Save more and stop moaning if you want to buy a home
I bought my first house in birmingham in 1969 for £1,200 when I was just 20 and had been working for just one year. My salary was a little over £800. the house was in a terrace and had two ‘reception’ rooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen, an outside lavatory and a coal house at the rear. My mortgage was £1,000 and my repayments just over £7 a month. the previous owners had bought the property new in around 1920 and done very little to it: it was definitely ‘in need of renovation’. My father and I built a bathroom extension at the back to replace the lavatory/coal house and refurbished the interior (including re-wiring), and we waterproofed the roof, as I couldn’t afford to replace the slates. I admit my financial contribution was minimal (good old Dad), but the cost wasn’t great. My wife and I moved into the house in 1971. We had a second or even third-hand plastic leather suite, a carpet and a gas fire in the rear living room and a bed. We couldn’t afford to do anything in the front room, which was also the entrance hall, or the other bedroom. In the kitchen, we had a sink and a Fifties kitchen unit with a pull-down work surface. the only electrical equipment we had at first was limited to a kettle, toaster, spin dryer and portable panel heater for the bedroom (which we used only in the depths of winter), all of them wedding presents. We did succumb to renting a black-andwhite tV after 12 months. My wife did the washing in the kitchen sink and bath, even after our first son was born. We obviously couldn’t afford a car, holidays or other luxuries and had only my income when my wife became pregnant with our first son — there was no maternity/paternity leave nor childcare provisions from the government in those days. but we made do in the knowledge that we were ‘on the property ladder’ and things would get better. And they did. Contrast this with many young people today. they want cars, foreign holidays, all the current technology and nights out — and wouldn’t dream of moving into a house without all mod cons. those who are married or in partnerships generally have two incomes. My job is inspecting houses throughout the country. I see some expensive, highcost houses, but I also see some that are affordable for the young. they aren’t in the best areas (neither was my first house), and perhaps need some work, but at least they would be a first rung on the ladder for many. I accept that London prices are generally unaffordable for most and, if people want the supposed ‘glamour’, they’re probably doomed to rent for their entire lives. but they have a choice: they could live and work elsewhere. We need more government help to encourage businesses to move out of the capital, giving the rest of the country a better chance. Meanwhile, here are some highly useful words and phrases in the English language: ‘saving’, ‘hard work’ and ‘excessive expectations’ are three examples. I suggest the young people take heed and stop moaning.
ROBERT J. EVANS, Sheldon, Birmingham.