Owning your own home

I agree, Interest only mortgages are a fools game in the long run, but can be good in the short term.

I broke up with my ex 2 years ago, and moved out of the flat we shared for almost 4 years, I also no longer have any ties to the house/area I grew up in.... So by the start of this year i was tiered of not having anywhere I could call home, and just doing the whole flatshare thing, which I pretty much just saw as somewhere to sleep at night... This, and the fact that it was/is a strong buyers market, is why at the begging of this year I decided to buy my own flat.... I did a lot of internet hunting, rather than lots of viewings, and put in a low-ball offer on the first place i looked at, I was lucky as it was accepted, and moved in to my new place in April.

Finacially, I would have struggled to do it on a capital repayment mortgage.
I managed to secure a good three year fixed rate, and my repayments worked out £250 less on a on an intrest only mortgage. I could have just about afforded the extra £250 a month, but it would have been tight, and I would have been left with no cash for any kind of emergencies. So I took the interest only mortgage, and try to save the extra £250 a month.

My view is that in three years time, when my fixed rate runs out, I will re-mortgage onto a capital repayment mortgage, that I will be able to afford more easily as I will (hopefully) be earning a more substantial wage, and if all goes to plan, I will also have some savings to help me pay off a (small) chunk of the mortgage, but will have those savings at my disposal until then, incase of any emegencies.

I now live somewhere that I am very happy to call home. I can also call it my own home. And most importantly, I can afford it.

And the best thing is, I live on my own, so I can walk around butt-naked as much as I want. Or watch American Chopper without feeling ashamed of myself. (These two activites do not happen at the same time though, that would be weird)

I'm just under 2 years into this gameplan and still confident I did the right thing. I reasoned I should use all the savings I could gather to maximise the deposit then give myself the 3 years low monthlies to re-build a savings buffer. So when I switch to a repayment mortgage in a year and a bit I should have enough to cover those nasty surprises that home ownership will throw up occasionally*.

*(Not including the ones caused by walking around butt-naked)