I've recently turned 30 and started to put my life into perspective, trying to work out exactly how I can move on and improve it. At the moment I'm living back at my parent's house, paying rent and trying to cause as few problems as possible! I have experienced living well away from the family home, as I've rented and shared houses all over London. But in recent years this became very expensive, and with the unpredictable nature of my job I couldn't justify the huge outlay on rent, so moved back to my parent's house. I work in the film industry which is tooutsiders is well paid and glamorous, but in reality it is long hard days on short term contracts. This makes getting a mortgage a bit more difficult than your average salary man, but provides me with the freedom to travel when necessary. Panic
I travelled with my brother to Australia and really loved it. Over there you can buy a huge house with acres of land for about £100K. But when you consider I couldn't buy a pokey flat for that money in London Colney, I start to panic slightly. I'm back working at the moment, which will provide me with a nice short term windfall, but when I think about getting on the property ladder my blood runs cold. It is going to take a huge commitment just to make that first step. We are constantly getting told in the media that now is the time to jump on the ladder, but then next week the headlines say the boom is over. This just leaves me confused and worried about getting caught in the horrible trap of negative equity.
Hospitable
I know a time will come where my parents will want their house back, and for me and my brother to fly the nest. I just hope that when the day arrives the housing market will be a bit more hospitable. I just can't understand how some people do it - burdening themselves with massive mortgages on properties that really don't look worth it. I think the only way I'm going to be able to do it is to either share the risk with someone else or try and get on a Housing Association list. But as I'm not a key worker this is going to be difficult as well. I wish there was a simple solution but I know there isn't, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get on the property ladder. Read other case studies >>
Have you had problems getting on the property ladder? Have you just got on it? If so, how did you manage it? Do you want to upgrade but will have to move away from the area to do so? Tell us your experiences using the form below. 
| Rachel, Norwich | Tuesday, 28-Sep-2004 18:45:22 BST |  | | I was worried about being able to afford a house. A few years ago I could have afforded a house or two bedroom flat by myself (prices in Norwich are considerably less than they are elsewhere). But this year I realised I would either have to buy a bedsit or a one bedroom flat. That wasn't ideal because I was concerned about the rising interest rates. So what did I do? I bought a house with my brother. I live in it and he has an investment. Perfect. I'd recommend it more than buying with friends. All you have to do is make sure you agree on how long you want the house for (ours is a long term investment) and that you agree on how you split the mortgage payments. The rest is easy. |
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