£30k-a-year couple who bought own home by 21 ... without help from Bank of Mum and Dad
IT is a sight older generations will recognise – a young couple working hard and going without so they can buy their first home. And Nathan Doe and Tyla Stanworth have managed it before either of them have even turned 21.
While their generation is known for frittering their money away on nights out, takeaways and cups of coffee, this couple have bucked the trend.
In a throwback to the days when people scrimped and saved for things in life, they managed to amass the deposit for the £220,000 three-bedroom property by living on baked beans and noodles.
And they did not receive any handouts from their parents. The millennial pair now aim to continue their frugal lifestyle so they can be mortgage-free by the time they are 40 – and hope to retire by 55.
It may seem like a tall order for a young couple without the help of the so- called ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’. But Mr Doe said their careful planning, and a number of sacrifices, made it possible for them to buy the new-build home and that there was no reason they could not continue.
‘We were living with my dad for a year, that was our base, but obviously had to pay him rent,’ he said. ‘ We really don’t drink and don’t go out partying.’
The couple have both been working full-time in the three years since they finished school. They also enrolled on an apprenticeship instead of going to university, so they weren’t saddled with tuition fee loans.
Mr Doe works as a planner for Arriva Trains Wales while Miss Stanworth is employed by exam board Qualifications Wales.
While they were busy saving, their combined income was around only £30,000 a year. But they managed to save the £11,500 deposit by putting cash into an ISA under the Government’s help-to-buy scheme.
They also got a help-to-buy equity loan – a five-year interest-free sum that paid for 20 per cent of the cost of the house in Newport, South Wales. Some of the loan was used to pay for stamp duty and other costs, which added up to £13,500.
Miss Stanworth, 20, said: ‘It was a goal we wanted to achieve as soon as we got together – Nathan already had a help-tobuy ISA and then I set one up.
‘We put in £200 each every month and got £50 back from the Government so we were getting a free £100 a month.
‘Deciding to buy the house did mean that we had to make sacrifices. We never went out, our shopping lists consisted of noodles and beans, but in the long run it was so worth it.’ The couple moved in last June and hope to pay off their loan before the interest-free period is up. They now have a combined income of £50,000 and plan to marry in September, which they will also pay for themselves. Mr Doe, now 21, said: ‘If you want something enough and you are prepared to make sacrifices for it, anything is possible.’
‘We had to make sacrifices’