Buying my first home at 23 was my right move

Jade Vanriel bought her first home at just 23-years-old, without needing a loan from the Bank of Mum and Dad. She grew up in North West London before leaving to study Law at Birmingham University for three years. Always looking for ways to save, she roomed in her Aunt’s spare bedroom to stockpile some extra cash and still be independent without having to move back in with her parents.

Jade first started working and saving from the age of 16. The new homeowner said that she spent seven years saving until she had enough money for a deposit of her own. Jade had always dreamed of getting onto the property ladder from a young age and while many of her friends were clothes shopping and partying, she knew what her ultimate ambition was and didn’t lose sight of it until it had been accomplished.

When beginning the hunt for her first home, Jade didn’t want to waste her own time or the agent’s time, so used Google Maps to research transport links and Google Street View to look at the areas she wanted to live in. Jade added that she has matured and learnt a lot about life and herself through the house-buying process.

Jade found a flat she liked on Rightmove and booked a viewing with the agent. Accompanied by her dad, when she first walked in, she said the place looked terrible. The walls were stained, and the furniture was outdated, but what Jade also clearly saw was that the structure of the flat was what she was after and the rooms were a great size.

After seeing the property, she now calls home, in West Essex, she became emotionally attached, and before long the interior design and decorating ideas started running through her head.

“This is the one, I need this flat” Jade said. She put an offer in right away and had all her documentation ready to go, which helped the process go a lot smoother and faster. The two-bedroom flat soon became Jade’s and all the stress, sacrifices, compromises and saving turned into something amazing: a place Jade could call home.

Jade mentioned that planning was one of the most important parts of the entire house-buying process. Her advice to prospective buyers is that you need to have a clear goal in mind and be aware of all the extra costs. For example, home-hunters need to save for legal fees, the first month’s mortgage payment, furnishings, council tax and sometimes stamp duty – not just the purchase price and the deposit. Jade says that once people have that target figure in mind, it’s time to start saving. Now she has a place to call her own she says all the sacrifices and stresses that got her to where she is now were worth it.

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