Darren Noble, 24, and Shanine Land, 22, have paid £263,000 for a detached house – with no help and despite being on low income.
A couple who have bought their first home in their early 20s say anyone can – by avoiding foreign holidays, credit cards and drunken nights out with kebabs.
Childhood sweethearts Shanine Land, 22, and Darren Noble, 24, have just paid £263,000 for a detached house – with no help and despite being on low income.
It’s not a flat, an ex-local authority property, a shared equity home or a new build purchased through the Government’s Help to Buy scheme.
The couple have taken on a mortgage which will last just 20 years – although they could pay it off in as little as 13.
They say anyone can do it – but as long as they watch every penny and stick to a set of strict spending rules.
They have holidays in Devon, research every good deal, stay debt free and don’t spend massive amounts on big nights out.
They watch every penny, research which savings accounts to use, and use apps to do all their budgeting.
Having met eight years ago at school the childhood sweethearts said it was always their goal to buy a house together.
Shanine said: ‘When we left school and started college we said one day we want to own a house.
‘A lot of people I know they’ve got cars, phones, gym memberships, credit cards, but the only outgoings we’ve had is the gym and phone payments nothing else.’
Both brought up in average family homes, Darren and Shanine lived with their families while saving their deposit.
Shanine said: ‘People reading this may think we have high paid jobs but I work in retail. It goes to show you can save money and get a mortgage in a bog standard job.
The couple have taken on a mortgage which will last just 20 years – although they could pay it off in as little as 13
They say anyone can do the same – as long as they watch every penny and stick to a set of strict spending rules
On the market for £265,000, the couple’s new home in the Moorhayes area of Tiverton is in need of refurbishment
‘I know Darren has a skilled job but you can do any job and get a mortgage. We both started on minimum wages and when we were saving we both had standard pay jobs.’
On the market for £265,000, the couple’s new home in the Moorhayes area of Tiverton is in need of refurbishment.
The couple from Devon plan to do most of the work themselves with friends and family already lending a helping hand.
Qualified plumbing and maintenance engineer Darren will be taking care of the plumbing throughout the house.
The couple said they will be concentrating on installing a new kitchen and bathroom, and giving the walls a fresh lick of paint, but keen saver Darren said they will not be rushing out to buy new furniture on credit.
The couple of Tiverton in Devon plan to do most of the work themselves with friends and family already lending a helping hand
The couple said they will be concentrating on installing a new kitchen and bathroom, and giving the walls a fresh lick of paint, but keen saver Darren said they will not be rushing out to buy new furniture on credit
Avoiding the temptation of renting a property while they saved their deposit, the newly engaged couple opened joint bank accounts a little over a year ago
He said: ‘I’ve always been a saver. I hate spending money. The problem with most people is they don’t understand the value of money.
‘Say something is £100, some will say ‘that’s cheap I can buy that’ but I look at it differently.
‘I look and ask ‘how many hours have I got to work to get that?’. If you’re on £7 an hour that’s a couple of days’ worth of work that I have to do to get that item.
‘There is a difference between need and want. I’ve got a normal car, it’s not fast or flash, it starts and gets me places that is what I need.
‘But what you want is £500 a month finance deals on Range Rovers, but it doesn’t pay in the long run.
Darren said: ‘I’ve always been a saver. I hate spending money. The problem with most people is they don’t understand the value of money’
Qualified plumbing and maintenance engineer Darren will be taking care of the plumbing throughout the house
‘Our generation don’t help themselves when it comes to getting on the property ladder.
‘I’ve got a couple of friends who like their cars which is fine, but if you want a house you’ve got to think of the bigger picture.’
Avoiding the temptation of renting a property while they saved their deposit, the newly engaged couple opened joint bank accounts a little over a year ago.
Darren said: ‘We have been saving a decent amount and still having fun, we’ve been going out but not going on holidays to Florida, not buying fancy cars.
‘We’ll enjoy the sun down at Dawlish, a night out with friends close to home. If you go out with your mates and you’re buying rounds and you get a kebab on the way home you could part with £100 on one night.’
The couple will be overpaying on their mortgage but said with further overpayment they could clear their mortgage in 13 years
Shanine said: ‘Both sets of our parents are chuffed to bits. We did a pre-renovation house warming so our friends came. All our friends are chuffed for us they’ve been up stripping wallpaper and helping out’
Shanine said: ‘If people didn’t do that they could save enough to buy their own house within a year easily.
‘Other people our age will say ‘I’m young, I’m free, I want to do this’ and then worry about buying a house later.
‘We’ve got a 20 year mortgage plan so we’ll be in our 40s when our mortgage is paid.’
The couple will be overpaying on their mortgage but said with further overpayment they could clear their mortgage in 13 years.
Shanine said: ‘Both sets of our parents are chuffed to bits. We did a pre-renovation house warming so our friends came.
‘All our friends are chuffed for us they’ve been up stripping wallpaper and helping out.
‘No one has said ‘oh, can they afford it?’ they’ve all said well done because our close friends and family know we have saved hard for it.’