I get fed up with reading and being told that it is impossible for young people to get on the housing ladder these days and that they are still living with parents when they are in their 30's.
What a lot of these young people mean is that they cannot have their existing social life, a nice flat with a magazine style interior, filled with all the latest gadgets, in a nice area, so they stay home.
Well all 4 of my kids bought their first property when they were in their 20's.
The properties were small, needed lots of work and were maybe not in the best part of town, but they were a start.
And yes, hubby (who is their stepdad) and I helped.
He helped by offering expert advice and occasionally wielding a paintbrush.
I helped by offering the use of our bathroom when they had no hot water and a hot meal when they had no cooking facilities.
They had no financial help from us, we can't afford it and none from my ex, who is too tight.
I realise that if you live in an area of low employment then it will be harder.
Here in the Thames Valley there are plenty of jobs, this also means house prices are high.
Also, when my kids bought their first property they didn't have particularly well paid jobs, between them they worked as a mechanic, nanny, in a call center, in catering, on a service desk etc.
I had an animated discussion with a colleague who's son, GF and toddler are in a small one bed rented property.
The property is becoming too small as the child grows, they cannot find anyone who will rent them a larger property in a 'nice' area as they are DSS tenants.
She was bewailing how hard life was as they have no prospect of ever buying the sort of 3/4 bed property they really should be entitled too.
Her son works part time his GF not at all, the GF finds it tiring with the baby for a whole day on her own, hence part time for the son.
They have a huge flat screen TV, all the latest gadgets and run a large and expensive car.
When my colleague said they didn't know where to turn to improve their lot, I made a few suggestions.
Such as, her son could get a full time job, the GF could get a job and apply for free child care, or they could do the same as my DD and her husband, work at different times and share the child care, or the GF could get a Saturday job.
Or they could do what hubby and I did when we first got together, take on any extra work/overtime/temp job available.
Of course none of my suggestions were considered viable as anything they do will affect their benefit claims.
I'm afraid I was quite brutal and told her that they would never be able to own the house of their dreams unless they got off their lazy arses and worked for it!
7 comments:
Yes exactly,no matter what country you live in and I suspect life is going to get a whole lot tougher. Jo
Fair play :-) bet she didnt like that at all! Theres a few i know that could do with hearing that too! Kay xx
Well said
Good for you. I concur with ebery word of this post. Catriona
I agree wholeheartedly. We started off in a 2 bed terrace with a backyard in 1984, moved to a 2 bed semi with gardens and near a decent school in 1992, then into a 2 bed bungalow in 2011. Our girls shared a room, we've had 4 holidays abroad in our 34 years together, have only ever owned a secondhand car, and dont even have one at all now because we simply can't afford the running costs.We worked all hours so that we could buy our little terrace, made enormous sacrifices so that we could move to the semi, and continue to do without a lot of things that today's society sees as necessities in order to be able to live in what was a grim house that needed a fair amount of work when we bought it. We'd have loved the house that was for sale further down the road- the same as ours but all done inside, only it was out of our price range so we cut our coat, rolled up our sleeves and tackled this ourselves.
Our elder daughter and son-in-law bought their first home this year after 6 years of renting and a lot of long hours and saving to get together the deposit on their terraced house. Not only did they do that themselves with no help from anyone, but they paid for every aspect of their wedding themselves. As you say, it can be done, but sacrifices need to be made - I'm still making them after 34 years!
I am going to congratulate the people on benefits (irony) - they must be intelligent and determined to be able to work the system. As a family we have NEVER had any success with benefits (despite 3 degrees and 1 Masters we have never been able to work it out). If they have that intelligence and determination they should put it to work to resolve their housing! We ended up moving 13 times to improve our housing and work and at 58 achieved being mortgage free.
The level of social benefits in the UK boggles the mind.
The fact that they can afford a car, run it, and have the choice to work part time and receive funds? Never would happen here.
They need to grow up and start to live like adults.
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