I bought my first house when I was 24. It was a cute little one bed; two up, two down.

In terms of investment and setting myself up in the property market it was the best thing I ever did. The worst thing I ever did was leave it in the hands of a letting agent when I went travelling who let a couple of druggies move in, who promptly bolted just after I got back, owing me 6 months rent and a total refurb. Clearing up other people's used needles is not something I ever wish to repeat!

My "mother" threw me out with my my 3 month old son as she didnt want to deal with my slef harming and Post natal depression. i had just turned 18. I lived with my sister for a year then moved in with my now hubby. We stayed in his flat that his parents rented to him for 6yrs and we have now just bought our first home together.

We have been here for 2 months now and love it!!! Its a very cliche neighborhood! LOL Everyone talks to each other, the house are beutiful and all the kids play together! We even back onto fields, a golf course and a lake - so its perfect for Atlas too!!

I left home at 19, bought a house with my OH in 1989 when the mortgage rate was 15%. (don't know how we managed it looking back ) Bought it for around
£ 53,000 and sold it for £ 120,000 in 2003. Then we had two years in another house, sold that and then we moved to Kent, have been here for 5 years.

Wow! Thanks everyone for sharing all your stories with me, really if much appreciated and gives me a better idea about what I plan to do, well what I HOPE to do anyway!

Sorry I'm not personally replying to you all individually, but I really have read every word every one of you have said. Some amazing tales there!

Basically, I'm 25 in August and currently live with my grandparents who are 68 and 74. I would love us all to move to a bigger house, but they don't want to and I can understand why they don't. It's me who wants to move, not them, so it would be selfish of me to expect them to move. If we did all move and I maybe met someone and we moved in together (way down the line!) they would be left with a much bigger house than they really need and can look after. Hope that makes sense. They are both fit and well just now, but they won't always be like this.

Even WHEN I do get my own place, the dogs will still be at their gran and granpa's during the day. He will collect them in the mornings and I will collect them after work and take them home, so they will still be very well cared for. They are my main concern.

I feel as if I need my own space now as well though. I think it's time.

I left 'home' shortly after turning 19, and rented a 1 bed flat for about 2 years.
Then got my first house, been here for 6 years now!
I do like it, but getting ready for something better lol

I walked 3 days before my 17th Birthday, well my mother threw me out so I had no choice really.
I went to London with a friend and we lived rough for 6 months, later befriending a older girl who gave us a place to stay, I left there after a few weeks as my friend got into prostitution and I feared if I stayed I would be dragged down that road.

After living rough alone for some months the salvation army helped me get back to Birmingham, they tried to reunite me with my family, but my Mother had a very unforgiving nature in those days and it never happened.
My first place was a bedsit, very basic but I made friends with another girl and we had some laughs, but after landing a job at Social Security as a casual, I found a proper flat, the couple that owned it had the bookies underneath and they let me have it cheaper if I cleaned thier shop out every evening, they were a great couple and were like a Mom and Dad to me
Later I met my first husband and we got a house I later went onto studying and became a veterinary nurse, after that it all history, but that flat was the start for me and I will always have fond memories

Really enjoying everyone's stories Will post mine tomorrow as getting a bit sleepy!

Blimey - you've had a lot of "life experience" Youngstevie, you must be very street wise. But do you look back and think OMG how did i do that ? - i did things when i was younger and i think i couldn't do that now but thats what makes us the people we are i suppose and no-one can say we have had boring lives

Moved out to Uni at 18
Moved in with Mark at 19 (still at Uni though)
Got our own house when I was about 20.

Was a teeny-tiny 3 bed terrace, that needed a ton of work doing on it. We lived with no carpets, wallpaper etc for ages, and most of our furniture was 3rd or 4th hand, as we couldn't afford anything new.

We did quite a bit of basic work on it - decorating, painting, carpets (2nd hand), re-grouted in the kitchen etc; but never had enough money to do the 'big' stuff on it.

It wasn't in a brill area, and there were always police down the road - drug dealer living opposite, domestic violence next door etc.

I left home in my early 20s... went straight to London

Loved it - especially as my job entailed a lot of travelling across Europe. Rented for two years then decided to come back to Wales as property prices there were just insane!

Had a big mortgage (though smaller than what people have these days!!) and so decided to 'downgrade' or find a property that needs doing up. Got a bigger house with a bigger garden and smaller mortgage now - not as nice as the first house as half of it still needs gutting, but don't have as big a headache because of the mortgage.

If you have complete freedom and independence at your parents, then I'd say save the money up until you can buy a house - if not, move out... you'll love it