Think you can't afford to buy a house? Don't be so sure. It's tough, but there are women all around the country who have. Here, we speak to 30-year-old teacher Rachael, who bought her first home in Cheltenham with her husband.
The Money Bit:
Age when bought property: 31
Location: Cheltenham
Salary: Combined - £75,000
Any other sources of income: No
Mortgage size: £175,000
Monthly mortgage payment: £800
Take-home pay after mortgage: approx. £3400
Deposit size: £28,000
House size: 3-bedroom house
Number of people living there: 2
How I Made It Work…
We had rented together for three years, and when my husband accepted a new job in Somerset we thought we would bite the bullet and try to buy. My husband’s paternal grandparents had left him a sizeable chunk of inheritance that gave us enough cash for a 15% deposit, so we decided to approach our bank to see what size mortgage we could be eligible to receive.
We booked two days of viewings over a weekend and saw six houses in total. Our main criteria was location; we wanted a house close enough for my husband and I to walk to work. Taunton has a lot of Victorian terraces, which we loved with regards to space, garden and interior layout, but the area close to our respective schools has mostly large detached Victorian villas which were way out of our price range. So, we ended up putting in an offer on a Regency terrace with a small, courtyard garden.
The house is over three floors, with the master bedroom in a converted loft area. We fell in love with the wood burning stoves, period features, and roomy master, and it ticked our priority boxes of location and character. The interior décor was light and pretty, which was a bonus. The bathroom was in need of renovation, so we knew this would be the first big-ticket item for which we needed to save. We were also excited about the possibility of knocking together the kitchen and lounge to make an airy, open-plan space and increase the light in the bottom floor.
There were a few extra costs we didn't initially factor in to our budget. Our solicitor, recommended by my husband's mum, cost £700. We also had to pay for a survey of the house, and, due to the age, a damp-proof inspection. We knew stamp duty could not be borrowed as part of the mortgage so we made sure we had the funds to cover that cost in advance. One thing we really didn't expect was to have to haggle to keep the Sandringham range cooker. When we viewed the property the agent confirmed that the cooker was covered, but when we received the inventory it wasn't listed. In the end, we negotiated to keep it.
We made the decision pretty quickly, and there was only about 3 months between deciding to approach our bank and signing on the dotted line. We had just under 7 months before our new jobs started, and this time pressure helped us stay focused and make a quick decision. We did have moments in the months that followed when we worried that we’d not viewed enough properties, and perhaps that we had made a snap decision, but ultimately we knew we loved the house we’d chosen.
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