SUPER SCRIMPER
First-time buyer saved £16k by batch cooking meals, quitting the gym and getting paid to fill out surveys
SPENDING just £15 a week on food, cancelling memberships and completing online surveys helped construction buyer Luke Beasley save £16,000 to buy a shared ownership house.
The 30-year-old moved into his Bristol two-bedroom terrace property, for £235,000 in September.
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Luke saved the cash in less than 18 months while earning £450 a week working for the family business, Milner Foundations.
He paid his parents £50 a week rent while he continued to live with them but in his late twenties decided save up to move out.
At first, he began by saving up to £300 a week to prepare himself for the rental market before discovering that he could afford to buy a place through the shared ownership scheme instead.
He boosted his savings by restricting his food budget to just £15 a week and batch cooking cheap meals using ingredients such as pasta and tomato sauces.
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He quit the gym to save £24 a month and cancelled his Netflix subscription so that he was able put aside more than half of his weekly paycheck.
Luke also made an extra £25 to £50 a month by getting paid to fill out online surveys.
Now, he owns 50 per cent of his home paying, £490 a month on his mortgage and £143 a month in rent and service charges to a housing association that owns the rest.
We spoke to Luke shortly after he moved into his new build house for My First Home.
What does your home look like?
Like other houses on the estate, mine is built to accessible living standards so there's a wide hallway big enough for a wheelchair that you step into through the front door.
It's not something that I looked for in particular in a home but it's just how it's been designed.
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There is also a downstairs toilet which again is big.
At the back there is the kitchen which leads to the garden and I have a folding table in there if people come to dinner, as there is no dining room.
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My room overlooks the front of the house and I can see all the way to the Mendip Hills that are about 15 miles away.
I have two parking spaces which is really good because at my parent's house the parking was on the street and I was always fighting to find a space.
I chose this area because I know it well and it is up and coming.
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There is lots of new building going on and I know where all the local pubs and shops are.
I can drive to work in 20 to 30 minutes and get into Bristol city centre in 10 minutes.
Why did you decide to buy a shared ownership property?
I've not been to university and work for the family company so there was never pressure for me to move out of my parents house.
But in March 2018 I decided to start saving money to prepare myself for moving out and paying rent.
A few months in I thought why not aim to buy somewhere instead.
What help is out there for first-time buyers?
GETTING on the property ladder can feel like a daunting task but there are schemes out there to help first-time buyers have their own home.
Help to Buy Isa - It's a tax-free savings account where for every £200 you save, the Government will add an extra £50. But there's a maximum limit of £3,000 which is paid to your solicitor when you move.
Help to Buy equity loan - The Government will lend you up to 20 per cent of the home's value - or 40 per cent in London - after you've put down a five per cent deposit. The loan is on top of a normal mortgage but it can only be used to buy a new build property.
Lifetime Isa - This is another Government scheme that gives anyone aged 18 to 39 the chance to save tax-free and get a bonus of up to £32,000 towards their first home. You can save up to £4,000 a year and the Government will add 25 per cent on top.
Shared ownership - Co-owning with a housing association means you can buy a part of the property and pay rent on the remaining amount. You can buy anything from 25 to 75 per cent of the property but you're restricted to specific ones.
"First dibs" in London - London Mayor Sadiq Khan is working on a scheme that will restrict sales of all new-build homes in the capital up to £350,000 to UK buyers for three months before any overseas marketing can take place.
Starter Home Initiative - A Government scheme that will see 200,000 new-build homes in England sold to first-time buyers with a 20 per cent discount by 2020. To receive updates on the progress of these homes you can register your interest on the website.
As a single buyer I couldn't afford to buy something outright, especially in Bristol.
My step-brother said I should look at a Help to Buy loan but as I was researching it, I came across shared ownership and it seemed more reasonable as I wouldn't have to take out a loan on top of a mortgage.
I then set up email notifications that would alert me to any suitable shared-ownership properties that came onto the market.
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It's a stepping stone and in five years times I might sell it and go onto full ownership, or I can staircase on this property whenever I like.
The postcode I am in has the fastest rising house prices in Bristol so I'm hopeful that I'll make some money on it by the time I come to sell it.
But my costs are still £200 to £300 a month cheaper than renting a similar property in the area.
How do the finances work out with shared ownership?
I own 50 per cent of the property and I only needed a five per cent deposit on it.
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Originally, the house was on the market for £250,000 so the deposit for half of the shares worked out at £6,250.
But when I applied for the mortgage, Leeds Building Society down valued the property to £235,000.
Basically, that means that they didn't think that the property was worth what I was paying for it and so wouldn't lend me the cash.
Luckily, the housing association were willing to lower the value to what the lender thought it was worth so I didn't lose it, although it did add another month onto the buying process.
In the end, my half was worth £117,500. I put down a deposit of £6,500 which was just over five per cent.
I took out a mortgage for £111,000 to cover the rest of my share.
I didn't have to pay stamp duty either as it came under the £300,000 first-time buyer relief threshold.
What did it take to save the deposit?
I bought my house 17 months after I began saving so by the by the time I exchanged on the house in August 2019 I had £16,000.
I am paid weekly so I started saving £200 to £300 a week.
I decided not to use a Help to Buy ISA because you're limited to saving just £400 a month so I just put the money in a regular savings account instead.
Saving had quite a significant impact on my lifestyle.
I always bought my own food at home and when I started saving money I set a budget of £15 a week.
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I ate a lot of noodles and I made sauces from tinned tomatoes. I bought frozen chicken in Asda for £3 and pasta for 29p - I batched cooked and made it stretch quite far.
I bought dried and frozen foods, including frozen herbs. One packet of pasta would last a week including all of my lunches.
Instead of having a takeaway I would buy all the ingredients for a curry and make a big batch that would last for three evenings.
I also cancelled my gym membership which was £24 a month and my Netflix subscription, I read a lot of books and rode my bike instead.
I got my phone insurance and breakdown cover through the bank rather than separately which saved me money.
When I bought birthday and Christmas presents I was savvy about it and would compare prices online and look for voucher codes.
I ended up saving 55 per cent of my income.
I also made extra money from doing online surveys which made me £25 to £50 a month. I've made £200 to date on one of the sites called Swagbucks.
I also used an App SnapMyEats where you take a photo of 15 shopping receipts and you get a £5 Amazon voucher. I made £60 from this and bought stuff for the house once I'd moved in.
What are your monthly payments?
I pay £490 a month for the mortgage then the rent and service charge which includes building insurance is £143 a month.
If I want to I can staircase and buy up more of the property in chunks in or one go.
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The mortgage term is 35 years and I have a fixed rate with Leeds Building Society for two years at 3.99 per cent.
What have you spent on the house so far?
I spent £2,000 on solicitor fees and then once I moved in I spent £3,000 on flooring.
The house came with an oven, hood and hob and I spent £1,900 on a fridge, washing machine, freezer and tumble drier.
I have £2,000 left from my savings for a rainy day and I am still saving money, last month I saved £350 but the amount changes each month.
When I moved in I got Netflix back and I also have Amazon and Now TV, but it is still half the price of Sky.
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How did it feel to get the keys?
It was very nice but most of all it was just relief.
I was due to move in July but due to the down valuation it had gone on a bit and was a bit of a bumpy ride.
But it's really nice to say this is mine and I still have equity in the property.
What advice would you give to others considering shared ownership?
Shared ownership gets a bad rap and you have to be prepared to compromise.
Go into it with an open mind and do your research so you know what restrictions there are.
My First Home
I can paint the walls inside the house and have pets but if I wanted to build a conservatory I would have to ask permission.
Lots of people tried to discourage me and said buy a one bedroom flat but I think I made the right decision.
I now have a lovely big house. For me if shared ownership is a similar cost to renting it is a no brainer.
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