Cover me in debt, debt to the eyeballs (or advice on buying a shoebox in England)

[Krill]

oh, and fyi I am not looking at renting a house for the first time in my life. So anyone got any ideas on the price of electricity bills and water bils and what not? Just tell me everything applicable to the UK market.

[Addled Platypus]

insect damage, water damage

high crime area, sexual preditors in the area (got kids?)

[Drogue]

Re: Re: Re: Of course

Originally posted by Cort Haus
I dunno if there are that many 25yo on 50k. Maybe in your circles, but not for most folks.

Well, the 21yos who are on £30k and living in London tend to. Usually those doing professional qualifications (accountancy, law, CFA, etc.) and thus when they get those, pay goes up, hence the huge increase after 3 years or so. And also remember London wages are much higher, since prices are so much higher. In PPP terms, it's really not that much.

[ColdPhoenix]

I'm currently buying a flat in London. My advice is to add some time onto when people are saying you can move in and keep chasing lawyers etc so that they get your work done quickly. I was expecting to be settled in by now but it's going to be another 2 weeks or so.
I've got a mate who wants to move into my rented room sleeping in my living room. Same thing happened to a friend of mine but she had to move out of her rented place and crash on someones sofa for a few weeks.

[Cort Haus]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Of course

Originally posted by Drogue

Well, the 21yos who are on £30k and living in London tend to. Usually those doing professional qualifications (accountancy, law, CFA, etc.) and thus when they get those, pay goes up, hence the huge increase after 3 years or so. And also remember London wages are much higher, since prices are so much higher. In PPP terms, it's really not that much.

How can you put most people into the brackets of lawyers and accountants? Most people don't earn that kind of money.

[Provost Harrison]

Well as you have probably noticed, there is a huge gap between haves and have-nots around this place...

[Drogue]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Of course

Originally posted by Cort Haus
How can you put most people into the brackets of lawyers and accountants? Most people don't earn that kind of money.

As I said, most people earning £30k at 21/22, who are graduates and living in London, not most people in the UK. Most of these people will be accountants, lawyers and bankers, of some sort.

Yes, the majority of people in the UK do not earn that much. However the majority of 21/22 yos on £30k living in London with a degree will be earning around the £50k mark in 3-5 years, partly as many will have qualified with professional qualifications. Few jobs pay £30 to new graduates, and those that do fall largely inside the accountancy, law and banking professions.

[rah]

If you're younger, stretch yourself a bit more. Any mortgate 10 years later will probably be worth a laugh once you've hit your prime salary years.

If you're a comuter, take a few days and pretend you life in a the house and try your comute to see what it's actually going to be like. Go out and meet the neighbors. They usually like to gossip and will tell you everything wrong with the house.

[pchang]

Originally posted by rah
Go out and meet the neighbors. They usually like to gossip and will tell you everything wrong with the house.

Best advice so far

[padillah]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Don't take an ARM or a balloon payment mortgage!

ARM no, balloon...maybe.

Here's the trick, and understand - it's a trick. If you can't pull it off you are gonna get stuck.

What you do is get a 15 yr. balloon mortgage. But make sure you refinance (or move) before the end of the term. Then you never have to pay the baloon payment.

What you are betting on is that you will be making more and have enough good credit history built up in 10 years to at least refi always assuming you don't want to move altogether.

It's really kind of a starter/ bad credit strategy and you gotta be sure you can pull it off. A lot of people will do this to get into a more expensive house, it's kinda like buying the house a piece at a time.

(Note: these aren't real numbers. I just made them up)

Say you are looking at a $500k house but you can only get a $200k mortgage. Fine, get the 15 year, $200k mortgage with a balloon for $300k. Now at 14 yrs you have a better job, the property has appreciated (so the bank is more lenient with how much it's worth as colateral), and 14 years of good payments so you refinance the balance. Now you've bought a $500k home.

Understand the risks though. I am not recommending this as a viable strategy for anyone in particular. Talk to your Realtor and financial people about any long term plans that involve risk.

Tom P.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Krill
Getting a permenant visa to Australia is bloody hard though...

I would bet that me getting a job and permanent residence in Australia would be fairly easy.

[Dauphin]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Of course

Originally posted by Cort Haus

Originally posted by Drogue

Well, the 21yos who are on £30k and living in London tend to. Usually those doing professional qualifications (accountancy, law, CFA, etc.) and thus when they get those, pay goes up, hence the huge increase after 3 years or so. And also remember London wages are much higher, since prices are so much higher. In PPP terms, it's really not that much.

How can you put most people into the brackets of lawyers and accountants? Most people don't earn that kind of money.

Accountants and lawyers don't get that kind of money to start on either. Though the general point about sudden uplift in salary over the following few years is true if you want it to be true.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by rah
If you're a comuter, take a few days and pretend you life in a the house and try your comute to see what it's actually going to be like. Go out and meet the neighbors. They usually like to gossip and will tell you everything wrong with the house.

The places I am looking at are about the same distance from the mainline station as my present place. One of my main reasons for wanting to stay in a reasonable distance of where I am is that it is far easier to know what you are getting yourself into if you know the place beyond a casual level.

[Drogue]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Of course

Originally posted by Dauphin
Accountants and lawyers don't get that kind of money to start on either. Though the general point about sudden uplift in salary over the following few years is true if you want it to be true.

In London they do. Deloitte and PwC both had £30k first year packages this year, and I've never seen a city law firm offer less than £30k. Hell, even *I'm* getting a £30k+ starting package, and I work in the public sector. The issue is, at central London prices, I still have trouble renting a room in a nice area, let alone a flat or buying anything. Hence the huge mortgages on offer, as these people's salaries should rise a lot. One of my friends got a £35k starting salary last year, and is about to buy a ~£280k flat, as she knows her salary will be £75k in 2 years when she finishes her actuarial exams.

[Cort Haus]

"Deloitte and PwC", "city law firm"

Please, Drogue, spare us. You may move in upper middle class banking and legal circles, and a few people from elsewhere in society break into these income levels but please stop making out as if this is in any way ordinary. It isn't.

Many professional people can expect to work hard for a couple of decades to get to this kind of level, so please accept that it is not normal, whatever incomes you and your high-flying friends are on.