How can someone in their 30s afford a house - PLEASE READ MOD WARNING IN OP

Moonbeam · 10-02-2019 10:17pm

Eric Cartman wrote: »

and by christ if youre single youre fooked, most of the advice is stay indoors and do nothing and you'd have 0 chance to go out and meet someone , that and having to save twice as hard for the deposit.

the real lesson here is, if youre single, live places that houses cost 100k or under or wait until youre with somebody and the two of you can isolate yourselves completely from the outside world for 6 months-a year in order to just about to afford to live within 1.5 hours rush hour commute of a city.

Yaaaaaayy......

I married one of my tenants;)

Charles Babbage · 10-02-2019 10:32pm

She's far too impulsive, and unsurprisingly owes even more on her nes, credit card, and put no money aside for savings.

She cribs and moans about the housing crises and how unfair it is for people like her in their 30's.

While here is hardship for some, you could have two people in the same job,one manages a deposit while living fine, the other blows all the money on iPhones, lattes, credit card interest and generally the most expensive way of doing everything.

Moonbeam wrote: »

I married one of my tenants;)

#
Does that mean they stop paying rent?

James Bond Junior · 10-02-2019 10:33pm

I did it in my mid twenties. Sold the nice car, cleared my debts and took on extra work. I could have well have done it without the extra work but the biggest advice I would give is budgeting.

Work out your fixed monthly outgoings and send that amount plus 10% into a separate account. Educate yourself on when what comes out and dip into it as each bill needs to be paid. Leave the extra 10% accumulate and if you have an unexpected bill then you have cash set aside. Work out what you can realistically comfortably live on per week and stick to it. If paid monthly, fire it over to the bills account and then "pay" yourself every Friday. Anything you've left from your "weekly pay" fire into your savings. Also plan your meals and do your shopping the day you allow your stipend into your account. Ditto put petrol in the car on that day. What you have left after the essentials is for the pub, stupid purchases etc. It takes a fair bit of self control and discipline but it works especially if you have standing orders. My other half started this system and she remarked after a month or two that she never has as much money for herself as everything was taken care of in advance. I have used this system for years and it has meant I was able to buy my house alone yet never missed out on anything like holidays, a second car, eating out and so on.

Wood · 10-02-2019 11:17pm

Currently single ( fiancé who is a single parent). Had a crap job then got promoted.

Have about 5% of a deposit. Basically begged stole and borrowed to make the 10%.

Still not approved. Mortgage repayments are 40% of current rent.

So to answer your question. I have no idea.

Income is over 100k a year beyween us. Can't get a mortgage for 200k.

muddle84 · 10-02-2019 11:36pm

Wood wrote: »

Currently single ( fiancé who is a single parent). Had a crap job then got promoted.

Have about 5% of a deposit. Basically begged stole and borrowed to make the 10%.

Still not approved. Mortgage repayments are 40% of current rent.

So to answer your question. I have no idea.

Income is over 100k a year beyween us. Can't get a mortgage for 200k.

Why not? If you have your deposit and you earn more than 100k between you and can't get a 200k mortgage then there is something else a miss there? Have you a bad credit rating or a few loans?
Me and my better half are earning over 100k combined and have been approval in principle from 3 different banks from 250k mortgage. No problem, they asked do we not want more!

NIMAN · 10-02-2019 11:37pm

In certain counties, sure.

Dublin?
Cork?
Galway?

Forget about it.

ontheditch2 · 10-02-2019 11:53pm

Living in Cork, lived my best life through my 20s and early 30s.
Got into a relationship and at Christmas last year, decided to start saving for a deposit. Over the course of the year, managed to put away €9k in the year, as did herself. Added that to the €10k she already had and we now have out deposit and recently gone sale agreed.
I'm making below average wage, she is making average wage, between us we are making nearly €80k a year.

Not saying it was easy but it was just being a bit cuter with my spending.
I've never saved until last year, spent my money as it came in. Never turned down a stag/wedding/trip away etc. Spent €6k on a solo trip to the states 3 years ago for 2 weeks.
My life didn't turn to **** once I started saving, was just a bit more prudent with my spending. Only had 1 foreign trip instead of my usual 3 or 4, cut down on eating out and ate at home more etc.
We did it in essentially 2 years, so it is possible. Set up the savings account to take money out of your account as soon as you get paid. Sacrifice a few small things and you will make it work.

Things benefiting us. Paying €700 rent between us, had only 2 weddings, 1 cheap holiday away, not big drinkers, so might only have 1 heavy night a month, no work commuting costs for herself.

In hindsight, if I had my head screwed on a few years earlier, could of saved way more, but would probably end up in the same place.

Set your targets, them start working towards them. I won't say it is easy but it is not as hard as some make out.

jayjay2010 · 11-02-2019 1:13am

I'm a big believer in short time sacrifice for long term pleasure.

When I bought my first place, I sold my car. I reduced the amount of times I went out drinking. I stopped buying clothes and only bought stuff when I needed. I just cut back everywhere I could and I managed to save lots of money within a short period of time. I also asked a friend for a lend of money to help build my deposit. I managed to buy my place and I paid my friend back within a year.

Cutting back actually thought me a lot - I didn't need much to be happy. Since then I have become somewhat of a minimalist, I now only buy what I need and I don't feel an impulse to buy when I see something new. I pay a mortgage and I still manage to save money every month.

It is true that, a lot of people who complain about the rising house prices etc are the same people who drink Starbucks coffee every morning, pay a gym membership that they don't use, have the top Sky TV package and go on holidays whenever they can.

If you really really want to start saving, either you increase your income or reduce your expenses. Reducing expenses is usually the easiest option of the two.

It's all about mindset.

Gimme A Pound · 11-02-2019 1:31am

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

I'm sorry but that just reads like excuses. You know that to qualify for a mortgage you need savings and probably from both applicants, there is no way around it, 100% mortgages are not sustainable, try your local authority get some ideas from them about a starter home, you may also qualify for the Help to Buy scheme.

What are the excuses? What you're saying doesn't contradict the sentiment of the post. And they didn't give an indication that they're not single.

abcabc123123 wrote: »

Buy an apartment, save for a couple of years and trade up?

They can't get a mortgage - how can they buy an apartment?!

eviltwin · 11-02-2019 1:39am

If you want to buy a property something has to give. It's always been that way. I bought my house after three years of solid saving, no nights out, no holidays, no expensive treats...yes it was hard but completely worth it to have my own place. I was 25. If I'd had the mindset that my money was for enjoying myself I wouldn't have my own place now. It's all about priorities.

Gimme A Pound · 11-02-2019 1:48am

Now though when house prices are totally crazy, a person in their 30s or 40s, unless also in a relationship (and even then there are no guarantees) or earning a very high salary (and given the limited window they have left for the duration of a mortgage repayment plan) doesn't have a great chance.

Local authority affordable housing scheme is probably the best bet.

Ursus Horribilis · 11-02-2019 1:58am

It depends where they live. Dublin is an utter basket as are some of the other cities. And with the way things are going, they'll not have to be retired at 65.

Interested Observer · 11-02-2019 8:22am

Wood wrote: »

Currently single ( fiancé who is a single parent). Had a crap job then got promoted.

Have about 5% of a deposit. Basically begged stole and borrowed to make the 10%.

Still not approved. Mortgage repayments are 40% of current rent.

So to answer your question. I have no idea.

Income is over 100k a year beyween us. Can't get a mortgage for 200k.

If you have your deposit saved and you earn combined over 100k per year and you can't get mortgage approval then there's something you're not telling us.

Addle · 11-02-2019 8:33am

Agree, short term pain for long term gain.

How will you pay rent in your 70s/80s?

Wanderer78 · 11-02-2019 8:47am

Addle wrote:

How will you pay rent in your 70s/80s?

Don't be surprised if inter-generational mortgages appear on these shores, what a mess our housing market has become

Eric Cartman · 11-02-2019 10:22am

Interested Observer wrote: »

If you have your deposit saved and you earn combined over 100k per year and you can't get mortgage approval then there's something you're not telling us.

No credit is a possibility. Theres some people who are really good at squirriling away money in a savings account who have never had even a credit card that banks are weary about lending to

Creamy Goodness · 11-02-2019 10:44am

Eric Cartman wrote: »

No credit is a possibility. Theres some people who are really good at squirriling away money in a savings account who have never had even a credit card that banks are weary about lending to

the banks don't seriously take credit cards into consideration unless you're terrible at paying them off. as an aside I'm in the camp of "paying a single cent in interest" is the day I cut up my credit card camp.

It's more likely that the issue here is their discretionary income is falling below the banks thresholds, be that existing loans they may have, bad credit history of previous loans, creche fees etc. Or it could be that they are both relatively new sole-traders where the banks are a lot stricter on. There's 101 different things it could be... the main point is there's something they're not telling in the posts for whatever reasons.

Pussyhands · 11-02-2019 10:55am

I think it's not as difficult as many make it seem.

I'm on under the average salary, have been working for 6 years at probably an average of 35k and I have 70k in my current account, have thrown away 1k on bitcoin, bought a decent car for nearly 10k, and currently have 1.5k in stocks and I have bought some expensive items too.

My rent is probably 2k a year lower than market rates but even then I'd still have 58k. I do house share which I think is normal at my age. House sharing is normal in your 20's if you're single, and it's not just something that happened during the housing shortage. I see people talking as if people sharing in their 20's is some awful effect of the housing crisis.

If I was living on my own, it would probably cost me close to 10k more a year. That's 60k of my 70k gone.

I honestly don't know what some people spend their money on as I'd struggle to spend all my salary in a month if I tried.

GingerLily · 11-02-2019 10:59am

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Interested Observer wrote: »

If you have your deposit saved and you earn combined over 100k per year and you can't get mortgage approval then there's something you're not telling us.

No credit is a possibility. Theres some people who are really good at squirriling away money in a savings account who have never had even a credit card that banks are weary about lending to

Not in Ireland, if you've evidence that you save regularly and in good amounts then the banks will be interested. Having a healthy CC helps but banks here don't follow the US/UK credit rating system so you don't need a history of borrowing.

witchgirl26 · 11-02-2019 11:04am

Honestly I saved feck all during my 20's. Way too interested in enjoying myself. I'd have a small amount saved but would end up using for for something like a car or holidays. Towards the start of my 30's, I realised that had to change so I started saving small amounts each month and then increased the amount every few months. Was it tough - course it was! It's not easy to get something you want. That said by 33 I was able to afford a sizeable house with my other half with the full deposit between us (not using HTB) and get approved for a mortgage. I'm not being a matyr here but if you want something, you're going to have to give up other things. And during this time, my OH retrained and switched career into something completely different. It takes a bit of effort, course, but worth it now. Mortgage is not too mad per month and still have income to save/spend afterwards.

Pussyhands · 11-02-2019 11:06am

spurshero wrote: »

Jesus ya may as well be dead ....

As someone who ticks most of those boxes....

If you think smoking, buying lunch at work, cycling instead of driving to work, working outdoors instead of the gym is so much of a sacrifice that you "may aswell be dead" then I don't think there's any helping you.

OP gave you a list of cost cutting measures, you don't need to do them all.

Wanderer78 · 11-02-2019 11:06am

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Honestly I saved feck all during my 20's. Way too interested in enjoying myself. I'd have a small amount saved but would end up using for for something like a car or holidays. Towards the start of my 30's, I realised that had to change so I started saving small amounts each month and then increased the amount every few months. Was it tough - course it was! It's not easy to get something you want. That said by 33 I was able to afford a sizeable house with my other half with the full deposit between us (not using HTB) and get approved for a mortgage. I'm not being a matyr here but if you want something, you're going to have to give up other things. And during this time, my OH retrained and switched career into something completely different. It takes a bit of effort, course, but worth it now. Mortgage is not too mad per month and still have income to save/spend afterwards.

unfortunately, when you introduce things such as increasing worker insecurity, in the form of increasing precarious nature of work, particularly for younger generations, rapidly rising housing prices, low wage inflation, etc etc etc you have a big problem.

abcabc123123 · 11-02-2019 11:07am

Ahmed Fit Hardwood wrote: »

They can't get a mortgage - how can they buy an apartment?!

They haven't checked if they can get one.

f@steddie · 11-02-2019 11:08am

Ahmed Fit Hardwood wrote: »

Now though when house prices are totally crazy, a person in their 30s or 40s, unless also in a relationship (and even then there are no guarantees) or earning a very high salary (and given the limited window they have left for the duration of a mortgage repayment plan) doesn't have a great chance.

Local authority affordable housing scheme is probably the best bet.

A person in their 30s or 40s has been working for 10 to 25 years. If they can't save a deposit in that time then no bank should be lending them money.

Pussyhands · 11-02-2019 11:13am

bucketybuck wrote: »

Basically the take away from this thread is that if you want to buy a house you need to make it your entire life's focus, give up everything that costs money, work every waking hour and then eventually in the next decade you will have a deposit and can start looking at houses. Though you won't get your dream house, it'll be some apartment or crappy starter home.

Wonderful.

If you're on an average wage you're going to have an average home in an average location.

It really is supply and demand. A house is the most expensive thing you'll buy in your life. If you could buy a great house easily while on 40k why would anyone want to earn 60k?

Keyzer · 11-02-2019 12:19pm

MSVforever wrote: »

It's possible. You’ll be surprised how much you can save. Obviously it depends on your circumstances.

Are you living in Dublin? Do you live at home with your parents or do you have your own place?

What is your current rent?

What is your net salary?

You can save a lot of money by doing the following:

1. Bring your lunch to work
2. Bring your own coffee to work
3. Don't get takeaways and don't go to restaurants
4. If you drink then don't go to pubs
Have a few drinks at home instead.
5. Quit smoking if applicable.
6. If you live close enough to work then either get a taxsaver ticket or a bicycle
7. Get rid of the car if applicable.
8. Get rid of bill pay phone - pre pay instead
9. Quit gym and workout outdoors instead
10. Go on cheap holidays i.e. camping, air b&b, couch surfing etc
11. Team up with a girlfriend / boyfriend so you can save more and cut utility bills etc

Be frugal for a couple of years and you'll have a deposit in no time.

Worked with a young chap who did all of the above other than 9 and 11 and he bought an apartment on his own last year - he set his mind to it and he did it. I was extremely impressed with his dedication.

Its all about mind set and willingness to sacrifice for a long term goal.

shenanagans · 11-02-2019 12:31pm

It's simple really there's people that are good with money and then there's people who can't manage their money.

If you're in the wrong category then you'll struggle to save.

Keyzer · 11-02-2019 12:34pm

shenanagans wrote: »

It's simple really there's people that are good with money and then there's people who can't manage their money.

If you're in the wrong category then you'll struggle to save.

Exactly. Simple changes can make a huge difference such as DD a % of salary into a savings account immediately after you get paid, preferably an account which is intentionally difficult to access (weeks notice to withdraw).

witchgirl26 · 11-02-2019 12:35pm

shenanagans wrote: »

It's simple really there's people that are good with money and then there's people who can't manage their money.

If you're in the wrong category then you'll struggle to save.

But you can learn to manage your money. It's not something you should just go "oh well I'm bad at managing money so that's it for the rest of my life". It's a skill that requires effort be put in. Some people, like anything, will have a natural ability whereas others will have to work a bit more at it.

I'm not great at managing money naturally but I've worked hard to get myself into a habit of saving, watching what I spend and being smarter with switching bills etc.

Otherwise it's just another excuse.

Rowley Birkin QC · 11-02-2019 12:38pm

I had a loan out for my college expenses. Once I finished and started working, I prioritized paying off the loan and so was pretty aggressive with the repayments and cutting out unnecessary spending. Once the loan was cleared, I started saving the same amount every month.

How can someone in their 30s afford a house - PLEASE READ MOD WARNING IN OP

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