how do people afford to buy houses nowadays?

In 1971, my parents bought their first house for £500
Market value for that house is now over quarter of a million pounds!

If I'd had the £78000 "profit" I made on my first house, I could have bought it outright 6 years earlier .... and had £14,000 spare.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by robchester

the mortgage advisor said i could have 115k on my salary which is 5 times what i earn. Im worried that if i do buy, i find myself with only enough money to cover the bills and have no money for anything else

I was worried about that to, for the first 6 months it was a total struggle but after that i got better at budgeting and also I was lucky to have a payrise and now I find it easier to get by.

IMHO a bit of struggle now is worth it as you'll get the money back later on.

for the other end of the spectrum, im 20 and pretty much have just my income.. its a good income but im paying as much in rent as i would be if i mortgage my self to the hilt.. which i will be doing come this time next yr and i can finally get myself on the ladder.. it will be a prject house.. but im looking forward to it!

ie.. i live in leeds and looking at about the 80K Mark....

but yes.. i lived in Bury St eds and single bed flats were 125k!

the problem is by taking such a high mortgage, you are putting yourself at a very high risk of negative equity which isn't so bad if you like the place and don't want to move, but if you want to have a family and need to move due to size constraints you will be stuck...

similarly if you lose your job and are paying 60-70% of your net pay on a mortgage, it could be difficult..

i am in the fortunate situation where i have a very small mortgage on my current house (only 40k) and my parents estate automatically passes to me when they die, so i am not bothered if it crashes or rises as there will be no mortgage companies to pay off!

in fact i'd rather it crashed as it would be easier to sell, as their house is totally unsuitable for keeping a bike (no garage and up a pile of steps!)

Bought first house (3 bed terrace) in Wigan for £19000 in '86. Paid £68000 for current house in '93. Extended it and it's now worth several times that. Having said that, it makes no difference as long as I need somewhere for me, the better half and the sprogs, I'm no better off.

My REAL problem is that I have two teenage lads and I can't see any way of getting the buggers out from under our feet until they're pushing 30.

Seriously - we are entering an era where for the first time, due to pensions and property prices (not to mention the squeeze on oil and gas reserves) the next generation will be worse off than their parents. Sobering thought. Turning 40 does have some advantages.

Cheers Keith

Bought my first house 3 years ago at the tender age of 28 as I wasn't earning enough untill that point. Even then my parents had to help me out with the deposit.

[BillyC]

Originally Posted by rubberduckofdeath

One bed flat in Guildford, £150k!

One bed flat, North London - £250k

With some of those one bed prices you guys need to come and see me! I can get you a gorgeous all singing and dancing 2 bed here in the lovely sunshine for that money!

*sorry that appears like an outrageous plug!*

houses were near impossible to afford in my area when there were two of us earning a total of 50K.

Now its just me on 20K, well, I think you see my potential problem.

Originally Posted by Peter Henry

With some of those one bed prices you guys need to come and see me! I can get you a gorgeous all singing and dancing 2 bed here in the lovely sunshine for that money!

*sorry that appears like an outrageous plug!*

can you get us the job that we'd need to pay for it as well ?