lots of people whose first purchase was a two-bedroom flat.

So don't worry. You've got plenty of time to sort it out. Renting may seem like money down the drain at the moment, but in this kind of market there is an argument for it being quite sensible.

Originally posted by GazB
A-ha.. Might have to take a look at HSBC.

Not looking to move out just yet. My plan would be to pay off my personal loan (by next year) whilst saving around 5% - 10% deposit for a house, ready to get my own house when I'm 21/22 and on a couple more grand a year.
the longer you leave it the more out of reach they get !!!!

Originally posted by t020
I thought you were 28, not 68. :confused:
Flattery'll get you nowhere ;)

Originally posted by Juicyb125
How is it possible that a house can be this cheap? Not knowing the area is Tinsley really crap?

We lived in Tinsley for a couple of years, in a lovely house, that "required moderisation" which mainly meant the heating (there was very little of it) and decoration which we did over a period of time. It was a snip at 19k and having made a serious return on it are now renting it out.

Dundas road is the road nearest the mosque as we looked at a house three doors down from it. We lived on one of the roads that ran of dundas road where prices have just reached 60k which is still something a first time buyer can afford. They just expect to be able to have lovely new builds etc, i know as i am a young person myself and would have loved a new build, but i know its not feasible even with the money my partner bring in.

As someone said before, look in surrounding areas to the place you really want to live in, then you get to see other houses coming on the market before anyone else does!

the only way you'll get on the property ladder is by looking outside of your desired locations. we are currently renting in nether edge and both of us have always rented in the south of the city. however, after working out that between us we have thrown away 30k+ over the last 5 years.... it was time to buy. we are now negotiating a price for a house in firth park/fir vale. it is exactly the same house as one i once rented in hunters bar but is in a less wanted area and so costs around 100k less.
we may or may not secure the sale but if we don't there will be others and for the prices we are looking at it will mean around £450 per month capital repayment flexible mortgage over 25 years. housing is affordable if you are prepared to move areas and take on a house that requires some work... afterall why pay a premium for somebody else's taste?
once familiar with an area you usually realise it's not as bad as what people who've never lived there say about it! and you've also got to realise that your first house is only your first step... add value to it and along with developing your career you'll be moving to your second sooner than you think! in fact, you might end up not wanting to move too far... when i lived in hunters bar i felt the need to dress to impress everytime i went down the tesco for some bread and milk with all that fashionista lot! looking forward to popping to the kwiksave in me slippers!

I agree with Zerocool and Melanie.

If you normally look hard enough you'll find something that appears to be good value, coupled with the fact that if enough younger professionals/first time buyers move into what may be regarded as a less fashionable area then over time the area will attract more of the same type of people and become more fashionable and go up in price from a lower starting base.

This certainly appears to be what has happened in London. It's nice to see some people not being "beaten" by the apparent high prices in the housing market.