I got £12,000 free cash using little-known trick to buy £228k first-home at 26
PERSONAL assistant Aimee Shipp always wanted to own a home – and skipped University and getting a degree so she could start saving aged 18.
At just 26, the savvy saver bought a £228,000 flat in Harlow, Essex as she worked as a personal assistant.
In her first job, aged 18, she started saving for a house deposit. She was being paid £32,000 a year, despite having no higher education qualifications.
By 20, this had risen to £35,000 and by 22 she was earning £38,000 a year as a PA.
“I didn’t want to go to university and get saddled with debt, I wanted to get a job and save to buy a home of my own, so that is exactly what I did,” Aimee said.
Last year, she finally decided she had saved enough money to put down a deposit on a home of her own, so started to search for apartments she could afford.
She eventually settled on a one-bed Countryside Homes new-build apartment in Newhall, Harlow.
Aimee saved up a chunky £36,000 deposit while she was living at home – but she was still short of cash.
She used a little-known trick where developers will pay a small percentage of your deposit to get to purchase a home.
Countrywide paid 5% of her deposit – £12,000 in total.
“When I received the keys for my very own home, it felt amazing. I owe so much to my parents who allowed me to live rent-free at home so I could save up to buy my own place,” Aimee said.
“I went for a new build because it would offer savings on renovation costs, DIY costs and it would generally be more energy efficient, meaning lower bills.”
Staying at home to save
Aimee is one of thousands of young adults opting to stay living at home throughout their twenties to scrape together a house deposit.
Recent research by mortgage broker Trussle found almost half of young people (age 18-34) who still live with their parents have chosen to do so specifically to save for a house deposit.
It comes as new data shows just one in eight potential first-time buyers can afford a property in their local area.
The average salary for someone in their twenties is currently £29,120, according to job website indeed – but the typical house price is currently almost ten times that at £285,000, according to the ONS.
Of course, being able to stay living at home with your parents is a privilege, and in Aimee’s case her parents didn’t charge her rent.
Having your kids stay at home for years has a financial impact as bills and food costs will stay higher than if they moved out.
Some parents charge their children rent for living at home.
A study last year by Compare The Market found around half of parents with adult children at home charge rent to cover extra costs.
However, this is still likely to be far cheaper for young people than paying typical private rental costs.
One mother recently revealed she charges her four children £200 a month rent each – £500 cheaper than the average cost of renting a room in the UK at £700, according to data from property site Spare Room.
Other ways to save for a deposit
There are a number of other ways you can fast-track your way onto the property ladder.
Put your savings into the right account could give you an extra boost.
We revealed earlier this year how swapping your house deposit savings from a cash account into a stocks and shares ISA could shave almost five years off the time needed to save for a typical home.
You could also use a first-time buyer scheme to bag a home with a lower deposit than you might normally need.
Here are a few:
Deposit unlock scheme
Some mortgage lenders including Newcastle Building Society, Nationwide and Accord Mortgages offer a deposit unlock scheme.
This is where you can buy a new-build home from a registered developer with a 5% deposit.
However, you’ll have to go through a mortgage broker to access it.
Shared Ownership
The shared ownership scheme allows first-time buyers to put down a 5% deposit on a portion of a home.
The lowest you can put down is 5% on a tenth of the home, up to 75% of the home.
However, bear in mind that if you only buy a portion of the house, you will have to pay rent to the landlord who owns the rest of the home alongside your mortgage.
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy scheme lets council house tenants buy the property they rent at a discount of up to 70%.
You get a 35% discount on your council home if you’ve been a public sector tenant for between three to five years.
After five years, the discount increases by 1% for each extra year.
You can find the full list and details of all the first-time buyer help in our guide.
What help is out there for first-time buyers?
GETTING on the property ladder can feel like a daunting task but there are schemes out there to help first-time buyers have their own home.
Help to Buy Isa – It’s a tax-free savings account where for every £200 you save, the Government will add an extra £50. But there’s a maximum limit of £3,000 which is paid to your solicitor when you move. These accounts have now closed to new applicants but those who already hold one have until November 2029 to use it.
Help to Buy equity loan – The Government will lend you up to 20% of the home’s value – or 40% in London – after you’ve put down a 5% deposit. The loan is on top of a normal mortgage but it can only be used to buy a new build property.
Lifetime Isa – This is another Government scheme that gives anyone aged 18 to 39 the chance to save tax-free and get a bonus of up to £32,000 towards their first home. You can save up to £4,000 a year and the Government will add 25% on top.
Shared ownership – Co-owning with a housing association means you can buy a part of the property and pay rent on the remaining amount. You can buy anything from 25% to 75% of the property but you’re restricted to specific ones.
Mortgage guarantee scheme – The scheme opens to new 95% mortgages from April 19 2021. Applicants can buy their first home with a 5% deposit, it’s eligible for homes up to £600,000.