Woodlea

Really? In 5 years you have bought and paid for your own home and have no mortgage, all on a prison officer's salary? So you have saved a minimum of 50k a year, while renting, or what? Please enlighten us further as I am amazed, good onya though eh!

leandra21

"Originally Posted by Justcol View Post
So do in Scotland exactly what is causing you so much grief here in NZ
"invest" in an overseas market, reduce housing availability for UK / Scottish
buyers, making it harder more expensive for them to buy
How hypocritical, how crass !!"

If you have nothing nice (or in this case helpful) to say ,say nothing at all.

"Originally Posted by Justcol View Post
5 years ago I stood in a street without a pot to piss in, so, rock, hard place, been there, done that
I now own my home, mortgage free, integrity intact, conscience clear. . . . it can be done"

Please enlighten us .
Obviously a good chunk of the population is doing something wrong!

Kotare

Married well :-)

Woodlea

Ah - just worked out that he has done it by relocating from a very high cost area to a very low cost area. Worked for him but doesn't help the OP get on the property ladder.

Angeshirl

Thanks guys, I did wonder how this was possible? I also didn't find the original post from him helpful, actually very hurtful.
I'm just looking for some advice, I'm desperate and upset by seeing a dream being destroyed and not knowing what the best thing to do is. I don't want to rent for the rest of my life, I may spend the rest of my working days trying to figure it out. I have no family here, or anyone I can trust to turn to for advice, so I'm just trying to explore any options I may have left.

Pulaski

My guess was buy a seriously run-down "fixer-upper". If you are practical and willing to take on a major project you can buy for a pittance and end up a home owner.

leandra21

I would suggest talking to a mortgage advisor/broker.When we bought in Auckland we had help from a broker from Mike Pero .If I was you I would try to buy a place in NZ and not in Scotland,an apartment or something just outside Auckland (commutable distance).There are apartments that are spacious and don't have water retention problems.A broker would be able to let you know what kind of deposit you require and what mortgage you could get.

jmh

I bought a little 1 bed flat in 1991. Over the years, with saving, buying a do-up, some capital gain and buying in a cheaper area, I now have a 3-bed house with a garden, mortgage-free (no gifts or inheritances). Take small steps and add them together over time - eventually you will get there. Very few people are lucky enough to walk straight into their dream home.

jmh

Good advice. Also, banks often have mortgage advisers who can provide free advice (obviously tied to the bank, but they might come up with something achievable.)

Justcol

I thought pointing out the hypocrisy of the original suggestion was helpful.

Stormer999

Excellent post....we had many years of burning the midnight oil working 6-7 hours every night after getting home from work 7 days a week on old Victorian do-up's. Yes it's hard work but just 1 job 9-4 is not going to give you a front door key. I have just finished this house after 2+ years but the effort has always been worth it, as jmh says one step at a time...

Angeshirl

Quit calling me a hypocrite. I was looking for advice for something that's actually seriously upsetting me. I'm not looking to take anything away from someone else but given the situation I wanted to consider all my options. Would you say it to my face? Probably not. Im so sick of being pulled down and spoken too like a child about this issue. I've already been humiliated in a very public manner by an online economist who offered advice and then published my story the next day. It brought me to tears.
I'm just trying to figure out what to do about my living situation before I end up under a bridge when I retire because I can't afford market rent. I'm a good person, I'm not trying to do something to hurt other people.
It's not helpful at all.

Bo-Jangles

To be fair Angeshurl it's not that long ago since you were on this forum asking the exact same question and you were given lots of good advice along similar lines to the above.

You were given lots of suggestions on what you can do to help yourself - so it would be interesting to know what options you have explored, as you're only going to hear more of the same.

There's no point getting wound up about something you can't possibly have or change and you have to start somewhere, even if it's not your ideal forever home at this very moment. You absolutely could afford to buy an apartment here, so why not start there if you are truly desperate about having a place to call your own in your old age, which as I recall is still a very, very long way off.

You have another 30 working years in front of you before you need to be concerned about living under that bridge.

bourbon-biscuit

Maybe but then you go on to present your own good fortune as evidence that everyone can do the same. You married, bought in Cambridge BEFORE a massive property boom and then sold up and moved to the bottom of the south island.

How is that possible for people living and working in Auckland? Even putting aside the luck you had on Cambridge's weird little mini boom. And the marriage ....

When folk get lucky they love to attribute it to their own cunning and hard work.

bourbon-biscuit

Angeshirl, you've had some good advice here. Your options are really to buy something you can afford in the area you are living and working in or to relocate. Easier said than done, I know, but those really are your choices