We want to buy a first home – but can’t afford to live together while saving for it

Toby Buckby, 27, rented a one-bedroom flat alone for three years and loved the independence it gave him. But there was a big problem. “I just found that my savings were zero. I couldn’t save,” he told The i Paper. “It’s like, I’m never going to get on the property ladder if I keep going like this.” Renting came with limitations: his landlord wouldn’t let him own a pet and he couldn’t put any frames up on the walls. Shorts After undergoing knee surgery, he moved in with his grandparents. It was supposed to be temporary, but he realised he had stumbled upon the solution to his savings woes. “Obviously, I didn’t want to put them out,” he said. “I contribute to the bills and everything, but it’s significantly less than what I was paying when I was on my own.” Now, he finds it far easier to put money away for his ultimate goal. “I want my own space,” said Toby. “And the only way I’m going to be able to get that is by saving up and buying a place myself.” Abi Gilmore, 26, has been Toby’s girlfriend for a year. She also lives with her family – in a household of seven. “It’s not my own space,” she said. “It’s not mine to make how I want it. No one dictates what I do, but you are living in someone else’s house, at the end of the day, and you kind of have to do things as the family does.” Despite the downsides, living at home seemed like the clear choice from a financial perspective. “I knew if I moved out that saving would be impossible,” she said. “So staying at home as long as I needed to was the best option, really. “I definitely would have moved out by now if it wasn’t for the cost.” More than a quarter of young adults aged 20 to 34 live with their parents, according to recent data by the Office for National Statistics. High rents and house prices are believed to be driving the trend. Young people like Abi and Toby have decided that saving for their future is worth the compromise to their independence. When they first started dating, their living situations made things “tricky” at times. “We had to go out to do absolutely everything,” said Toby. “Obviously having dinner around one of our houses just wasn’t an option because that means meeting the family, and we [didn’t] want to do that too early.” Now, the couple are ready to move in together, but they agree that they’re not interested in getting onto the rental market. “We’ve both been on the same page about it,” said Abi. “The fact that we’re now in a relationship and savings are a shared thing, and we’re both saving towards the goal, the reality of being able to [buy a home] was closer.” One barrier to renting is that Abi has a Labrador, which means that they would have to find somewhere with enough space. But owning their own home is also better suited to their future plans. “Both of us want marriage, both of us want children… it would worry me having to bring young kids into a rented place,” said Toby. “You’re a bit worried that, like, the landlord could decide to sell and then we’ve got to find somewhere else.” While “no-fault” evictions were banned this year under the Renters’ Rights Act, a landlord can still end your tenancy if they want to sell the property, usually by giving you four months’ notice. Abi and Toby are confident that they can afford the mortgage repayments. It’s the deposit – plus other one-off costs like solicitors’ fees – that’s the barrier. Toby said: “I speak to quite a lot of friends who have houses and their mortgage payments, you know, it’s less than a rental payment. So if you can afford to rent, you can afford a mortgage. “We’ve got a good amount of money together in ISAs and stuff like that. But we’re still not there.” The situation is frustrating for the couple. “When speaking to my parents, [buying a home] wasn’t that big of a thing for them; it didn’t feel as unattainable,” said Abi. “They still had to save, but it didn’t feel quite as difficult as it does now. “It’s just this huge thing that you have to make sacrifices to get to. At this time in our life, we don’t want to have to be making those sacrifices.” Around 3.9 million potential first-time buyers can afford mortgage repayments, but haven’t got enough savings to pay a minimum 5 per cent deposit, according to the Resolution Foundation. Andy Burnham has pledged to address housing affordability by building more social homes. But Chris Lee, who previously led the Help to Buy scheme, cautions him not to overlook “the millions of working households who earn too much to qualify for most housing support”. He said: “Much of the current housing debate rightly focuses on social and affordable housing, but there is far less discussion about teachers, nurses, emergency service workers and other middle-income households whose needs aren’t being met.” Abi and Toby are hoping to reach their goal of buying a home next year. They’re not looking for anything extravagant: a two-bedroom house in the Midlands, with a garden for the dog. “We want to be able to host our friends, have somewhere to build a life,” said Toby.