How I got a 20% discount and saved £1,800 a month to buy my first home aged 24
WHILE most third year university students are cramming for final exams, hitting the pubs and worrying about overdrafts, Bolutife Sofoluwe was starting to save for a house.
After researching money saving tips and finding financial gurus to follow on social media, the now 25-year-old made a plan to save up to £1,800 a month towards a deposit.
She was lucky to be able to live with her parents after Uni, living on just £100 a month from her £36,500 a year salary for three years.
This enabled her to save up the £29,760 deposit to buy her 198,400 one-bed first home in Barking when she was just 24 years old.
As she works for a bank, she was also eligible for an affordable homes scheme which gave her a 20% discount of the market value of the property.
We had a chat with Bolu about becoming a first-time home buyer:
So I used his mentality to help me save intensely for my goals - there was no time for luxuries.
How to buy an affordable home and get 20% off your home
IF you’re a key worker, you may be eligible for affordable housing - and save tens of thousands of pounds on your first home.
Affordable housing are homes that have been made cheaper for Brits to buy or rent.
They're homes for people on lower incomes and key workers - and they are 20% below market value.
Since 2017, developers have to make at least 10% of the homes being built under new schemes affordable.
Here's how to apply for affordable housing:
Who's eligible for affordable housing?
To be eligible for affordable housing, you must have an income of less than £80,000 - or £90,000 if you live in London.
You're also eligible if you're a key worker.
You’re a key worker if you work in:
- Childcare and education
- Key public services like charity and frontline workers
- Local and national government
- Food industry such as in production, distribution, sale and delivery
- Public safety and national security such as police and armed forces
- Transport and border industries
- Utilities, communication and financial services such as banks, oil and gas sectors
How do I apply for affordable housing?
Currently, there's no national scheme you can apply to in order to get affordable housing.
Instead, each housebuilder - or local authority - will run their own scheme.
So you'll have to do your own research and see what affordable housing schemes are in the area you're looking to live in.
It might be worth checking out which first time buyer events are being hosted around your local area.
Bolu found out about Pocket Living's scheme by visiting the London Home Show - an event held annually to help people get on the property ladder.
There are websites that can help you search for affordable homes too, such as .
Simply type in the postcode you're hunting in into the site's search engine to see what properties are available.
What happens if I want to sell my affordable home?
The rules for selling your affordable home may vary depending on who you bought it from.
But it's highly likely that you'll need to sell on your home to someone who is also eligible for affordable housing.
For example, if you buy a Pocket Living affordable home, you must sell it to someone who fits the criteria for affordable housing.
Find out how an NHS worker did four jobs and ditched haircuts to buy his £299,000 four-bed first home.
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Another couple bought a £480,000 two-bed flat in London despite facing redundancy by ditching holidays and working extra shifts at Nando's.
While a third switched energy tariff and batch cooked to help buy their three-bed home.