quite amazing...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7450384.stm
I am a credit controller and my wife is a teacher. We are both 27.
We had just got married and wanted to buy our first home rather than renting which, at the time, seemed like throwing money down the drain.
We found it quite difficult to get a mortgage. We did think of saving for a deposit but we had just had to save £5,000 for the wedding and we were living with my parents.
My wife is South African so that made it more difficult to get a mortgage.
I had banked with the Halifax for years but they wanted a £40,000 deposit. How can anyone in our position save that?
We spoke to brokers and got a 100% mortgage with Northern Rock on the day they were bailed out by the government. That pushed up the rate on our three-year fixed-rate deal from 6.75% to 7.29% when we signed.
We bought a one-bedroom ground floor flat in Bromley for £177,000 in December. Our budget was £180,000. It was a bit of a dump but friends helped to do up the bathroom and we borrowed a bit of money to do it up.
Now our bills are huge. The electricity bill is up to £65 a month and there is a £70 a month service charge on the property.
We seem to have no disposable income. I think you should be able to have one holiday a year - not a massive one, but somewhere cheap.
It sounds silly but I have really wanted a PlayStation for six months but I cannot go out and buy one.
If I could go back we would rent somewhere for about £750 a month. Our mortgage is £1,300 a month, so we could have put money away until the credit crunch blows over.
The government gives no incentive for first-time buyers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7450384.stm
I am a credit controller and my wife is a teacher. We are both 27.
We had just got married and wanted to buy our first home rather than renting which, at the time, seemed like throwing money down the drain.
We found it quite difficult to get a mortgage. We did think of saving for a deposit but we had just had to save £5,000 for the wedding and we were living with my parents.
My wife is South African so that made it more difficult to get a mortgage.
I had banked with the Halifax for years but they wanted a £40,000 deposit. How can anyone in our position save that?
We spoke to brokers and got a 100% mortgage with Northern Rock on the day they were bailed out by the government. That pushed up the rate on our three-year fixed-rate deal from 6.75% to 7.29% when we signed.
We bought a one-bedroom ground floor flat in Bromley for £177,000 in December. Our budget was £180,000. It was a bit of a dump but friends helped to do up the bathroom and we borrowed a bit of money to do it up.
Now our bills are huge. The electricity bill is up to £65 a month and there is a £70 a month service charge on the property.
We seem to have no disposable income. I think you should be able to have one holiday a year - not a massive one, but somewhere cheap.
It sounds silly but I have really wanted a PlayStation for six months but I cannot go out and buy one.
If I could go back we would rent somewhere for about £750 a month. Our mortgage is £1,300 a month, so we could have put money away until the credit crunch blows over.
The government gives no incentive for first-time buyers.
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