Buy or Rent in London/South East, or Leave?
Discussion
Hi guys
I'm desperate for my own place and to crack on in life but I've been in somewhat of a dilemma needing to live within the M25 for work and was after a bit of advice.
I am 23 and earn about £40k. I've already resigned myself to the fact that £40k is buttons in London and can only afford to Rent/Buy in some 'not so great' areas like Thamesmead, plumstead, abbey wood, etc, although with cross rail coming to the area they could see an increase in value.
Rent is about £800PCM for a one bed flat where some 'fixer-upper' 1-2 beds can be had in the £150,000 - £170,000 area. Ridiculously cheap for the London area but that's still enough to stretch my finances pretty tight, and given I won't have a huge deposit (crica £15k) I'm wondering if I'm likely to even get a mortgage in the real world?
Renting seems great for as a short term situation, but I'm worried that if I did that I'm going to end up trapped paying someone else's mortgage for the rest of my life.
The third option is leave London. If I could do this and take my Job I would, but I can't. Trouble is that if I were to same working in a similar industry outside of London I'm likely to see around 25k, which makes me think that I'm unlikely to see much benefit from lower rents, and I imagine a 25k salary would again wipe out any chance of owning something in the near future.
Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
.
I'm desperate for my own place and to crack on in life but I've been in somewhat of a dilemma needing to live within the M25 for work and was after a bit of advice.
I am 23 and earn about £40k. I've already resigned myself to the fact that £40k is buttons in London and can only afford to Rent/Buy in some 'not so great' areas like Thamesmead, plumstead, abbey wood, etc, although with cross rail coming to the area they could see an increase in value.
Rent is about £800PCM for a one bed flat where some 'fixer-upper' 1-2 beds can be had in the £150,000 - £170,000 area. Ridiculously cheap for the London area but that's still enough to stretch my finances pretty tight, and given I won't have a huge deposit (crica £15k) I'm wondering if I'm likely to even get a mortgage in the real world?
Renting seems great for as a short term situation, but I'm worried that if I did that I'm going to end up trapped paying someone else's mortgage for the rest of my life.
The third option is leave London. If I could do this and take my Job I would, but I can't. Trouble is that if I were to same working in a similar industry outside of London I'm likely to see around 25k, which makes me think that I'm unlikely to see much benefit from lower rents, and I imagine a 25k salary would again wipe out any chance of owning something in the near future.
Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
.Thanks for the input everyone. I have been mulling it over! .
One of the perks of my job is being 'based' from home, hence needing to be within the M25 and meaning travelling in wouldn't work.
Its awkward as the job is about the only thing really keeping me here as it is a city that I don't really care for, BUT, I just want to make the right moves that will ultimately set me up the best for the future and getting a place in London seems like one of the best ways of doing that.
I think short term the only thing I can do is save money and revisit with £15k-£20k in the bank. Once that's in there I'll either be able to afford a place here or I won't. If I can't I'll either have a look at the logistics of right to buy on my mum's place to get me/us some sort of investment in this dump of a city or leave entirely.
.One of the perks of my job is being 'based' from home, hence needing to be within the M25 and meaning travelling in wouldn't work.
Its awkward as the job is about the only thing really keeping me here as it is a city that I don't really care for, BUT, I just want to make the right moves that will ultimately set me up the best for the future and getting a place in London seems like one of the best ways of doing that.
I think short term the only thing I can do is save money and revisit with £15k-£20k in the bank. Once that's in there I'll either be able to afford a place here or I won't. If I can't I'll either have a look at the logistics of right to buy on my mum's place to get me/us some sort of investment in this dump of a city or leave entirely.
TVR Sagaris said:
What do you do? I'm surprised at quite the difference in income between London and the rest of the UK.
Currently work for one of the big breakdown firms. Relocating within the company isn't feasible at this point (as you imagine once one leaves, everyone will want to!) So if I left London, I'd imagine I would end up doing something in a garage instead, hence the lower money.If I could get the same/similar paying job I'd be out of here tomorrow!
bigunit00 said:
279 said:
Currently work for one of the big breakdown firms. Relocating within the company isn't feasible at this point (as you imagine once one leaves, everyone will want to!) So if I left London, I'd imagine I would end up doing something in a garage instead, hence the lower money.
If I could get the same/similar paying job I'd be out of here tomorrow!
You are 23 - what is the rush? ........save hard for a few years and the take stock with a larger deposit and better access to mortgage deals. You might also be more certain on where you want to live etc. If I could get the same/similar paying job I'd be out of here tomorrow!
But selfishly I am also thinking about the long game. I could be out in my own rented place tomorrow, but its going to cripple my saving power and leave me on rental treadmill potentially forever with no future/end game in sight.
Hence this thread, for me to try and get some input to try and work out what would be the best compromise
Why not do both?
Buy a property that is in a decent commuter area and you know you will be able to rent, then after 6 months declare your intention to rent said property out to the mortgage holder (from 0 - £350) and give yourself the flexibility to move around and rent whilst someone else pays off your mortgage!
I have two houses in the UK I rent whilst I rent in Germany, well work pay my rent but the same thing! It means I have the flexibility to relocate whilst knowing I'm am not stuck in the rental cycle.
Buy a property that is in a decent commuter area and you know you will be able to rent, then after 6 months declare your intention to rent said property out to the mortgage holder (from 0 - £350) and give yourself the flexibility to move around and rent whilst someone else pays off your mortgage!
I have two houses in the UK I rent whilst I rent in Germany, well work pay my rent but the same thing! It means I have the flexibility to relocate whilst knowing I'm am not stuck in the rental cycle.
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