1981, New Southgate, London. A two bedroom terraced house in a rundown state. Myself and MrsP paid £26,000. for it. Rewired, re-plumbed, put in a new kitchen and decorated throughout. It still had many original features from when it was built in 1905. We made it a lovely first home, I still have fond memories of the place. Sold it in 1986 for £53,000.
Yours first house
- Thread starter HertzvanRental
- Start date
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chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Missed the boat in Britain. Whilst I'm only early forties, I was never earning enough in the nineties/early noughties to get on the property ladder. Then by the time I was earning, the price of a deposit was way beyond me and I was looking at never reaching the property ladder.
Then I moved to Germany, where property prices were a lot more realistic and four years ago I purchased my one and only house. It needed a lot of renovation, which I mostly did myself, but now I have a modern house with four bedrooms and about 120 square metres of living space. quite modest by German standards. However I'll be able to clear my mortgage by the time I retire, something that would have been impossible in Britain. Due to German taxation rules I won't be able to sell this one for another 6 years, but then I don't really have any intention of going anywhere, I'm happy here.
Then I moved to Germany, where property prices were a lot more realistic and four years ago I purchased my one and only house. It needed a lot of renovation, which I mostly did myself, but now I have a modern house with four bedrooms and about 120 square metres of living space. quite modest by German standards. However I'll be able to clear my mortgage by the time I retire, something that would have been impossible in Britain. Due to German taxation rules I won't be able to sell this one for another 6 years, but then I don't really have any intention of going anywhere, I'm happy here.
I'm sitting in it right now. Bought with the ex a bit over 17 years ago, then bought him out when we split in 2011. To be honest I don't (and never did) particularly like it, but I can afford the (tiny by contemporary standards) mortgage even on my miniscule income and there's absolutely no way I could afford to move! So it'll do 
It's too small and very scruffy and needs stuff doing that i can't possibly afford to do but I have sorted the dodgy external doors, the failed double glazing, the clapped out boiler and the leaking roof in the past 6 years.
It's too small and very scruffy and needs stuff doing that i can't possibly afford to do but I have sorted the dodgy external doors, the failed double glazing, the clapped out boiler and the leaking roof in the past 6 years.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Terraced house in Narborough in 1980 for £12,000, sold my half when we split and made back everything I'd paid out on the mortgage. It's worth a quarter of a million now.
Freds Dad
Veteran
- Location
- Gawsworth.
My first house was a 2 bed terraced in Kearsley near Bolton. We paid £6,800 for it in 1982, split up in 1985 and sold it for £11,000.
Our current house is a large 4 bed dormer bungalow which was purchased 23 years ago for £60,000, we paid the mortgage off 18 months ago and recently had it valued at £385,000. The kids have moved out and although we have talked about down sizing we have great neighbours in our quiet cul-de-sac and enjoy living here.
Our current house is a large 4 bed dormer bungalow which was purchased 23 years ago for £60,000, we paid the mortgage off 18 months ago and recently had it valued at £385,000. The kids have moved out and although we have talked about down sizing we have great neighbours in our quiet cul-de-sac and enjoy living here.
DCLane
Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
- Location
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Moved to Middlesbrough late 1992 and bought a 3 bed semi on the day they announced interest rate rise to 17%, at a cost of £47,500. Sold it in 1998 and rented for a while, buying the house I have now in Dewsbury for £173,000 in 2004 in the middle of the last big price rise. That'll be paid for in the next couple of years and it's worth a bit more now than when we bought it.
Dave 123
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire alps
Billed as a 2 bedroom 'luxury apartment ' with gold taps and all!
The developer had gone bust and we bought it for £40k, which was less than half of the original price. This was in 1991 in Ivybridge, Devon.
We lived there for about 3 years. The residents were the management company. As ever some people, including me did lots. Out of the 18 apartments there were roughly a third who did nothing to help. I'll leave you to work out who moaned the most!
We sold it for £4K profit. The gold was wearing off the taps.
The developer had gone bust and we bought it for £40k, which was less than half of the original price. This was in 1991 in Ivybridge, Devon.
We lived there for about 3 years. The residents were the management company. As ever some people, including me did lots. Out of the 18 apartments there were roughly a third who did nothing to help. I'll leave you to work out who moaned the most!
We sold it for £4K profit. The gold was wearing off the taps.
A 2 bedroom semi bungalow £6,300 1974 sold 5 years later about £10,500 we bought an ex police 3 bed semi for less than we sold the bungalow for, lived there for 22 years and moved to a four bedroom detched, its too big for the 2 of us, but we like the house the street and the neighbours, and the spare bedrooms come in handy when the grandchidren stay.
Glenn
Veteran
- Location
- Newport, shropshire
My first house was bought in the mid 80's just before interest rates shot up to 16 - 18%, it was a 3 bedroom chalet style home in Forres, paid £36k for it, 9 years later it sold for £54k.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
A three bedroomed terraced house in Shepherds Bush, London, in 1985. I bought it with a friend who was earning a lot more than me so he bought 75% of it and I bought the rest. In 1988 we sold up because I wanted to get married. We split the profit 75/25 and I moved to the house two doors away with my wife. We're still here, in no hurry to move.
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
My first one was called Ferguson, my second Holden. I'm one of those people who believe in social housing so I'll leave you in peace now.
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
Our first house was in a back Street in Earlsdon in Coventry. A tiny Edwardian two up two down with a single story extension on the back containing the kitchen and bathroom. Cost £10500, I paid a £500 deposit and took out a £10000 mortgage, the most I could afford on my storekeeper's wages. We moved out 15 years later having outgrown it, both our lads were born whilst we lived there. We got £35000 for it when we sold it and used the money to finance the purchase of our next house.
