Couple bought their first home for £235k age 23 – but they had to make one big sacrifice
WOULD you move back home with mum and dad if it meant that you’d be able to save enough to buy your first house?
When it comes to saving for a deposit, 38 per cent of first time buyers would consider becoming a "boomeranger" - someone who’s moved back home with their parents while they save to buy a home, according to Santander.
New research by the bank reckons that most would be willing to stick it out for two years, while 15 per cent would move back home for up to five years.
Up to 10 per cent of the people surveyed said they’d had to move back home with parents after university in order to start saving.
And as the 1.2million 25 to 30-year-olds boomerang back to the family home while they save, the quality of their parent's life dwindles too.
Living together again puts pressure on both parents and children - so is it worth the aggro?
Beth Sharpe, 24 from Newbury, managed to save up enough to buy a two bed semi-detached house in Newbury for £235,000 with her boyfriend, Ed Rawcliffe, 23, after they moved home with her mum for a year.
The pair had just finished university in June 2016, and didn’t have any savings.
"We’d been together for a couple of years," Beth told the Sun Online.
"We’d never lived together before but when we finished uni we both new that we wanted to live together and neither of us wanted to rent if we could help it.
"Ed’s family live in Hereford so Newbury made more sense because it was closer to London where were were looking for jobs at the time.
"We were lucky because my mum gave us the option of moving in with her.
"We were earning decent wages. We took home around £3,500 after tax between us and paid my mum about £250 a month to live with her.
Every month, the couple managed to put aside between £1,000 and £2,000.
It took them a year of living with Beth's mum Wendy Seddon to save £13,500 towards a deposit for a mortgage.
What help is out there for first-time buyers?
GETTING on the property ladder can feel like a grim task but there are schemes out there to help first-time buyers own their own home.
Help to Buy ISA - It's a tax-free savings account where for every £200 you save, the government will add an extra £50. But there's a maximum limit of £3,000 which is paid to your solicitor when you move.
Help to Buy equity loan - The government will lend you up to 20 per cent of the home's value - or 40 per cent in London - after you've put down a five per cent deposit. The loan is on top of a normal mortgage but it can only be used to buy a new build property.
Lifetime ISA - Another government scheme that gives anyone aged 18 and 39 the chance to save tax-free and get a bonus of up to £32,000 towards your first home. You can save up to £4,000 a year and the government will add 25 per cent on top.
Shared ownership - Co-owning with a housing association means you can buy a part of the property and pay rent on the remaining amount. You can buy anything from 25 to 75 per cent of the property but you're restricted to specific ones.
"First dibs" in London - London Mayor Sadiq Khan is working on a scheme that will restrict sales of all new-build homes in the capital up to £350,000 to UK buyers for three months before any overseas marketing can take place.
Starter Home Initiative - A government scheme that will see 200,000 new-build homes in England to be sold to first-time buyers with a 20 per cent discount by 2020. To receive updates on the progress of these homes you can register your interest .
They had planned to move back for two years but they managed to move out sooner thanks to a £10,000 gift from Beth’s dad.
They put down a 10 per cent deposit for a mortgage - which came to £23,500 in total - which they they aim to pay off over 35 years.
The couple also used a Help To Buy ISA to make the most out of their savings.
"We didn’t have any savings to start with but we were lucky that we had well paid jobs," said Beth.
"We both work in sales so we did earn commission on top of our wages at the same time.
"But the Help To Buy Scheme was so worth it because of the high interest rates and the grant you get when you buy somewhere."
But even though it makes financial sense, most of us wouldn’t dream of moving back in with our parents.
Beth’s key to survival is not to sacrifice everything. The couple still went out on nights out with friends and still managed to squeeze in a few holidays.
"It was only the three of us living there and we do get on really well, but sometimes it was tough," said Beth.
"Ed found it difficult at times because he had moved to somewhere new, and was living with my mum and he had the effort of making new friends too.
"And my mum did pester us sometimes about the cleaning but we’re so grateful that she let us stay.
"Don’t make too many sacrifices and don’t stop doing the stuff you love because otherwise you get miserable.
"Moving home with your parents it sacrifice enough.
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"We would definitely recommend it if it’s an option for you, because we wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy a place so soon if we’d rented."
As part of Santander's new research they identified three different tribes of first-time buyers - boomerangers like Beth and Ed, as well as "alternatives" and "minimalists".
Over 40 per cent of first-time buyers would turn to alternatives like crowdfunding or selling raffle tickets to potential investors.
While "minimalists"; are more likely to downsize their lifestyles in order to save for a housing deposit.
The bank claims that millions of Brits are willing to make small switches, such as cutting back on alcohol or quitting their gym membership to help boost their savings.
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Moving home with mum and dad might be an option now that first time buyers will have to fork out nearly £50,000 for a deposit on a mortgage if they want to own their first home.
Plus the average age of when people are likely to become homeowners in England has also risen to 33 from 30 a decade ago.
This London lad bought a £135,000 three-bed house with his girlfriend at just 18 - but he made one big sacrifice.
While banks are starting to offer alternatives, such as "no deposit" mortgages to customers in order to help them get on the property ladder.
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