FTB struggling to buy their first home.

[Auto Artisan]

I’ve been saving up for almost four years. I’ve just turned 40. I’ve been renting, but I’ve always wanted to own something that’s mine. Now I’ve tried flats but what is off putting is the service charges and ground rent. So I’ve tried houses. I just can’t seem to find anything around the my area that’s okay, doesn’t require a huge amount of work, and is within my budget.

As it’s a first home I don’t mind doing work, but I don’t want it to spiral and end up costing a small fortune. It’s trying to find the balance along with also not buying in a ‘rough’ area.

It just seems quite tough for someone on their own and with costs going up and up. I’m also wondering is there any other options.

[Simpo Two]

Some kind of shared ownership arrangement with a developer perhaps? But it would have to be a new build.

[DonkeyApple]

Auto Artisan said:

I ve been saving up for almost four years. I ve just turned 40. I ve been renting, but I ve always wanted to own something that s mine. Now I ve tried flats but what is off putting is the service charges and ground rent. So I ve tried houses. I just can t seem to find anything around the my area that s okay, doesn t require a huge amount of work, and is within my budget.

As it s a first home I don t mind doing work, but I don t want it to spiral and end up costing a small fortune. It s trying to find the balance along with also not buying in a rough area.

It just seems quite tough for someone on their own and with costs going up and up. I m also wondering is there any other options.

It is tougher on a single salary to find the home that is right for you, especially at 40 as you can compromise more easily when younger.

All I can say is that those operational and living costs that you see as a negative will eventually work in your favour as they'll bring the price of what you want closer to you. Just keep banking money, keeping it safe and your only downside is that you'll have a load of money. The key is to rent right, keep adding and keep looking.

Genuinely, time is more on your side than you probably want to believe.

[gotoPzero]

Which part of the country and what is your budget?

It may actually be cheaper (in some areas) to buy something already done to a good standard.

I find "fixer uppers" attract a lot of interest, trades etc wanting to flip. Often drives prices higher than they should be.

I would avoid lease hold, flats, shared ownership etc unless there is no other option.

[Condi]

Depending on how you feel about housemates then you could find something which needs some work, or which is perhaps more expensive than you'd like and offset it with a housemate? I had housemates for years, an extra £500-£600/m is really helpful. Best one was a engineer who was working near me on a contract. He had a wife and family, just wanted somewhere to be during the week. He paid £500 a month which was actually paid by his company, and during holidays or Christmas he wasn't around at all.

But yeah, its hard on a single salary. Houses are definitely worth it over flats - service charges and ground fees just eat your money and the flats are simply not selling well at the moment.

[sherman]

There is no better feeling than paying your own mortgage rather than someone elses.
Buying in a roughish part of town that is on the up is what you want.
You can do the house up over the next few years and as the area becomes desireable you can flip it and you are still young enough to move to where you really want to spend the rest of your years.