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.
Aimee said: “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.”
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.
Aimee revealed: “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.
“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.
Contact one of our highly experienced mortgage advisors today on 0121 500 6316 to discuss your mortgage needs.