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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Real Estate and Landlording => Topic started by: mohawkbrah on June 03, 2017, 09:15:24 AM

Title: should i buy my home now?
Post by: mohawkbrah on June 03, 2017, 09:15:24 AM
I currently have £23k invested in 100% stocks (vanguard 100% lifestrategy fund)

Im 21

Live with parents at the moment

flats in my area are £75k, so a 10% deposit puts me at a monthly mortgage of £350 (ish)
Changing jobs/moving is unlikely until i FIRE, as i like the one i have. but it doesn't pay much, £16k/year. Im an ERE follower so my predcited expenses is going to be under £10k when i finally pull the lever.  I may even go live off grid in another country if the opportunity arises putting my expenses near £0

I've been trying to work out how much future equity i gain through buying a house vs staying with mum and dad longer.

Buy to let mortgages are out for me because banks like you to be older (25+) a curse i must bare for 4 more years


What would you personally do if you were in my shoes?
Title: Re: should i buy my home now?
Post by: wordnerd on June 03, 2017, 01:40:11 PM
Do you pay your mom and dad rent? Do you want to move out anyway (in other words, should you be comparing the cost of buying to the cost of renting in your area or the cost of staying with your parents)? It's hard to know what numbers the cost of buying should be compared to.

Based solely on the OP, I'd recommend against buying for two principal reasons. 1) You mention wanting to go live off the grid and 2) You budget is 16K pounds for everything; even a cheap house is going to eat up a lot of that (especially once maintenance is factored in).
Title: Re: should i buy my home now?
Post by: former player on June 03, 2017, 02:33:13 PM
A mortgage is a very definite "tie", for many years.  I can't guess the market, but there is certainly not much talk about big increases in house prices here for the next couple years, so I don't think you need to buy now to avoid missing out.   By the time you are 25, your Vanguard stash should have grown into a great deposit on a place to buy for yourself or a buy to let. 

I also think your question might be less a financial question than a "what do I want to do with my life" question.  Even though you like your job it's not particularly highly paid, as far as I recall there's no scope for progression, and I suspect there are other jobs out there which would suit you in the future just as well as this one does.  That suggests to me that you are free to make other choices than buying property in the UK.  You sound to me like the ideal candidate for a working visa for countries like Canada and Australia. They are only available to those under 26, so if you are interested in living in another country it's a great opportunity to try them out while earning.   For the next couple of years you also have the right to work anywhere in the EU, perhaps make use that while it's still there?