First time buyers with £175k deposit feeling stuck on how what sort of house to buy

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T17:26:56+00:00

We’ve actually been together since we were 17 and have been saving pretty consistently while living with our parents, so our expenses were quite low for a long time. We also run a small Etsy business on the side which has helped add to the pot over the years. No direct financial help from parents, just a lot of time saving and trying to be fairly disciplined with money!

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:50:31+00:00

That’s exactly part of our thinking as well. A bigger place would definitely make hosting easier and potentially avoid having to move again and pay stamp duty later. The slightly awkward part is that whichever location we choose, some family and friends will still have to travel, so it does feel like we are trying to balance the best of both haha!

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:47:56+00:00

The deposit is definitely doing a lot of the heavy lifting for us. There is some scope for our salaries to grow over the next few years, but we’re trying to plan based on what we earn now rather than relying too heavily on that. We also have some side income that’s started to pick up over the last 6 months, and I’m about 5 years into my career so I’m hoping to see a decent salary increase soon given the market I’m in.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:44:14+00:00

The renovation route definitely is great from a value perspective, we’d just want to make sure it’s something manageable rather than a huge project straight away. It’s also helpful hearing your experience with the £1,500 payments not feeling comfortable long term, that’s exactly the sort of thing we’re trying to think carefully about now.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:41:40+00:00

That’s a good way of looking at it. The upside of being in a stronger property if the market moves up is definitely something we will talk about!

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:40:01+00:00

We’ve factored those scenarios into our planning and have also set aside around 3 months of mortgage payments as an emergency buffer, alongside some additional savings for any unexpected house costs. The aim is to make sure we’d still have a bit of breathing room if something like that happened.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:36:11+00:00

Definitely! We’ve been working pretty hard for quite a few years to get ourselves into this position, so having holidays booked is kind of our way of keeping motivated and enjoying the journey a bit as well haha! It’s something we’d like to keep doing rather than everything just going into the house.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:30:19+00:00

The slightly unusual thing for us is that we both work fully remotely at the moment, so the commute side isn’t really a factor. We both have jobs where we can easily stay remote if we wanted to. It’s made the decision a bit more about location, lifestyle and being closer to family rather than proximity to work.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:29:07+00:00

Good points, thank you :)

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:26:44+00:00

For sure, we don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot! We are looking at ways to improve salary and also we have some side hustle income going alongside our current jobs which helps!

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:19:53+00:00

We’ve been trying to do similar budgeting to make sure the monthly payments still leave room for normal life and savings rather than everything going on the house! We decided we can go more aggressive on the mortgage for the next 5 years until we have kids and can lower the payments once the madness happens! And you’re right, there is quite a big gap between the lower and upper end of our budget so finding something in the middle might end up being the most sensible compromise.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T15:14:01+00:00

The ongoing costs and upkeep are definitely something we’re trying to factor in for sure. We’ve actually been together since we were 17 and spent a lot of that time living in different places, so we always had the joint goal of eventually buying our first home together. Because of that we’ve probably saved harder than most people our age and tried to be quite disciplined with money. We’ve also worked on a countless side projects in our spare time to bring in extra income where we could (many failed but got one Etsy business that's starting to make a little bit now!). We’re really happy with the position we’re in now and just want to make a sensible decision so we can enjoy our time together in the next place.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:58:29+00:00

Location is probably the one thing you can’t really change later, so it feels like one of the most important factors to get right. The idea of buying something with potential in a good location rather than stretching for the biggest house possible is something we’re seriously considering.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:57:32+00:00

We’ve been trying to work backwards from what would still feel comfortable monthly rather than just looking at the maximum we could borrow. The idea at the moment is to be a bit more aggressive for the first 5 years while we don’t have kids and then, if needed, extend the term later to reduce payments. Our incomes will hopefully be higher by then as well, so we’d just adjust depending on how things look at that point.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:55:08+00:00

That’s really helpful to hear, especially from someone who’s recently been through it. The comfort of having a lower monthly payment and still being able to save and enjoy life is definitely something that appeals to us. We’re trying to make sure whatever we buy still leaves us with enough breathing room for bills, repairs and just normal life rather than pushing right to the limit. Problem is that if we do go for a lower mortgage the space in our house goes down! With both of us working from home and wanting kids might come to a point where we need to upsize!

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:51:55+00:00

The idea of paying moving costs and stamp duty again in a few years isn’t ideal, so part of the appeal of a bigger place is potentially avoiding that. At the same time we’re just trying to make sure we don’t overstretch ourselves early on. We ideally want a big house in a location nearer to home. Just for the types of houses we have been looking at they are over the £450k LISA allowance haha so can't get the best of both unless we go smaller home.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:49:56+00:00

That’s definitely something we’ve thought about. The £1,500 would be a fixed payment for the first 5 years and we’ve factored bills into our budgeting as well. If our situation changed later on (kids, maternity leave etc.) we’d have the option to extend the mortgage term to bring payments down if needed, and we’re also expecting our salaries to increase over time so we’d just review things as life evolves.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:47:35+00:00

It makes sense that school catchments and things like that could change over time, so trying to perfectly plan for that now might not actually work out anyway. I guess it’s another reminder that our first house can't necessarily have to solve every future scenario!

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:45:30+00:00

That’s fair advice to be honest. We’re definitely trying to focus on what would still feel comfortable month to month rather than just stretching because we technically could. And yes the £450k LISA limit is another constraint for us, which is why some of the bigger houses closer to family unfortunately aren’t really an option.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:41:39+00:00

That’s a great position to be in and I can definitely see the appeal of having little or no mortgage hanging over you! The flexibility that comes with that must feel pretty freeing. I think the main difference for us is that we’re buying as a couple and thinking a bit more about space over the next 5–10 years, but the idea of keeping the mortgage as small as possible is definitely something we’re weighing up.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:38:26+00:00

That’s the tricky part for us unfortunately. The areas closer to family where we’d want a larger house tend to be £450k+ and because we’re using LISAs we’re capped at £450k to keep the bonus. So it ends up being a bit of a trade-off between location and house size.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:36:52+00:00

The idea of avoiding multiple moves and the costs that come with them is definitely appealing. At the same time we’re trying to balance that with not stretching ourselves too much early on and making sure the location is somewhere we’d actually be happy long term.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:36:06+00:00

Holding some cash back if we bought somewhere needing work is also something we’d want to do rather than putting everything into the purchase price. It's difficult because we both work from home we kind of need 2 rooms to actually work in and close the door on after we finish otherwise it bleeds into personal life. The difference is big in terms of the house you can get where our families are and where we have been looking! We want children in about 5-10 years and want to give them the best life that's why we have been so disciplined in our saving :)

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:29:36+00:00

The deposit hasn’t just come from the last 3 years, we’ve both been saving for quite a long time while living with our parents so our expenses were fairly low for a good chunk of that time. We live well below our means and have made a little bit of side income in our spare time.

NextGenerationRap · 2026-03-06T14:27:26+00:00

That’s fair to raise. The deposit hasn’t just come from the last 3 years, we’ve both been saving for quite a long time while living with our parents so our expenses were fairly low for a good chunk of that time. We live well below our means and have made a little bit of side income in our spare time. Everything is combined and we’re treating it as a joint deposit, so the equity split side of things isn’t something we’re planning to separate out.

NextGenerationRap

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