Everybody these days seems preoccupied with owning their own home. If you are on low pay and only one source of income (i.e single), it's never going to happen.

Owning a home isn't just about the mortgage payments. I finished paying off my mortgage last year. I now have an extra £410pm of free money (£5700 so far for 14 months), good yeah. No, in the last 14 months I have paid out £1700 for tanking and plastering, £2100 for a repair to my roof. My kitchen is 25 years worn as is my bathroom, thats £10,000 over the next couple of years, when I can save and afford it. There is always something that need repairing.

My young co-worker keeps pointing out how it's alright for people of my generation, that could afford to by a cheap house. Was it alright, was it hell. My terraced house was £40,000 in 1991. In 1989 I was on £2.20 p/h for a 40 hour week. I was doing a job which compares to a minimum wage job today. £2.20 * 40 * 52 = £4500 per year. Mortgage companies would only lend 3 * yearly wage. I then got a good job which paid £6.20 p/h (a very very good hourly rate in 1990). That £6.20 * 42 * 52 = £13,540 * 3 got me a £40,000 mortgage. The house next door to me sold for £135,000 in January and is in way better condition than mime.

Compare buying my neighbourse house on today's minimum wage £7.50.

£7.50 * 40 * 52 = £15,600

2017: £135,000 / £15,600 = 8.7, that's 8.7 times a minimum wage yearly salery to buy my neighbours house. 1991: £40,000 / £4,500 = 8.9, that's 8.9 times my crap job yearly salery when I brought my house.

No real difference. I'm in a crap job now, I could not afford to buy my home if it was for sale. I might not even be able to afford to get the kitchen and bathroom re-done.