Considering that the age of the average first-time buyer in London has now risen to 32 (forecast to be 42 by 2025), and the estimated necessary average annual salary of a prospective buyer has hit the £64K mark, owning your own home might seem like a very distant reality.
And, that’s not even thinking about the average deposit you need saved in the bank, too. It averages at around £33,000 at the moment. So, when we found someone who bought by the time they were 25, on a £26K job and without help from the bank of mum and dad, we couldn’t help but ask – how!?
‘Ever since I left university, I’ve been saving - but I didn't really know what for,’ admits Jasmin. ‘I thought I needed at least £20K for a house deposit but then I realised I could actually buy a new build flat on the part rent part buy scheme. Luckily, I was in a well paid commission based job as a recruitment consultant,’ Jasmin tells us. ‘So I saved my commissions every month and made myself live off my basic salary which was low at the time (17K).’
Eventually, Jasmin was on £26K in her role there: ‘my last P60 was for £36K for 2015/2016.’ So, she put herself under a strict budget: ‘I would even make myself save out of the basic too. I was living at my mum’s house at the time, paying £200 rent, plus my share of the bills between five of us.’
Having left university in July 2013, it wasn’t until March 2016 that Jasmin realised her dream of owning her own property could be a reality. To start off, she got herself a HSBC ‘Save Together’ ISA which saw her receive £10 a month every month. ‘I only got around £120 out of them in the end so I should have researched more – but it was still something.’ Every month, Jasmin would aim to save around £600-£1000, ‘depending on how good the month was for me.’ And, she managed to save up a £10K deposit within a few years. ‘I had to be very strict with myself and my money when I was saving and I couldn’t splash the cash any more. Since I've been here, I've really had to learn to budget.’
But, don’t let her sensible saving technique trick you into thinking she knew what she was doing. ‘I literally knew nothing. It was all so daunting!’ Jasmin admits. ‘But you just have to go through it and then you look back and realise how much you achieved just by learning all the fancy terminology!’
Thanks to Jasmin’s part ownership scheme, her share of her property was worth £155K, so she had a 45% mortgage and was below the stamp duty threshold. ‘The first thing I did was apply for a help-to-buy and I signed up to as many Kent websites as I could for part rent part buy opportunities. I also researched any new build estates going up around Maidstone – and eventually, I got an email about my current block last April. I viewed it in May - and the rest is history.’
We defy you not to feel inspired by all of that because it actually sounds realistic, right!? Now, start saving to make your own home goals a reality – and start pinning those interior ideas because there’s nothing like a vision board to get you going.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.