Is it crazy to think of a mortgage for 23yo single guy?

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Krew Bot

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I'm a 23 year old single guy with no college qualification. At the moment, after taxes I am taking home €900 a week. I have approximately €35,000 in savings.

I'm still living at home as its convenient, to say the least. Lately I've been thinking of moving into rented accommodation with some friends, in order to have more freedom. But when I realistically look at it, I would be paying €400 a month in rent, then say another €150 on gas, electricity, broadband, sky, bins etc. Plus there would be the hassle of parking spaces as all my friends have cars, and I have two, work and personal.

All of this got me thinking, why not buy my own place. After all it seems to be a buyers market at the moment. I just selected this 3 bed house in Tallaght as an example of what 300,000 will get in south Dublin. Its near the Luas and not that far from the m50. I'm sure the two spare rooms could probably fetch €300 each a month, or is that really optimistic?

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=306308&search=1

As I mentioned I am presently single, which I realise would be a factor against me when applying for a mortgage. Realistically would any bank give a mortgage in the region of €270 - 300,000 to a guy in my circumstances or should I just forget about it, and keep saving until I meet a girl I want to settle down with?

My only fear is that if I don't act now it could be too late, lets say I fall in love at 27 and want to buy a house with my partner but cant because house prices are overvalued like they were in the last few years.

Thanks for taking the time to read, I'd greatly appreciate any opinions.
 
Krew Bot said:
I'm a 23 year old single guy with no college qualification. At the moment, after taxes I am taking home €900 a week. I have approximately €35,000 in savings.

I'm still living at home as its convenient, to say the least. Lately I've been thinking of moving into rented accommodation with some friends, in order to have more freedom. But when I realistically look at it, I would be paying €400 a month in rent, then say another €150 on gas, electricity, broadband, sky, bins etc. Plus there would be the hassle of parking spaces as all my friends have cars, and I have two, work and personal.

All of this got me thinking, why not buy my own place. After all it seems to be a buyers market at the moment. I just selected this 3 bed house in Tallaght as an example of what 300,000 will get in south Dublin. Its near the Luas and not that far from the m50. I'm sure the two spare rooms could probably fetch €300 each a month, or is that really optimistic?

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=306308&search=1

As I mentioned I am presently single, which I realise would be a factor against me when applying for a mortgage. Realistically would any bank give a mortgage in the region of €270 - 300,000 to a guy in my circumstances or should I just forget about it, and keep saving until I meet a girl I want to settle down with?

My only fear is that if I don't act now it could be too late, lets say I fall in love at 27 and want to buy a house with my partner but cant because house prices are overvalued like they were in the last few years.

Thanks for taking the time to read, I'd greatly appreciate any opinions.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your in a good position at the moment and are comming to an age that you need your own space. I am of the opinion you should select the porperty you most desire in your price range, and go for it, I bought a house at the age of 21 and never regreted it (now 29) I am married now with a family and the extra cash came in handy. Thats not to say your property will increase in price over the next ten years, just that you will have 10 years less off your mortgage to pay, giving you a smaller mortgage.

Joejoe
 
Sadie, thats a lot of what if's, I totaly agree with markowitzman. Krew bot should buy now.

If I had of not bought my house, I would not be in as strong a position now. I did not know back then where house prices were going, nor do I know in the now, but looking in the rear view mirror, it was the best move I could have made.

Joejoe
 
Krew Bot, if it's of any help to you, my godson (age 22) signed for his first house (and first mortgage) last month. Like yourself, he's not a graduate, he works in the construction industry (not a great time to buy?) and intends renting out some of the spare bedrooms to help with expenses.

If you can go for it, why not? Best of luck whatever you decide.
 
I'd advise you to speak to an independent mortgage adviser to review your chances of getting a mortgage. This will also highlight to you the likely repayments required, and whether you have any options interest-only or principal & interest
With regard to letting the rooms out, you should budget for approx 2-3 months vacancy per annum
Also remember that you will need life and house insurance, legal costs, furnishing etc to cover, but these are reasonably incidental in the big scheme of things.
If at the end of this, you go for the purchase option, then you have no surprises ahead of you, and you can confidently negotiate with vendors. My advice is that whenever you make a bid, submit it in writing with a deposit cheque attached - for whatever reason, it can sometimes make people more likely to accept (and so could save you a few grand in the process!)
Best of Luck
 
If you find something you like, then go for it. There will never be a perfect time. I also bought my first property at 21 and at the time, nobody had any idea where prices were going to go. Your salary seems high enough to get you a decent mortgage. Have a chat to a broker to see exactly how much you could get. In my experience, Ulster Bank was the most lenient in terms of what it would lend to somebody in your position.
 
Go For It. Rent out the extra space to your friends you were going to rent a place with. That place you sent a link is worth about 230 k in the present market. Snooze and Lose !!
 
Just to put another slant on it. You're young and still have so much ahead of you. You might like to take some time to go off travelling, change career, relocate abroad or to another part of the country, study full time etc. I would advise that you aim for a property that has very good rental potential (funds and location) that would cover the mortgage repayment in full should you decide you don't want to live in it, rather then depend on your salary to cover the difference. Best of luck in your decision.
 
I say go for it, sounds like you're in a great position to get a mortgage so age shouldn't be a factor. I'm sure there is people a lot older than you that would love to be in your position to get a mortgage. Best of luck
 
Ditto. That's a great position to be in at 23. Keep your head and buy in an area that has good demand for rental property so if your plans in life change, you'll have better luck getting tenants in to cover your mortgage.

Best of luck. 900 a week after tax is a very good salary. It must be c.60k. There's couples that don't make that ;-). Your savings will show the bank you are a good risk who is careful with money. You are in a strong position as banks will need to seek out more customers like you and fewer 100% mortgage customers! Use that strength to shop around. Always tell them the bank next door is willing do do it for a bit less than them. All they can say is "no, that's the rate".
 
I think everyone here is pretty much saying "go for it"!

But just remember to choose for yourself as your thread title makes you sound uncertain. Get rid of that uncertainty first, before making any big moves and you will do better if you're ready for it.

Good luck!
 
you should defo apply for the affordable housing scheme in fingal-i see you are from swords... i just recently bought in the area a lovely 2bed apt-bought for 195 and worth 385,they do the morgage and everything for you-my morgage is 1,ooo pm,my deposit was 12,ooo....you are in a perfect position because you have your deposit and salary.... to qualify you need to have that and be a first time buyer... it is well worth looking into because you get the property at cost price from the government-only catch you cant sell for 20years... google fingal and the affordable housing scheme to find out more..... x
 
Yes it does seem completely crazy, but due to a ban on negative house price discussion, you wont get the full picture here.
 
From your details it looks like you'd have mortgage repayments of about €1400pm over 35 years. You'd take in €166 in mortgage interest relief and €600pm in renting the two spare rooms. So you'd be paying about €600pm for ownership rather than €300pm for rent, neither of which would seem a problem for you.
Don't undestimate the costs and hassles of being a landlord owner though.
Go carefully through the pros and cons and if you still want it, go for it.
Don't buy out of panic that you'll forever miss the boat if you don't buy now, however, that myth has finally been burst.
 
Just wondering if someone who earns that kind of money after tax can apply for the affordable housing scheme? Thats a serious wage for a 23 year old with no qualifications! Fair Play!!
 
Depends a lot on how secure your job is, or whether you can get a new one if you lose this one.

What industry are you in?

What is your job?

What are the prospects for the next 5 years / 10 years / 20 years?

At least you need to be able to guess at the prospects for the next 5, minimum.

Not trying to put you off, I think in general it makes sense to pay a mortgage instead of rent, as long as you feel that prices are not totally too far off the bottom - your call on that.

If you think they will drop a good bit more in the short term, you could hold off. Or haggle hard in a buyers market. But those are for other threads.

I think you need to have a plan and you need to have a backup plan in case things don't work out IMO.

To answer your title - no, I don't think it is crazy as long as you do your sums, your planning, your backup planning and buy the right place in the right location for you and your likely needs for your planned timeframe of living there.
 
Not sure what line of work you are in, but with the slowdown slowing its ugly head and you taking good money each week.You should get your mortgage now as you might not be earning the same type of money in a couple of years to enable you to get the mortgage you need to get a house. You will always get renters so with that money coming in each month ,could be as much as 1200E a month for 2 rooms.I was 26 when I got my place in the mid 1990s and it was the best thing I did,as I know some people who did not get a house when they where in the position to do so,and now it is beyone them and they earn around the 50K now.So they rent as to live where they grew up would mean a mortgage of 500-600k,but if they had done it back when they could have it would be a mortgage of 100K today. So go for it and let someone else help pay for it aswell,
 
I just want to add something(s) obvious:

do not assume that prices will go up - they may not.

also, do not assume you will always get renters (all the time) - you may not.

do not assume you will always have an income - you may not.

Beware of advice along the lines of - 'yes, I got a mortgage when I was young, and it worked out great for me so you should do the same.'

I'm not saying they are wrong, or trying to mislead you, not at all, it just doesn't follow that YOU should do the same NOW. Its a different market now for one thing.

There's a huge element of hindsight in that type of analysis.

What you need is foresight - and the only way is to do your research, your sums, your planning and your thinking.

(I know that some fundamental things don't change regardless of the market, and in general I do believe its a great thing to pay a mortgage rather than rent as long as its sustainable for you.)

You are starting at a good place by asking for advice, and I hope you get a wide variety of views so you can make up your mind.
 
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