I’ve saved for 10 years since my first job at 14 – and now I own a two-bedroom £139,000 home
- Sarah Yates, 27, started putting money aside from when she was a 14-year-old
- She was delighted when she got an offer of £139,000 accepted in March 2020
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A young journalist who saved up for more than a decade has revealed how she bought her own two-bedroom home at the age of just 24.
Sarah Yates, now 27, from Hazel Grove, Greater Manchester, started putting money aside when she was just 14-years-old and working a paper round, she told the Manchester Evening News.
She did the job until her first year of college, when she was seen by one of her classmates who proceeded to mock her, which she found ‘mortifying’, prompting her to quit.
Sarah then took up a position in Clarkes, where she worked until getting her first journalism job as a reporter, when she was 19-years-old.
Sarah Yates (pictured at her home in Edgeley) says she started saving money when she first started working at 14-years-old, with a job doing a paper round
She said: ‘I was fortunate enough to live with my mum and dad up until I bought my first house. I started looking to get on the property ladder when I was about 24.’
The first house she put an offer on was £120,000 in Hazel Grove but she was beaten to the property by another buyer.
After that, Sarah had another five bids for different homes declined over a 12 month period.
She ideally wanted to buy her own home in Hazel Grove, the area she grew up in, but was priced out with her £145,000 budget.
The young reporter has credited being able to live with her parents with being able to save enough money for her home (pictured)
By the end of her mission she started looking at houses in the Stockport suburb of Edgeley, Greater Manchester, which she has described as an ‘up and coming area’.
She said: ‘I found this house that was on the market for £140,000. It was in an absolute state, it was run down and everything needed doing to it, but that appealed to me because I liked the idea of being able to put my own stamp on it.’
‘I wanted somewhere where I could completely do up the kitchen and bathroom, paint the walls and put new flooring in everywhere.’
Initially she offered the asking price but this was turned down because the owners wanted £1,000 more – which was a ‘no brainer’ for the young journalist, who felt the property was worth the extra cash.
She has described the town of Edgeley, where she owns the property (pictured) as ‘up and coming’
The 27-year-old has described her property as ‘light and airy’. She did much of the work herself in an effort to save money
After a detailed inspection, she ended up getting an offer of £139,000 accepted for the property in March 2020.
She believes she got a good deal as she purchased the house just before lockdown, when there was huge uncertainty, and people were concerned about their job security.
Rather than using a broker, savvy Sarah used Martin Lewis’ mortgage calculator on his Money Saving Expert website to find the best deal.
Homeowner Sarah (pictured) says she used Martin Lewis’ mortgage calculator on his Money Saving Expert website to find the best deal, instead of using a broker
This, she says, cut out the middle man and saved her a good chunk of money.
By August 2020, she had the keys to her property, and she started working on it, relaying the concrete below the house to make it more secure.
Sarah ripped up her house over nine months during lockdown, using a chunk of her salary to do up her house.
She scouted out the cheapest products at all sorts of shops including Screwfix, B&Q and Toolstation.
Sarah’s offer of £139,000 was accepted for the property in March 2020. By August, she hadthe keys, and started to work on the home
To further cut down costs, Sarah learnt how to reseal windows via YouTube tutorials while, paid family and friends to help out with jobs, and has rented one of the bedrooms to her cousin.
Sarah’s managed to keep her house very simplistic and keeps her space ‘light and airy’ as possible.
She says she is very proud to have bought her own home and is pleased to call it her own.
For other young people looking to get on the housing ladder, she says people should be willing to make sacrifices.
She added that picking up second jobs can be helpful, but missing out on some nights out may be the price to pay.
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