There will be a specific issue, probably ground rent or maintenance charges make them worthless, as you'll need to pay the equivalent of rent to live there after buying the lease.
House price gravy train may have hit the buffers
- Thread starter JohnD
- Start date
Todays youth seem to think they're the first generations to face difficult choices and challenges when it comes to money and being able to afford stuff.
'Back in the day' the house:wage ratio may indeed have been less, however that doesn't mean folk didn't struggle in different ways. I remember hearing stories from my mum, uncles, aunts etc about their early life. And indeed stories about their parents and their financial struggles. All before things like a generous benefits system.
Note, I'm not saying some of our younger generations don't have it tough, however in years gone by things were, it could be argued, much tougher but in different ways.
And as to the post I've quoted here, you do see stories about younger folk who manage to get on the property ladder by sacrificing various things for a few years to build up their deposit. So it can be done. Before anyone starts, no, I'm not saying everyone can do it, I'm simply saying it can be done.
Was the case for the boomers, far less so now. An average schmo could buy a house on a single income.
Nowadays, swimming against the tide is a more realistic analogy.
More people should move around the UK. We did, cashed in our house down south and moved up north. An excellent move, not regretted it at all and now live in a country mansion rather than a suburban shoebox.
Perhaps there's even a case for the government to offer a bit of a subsidy for people to chase jobs around, perhaps a relocation grant or something. Or pay employers to move to high unemployment or low house price areas.
Perhaps there's even a case for the government to offer a bit of a subsidy for people to chase jobs around, perhaps a relocation grant or something. Or pay employers to move to high unemployment or low house price areas.
And / or very generous and understanding parents.
I would argue folk on average salaries in an average area can do it, it all depends what levers they have at their disposal. e.g. some have moved back to live with parents for x years, paying little or zero rent, thus helping to build the deposit. Little or no socialising, no holidays, no new clothes etc.
Could you give us a rough example - salary, area, house price?
I wouldn't recommend buying a flat to anyone, I'd suggest a small freehold house as a starter, without any shared ownership rubbish.
I wouldn't recommend buying a flat to anyone, I'd suggest a small freehold house as a starter, without any shared ownership rubbish.
Our first foray into house ownership was 1978. I can honestly say I didn't know anyone who could have done it on a single income and most of us weren't 'average schmos'.
Having said that, I'm refencing the Greater London area, I could probably have bought 3 houses in Cornwall or two in Staffs for less money.
My hard-drinking, manual worker dad in a low-end job managed to fund buying a 3-bed semi in the 1970s as a first-time buyer. It had a driveway, a garage, front and back gardens. Not the best area but OK, we used to play out on the street with the other kids and didn't get murdered once.
This was up north. It was definitely easier back then. Now in the same area the equivalent young adults now would need two incomes, big sacrifices and would end up with a back-to-back 100-year old terrace in the sort of area where you wouldn't go out after dark.
This was up north. It was definitely easier back then. Now in the same area the equivalent young adults now would need two incomes, big sacrifices and would end up with a back-to-back 100-year old terrace in the sort of area where you wouldn't go out after dark.
Half a dozen (terraced) in Stoke.
...where you'll be on the dole.
Or if you have a job elsewhere you'll need a car to get there. Which won't last long parked outside one of those houses.
I didn’t know you live in Stoke?
Our first was just a 2 bed terrace.
We got absolutely nothing from our parents and we didn’t expect anything either.
