I don’t entirely agree with everything in this, a safety net is important, but I think this is a very valid point of view
3 Likes
Enjoyed that, thanks 
1 Like
The one big thing I don’t agree with from the article is
We won’t be able to afford a house thanks to the lack of housing market regulation we inherited, pricing us out for a generation at least.
This isn’t completely true and really depends on where you live. It’s only London and some parts of the south east/south west where this is applicable.
I live about 35 minute train drive from london and it’s definitely not true that you can’t afford to buy and will need to wait for your inheritance, if you’re sensible with money.
2 Likes
It’s doable in a lot of places, but for a lot of people the compromises needed would mean they realistically would need to watch every penny for years. If you are single and on minimum wage or even earning up to the low 20ks it’s going to be a struggle
5 Likes
You could always try being the Duchess of Southwark. That helps.
3 Likes
It sadly kind of reeds like a rant from someone who doesn’t know anything about money, for which the only takeaway might be that they should have been educated better (probably many people could be educated better, it isn’t taught well)
That’s quite good
She was also able to stash £1,000 in a savings account every month, thanks to buying second-hand instead of new clothes, scrapping her morning takeaway coffee, and owning both a medium-sized Angolan gold mine and 400,000 shares in Google which she received as a 21st birthday present
1 Like
It’s an interesting point of view, although not one I totally agree with.
Having savings leaves me with a safety net, as you’ve pointed out. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s enough for emergencies.
On the point of being able to afford a property, there is no way I could have bought my flat had I not received inheritance. Our generation is unfortunate enough to still be restricted by only being able to get an approx 4x salary mortgage, which doesn’t buy you a whole lot if you’re on, say, £25k a year, and also need to save a 10% deposit 
Money management is definitely something that should be taught at a young age. I still don’t fully understand mortgages, and I have one 
5 Likes
In London perhaps. This very much depends on where you live, 4.5x of 25k on a single salary will get you a perfectly nice first home in the majority of the country.
I would say that unfortunately it is a little harder for single people, dual income does make things easier and is probably more the norm. But if you get outside the bubble there’s houses everywhere for a reasonable price.
2 Likes
Please tell me this site is satire…
Every now and again the team at YNAB post money saving articles on their blog, and it’s like “How we cleared $100,000 in debt in just 1 year” - Answer: Had $10,000 in savings and got a $200,000 inheritance.
Thanks. Super actionable advice there…
2 Likes
Indeed.
4 Likes
4.5x salary got me a 2 bed flat in Glasgow, but it’s not enough to buy a house in a good part of town unfortunately. If I only needed 1 bedroom then it would possibly be easier!
I live with my husband and our (still rather tiny) baby, but with him being self employed we can’t yet get a joint mortgage. We’re still on the lookout for a proper house, but it is difficult to find something affordable for where we want and need to live 
6 Likes
No, but for a first flat 2 bedrooms is doing well. And you could get a semi detached house in the Glasgow area for 100k, and three bedrooms for a little more. East Kilbride, Paisley, Renfrew, Erskine for example all have some very nice affordable homes and have good schools, transport, and amenities. (i grew up there)
I always try to be of the mind that a first home is a first home, not a dream home. I’m hoping to get sometime soon in the near future. To be honest, I don’t think affordability is the main problem (it is… we need more affordable homes), but i think actually getting a decent deposit saved can be the larger challenge when quite frequently life can throw something at you that eats some of your deposit away by necessity.
2 Likes
Serious news site, satirical article making exactly the same point you make. Every paragraph is structured in the form of ‘claim/reality’. “We worked really hard/and have a lot of privilege we’re rather glossing over”.
1 Like
Agree with you that the deposit is the most difficult aspect in getting a home, I certainly couldn’t have afforded it without help.
I have seen homes that are on the cheaper end, but there tends to be some compromise, be that area, broadband speed (a big one when I work from home!), public transport and safety (I can’t drive so rely on this) or some aspect of the house itself eg redecoration, home report issues etc. Not to mention the competitive market, but that’s a whole other topic entirely!
All in all, buying a home nowadays has its own set of challenges that our parents and grandparents generations didn’t face, one of the big ones being the need to put so much money upfront when everyday life is so expensive and the average salary is comparatively low to 20-30 years ago.
5 Likes
We own a housing company with a few houses - but each tenant who wants to remain is given the option to get a mortgage on the house - and if they can we give them they deposit and put it into the asking price - has worked 3 times so far and put people into homes - for the exact reason @sheona states.
2 of the 3 tenants had to wait 5 years - 1 was in the house 11 years and it was suggested as a fleeting comment - he now owns the house and is very settled. IMHO more people should adopt this method than currently do!
7 Likes
Ha! I was biting my tongue on those!
All of this depends so heavily on circumstance.
I have, in the past, had mortgages, and owned three homes. A few life wobbles and I’m back to renting, and only just starting to save (again) for a deposit for a mortgage whilst clearing down debts from said ‘life wobbles’.
At present, it looks like it will take me until about 2025 to get that deposit together by which point who the hell knows what state the housing market/UK economy will be in.
Question - many other countries manage to have rented accommodation as the ‘norm’, why is the UK so hell bent on saddling us all with massive debts?
2 Likes
Exactly.
And some of us, ok I’m talking about me, were at the end of that affordability cycle when they first bought a house, and in the 20 years since the housing economy has changed massively.
1 Like
They might be giving houses away with cornflakes by then.
1 Like
Cornflakes! You think I’m made of money! You know, when I was a lad we lived in a hole and ate dust mites for breakfast…
3 Likes