It is something that most young people aspire to have accomplished by the time they reach a certain age. They want to have a solid and secure job, have started a family and own their own home amongst other things.
Unfortunately, however, it is looking less and less likely for the latter to be achievable for the many hard-working twenty-somethings out there.
Recent research has highlighted that getting on the property ladder and owning a home has never been as difficult, with many of the younger generation admitting that they may have to start to look for work and living arrangements abroad if they are ever to call themselves home-owners.
We are currently, as a nation, in a rent bubble. Young people are desperate to fly the nest but find the quickest and easiest way to do that is to rent. Renting, when you eventually want to buy, however, can be a cycle that once in, you may never be able to get out of. Buying your own home takes time and is completely reliant on how good you are at saving for a deposit. It is hard enough saving for this said deposit without any other outgoings but having to fork out for rent as well is extremely difficult.
Basically, what we are trying to say is that once you start to rent a property, you can more than likely kiss goodbye to ever owning your own home. It doesn’t happen all the time and some people do manage to pay rent whilst saving a deposit but it is rare and it is very straining.
The reason it is so difficult is because of the amount of saving you need to do in order to reach a deposit goal.
If, for instance, you need to get a deposit together of £15,000, imagine how difficult this will be to try to scrape whilst you are paying hundreds of pounds a month in rent at the same time – and that is excluding how much money is spent on food and utility bills each month.
In our opinion, it is always better to save up for a deposit whilst not paying out for rent as it will be more achievable and done in a quicker timeframe – we do understand that this is not always the situation that people find themselves in, however, and some people do end up renting property as they have nowhere else to go.
Back to the main point of young people feeling they may need to flee the country in order to achieve basics such as home owning, however, many youngsters also believe that if they were to ever own a home in Britain they would either need money freed up from an inheritance windfall or would need help for the deposit from the bank of mum and dad.
These same people also say that they blame the lack of affordable housing available in the country and say that buy to let landlords are equally making things difficult – buying up all the property with a view to making themselves rich.
It is tough out there when it comes to home ownership but unfortunately, regardless of what the government says and promises, the difficult times are unlikely to abate.
So, as a desperate, potential young home owner, what things could you do to give yourself the best possible chance of getting your dream home?
There are quite a few things actually, but some of them you may find reluctant to do or difficult to execute. One of the things is to widen your search area (and your mind) to find homes in a different area to where you have your heart set on. A lot of first time buyers like the idea of living in a city, or close to where they grew up as child, or near their parents (for childcare reasons for instance) but sometimes this means they are completely pricing themselves out. Living in a city will always be expensive, and if your parents live in a leafy suburb, chances are you’re going to have a heck of a lot of saving up to do. Everyone wants to live in a nice area but don’t completely write areas off, as you may find that some up and coming areas turn out to be property hotspots that could add lots of value to your home further down the line.
Seeking advice about budgeting and how to save for a deposit may also help. It doesn’t have to cost to speak to a professional about this either, talk to family members that have been in the same boat as you and see how they managed to save and the processes that they went through in order to get their own home.
The average age for buying a property may now be 30, but people are never too young to start preparing financially.