Your first house

Hello all,

Just thinking about things, really. I really think that I need my own space now.

When did you leave home and were you glad you did it when you did?

Did you love your 'new' first home? How long were you there for?

Gosh. I left home at 18 but lived in shared houses/flats until i was probably about 21 or 22. And yes, I never regretted leaving home nor did I get home sick.

My first 'home' of my own was a rented 1 bedroom flat. No, I didn't love it, I only ever saw it as a temporary place to live (though I ended up living there for nearly 3 years). I did always feel safe living there though, which is a very important thing.

I didn't love the first house I bought (or any of the ones after!) either. In fact the only house that I have really fallen in love with was one that we went to view but didn't get to buy as we hadn't sold ours.

I left home at 18 too, to get married.

Our first home was a 2 bedroom split level maisonette, we loved it had wild parties nearly every weekend as we were the only people in or group with our own space.

Unfortunately after 2 years we could no longer afford it so had to move in with Gordens dad till the council housed us.

As soon as I am done with my degree and working full time, finding my own place is at the very top of my priority list. I have a feeling it might be a tall order though, finding somewhere that will take two dogs (I'll be taking Bo my Slovak for sure and Dex my Lab most likely). I'll just have to see how everything pans out.

If it wasn't for the dogs, there is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that I would have gone away to University and moved out then.

Even renting is so frigging expensive. A guy at my work is renting the tiniest one bedroom flat for over £500 a month which just seems extortionate. I'll be moving into a cardboard box at this rate.

We're currently living in our first house after buying it two years ago. I was 24 when we bought but since leaving school i've either lived with my parents or my sister so in some ways it didn't feel like moving out for the first time. Having said that I love having my own house and wouldn't swap it for the world so am very glad we did it.

Being first time buyer it was difficult finding a house that ticked all or most the boxes and although this house isn't in the best area it is a perfect first house as it has decent sized rooms and a nice sized garden for us and Monty to enjoy.

We don't plan on being here forever as it's not really big enough for us to consider starting a family in and i also wouldn't want to raise kids round here.

Aside from that it is ideal and if we go away i alway look forward to getting back to my own little haven .

I moved out when I was 19 and moved from a small town in the South Lakes to London I wanted to see the bright lights and big city I rented a bedsit in South London and loved the independence and excitement of being away from home. I lived there for around 3 or 4 years I think, before moving back up North and renting again for a few years until I bought a house in a village just outside Lancaster. I did love that house when I first moved in, but it wore off, and I ended up renting again.

The two houses I have lived in (neither owned) that I have really loved was one that was just on the outskirts of Lancaster but you felt as though you were in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by fields and woodland and there were only four terraced cottages. My neighbours were fantastic and I loved it. The other house I love is where I am now. We have loads of land and no neighbours, bliss!

I left home at 18 (couldn't wait to get out quite honestly!). I had a good job, so could afford to rent a pretty nice flat with a friend of mine. She went off with some bloke, left me paying all the rent, but I scraped by. Then I rented a flat with a boyfriend, that turned sour and he chucked me out, keeping our puppy I took the plunge when I was around 25 and bought my very own house all on my own with a hefty mortgage, but it was a big old victorian house in Brighton on 3 floors, so I took in 3 lodgers on a half board basis, cooked them breakfast before I went off to work, and dinner when I got home from work, and raked in a fortune! Lol! I was a bit of an entrepeneur back then, probably coz life was tough at home for me, I brought myself up from the age of 10, parents were never around, so I knew I had to make the most of things when I was able to leave. Apart from that, it was what everybody DID in those days, they worked hard and got on the property ladder, and when you get to my ripe old age, it sure pays off!

I couldn't imagine living at home with my parents after my teens I wanted to be independent and live the life I wanted, coz they had rules, rules that I didn't like, especially the one where I wasn't allowed to roll in when the milkman came at 5 am. and stick the frying pan on coz I was hungry lol!

Good luck with whatever you do Nicola, but better to do it when you feel you CAN, and if you're earning good money, there's still nothing better to invest in than bricks and morter!

My parents died when I was a teenager so had little choice but to get a place of my own really. I was 17 and rented a 1 bed flat working 2 jobs to pay for it and waiting for my younger brother to leave care and move in. I didn't love it but it was fine for a while. I then went to America for 6 months travelling followed immediately by 8 months working in Spain. On my return I stayed with my sister briefly before buying my first house, 3 bed semi needing modernisation. Did it up and sold it, bought another, spent 2 years doing all the work and sold it. Bought another, did it up and stayed put for 15 years in which time I paid off the mortgage completely, bought my current house without selling the previous one, spent time and copious amounts of cash doing it up, and I do love it, eventually sold the previus one at the top of the market, paid off mortgage on current house with the proceeds. Love it all the more now it's paid for

I left home when i was 32 and moved in to a lovely flat with my partner, we stayed there for 5 years with Kobe and Charlie it was a house with 3 separate flats in, we were on the top floor and its was wonderfull but got a bit cramped after a while, thankgoodness the other 2 residents in the flats were kind enough not to tell the LL we had 2 dogs when no pets were allowed, we used to clean and wash the communal stairs and sweep them every weekend where the dogs muddied up.

We then moved into our 3 bedroomed semi in a great area of Leeds (rented) with a great garden and are very happy although LL only knows about Kobe and not Honey, this will be out 3rd year.

I left to go to Uni when I was 18 and then the next year my parents moved so I kinda didnt have a home to go back too
I bought my house 10 years ago. I do love it. My neighbours are a$$holes but everyone else is lovely. I walk 2 min to be in the country and about the same to be at a 24 hour Asda. It would be perfect if I could make it detached
Good luck on the house hunt, scary fun step. I am up for housewarming parties