How old were you when you bought your first house

Hollister11

I'm 20, in college, and i'm working part time to fund life in general but I'm also starting to save for a deposit. Now i don't have much, but i have 3K saved.

I'm living at home, and plan to for a good few years anyway. When i graduate, hopefully i start with a 30K salary. I ideally would like to save 20K for 6 years, So my deposit will be 120K plus. I will be 28. Hopefully then im on 45K.

This will leave me with enough for a house worth 277500K. Not loads, but decent.

So my question, when did you move out and buy your first home.

Eric Cartman

your 20 and nice to see you thinking of the future , but being honest mate, live life, move out to some crappy house-share with your mates, drink and smoke and travel with all your money and party as hard as you can for a few years, then start this craic of saving when your 25 or so.

Owning a house is regarded as the done thing here, and all of us like the idea of owning our own homes, but its only bricks , you can't get your youth back once its gone, you can buy a house whenever

Zaph

I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but your figures for savings are completely unrealistic. Assuming zero pension contributions, on a salary of 30k your net salary would be only just over 25k. You cannot reasonably expect to live on 5k a year.

Lockedout2

You must like living at home. I assume you will be staying rent free!!!

Sounds like a great plan, you do know that you will have to pay €5k in tax on €30k. So €20k in savings might be hard.

Baby01032012

26 I was

I think there's been a similar thread on here not too long ago.

On a salary of 30k how do you propose to save 20k per year. Wouldn't that be your after tax pay.

What about having a life? Going out, gigs, trips away...you may not say you'll rent now but you'll miss your own space away from parents..maybe meet someone that you want to move in with.

I do like your intentions but realistically lie would be very boring if you followed that plan for 6 years.

dar100

I was 32!! Saved the deposit in one year, cheap house, but will do in the short term!!

Enjoy yourself mate, don't break your b saving, put some money away, but enjoy life, who knows what the market will be like down the road

hsilgnede

I was 26 but I was ahead of the curve. I was also married with my first child. A lot of my mates are only now where I was ten years ago. Course I traded off a lot of the drinking & parties & going travelling. On the other side I'll have my mortgage paid off early and I'll have more salary to do the travelling and such than I would have in my mid 20's. Swings n roundabouts. Do whatever makes you happy. Your savings goal is ambitious though and you can't take for granted that you're going to walk into a 30k a year job and even if you do, life's expenses, lunch at work, nights out, having any sort of hobby, that's gonna chew into your 5k you have left after you pay tax. At that age you could sink most of that 5k into insurance for your car! And see if you happen to meet a girl/guy and ye start something half serious, 5k gone no problem.

I wish you luck but don't beat up yourself if it doesn't happen like you've planned out.

Cortina_MK_IV

25.

tayto lover

I was 24. The house was 16,075 punts. Semi-detached with a garage and large gardens back and front. Had 3 k saved up and had to borrow the rest. Struggled to pay the mortgage of around 320 a month at times but got a second job in the evenings.

PLL

I'll probably be 30-32 by the time we buy a house. Pregnant with second child, finishing college. No vast amount of savings and no big income to top it up. When I'm working to we can start to save but I'm happy out atm. I can't wait to own a house of my own but you should never let saving for something in the future stop you from doing things you want to do now. You never know what will happen.

It is great you have a focus on life but don't miss out on your 20's because you spent it saving for bricks and mortor. I had a baby at 20, I didn't get to experience my 20's like many others do. However I'll never look back and regret it because I have wonderful memories of my daughter. I can promise you if I missed out on things because of money I would regret it.

Dr_Kolossus

Moved out at 18, bought 1st house at 25. Well half house with my sister.

Tefral

Eric Cartman wrote: »

your 20 and nice to see you thinking of the future , but being honest mate, live life, move out to some crappy house-share with your mates, drink and smoke and travel with all your money and party as hard as you can for a few years, then start this craic of saving when your 25 or so.

Owning a house is regarded as the done thing here, and all of us like the idea of owning our own homes, but its only bricks , you can't get your youth back once its gone, you can buy a house whenever

You need to listen to this OP, trust me you will have plenty of time to be saving for a house. Go out and create some memories, you'll regret it if you don't.

eviltwin

I was 24 but was lucky I didn't have rent to pay while I was saving. I started working at 22 and saved everything I could for the deposit. I think it was worth it.

Utah

Hopefully 33!

Yourmama

35

newacc2015

According to Goldman Sachs Millennials eg OP generation will be buying their first home on average at 45 yo versus 25 yo a few generations ago. Home ownership is becoming less common even in the English speaking world where home ownership is common

I don't really see the whole point of 'live your twenties and go wild with your money'. When I know some many people in their thirties still travelling. It hasn't really been common for thirty something Irish go travelling in their 30's. But it is quite common for Germans, Aussie's and American's. There is no reason why you can't save for house and still have a good lifestyle. But I don't see the point of doing it while in college at all.

Enjoy college and start saving after it

Jen44

I bought my first house at 22. I got a 100% mortgage at the time and with 5000 euro I managed to pay for solicitor and kit out the house. There was no stamp duty for first time buyers at the time, think it was 2005. Ive just bought my second house at the end of last year with my husband. I wouldnt change a thing, I loved every min of my 20's the mortgage was not loads 660 a month so we still went out and did all the things 20 something year olds do and it meant we could focus saving for our wedding without the worry of not having somewhere bought yet. We will prob sell that first house now soon to extend our second one. It can be done there is nothing wrong with being sensible!

Sleepy

I'm 35 and am Sale Agreed on my first house at the moment.

I think there's a balance to be struck OP, I like the adage of save 10% of everything you earn and have fun with the rest. Had I started that at your age and continued it into the first decade of my career, I'd have been in a position to buy a few years ago in the depths of the recession when there was great value in most areas.

Starting again, I'd be saving 10% of everything I earned into long-term "don't touch it until you need the deposit for a house / to start a business" and a further 10-20% into savings towards going travelling, buying and maintaining your first car etc.

cronin_j

cronin_j wrote: »

You need to listen to this OP, trust me you will have plenty of time to be saving for a house. Go out and create some memories, you'll regret it if you don't.

You can have a good time and still start saving especially if you are lucky enough to be able to live at home. Just blow everything and have a good time is terrible advise and that's coming form someone who does spend quite a bit of money on going out every week, buy lunch everyday and eats out a lot.

I lived at home until my mid 20's, all through college and had a ball. I actually hated moving out when I had to move too far away to commute to a job. I still think about how much money I've wasted in the last few years on rent that would all be in a savings account if I was living at home along with the fact I'd much rather living at home too.

SarahMollie

I was 29 and I bought in Dublin.

OP well i applaud your aspirations, what you've stated sounds very naive IMO.
You're basically giving yourself €5k per year to live on. Thats about €96 per week, so about half what a person on the dole would get.

That would have to cover;
-clothing, personal grooming etc
-food
-transport to/from work
-having a life
-holidays/travel

You'd also have no room for maneuver for any unexpected expenses.

What if you meet someone to have a relationship with? I think its highly unlikely that you'll find someone who'll want to share that lifestyle.

The world won't end if you don't have a house by the time you're 28.

SarahMollie

Everleigh Echoing Mermaid wrote: »

You can have a good time and still start saving especially if you are lucky enough to be able to live at home. Just blow everything and have a good time is terrible advise and that's coming form someone who does spend quite a bit of money on going out every week, buy lunch everyday and eats out a lot.

I lived at home until my mid 20's, all through college and had a ball. I actually hated moving out when I had to move too far away to commute to a job. I still think about how much money I've wasted in the last few years on rent that would all be in a savings account if I was living at home along with the fact I'd much rather living at home too.

TBF, I don't think anyone is saying "blow it all", more likely that saving €20k per year on a €30k salary would be extremely restrictive.

If the OP wants to save, then sure thats great. Maybe €5-10k per year is more realistic however.

SarahMollie

SarahMollie wrote: »

TBF, I don't think anyone is saying "blow it all", more likely that saving €20k per year on a €30k salary would be extremely restrictive.

If the OP wants to save, then sure thats great. Maybe €5-10k per year is more realistic however.

I agree the amount is unrealistic and would encourage him to enjoy himself also (as I said I'm far from the most careful person with money) but I get the impression from one or two posts that it is blow it and worry about saving in a few years which isn't great advise.

handlemaster

OP live life. Travel for a year or two. See the world. You will be looking at kids poo long and painting walls long enough

van_beano

handlemaster wrote: »

OP live life. Travel for a year or two. See the world. You will be looking at kids poo long and painting walls long enough

Ahh but if he/she didn't spend the money travelling the world then he/she would be well able to pay someone to paint the said walls! As for the kids poo? I don't know.

RedXIV

I'm getting married in August and once that's done, the vast majority of the money I'm squirreling away for that every month will go into saving for a deposit. I reckon after 5 years of saving I should have enough to cover the deposit for the house I'd like. I did my 20s of college and then having kids so I'm gunning for fun forties I hope

handlemaster

handlemaster wrote: »

OP live life. Travel for a year or two. See the world. You will be looking at kids poo long and painting walls long enough

Owning a house has nothing to do with kids pooing and is far more appealing to me than travelling (which is also hindering your career progression if you are travelling rather than working). I'd love to have been able to buy in my 20's rather than trying to do it now in my early 30's but many extra years of study due to lack of jobs prevented that.

miezekatze

There's no option for 33-35 in your poll.

I was 33. Your figures are quite unrealistic, as others have pointed out. Don't put yourself under too much pressure to buy as young as possible. Personally I think it's a good idea to rent for a while and live in different places. It gives you a better idea of what suits you best.

aunt aggie

I didn't have a savings account or any substantial savings until I was 27. Won't be buying a house anytime soon but that's down to lack of job security.

Don't knock renting. It allowed me to move for work, and get more experience. I have worked in 6 different counties in Ireland and spent some time working in England as well. Great experience that made it easier to find a job where I wanted to live.

You also need to think of how you're going to get to work. Buying a car, insurance, tax and NCT are not cheap overall but it's worth it as you'll have more independence and more job opportunities.

You don't have to go mental with your money but you will have to spend it. Don't look at it as throwing money away. I hate when people say that about renting or having a car. Many people choose to rent because it convenient and doesn't tie you to one place.

hairyslug

23 I think, I bought into the having to own property dream. It was far to far away from work, sold it two years later. Overall, I lost out losing my 1st time buyers grant and not making enough of a profit on it

Moonbeam

I think you are being a little optimistic.
You need to have a life and pay tax,I think aiming to save 12k a year on an income like that is optimistic but possible if you do not pay rent.
I bought my 1st house when I was 23,I was sick of renting,my mortgage was low and I took on a train commute of about 45 minutes.
I do not live in that house now as I met a guy had a baby and we bought another houses when I was 26.
House ownership has its ups and downs,it can be expensive because if anything goes wrong you need to fix it,taxes on property,bins,maintenance etc.

karenalot

23 in 2006. Having a 3 bed allowed me to rent out the other rooms to pay the mortgage and still enjoy my 20's sharing with my mates. Being a landlord to them was kinda strange though.

4ensic15

cronin_j wrote: »

You need to listen to this OP, trust me you will have plenty of time to be saving for a house. Go out and create some memories, you'll regret it if you don't.

You may have plenty of time to regret not buying a house too. Far too long. Many a middle aged or older person regrets having literally no home to go to when a relatively small deposit years ago would have left them with a house paid for at a lower cost that the rent they have paid out over the years.

Maireadio

hairyslug wrote: »

23 I think, I bought into the having to own property dream. It was far to far away from work, sold it two years later. Overall, I lost out losing my 1st time buyers grant and not making enough of a profit on it

Making any profit if you only owned it for two years is pretty good!

2rkehij30qtza5

Hollister11 wrote: »

I'm 20, in college, and i'm working part time to fund life in general but I'm also starting to save for a deposit. Now i don't have much, but i have 3K saved.

I'm living at home, and plan to for a good few years anyway. When i graduate, hopefully i start with a 30K salary. I ideally would like to save 20K for 6 years, So my deposit will be 120K plus. I will be 28. Hopefully then im on 45K.

This will leave me with enough for a house worth 277500K. Not loads, but decent.

So my question, when did you move out and buy your first home.

I was 22 and just out of college. Made about €40k profit 2 years later (pre boom years). Bought a more expensive house..made €50k profit. Bought even bigger place and lost my shirt in the recession.#nightmare

Ursus Horribilis

What do your parents think about you planning to live under their roof until you're 28? Maybe by then they'd like to have the place to themselves again or might want to downsize.

I'm all for people putting money aside, especially these days if you want to buy in Dublin down the line. But I don't think anyone should sacrifice their 20s just for a house deposit. You've got to live too. Living frugally at home with your parents is no life. You're stunting your growth as a young adult, especially if that bratty teenage brother of yours continues to be a pain in the backside.

Once you buy your house you'll find that it's dictating your finances to quite an extent. It won't just be the mortgage and the heating and the esb. There will always be bills and maintenance - things that just snipe away at your money. Especially at the start when you're getting your house set up. You'll find yourself thinking "new kitchen or holiday in X" and making choices based on how many bills are coming your way this month. That's why is its important to have lived a life free of these commitments and not to have had a house colouring your decisions.

duchalla

23 back in 1996 for £24,000 in old punts...

I don't think you can really compare now with the past. I has a house at 20 with my first husband. Friends of mine got their first house aged 20 and 21 with a loan of 200 punts for the booking deposit from a family member that was 1984.

Toots

20 back in 2006 got a 100% mortgage. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd have forked out an extra 40k and bought a 2 bed instead of a 1 bed. We intended to trade up after about 5 years but the old recession put the scuppers on that. Don't know when we'll ever be able to afford to move, and with a 4 yr old and a dog in the mix, it's possibly a little crowded, but thanks to IKEA we make it work.

Toots

Toots wrote: »

20 back in 2006 got a 100% mortgage. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd have forked out an extra 40k and bought a 2 bed instead of a 1 bed. We intended to trade up after about 5 years but the old recession put the scuppers on that. Don't know when we'll ever be able to afford to move, and with a 4 yr old and a dog in the mix, it's possibly a little crowded, but thanks to IKEA we make it work.

You live in one bed accommodation with a 4 year old and a dog? sounds hard going but then again it would be common in places like New York.

SarahMollie

Toots wrote: »

20 back in 2006 got a 100% mortgage. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd have forked out an extra 40k and bought a 2 bed instead of a 1 bed. We intended to trade up after about 5 years but the old recession put the scuppers on that. Don't know when we'll ever be able to afford to move, and with a 4 yr old and a dog in the mix, it's possibly a little crowded, but thanks to IKEA we make it work.

They were giving 100% mortgages to 20 year olds? I'm roughly the same age as you but I suppose I wasn't really in the market to buy back then as I hadn't yet finished college by the time the bubble burst.

screamer

Was 25 bought in early noughties. OP don't mind the advise on here do what will make you happy. I'll have my mortgage paid off at 45 whilst others will be shackled to them till they're 60 plus...... not my idea of fun but each to their own.

MrMorooka

It's not possible for a lot of people now to do what posters on this thread have done in the last decade or so- the CB mortgage rules rule it out. Realistically home ownership(in Dublin and surrounding areas) is going to be a lot more difficult going forward, out of reach of single people on average income.

corsav6

I got a 95% mortgage when I was 18 and paid 80k for a 3 bed bungalow in the West. 6 years later I sold for 130k and split the profit with the ex. Now me and my wife are living in a 5 bed dormer sitting on just over an acre with no mortgage.

Toots

SarahMollie wrote: »

They were giving 100% mortgages to 20 year olds? I'm roughly the same age as you but I suppose I wasn't really in the market to buy back then as I hadn't yet finished college by the time the bubble burst.

Myself and my OH were working full time at that stage, and my dad went guarantor on it for us. The ridiculous thing is it worked out about €300 cheaper per month for our mortgage than it was to rent an apartment in the same complex at the time.

zarker

33

SarahMollie

Toots wrote: »

Myself and my OH were working full time at that stage, and my dad went guarantor on it for us. The ridiculous thing is it worked out about €300 cheaper per month for our mortgage than it was to rent an apartment in the same complex at the time.

Wow - obviously fair play to you for knowing what you wanted at such an early age.

Hope you finally get to trade up soon

o1s1n

I too was like you in a way OP, really wanted my own house for security, scrimped and saved like mad for years - bought at 29. Lovely 3 bed semi D in a decent suburb of Bray where I grew up.

Relationship broke down and we sold at 31. The utter liberation of being free from a mortgage was amazing. As it turns out, I was chasing security for years but in the end didnt really get that experience in having a huge 30 year mortgage around my neck.

Just remember that in many cases, things really don't work to plan. And this is a HUGE plan for you given the age you're at and your projections.

IMO just live your life for the moment and think about it again down the line in a few years. You've all the time in the world right now.

SarahMollie

o1s1n wrote: »

I too was like you in a way OP, really wanted my own house for security, scrimped and saved like mad for years - bought at 29. Lovely 3 bed semi D in a decent suburb of Bray where I grew up.

Is Bray not a suburb in itself at this stage?

OU812

Admirable objective, but completely unrealistic. Look at saving half your take-home pay & try to put as much money as possible into a pension scheme also. If you started a pension at 20 & were putting €50 a week in, raising with age & increased salary, you'd reasonable have a pension pot of about €1.25m when you get to retire giving you a lump sum of about #300k & an income of about €4,500 a month at the point in your life where your main outgoing (the mortgage) would be paid off.

I was 33 when I bought my first one (wife was 26), we stayed there two years & are now in the home that I'll leave in a box.

I was actually going through some figures the other day & realised we're now paying just €75 a month more on our mortgage than we were all those years ago despite moving to a more expensive place. Trackers are the best (& the reason I'll leave here in a box)

Try to enjoy your life first though. Youth is wasted on the young as the old saying goes...

Mr McBoatface

Bought my first house at 24. An ex council house got it through the shared ownership scheme.... didn't need a deposit. Sold it and moved on when my late wife and I decided to marry. Worked hard along with my late wife to clear mortgage early so we could enjoy our life's and watch kids grow secure that owned our own house..... didn't work out that way. Life can be cruel to noble ambitions. I really regret not living that bit more and enjoying the little time we had together. We'd a happy marriage but it would be lovely to have done some travelling with her and have those memories.

OP if I was starting out today I wouldn't be saving for years to get a massive amounts for a deposit. I'd be getting the minimum deposit required plus a bit to get the place comfortable to live in. Get a place you'd be happy to have as your home for 10 plus years and then enjoy yourself.

I've really benefited from the housing markets ups and downs, I've secured my home and other properties too. I've actually done very well and my children will do so in return but security it gives doesn't make up for the memories never made.

sKeith

What happened to 33-35 option?