At the age of 23, I am watching my friends around me get married, have kids and be in a position to own their own properties, yet I am still stuck in a room, in someone else’s home. Living in London and having a fluctuating source of income each month has meant that my dreams of climbing up the property ladder and owning my own home, seems like the impossible dream. From a young age I was always independent and had my life mapped out; from my career to the house I would own, my younger self was convinced that setting up house was easy. I rented my first property at the age of 17 and have rented rooms ever since, three in the space of a year since I have come to London. By the time I graduated in July 2015, I was convinced that I would land my dream job and earn enough money to be able to rent an entire flat but the reality was far different than what I had imagined.
I found blogging and through sickness, it gave me an outlet to express myself and be able to share topics that were close to my heart. I was unable to work full time at this point and so for nearly 9 months I would do tutoring from home, childminding and cultivate my blog, until I was well enough to go into full time work. Although I was not completely better, I was moving to London and so I needed as much money as possible to be able to rent my own room and still have money to live on. I worked long hours in a job that I didn’t necessarily enjoy but would continue at in order to pay the bills. As time went on and bills or rent increased I found it harder and harder to see my vision of my future home become a reality and was convinced that I would be stuck in a room for the rest of my life.
But where do I stand now? I am still in a job that I am not passionate about, still work long hours but have taken the steps to cut down the amount of jobs that I am doing so that I have more time to focus on what I am truly passionate about and that is blogging. By the end of this year I am hoping to have quit my full time job and have already decided to cut down my hours as of next month so that I can concentrate on making my blog my main ‘hustle’. While the instability of a ‘freelance income’ does not necessarily translate to a ‘springboard’ for buying your own home, I am hoping that within 5 years I will be able to own a flat or a house of my own through pure hard work.
Some might call me unrealistic, but if we don’t take risks then we can never follow our dreams and that would be a jolly darn shame. Which is why when I came across Hatched, an online estate agent at the fraction of average retailer price, I knew that planning ahead was not ‘unrealistic’ but prepared and insightful. Not only do they help you to buy your own home but for those who are ahead on the property ladder and seeking to have their property valued so that they can move to a new property, Hatched is the ideal internet advisory to help you find your forever home. While the possibility of owning my own home might seem ‘far away’, being the disorganized person that I am- how on earth am I running a blog LOL- kicks my butt into really thinking about the future and figuring out what I truly want from life.
I believe that once I start working from home, I will not only be able to cut down on travel and food costs but it would also give me more of an incentive to actually ‘save money’ which I can put in my future house fund each month. It might take three years or it might take ten but regardless of the outcome, I am working on getting that forever home like I had dreamed about from a young age. But what would my dream home look like? I’d live in a charming thatched cottage, with a front and back door garden. There would be an abundance of bees dancing on roses and potatoes nestled in raised vegetable patches and of course there would be pets to join me too. As regular readers know, I am at my happiest when I am surrounded by the things that make me happy, so expect to see a few pugs and cats wreaking havoc in the garden… sigh if only.
Do You Own Your Own Home?
*Disclaimer
Collaborative Post With Hatched. All thoughts and research are my own.
Wishing you the best of luck! You are a determined woman. I am sure your dream will come true.
I bought my first home with my partner at the time when I was 18. Houses were a lot cheaper 20 years ago, up here in the North East. We split and I have rented ever since. My fella and I do hope to buy somewhere eventually. x
I would love to own my own home one day, at the moment we rent and while it is nice, it would be just amazing to offically own our own place one day.
Good luck to you! It’s hard to get on the property ladder. I was lucky to buy my first home at 21 and now I’m on my fourth home and we’ve been able to accumulate a significant amount of equity which gives us some financial security. I’m sure you’ll achieve your goal!
And thus the dilemma of living in London! Don’t worry girl, you got this. You’ll be on the property ladder in no time. Good shout about Hatched will check it out.
Amanda | https://ldnrose.com
My fiance and I together own a home and 2 investment properties but it wasn’t always that way. Your plan to focus on following your passion is definitely the way to go and eventually the rewards from your blog will come. The main thing is that you are really focused on what you want and therefore success will inevitably follow. Tools like Hatched, although this is the first I’ve heard of them, are great to keep you on track. Surrounding yourself with friends who have like-minded goals where you can compare notes and keep each other motivated are also good ways to keep you on your course to achieving all that you desire. Sincere best wishes to you on your journey.
I don’t own a home, but my parents do and it seems to be really expensive and a lot of work! I hope to own a home someday but probably not anytime soon. I’m hoping to just rent for a while that way I can move wherever I want. I love having that sort of freedom so yeah.. hopefully my first move will be here soon to Seattle, Washington! thanks for reading!
I bought my first house when I was 17, it was blooming hard but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I can’t wait for our mortgage to be paid off on our current house so that we can enjoy retirement at a relatively young age still. You will get there, it’s harder now and much harder in London. Keep striving and working hard, your time will come. Xx
I have owned my own home but we had to sell dueto divorcem then rented and now part own and house share with my parents
I would love to own my home one day but I live quite close to central London and I don’t want to give that up just yet, so we rent. Good luck for your plans for the future, I’m sure with your determination you will get there xx
Totally agree with everything! Seeing friends from back home with houses really annoys me! That’s the price we pay for living in the capital though.
That is amazing, wishing you best of luck. Owning a home is not for me at the moment, I’m nomadic and move every 3-6 months so that just isn’t possible for me, but maybe someday, or I’ll buy and make an airbnb out of it 🙂
It’s hard to be able to move out and have your own place. We are currently renting and I would one to own my own home now I have a baby. It’s just money isn’t it. I hope you eventually get on the ladder x
I’ve owned a number of houses throughout my life. I bought my first when I was 22 with my (then) husband. It served us well and eventually we were able to move up, if you will. Certainly it’s nice to have a house, but to be honest, some days I’d prefer to not have anything to maintain, and the thought of downsizing crosses my mind more often than not. (ps: there’s nothing happier than having a couple of pugs an a few kitty cats running wreaking havoc in the garden .. trust me on this one)
I moved back home with my parents after uni and didn’t leave for 13 years! I just couldn’t afford somewhere on my own. I had saved enough for a deposit but didn’t have enough to cover the mortgage. Luckily I found Chris who already owned his own home so together we could afford somewhere bigger.