We’d get engaged tomorrow if we had our own home. Having your own home means the start of your proper adult life and the place where everything else begins.
Maisie, 25, lives with her boyfriend at her parents’ home on the outskirts of Leeds.
Maisie works in events and external relations, and her boyfriend, who also works full-time, feels the next chapter of their life is out of reach until they can save a deposit to buy a home.
Maisie explains that having their own home would unlock a lot of those big milestones that feel on hold.
“It’s not where I imagined we would be at this stage of our lives. And it feels like our lives are on pause.”
“My boyfriend always jokes that he’d get engaged tomorrow if we had our own home,” she says. “But as we’re both living with my parents, it doesn’t quite feel like the right time.”
“Having our own place would mean independence. It would mean being able to plan our future properly.” Even the simple things feel different when you’re still living with your mum and dad.
The deposit is a huge mountain to climb
Maisie feels lucky to have the option of living with family, but like many first-time buyers, she finds the biggest challenge is saving the deposit.
“We used to rent together when we were at university and for a short time afterwards, but we moved back in with my parents so we could save for a deposit to buy our own home.”
Maisie and her boyfriend have now been living with her parents for just over two years. They help with rent and household costs, and compared to what they would pay to rent privately, this living arrangement helps them save more.
“We both have full-time jobs, and we’re finally starting to put money aside, but the deposit still feels like a huge mountain to climb,” Maisie explains.
“It’s difficult because the amount you need to save for a deposit feels so massive, and that feeling can make saving harder. It’s easy to feel a bit defeated about it, and I think, ‘Are we ever actually going to get there?”
“Rent is so expensive, and if we started renting again, I think it would push buying a house even further away.”
New ideas to help with homeownership
That’s why Maisie believes new ideas are needed to help people get on the housing ladder.
When she heard about Own Homes and how you can RentSaveOwn, the idea immediately made sense.
“Own Homes can help us turn our rent into a deposit,” she explains. “We’d move into a new-build home we want to buy, pay a monthly rent similar to a mortgage and part of our rent would be saved towards our deposit every month.”
“We’d be living in the home while saving, with a clear plan to own within five years, and this makes the goal of saving feel much more achievable”, she says.
It would also take away one of the biggest struggles many future homeowners face: saving while paying rent.
“If part of your rent is automatically going towards your deposit, it feels like you’re making progress without constantly thinking about saving extra on top,” Maisie explained:
“Having our own home would unlock a lot of next steps. A home isn’t just about property. It would mean being able to plan our future properly, regain independence and build a future together.”
“I feel that having my own home is the start of my proper adult life,” she says. “It’s the place where everything else begins. I see my friends buying homes and moving forward with their lives, and it can be frustrating when you can’t do the same.”
“I’d love somewhere I can come home to, feel comfortable, and make my own. I’d love to host friends, have BBQs in the summer, and host Christmas at ours.”
Maisie cheekily explains. “When you live with your parents, you still feel like you need to ask permission. I’m 25, and sometimes it still feels like I’m asking if I can have friends around.”
Home is the foundation for everything
For Maisie, the home means comfort and stability,” she says. “It’s the foundation that everything else in your life is built on.”
But she believes the housing system needs to work better for people in their position.
“We’ve both studied hard, have good jobs, and we’re doing everything we’re supposed to do,” she says. “But saving for a deposit still feels incredibly difficult.”
Until something changes, Maisie and her boyfriend will continue to save, hoping to reach their goal of owning a home.
If Maisie could give one piece of advice to others, it would be:
“Don’t feel like you’re the only one struggling with this. A lot of people our age are in the same position, and we’re all trying our best to save a deposit to buy a home. Sometimes we just need a bit of help to get there.”
Find out more about how you could go from renting to owning in five years at www.ownhomes.com
