I'm 25 and I want to start saving for a house. Where do I start? 🏡

[anon21222882]

@ChrisBeldam

I’ve always thought Monzo seemed to be on the lower side of the salary scale for most of their roles, especially for London

Like I said, I feel like what I’m paid is currently matching what my role is! Not that I wouldn’t mind a bump, but I work four days a week, and I’m objectively the happiest I’ve ever been in my career. Not that this stops me from thinking about the future, of course!

[anon21222882]

(Let’s stay on topic, shall we? After all, this thread is mean to help everyone who wants tips on how to save for a crib of their own )

[anon21222882]

@anon23935806

Watch out for mobile & home broadband contracts though - they are often a scam to keep you once you realise how bad their service is. I always recommend 30-day rolling contracts instead so you can run away as soon as they turn to shit (or if a competitor suddenly starts innovating and you need that new feature of theirs).

This! I love my giffgaff account I feel like I have so much control over it. Only downside? Realised the other day my credit rating is poo because I always pay bills through other people. Have now just set up a direct debit for utility to make it better And looking to get a credit card so I can make my credit rating super-duper.

[anon23935806]

With low/non existent credit I would recommend Capital One… I mean, if they accepted me they’d accept anyone

For a legacy bank they’re not actually that bad, their recently redesigned web interface is actually modern and uses a standard email/password combination as credentials; the iOS app is decent as well.

They also give you access to “Credit Wise” which allows you to see your credit rating with the CRAs they deal with.

[anon21222882]

@anon23935806

With low/non existent credit I would recommend Capital One… I mean, if they accepted me they’d accept anyone

Haha! I’m sure it’s because you’re an upstanding citizen and you always pay back your debts

[anon23935806]

Of course I am*

*terms & conditions apply.

[kris1]

Also worth looking at the Barclay card initial and a Tesco bank credit card. Don’t know rates off the top of my head but I have used them in the past when I was working on my credit rating.

[anon23935806]

Given that it’s only to build credit, the rate doesn’t really matter. I am not sure how good Tesco’s or Barclay’s systems & customer service is so I would be cautious. I know Capital One’s web interface is actually a pleasure to use so I’d recommend that.

[kris1]

I’m sure I had a capital one card a while ago to, but can’t remember what the web interface was like. You’ve made me want to try it now, just can’t help myself!

[garete (Gareth)]

@anon21222882

Ultra-powered budgeting tips

It’s harder to go it alone - don’t sew up every last penny and become a hermit, find someone who also doesn’t mind saving a few pounds. Lots of house bills get massive cuts when it’s two of you working together.

[kris1]

Couldn’t have said it better myself, I can say for sure if I had a second person to split bills with I’d be living quite comfortably and I’d be able to put some money away!

[anon23935806]

Here’s what it looks like. Notice the lack of BS like “memorable word” or “enter the 1st, 3rd and 5th character” on the login screen, and an actually secure (randomly generated) password being used. It almost doesn’t feel like a bank. Behind the scenes it’s an React single-page app, powered by a JSON API (so you can actually reverse-engineer it with just your browser’s developer console and then build custom stuff on top).

Screenshots

[jwhiterz (Jack)]

I hear Aqua Card are good for building credit. Not sure what their support is like though.
There’s also a company which takes your rent and uses that to improve your credit rating as it’s essentially keeping up with payments: Credit Ladder

[anon29396492]

Try setting up one of the government backed home buyers ISA’s. They will give you a certain amount, can’t remember how much but it’s actually decent (000’s) and as an ISA, it’s tax free

[anon29396492]

You could also try the rent credit builder, if you’re paying rent, it allows that to be recognised in your credit score

[sacha]

Definitely do the Lifetime ISA. You can save £4k/year and the government will add £1k when you use it to buy your first home below £450k in London. My fiancee and I are doing it and it will add thousands to our deposit for free.

There are hardly any Cash LISA’s but you can setup a Nutmeg LISA on the most cautious outlook which will do much the same thing.

[mrkwse (Mark Woosey)]

LISAs seem to be a good idea (and I have one) is the only thing I’m relatively confident about.

Even in spite of that though, despite thinking that owning a house/apartment at some point would be worthwhile thing, I can’t see myself doing until I’m around 30 (currently 24), and I don’t expect that I’d want a house where I currently live or could even afford a reasonable one where I am even if I did (which is nowhere near London).

[anon94264531]

I think that’s a bit of a sweeping statement. Rent goes up because the mortgage and cost of maintenance increases for them, i.e. building insurance or they get lumped with a bill to contribute to fixing a communal or common parts like painting the hall or fixing a leak in the roof. I just had no choice but to spend nearly £2000 on refurbishments because of three years hard living by tenants, ranging from a burnt kitchen counter because somebody had thoughtlessly taken a hot pan off the stove and placed it on the side (Shrugs. Why do I care? It’s not my house?), to threadbare carpet on the stairs and two inches of wax from candles needing to be sanded off the mantlepiece. I’d rather have a long term tenant that treat the place like their own home. But most tenants seem to only want to stay one or two years maximum because they want to ‘shop’ around or they have a change in circumstances, e.g. move in with girl/boyfriend.

[anon94264531]

Could always do some non-conflicting social media consultancy on that fifth day and something at the weekend. After I graduated from University in Hertfordshire for at least two years I worked seven days a week. I used to work at a call centre as a part-time and summer job when studying and was lucky enough to be allowed to come and go as I pleased when I graduated, in order to go to job interviews, etc. Even after I got my first full-time job, I took a massive hit in salary and increased costs, e.g. peak-rate trains to London as I was living in St. Albans. So I still worked most weekends about seven or eight hours a day, for over 18 months, before things like work travel got in the way. It did help me save a chunk of money towards my deposit. As I spent three years flat hunting to buy something in London.

[ChrisBeldam]

@anon94264531

I think that’s a bit of a sweeping statement. Rent goes up because the mortgage and cost of maintenance increases for them, i.e. building insurance or they get lumped with a bill to contribute to fixing a communal or common parts like painting the hall or fixing a leak in the roof.

Sure, I know it’s a sweeping statement and I am sure as you’ve pointed out there are often genuine reasons for raising rent.

The landlords i’ve experienced (bear in mind I don’t rent but see what the landlords in my street are doing) are putting the price up just because they can. We are advertised as a London commuter town now and so just because of that they put the rent up £400pm just because they know people in London can afford it and it’s cheaper than what commuters further down the trainline were paying and didn’t care local people wouldn’t be able to pay it.

Im sure most Landlords are good people but there does seem to be a hell of a lot of bad/dodgy ones