Can't afford to buy - priced out of housing market

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I am in the very unfortunate position of being unable to afford to buy a house (even a one bedroom house is out of my reach).  Around ten years ago I was able to buy a house all on my own, but after a relationship break up I had to sell the house.  Now whilst I was left with a fair amount of money after the sale, it was still not enough to buy a house on my own so unfortunately I had to rent a property instead.

decent salaries... can't afford to buy a house together

I am actually still renting that same house with my new husband.  We both work and earn decent salaries, yet we still can't afford to buy a house together because of the current state of the housing market.  We are on the council housing register, but predictably our application is rated as Low Band which means we have no hope at all of ever being allocated a council property.

We have been accepted by a housing association on one of their Shared Ownership Schemes, but the problem with this s the lack of properties that they actually build for people to own!  For example, in the last five years they have only built around six one to two bedroom flats in our area which is no where near enough for the demand.  Because there were so few properties to go around, naturally we were never offered one.

I was very hopeful that we might be eligible for the new extended Open Market Homebuy Scheme.  This turned out to be wishful thinking as well because our rating on the council housing register is low and we were therefore not eligible.

So who exactly does affordable housing help?  As far as I can see it is just key workers in specific industries and people lucky enough to have a council house or be in dire need of one.  Maybe I should give up my career and become a prison officer at the local prison.  That seems to be my only hope of ever getting help to buy a house the way things are at the moment.

By: The Unhappy Renter

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Feg

I said years ago theres going to be huge problems in the future in the housing market unless government's pegged house price rises, say 1%, then perhaps properly would still be affordable. Also right to buy and buy to let huge mistakes ,i always wonder now when will we get to a price where no one will ever be able to get on the property ladder

21/04/20 Feg

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Polster

@realitycheck. Unaffordability of homes has absolutely nothing to do with a shortage of homes. Its a government myth to hide the real reasons. During the crashes of the early 90s and 2007 were 30% of the uk population wiped out? No, credit and mortgages were hard to secure and/or became too expensive. House prices are a function of credit, that's all. The real reason homes are unaffordable is irresponsible bank lending at high salary multiples, btl investment meaning people property hoard, and rich foreign cash buyers not subject to the same taxes we have to pay. The government could solve this tomorrow but they don't as guess what, most mps own multiple properties. The market will however crash, it always does, this time will be no different.

25/07/14 Polster

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Bulldog

Lol
Can't buy a house we'll thank David & Nick they are a bunch of toffs !
Only looking after the rich & his mates ....

21/05/14 Bulldog

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Greed In The UK

Stamp Duty really should only be payable on the difference between selling and buying prices. So if I have sold a property @ £350,000 and have bought one @ £600,000 Stamp Duty should only really be payable on the £250,000 difference. Oh but the UK Government wants its full pound of flesh: full stamp duty on the subsequent purchase price. This is naught but a disgusting greed!

Foreigners should pay the full amount of Stamp Duty tax. UK citizens must needs have a different arrangment

21/05/14 Greed In The UK

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collar

I bought once from estate agent - never again from start to finish on a regular basis and am also completely fed up with the extortionate fees. It's ridiculous, why can't they just offer some less rip-offs? Also, why should those having to spend on stamps duty have to pay the same amount of money as someone in a bungalow or apertment?

15/05/14 collar

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Scammed

I am grossly priced out of any market because of the "extras":

1. Stamp duty

I live in London. Virtually no property escapes this iniquitous charge. Why do I have to pay it if all I want to do is just exchange my property for a similar one?

2. Estate Agent Fees

@ 2.5% They considerably reduce my buying power.

3. Solicitor's Fees Buying and Selling

A general rip off when all that is really needed are notary fees. What do the solicitors really do for their cut?

4. Then a whole load of other scum who need their palms greased too.

15/05/14 Scammed

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Foreigners pay your taxes

My parents never helped me to buy any kind of accommodation. Their parents helped them, and their parents' parents helped them. I was orphaned accommodation-wise. The new generation is orphaned; only the ultra-rich nowadays help their children: they are distorting the market. Foreigners are distorting the market. Foreigners must be made to pay full stamp duty for property at whatever price they pay: a full percentage from £0. UK citizens should pay no stamp duty all the way to £1 million.

03/05/14 Foreigners pay your taxes

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anon

The bubble has to burst at some point. It's unsustainable. Many seem to have lost the notion of a property being a home and not just an investment

02/05/14 anon

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Petra

A flat has just been bought at the One Hyde Park development for £140 million. Although this is, of course, an exceptional development ordinary people are getting priced out of London as modest homes get dragged upward in price by the ludicrously over priced properties.

Many of the top priced "homes" are bought by uber rich Chinese, Arab and Russian investors who never move in. The properties are left empty and are just used as investments. There is an area of Hampstead that is becoming a mini ghost town.

Even in poorer East London boroughs ex-council properties are rising by about £500 a day. I don't know what prices are like in the rest of the country but how are ordinary young working people supposed to buy a home?

02/05/14 Petra

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Reality Check

Good one, Andy.
Lara, let's not get bogged down in petty points scoring over exact numbers - Andy's comment was clearly a figure of speech, but his point is spot on. We are in many respects bordering on Third World status already and the sooner we alter the whole benefits mentality of producing off-spring to get on the money-for-nothing ladder, the better. Otherwise, a Britain with 70 million inhabitants looms large.
Just for the record, what is your alternative?

13/10/13 Reality Check

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Lara S

Andy " We've all seen scroungers on child benefit with a dozen kids."

There are about 180 families in the whole of England and Wales on jobless benefits who have more than 10 children so I don't we have "all seen scroungers on child benefit with a dozen kids."

08/10/13 Lara S

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Andy

Yeah if Britain doesn't do anything to control the birth rate this country WILL end up like india. We've all seen scroungers on child benefit with a dozen kids. Housing and public services are already streched thin as they are. The large, undereducated population will drag Britain down to become a third world country.

08/10/13 Andy

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Reality Check

I am fed up with statements like high house prices. The reality is that it is simply demand exceeding supply - the fundamental reason here is over-population but no-one will say it. The same applies to energy & water shortages.
The answer is limiting population growth - maybe unpalatable and not PC but that is the reality. If you start a family it is your responsibility to provide not tax-payers. As a previous respondent points out, we live in a society where the Benefits system actually encourages women to produce young - this is not what the system is for.
The alternative of a 70M Britain covered with inter-connecting cities looms large.

04/10/13 Reality Check

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Fed up Pedestrian

Nick

The Unhappy Renter does not say she lives in Kensington, or even in London. Housing costs have become disproportionately high all around the country.

03/10/13 Fed up Pedestrian

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Nick

Well I'm sure you are priced out of Kensington & Chelsea, but why can't you and your husband start looking somewhere cheaper instead?

03/10/13 Nick

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