Good luck with it mrmo. Was chatting to an estate agent friend (in Cornwall tho, might be diff where you are), and she said that they've got sh*t loads of properties on their books, but very very few buyers.. worth a trip to your local bank manager, and then putting in some ridiculously low offers.. you never know how desperate people are to sell..

Or you could do what I did (if it's an option).. stop renting, move back to parents for a few years, and then buy once you've saved up a fair bit.. involves swallowing pride etc but is worth it in the long run.

LOL at TJ blaming the Tories for there not being as many assured tenancys about.

Nick there are various schemes involving the government ,private housing associations or (nown again) new build companies. You basically go 50 50 on the ownership therefore requiring half the purchase price, and in turn a much lesser deposit. You would be in a strong position being able to show previous rental payments, council tax etc. Only downside is less profit if you come to sell but a great way to get started if things (no offence) are a bit tight.

According to the money section in the paper the other week, you have to be very careful about these, as they often involve over valuing of the houses, as they know people going on these schemes can't really shop around or negotiate. Not to mention that they are almost all new builds, so you have instant depreciation the moment you buy them (in the worst case, you have flats like in Nottingham, where they went from tame, developer friendly surveyors valuing them at 250000, down to 175000 when they came back on the open market.)

Joe

Shared ownership round here seems like paying two thirds the price for something half the value. Especially when you take into account how much discount and extras they often throw in with new builds. It only works because so many people have no other choice.

I have to say that i'm very sceptical of these 50/50 type deals.

Agreed about the shared ownership,but it IS a foot in the door.Best with local housing associations rather than a private housebuilder.

These threads always make me feel better about my own situation.

Sorry but i dont see the problem with an individual wanting to make money out of BTL. Do we walk into tescos and question their right to make money? When we buy our newspapers or bikes do we question the morality in the shop making a profit? Do we question the bike shops decision to sell the business just because we have adopted them as our LBS?

Its life. Some people think they are due one by right, some people realise they have to work at having one. Some work harder than others.

Some serious MTFU needed here.

I think the resentment exists because at lot of these people were only able to 'invest' on the back of easy credit and lax lending rules.

Lending criteria's been tightened up but house prices haven't fallen so people can't afford to buy even though they're in a similar financial bracket to their landlord whose mortgage they're paying. At the same time they've got others who are in a better situation insinuating that it's their own fault due to bad financial planning when actually a lot of it is just timing and luck.

I tell you what Hobo….How about i email you a detailed account of our finances and then i'll leave you to suggest away in which we might buy a house!

And please do not resort to suggesting MTFU! It's pathetic and means nothing.

Been renting this place for four years and get on really well with the landlord (they babysit our little boy, we look after their dog!). Plan to buy it in a couple of years time – hopefully outright (getting there saving wise).

Owning isn't the be all and end all.