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We're stuck - we can't afford to buy a house, and we can't afford to save up a deposit either.

Darren's 32, I'm 30, we've got great jobs which pay us a combined salary of almost £50,000 a year, but buying the house that we can call home is out of our reach.

The story goes back to leaving home at a fairly young age, by today's standards. Darren moved from Cumbria to Cambridge to start university, and has never lived with his parents since, because they - quite rightly - have always regarded him as an adult, and he's never questioned that he should stand on his own two feet.

I left home for university at 18, went back, moved out again, went back and finally moved out for the last time at 23.

I had a succession of fairly low-paid jobs, although by no means was I regarded by society as having a particularly low income.

Bedsit
I lived in a housing association bedsit at first, which was much nicer than it sounds, then moved to Essex for work, with Darren.

We went on to have to move a number of times for work reasons, plus we were forced to move by two landlords who sold their houses from under us.

All these moves, combined with my very low salary during my time as a trainee newspaper reporter, built up our debts.

Last year we consolidated the lot; overdrafts, credit cards, the dreaded store cards, and previous loans.

Those loans now cost us almost £600 a month, but when we finish paying them, we will be entirely debt free. The promised land.

Daunting
In the meantime, although our bank would agree a mortgage for the value of the house we rent in Biddenham, just outside Bedford, we cannot realistically afford to pay it.

The list of what we would have to pay for if we took on a mortgage now is a bit daunting: we would have to take out a loan to pay a deposit, legal fees and all the fresh air fees that seem to come with buying a house, as well as the consolidation loans we already have, not forgetting the mortgage payments themselves.

All this would add up to hundreds of pounds more than we're paying in rent now - £580 per month for a lovely two-bedroom house with a garage and garden.

That garden's south facing, too, as is the kitchen. We love that house and we've called it home for two and a half years - longer than we've managed to stay anywhere else - but we can't afford to buy it.

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We feel at home in Biddenham; Darren plays cricket or the village club, and we've made friends there. We don't want to leave.

We're hoping to save enough for a deposit and all the other fees associated with owning property, and then buy a house in the village.

But - just to slow us down a bit more - we're getting married next year.

All our spare cash is now being ploughed into the wedding of the decade. It won't be a fancy affair, in fact we're quite determined not to get carried away and spend ridiculous amounts of money on details no-one will remember. But it's still all our spare cash between now and then, putting buying a house off the agenda.

We find it frustrating. Occasionally we wonder what we're doing wrong - we work hard, we have good jobs that we've had to work hard to get, we don't live extravagantly, and we don't have any children or even pets.

It's just impossible to buy a house where we want to live. Maybe we should move to a cheaper area, where we might be able to afford a house we wouldn't want to live in?

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Pete, Hindle	Tuesday, 27-Jul-2004 17:59:20 BST
Pensions are the older generations trouble; housing is the younger generations. It is the same thing, because both are essentials. You cant hope to have a reasonable quality of life if you dont have your own house, or money coming in. The only solution to the younger generations troubles is if house prices go down - but where will that leave older folk wanting to cash in on their houses for security in their later years?

Anon, Berko	Tuesday, 27-Jul-2004 14:20:23 BST
I was in this situation a year ago, with property prices going up at lighting speed there was no hope we could save enough for a deposit. We needed a lump sum to help us on our way. I went to one of the company directors where I work and explained the situation he made it clear a big pay rise or bonus were not on the cards . I explained I would have to look for another job to earn more. I then suggested that the company could offer me a loan to help out and in return I would stay. A company can loan a employee up to £5000 without any tax implications for employer or employee, we agreed a repayment term of five years at 0% interest starting with small repayments and scaling up over the term by which time I will be hopefully be earning more. If you are valued employee and the company you work for has cash sitting in the bank. It is worth a go. Now we have the house, I am happy at work - so everyone is happy!

CATHERINE GALE, CHESHAM BUCKS	Tuesday, 27-Jul-2004 13:31:38 BST
We were very lucky as 3 years ago my husband and I bought our first home which was an ex council flat in Wembley for £86,000 and even that seemed expensive at the time. Three years later when we sold it, it had almost doubled in price. But again we couldn't afford to stay in the area as the next rung on the ladder was way out of our league even though we have good salaries. We have had to move out to Buckinghamshire were you do get more for your money. But also the other plus side is that the crime rates are low, insurances such as driving, household etc are cheaper. Also schools are better and the whole enviroment for bringing up children is better (for the future). I feel it is a lot better on the whole. The only downside is the commute, but it's worth it. I think you must try and buy a property even if it is in a rough area so you can trade up a few years later. This is the way we did it. We had problems with the neighbours when we lived in Wembley, but I'm glad we went through it as now as I'm happier than I have ever been. Also if you are desperate to get on the property ladder then instead saving for a wedding, use your savings towards a property, the wedding of your dreams will have to wait.

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