Buying a house isn't difficult.

[dsr]

Or if their parents have a large enough house, and not a very large family.
I can't imagine the pressure that living with parents could cause.

Everyone in the history of the world (broadly speaking, not literally!) has lived with parents until they could get somewhere of their own, and it can go on quite a long time. It's only relatively recently that that "somewhere of their own" became a purchased house. Until say 100 years ago it was rare for all but the rich to own a house.

Coping with the pressures of living with parents might be good practice for coping with the pressure of living with a spouse and children!

[aggi]

Aspirations amongst younger people have certainly changed. When me and my mates bought our first houses around 20 years ago, it was about getting on the ladder. My first house was a back to back terrace but it served its purpose. 4-5 years ago I worked with a couple of young lasses looking to buy their first homes - they were looking at houses £150k to £200k, wanting a "forever home" for their first house.

A willingness to lower expectations for the first few years would see a lot of first time buyers on the ladder.

On the opposite side of that, most of the people I know buying places in their 20s and early 30s are buying 1 bed flats (occasionally 2 beds).

[TheFamilyCat]

On the opposite side of that, most of the people I know buying places in their 20s and early 30s are buying 1 bed flats (occasionally 2 beds).

Maybe you happen to know more realistic folk!

[Dyched]

Aspirations amongst younger people have certainly changed. When me and my mates bought our first houses around 20 years ago, it was about getting on the ladder. My first house was a back to back terrace but it served its purpose. 4-5 years ago I worked with a couple of young lasses looking to buy their first homes - they were looking at houses £150k to £200k, wanting a "forever home" for their first house.

A willingness to lower expectations for the first few years would see a lot of first time buyers on the ladder.

THIS!!! I had no problem getting a place for myself. Monthly payments half that of rent, 3 years later sold for a 15% profit. Hopefully I can do this a few more times over the next 10 years.

[boatshed bill]

Everyone in the history of the world (broadly speaking, not literally!) has lived with parents until they could get somewhere of their own, and it can go on quite a long time. It's only relatively recently that that "somewhere of their own" became a purchased house. Until say 100 years ago it was rare for all but the rich to own a house.

Coping with the pressures of living with parents might be good practice for coping with the pressure of living with a spouse and children!

Actually I'm not sure that is correct.Plenty of people I know moved into shared accomodation as soon as they could. And I can't think of a single male friend who had to live with either his parents or his girlfriend's/wife's family. of course, back then very few of us considered buying.
Growing up in the 60's was wonderful.

[Garnerssoap]

Self cert mortgages were pretty awesome

[dsr]

Actually I'm not sure that is correct.Plenty of people I know moved into shared accomodation as soon as they could. And I can't think of a single male friend who had to live with either his parents or his girlfriend's/wife's family. of course, back then very few of us considered buying.
Growing up in the 60's was wonderful.

By "history of the world", I was going back a bit further than the 1960's.

[boatshed bill]

By "history of the world", I was going back a bit further than the 1960's.

Cavemen?

[Terry Cochrane]

If people only stopped eating smashed avo and canceled their Netflix subscription then there would no problems.

Or just get a much higher paying job, I do not see why people cannot understand this???

[Venkys4eva]

It means he lives with his mum.

Married with 2 children and both my parents passed away before I reached 21, cheers though

[dsr]

To change the subject slightly, why is "lives with his mum" considered to be an insult? I get that some people have such appalling family relationships that living with parents is the last thing they would do, but why have such a downer on people that do get on with relatives?

[South West Claret.]

May I suggest ignorance perhaps .

[Swizzlestick]

To change the subject slightly, why is "lives with his mum" considered to be an insult? I get that some people have such appalling family relationships that living with parents is the last thing they would do, but why have such a downer on people that do get on with relatives?

I think it’s more aimed at those who very much outstay their welcome at home - especially those not paying their way, not pitching in with house stuff, not really attempting to progress and get on the housing ladder etc. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with it and clearly necessary (increasingly so with the state of the housing market at the moment) but there are those who take advantage of it when they have the capability to be more independent.

[bfccrazy]

I think it’s more aimed at those who very much outstay their welcome at home - especially those not paying their way, not pitching in with house stuff, not really attempting to progress and get on the housing ladder etc. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with it and clearly necessary (increasingly so with the state of the housing market at the moment) but there are those who take advantage of it when they have the capability to be more independent.

Strangely, I've seen that lack of help towards housing costs etc being a more "working class" thing. The apprentices at my work with are justttt out of college etc and earn a decent wage and all of them pay board etc... I know of a lot of lads who end up working in a factory etc who don't help out at home though and the parents seem more proud of having the "it's my kid and I'll support them" mentality rather than helping them and also teaching them about the values of paying for stuff.

[ClaretOfMancunia]

Speaking of taking advantage of parental generosity - I know I'm going off on a tangent here, but slightly related to the posts above.

Myself and Mrs CoM were out for a meal in Manchester on Saturday at a Teppanyaki place. Sat either side of us were two young-ish families accompanied by grandparents.

On our right, the son in law (I think) having cornered the grandad then spent the best part of two hours telling him how much he wanted a new house, how the current one didn't have a big enough garden, how there was a big place up for sale on the corner and began detailing all the changes he would make if he were able to buy it and move in etc. He also opined on how much grandparents house must have increased in value over recent years, and how they had so much unused space. Although not said overtly, it very much felt the question being asked was "can you sell your current place and move to somewhere smaller and give us some money?" Grandfather looked extremely awkward and said very little for the duration of the conversation.

We bought our place five years ago and never dreamed of asking my partner's parents for money. They have it, and if they'd have offered we would have gratefully taken it (within reason, absolutely not if it meant they had to sell up). I was aghast at the brazen attitude of the son and felt very sorry for the grandparents.

[LS7]

The only thing I would add to this debate is to look for areas, if you can, which are changing for the better or have the potential to. Like Chapeltown in Leeds for example. Or Meanwood.

[bfccrazy]

Speaking of taking advantage of parental generosity - I know I'm going off on a tangent here, but slightly related to the posts above.

Myself and Mrs CoM were out for a meal in Manchester on Saturday at a Teppanyaki place. Sat either side of us were two young-ish families accompanied by grandparents.

On our right, the son in law (I think) having cornered the grandad then spent the best part of two hours telling him how much he wanted a new house, how the current one didn't have a big enough garden, how there was a big place up for sale on the corner and began detailing all the changes he would make if he were able to buy it and move in etc. He also opined on how much grandparents house must have increased in value over recent years, and how they had so much unused space. Although not said overtly, it very much felt the question being asked was "can you sell your current place and move to somewhere smaller and give us some money?" Grandfather looked extremely awkward and said very little for the duration of the conversation.

We bought our place five years ago and never dreamed of asking my partner's parents for money. They have it, and if they'd have offered we would have gratefully taken it (within reason, absolutely not if it meant they had to sell up). I was aghast at the brazen attitude of the son and felt very sorry for the grandparents.

An old customer I had in a previous business signed her house (a 3 bed detached house in a area where 2 bed bungalows sell for north of 350k) over to her daughter to avoid taxes etc after she passed away with the plan being she lived there til she passed away and then the daughter could do what she liked with it.

A year after this the daughter tried to charge the mother rent for the property and eventually removed her from the property because "I can rent it out for 1000 a month to someone and I'm making nothing on it now".

Some people baffle me, others just make me sick.

[aggi]

An old customer I had in a previous business signed her house (a 3 bed detached house in a area where 2 bed bungalows sell for north of 350k) over to her daughter to avoid taxes etc after she passed away with the plan being she lived there til she passed away and then the daughter could do what she liked with it.

A year after this the daughter tried to charge the mother rent for the property and eventually removed her from the property because "I can rent it out for 1000 a month to someone and I'm making nothing on it now".

Some people baffle me, others just make me sick.

To be fair, if she didn't charge her mother rent then it wouldn't be deemed passed over and it would still be liable for inheritance tax (although she'd be able to leave that value property to a child anyway unless the rest of her estate was significant).

[dsr]

To be fair, if she didn't charge her mother rent then it wouldn't be deemed passed over and it would still be liable for inheritance tax (although she'd be able to leave that value property to a child anyway unless the rest of her estate was significant).

Fair? That is a stunningly skewed value. Are you saying that it is fair to chuck your mother out onto the street to save tax? Would you do it? Would you expect your family to do it to you?

[aggi]

Fair? That is a stunningly skewed value. Are you saying that it is fair to chuck your mother out onto the street to save tax? Would you do it? Would you expect your family to do it to you?

No. I'm saying that if the mother transferred the property with the intention to avoid IHT then the daughter would also need to charge the mother rent for that to happen (assuming it was within the 7 years). Just pointing out that it may not be quite as clear cut as suggested.

[dsr]

No. I'm saying that if the mother transferred the property with the intention to avoid IHT then the daughter would also need to charge the mother rent for that to happen (assuming it was within the 7 years). Just pointing out that it may not be quite as clear cut as suggested.

I don't think you have read it in detail. The daughter threw her mother out of her mother's own home, because the daughter could make more money from a third party tenant. And this after the daughter had been given the house as a gift.

Apart from being out on the street, or presumably having to rent somewhere a lot smaller, how does mother feel knowing that the daughter who she trusted and (presumably) loved, is the biggest piece of sh*t on the planet? (And I don't normally swear, but in this case it's justified.)

[getbennyon]

The crazy thing about buying a house in the UK is that it will only become harder for future generations.

The Oxford elite has run our country into the ground - £10 trillion in liabilities, a Ponzi immigration scheme, an obsession with expensive ideology eg Net Zero. The UK economy hasn't grown in 15 years and I can't see this changing in the next 15.

I also find it weird how many post-war babies won't help their offspring financially. Many have had a good do for a long time yet would rather wait to give their house to the government to pay for dementia treatment than treat their children like children instead of strangers...our culture could learn from Asians.

[aggi]

I don't think you have read it in detail. The daughter threw her mother out of her mother's own home, because the daughter could make more money from a third party tenant. And this after the daughter had been given the house as a gift.

Apart from being out on the street, or presumably having to rent somewhere a lot smaller, how does mother feel knowing that the daughter who she trusted and (presumably) loved, is the biggest piece of sh*t on the planet? (And I don't normally swear, but in this case it's justified.)

Yes, the rest of it was all a bit weird but I was only commenting on the rent part and why that may be.

[dsr]

The crazy thing about buying a house in the UK is that it will only become harder for future generations.

The Oxford elite has run our country into the ground - £10 trillion in liabilities, a Ponzi immigration scheme, an obsession with expensive ideology eg Net Zero. The UK economy hasn't grown in 15 years and I can't see this changing in the next 15.

I also find it weird how many post-war babies won't help their offspring financially. Many have had a good do for a long time yet would rather wait to give their house to the government to pay for dementia treatment than treat their children like children instead of strangers...our culture could learn from Asians.

One thing that we could learn from Asians is care of the elderly. As a generalisation, an Asian old person is far more likely to be looked after at home than to be shuffled off into a nursing home. If I had a huge house and children that wouldn't or couldn't look after me, I think I would rather spend it on fees for a good nursing home than let the council find me a poky one. I've been in nursing homes. They aren't fun.

[StayingDown4Ever]

One thing that we could learn from Asians is care of the elderly. As a generalisation, an Asian old person is far more likely to be looked after at home than to be shuffled off into a nursing home. If I had a huge house and children that wouldn't or couldn't look after me, I think I would rather spend it on fees for a good nursing home than let the council find me a poky one. I've been in nursing homes. They aren't fun.

I actually had this conversation with an Asian friend of mine last week.

Whilst it’s true for now, he thinks it will become a problem for elderly Asian people in the next couple of decades. At the moment he says there are lots of middle aged ladies who don’t work who have the time to look after elderly relatives. More and more Asian females are making a career for themselves now and not staying at home so don’t have the time to look after elderly relatives like the older generations are doing.

[Colburn_Claret]

Buying a house is easy, it's getting a mortgage that's the problem.
It's ironic that people who pay £600 a month rent, and have done so for years, cannot find a lender to pay £500 a month. Considering the equity is in the property, that's a nonsense.

How do you resolve that issue is the question we should ask. As long as there isn't a plethora of foreclosures, the lenders are in a no lose situation.
The burnt fingers getting rich quick, buying American mortgages has a lot to answer for.

[AmbleClaret]

The only thing I would add to this debate is to look for areas, if you can, which are changing for the better or have the potential to. Like Chapeltown in Leeds for example. Or Meanwood.

I lived in Chapeltown, Savile Road,for 5 years in the '80's. Find it hard to believe that it's gentrified,along with Meanwood ?

[RVclaret]

Saw this particular chart today and thought it was worth adding to this thread.

[Taffy on the wing]

No argument from me on that. Another reason I can’t understand perpetual renters.
Although if every property in the country went up by 2% per annum I wouldn’t have cried about it.
We bought for £6k in ‘74 and sold in ‘04 for £150k.
Moving to Ireland we were lucky to get £1-€1.50 exchange rate which allowed us to buy a better house and put some rainy day money away.

I don't know anything about rents in England but here in LA they are extortionate.......young people have no way to save for a downpayment. A nice 1 bedroom in a decent area can run 5K per month.
Banks are requiring 20% down, with a small house in need of refurbishment running around $1.5M..........the first time buyer is becoming extinct.

[South West Claret.]

All part of the American dream no doubt closely followed by the GB dream.

[Guppyspotter]

When youngsters wake up to the fact that they might have to move to an area they can afford then I'll listen to people saying they cannot get on the housing ladder.

My children would love to live near me but the truth is they cannot afford to so they bought somewhere they could afford.

Luckily they have a grown up mentality and both bought by the age of 26

[CoolClaret]

Neo-liberalism in full effect.

[Tricky Trevor]

Wasn’t it so much easier when the majority worked in a mill at the end of the street.
No multi-hour drives to work, polluting the atmosphere and turning an 8hr day into a 12.

[LS7]

I lived in Chapeltown, Savile Road,for 5 years in the '80's. Find it hard to believe that it's gentrified,along with Meanwood ?

You’d be surprised. It is spreading out from Chapel Allerton. Chapeltown is where I would buy.

[Woodleyclaret]

If you're a Londoner selling your flat for hundreds of thousands it's easy to move out and snap up £600,000 bargain home, our town Wokingham is full of them.

[South West Claret.]

Yes a one chance.

[Boss Hogg]

I know of some first time buyers buying a several hundred thousand pound house. This is based on incomes alone. If one loses their job they can’t afford the mortgage payment. I know another couple maxed to the hilt based on incomes alone. They would have to sell very quickly if one lost their job. Both homes are all over Facebook etc. Some people want everything now as it suits their image. Over 90% of be cars are financed and look how many are ‘luxury’ cars. After Covid you’d think people might have set their expectations slightly lower. Also agree that people have to consider less nice areas of prices are too high elsewhere.

[boatshed bill]

With so many young people starting their working lives in debt (student loans) I'm not surprised they find buying a house very difficult.

[getbennyon]

When youngsters wake up to the fact that they might have to move to an area they can afford then I'll listen to people saying they cannot get on the housing ladder.

My children would love to live near me but the truth is they cannot afford to so they bought somewhere they could afford.

Luckily they have a grown up mentality and both bought by the age of 26

The classic problem with modern society.

You're doing better than both your parents and your kids without understanding the purpose of life is to pass the baton onto the next generation in a better situation than you found it. You'll no doubt wonder why your kids will be packing you off to a home at the first possible moment when the time comes.

They're your children, not strangers.

[aggi]

If you're a Londoner selling your flat for hundreds of thousands it's easy to move out and snap up £600,000 bargain home, our town Wokingham is full of them.

There's becoming quite an issue in London at the moment that families can't afford to live there. The number of children living in London is decreasing with families moving to more affordable areas to buy houses.

[claret2018]

The classic problem with modern society.

You're doing better than both your parents and your kids without understanding the purpose of life is to pass the baton onto the next generation in a better situation than you found it. You'll no doubt wonder why your kids will be packing you off to a home at the first possible moment when the time comes.

They're your children, not strangers.

It’s little wonder the baby boomer generation has the reputation as being the most selfish with posts like that one is it.

[Mala591]

I predict that Todmorden will evolve into ‘The new Hebden Bridge’ over the next 10 years. Great train links to Leeds and Manchester, a pleasant town centre with an increasing number of interesting private shops/businesses, a very good Wetherspoons pub, a great canal walk (Rochdale canal) to Hebden Bridge and surrounded by stunning countryside full of interesting and invigorating walks (which I’ve been exploring over the last 12 months). Housing is ‘relatively cheap’ at the moment and IF I were a multimillionaire with a property purchasing hobby then Todmorden would be my main area of interest.