Ryan's journey from renting to homeownership

Travel > homeownership

Growing up on a small island, I naturally wanted to escape and explore the world, a sentiment encouraged by my parents who never bought a house themselves. Their advice to experience life beyond the island deeply influenced me. This led me to seize every opportunity to travel, making the idea of settling down in one place seem distant. My partner, in contrast, came from a family of homeowners. Her father, a tradesman, had even renovated their family home himself, including a loft extension.

A turning point in Mexico

Years of travelling provided me with incredible experiences, but a bad experience in Mexico earlier this year spurred me to consider putting down roots somewhere. After six years of renting in London, we felt it was time to find a more spacious home for the next chapter of our lives.

Saving for a deposit

My partner had always been a saver, living at home in North London after university whilst working a great job in the city she was able to really focus on building a deposit. My path was a bit different; I chose to avoid UK university debt by studying abroad, taking advantage of cheaper local tuition fees and living costs in Spain, Belgium, Indonesia, and France. Simultaneously during my studies, I worked online and built a career while at university, reducing my education costs by about 70%. Eventually, I found myself in Canary Wharf, debt-free, working around the clock in a fast-growing fintech company whilst renting a cheap box room in a flatshare to save money.

COVID-19 brought me and my partner together under one roof, even with other flatmates. This unconventional living arrangement helped us save on rent and also acted as a trial run for what living together could be like, without a long-term lease commitment. Over the years of living together, we continued to get multiple promotions and continued our success in our careers without altering our lifestyle very much. This combined with our jobs turning to being fully remote and our landlord not raising our rents added to a compounding effect of being able to save even more, to where we are today, being proud to have saved up a deposit on our own without any financial help from our families.

Navigating the Mortgage Process

We followed advice from family and friends to navigate the complex mortgage process and what to prepare for - we’ve all heard the horror stories. We found traditional mortgage brokers slow and outdated, which was frustrating for me who was used to efficient, automated systems. Seeking a more streamlined solution, I discovered Tembo, a platform that simplified the mortgage process. Tembo provided a personalized mortgage recommendation and a downloadable Mortgage in Principle, enabling us to move quickly on a property we came across out of pure luck.

Finding and falling in love with a home

Being unfamiliar with living outside of London, we wanted to stay close to familiar surroundings and my partner’s family. We decided on Walthamstow in North-East London, close to their current flat in Hackney. We fell in love with a charming 4-bed terrace house, directly negotiating with the seller who shared the house’s history and her personal experiences there, even what room she had one of her children in! This emotional connection to the home and the neighbourhood was crucial for us and for the first time, we could visualise being somewhere we could call home in a great location and setting us up for the next years ahead of us.

The house doesn’t require immediate renovations, although we will do some cosmetic updates with the help of my partner's father. We are excited to personalize our new home, with the potential to add value through improving the home in the coming years.

Looking Ahead

My journey from a life of renting and travelling to becoming a homeowner was marked by strategic decisions and a bit of serendipity. Our new home not only represents a place to live but a foundation for future plans, including starting a family. With careful planning and the right support, we were able to achieve our dream of owning our own place, setting the stage for a new and exciting chapter ahead.