We’re 30 and on our third home already – here’s how we did it without help

Max and Kayleigh Bolton, aged 31 and 30 respectively, have just bought their third home, a £555,000 four-bedroom property in Sussex. The couple bought their first home in December 2019, in Petersfield, Hampshire, when they were 24 and 23 and have not received parental help. At this point, Max had started a job in the Navy and Kayleigh was working as a project manager at Shell. Kayleigh said: “We had to sacrifice on things to get on the ladder, but we used it as a building block.” “We bought with 50 per cent shared ownership – we could have afforded a bit more, but we chose that amount because at that percentage it meant that we didn’t need to pay stamp duty,” added Max. The pair got this first deposit together with a combination of disciplined saving and circumstances (Photo: Matt Reading/Barratt Redrow Southern Counties) The property was a three-bedroom new-build, which was £400,000 full price, with their share coming to £200,000. Their deposit was £40,000 and their mortgage was £160,000 – they paid rent on the remaining £200,000. The pair got this first deposit together with a combination of disciplined saving and circumstances. “I didn’t go to university so had no student debt,” said Max. “I joined the Navy at 22, having previously worked at a dog kennels. [Before the Navy] I had no outgoings as had been living with my mum and dad [whom I paid rent].” Max had few expenses while in the Navy as he was living on-site – all his food was provided, and he only had to pay £60 a month for accommodation. As a result, he was able to save £1,000 a month from his salary. Kayleigh was also building up for a deposit. “I had been at home, while working in London for a few years, so I was quickly able to save up,” she said. “I was good at saving money and had a cash ISA that I could take money out of it, but I was really strict on myself.” The Boltons lived in their Petersfield home for three years and, while they had to pay a service charge, they were fortunate that their rent didn’t increase a huge amount during this period as interest rates remained low. In December 2022, the couple decided it was time to move on and put their first home on the market. “[It] sold in two weeks, and we made a fortune on it. If we had owned 100 per cent, we would have made £80,000 but we had 50 per cent so got £40,000,” said Max. Having sold for £480,000, £240,000 of which was their share, the pair used some of this equity to pay for the stamp duty on their next home – a three-bedroom, detached property in Yapton, Sussex. While this move stretched them financially, the new house was larger, with a bigger garden and a driveway for three cars. They paid £425,000 and put down a 10 per cent deposit of £42,500, with the rest mortgaged. A key worker incentive scheme meant they got £5,000 off the £430,000 asking price because Max was in the Navy. “The commute is around an hour and a half, but, for us, it’s worth it to have more space, be close to our family, and continue to invest in our future,” he added. The pair have always managed to get a discount with stamp duty, either through holidays or taking advantage of incentive schemes. With this move, they bought during the stamp duty holiday, although interest rates were also increasing during this time. They ported their previous, fixed-rate mortgage, on a rate of 1.9 per cent, and then got an additional, smaller, fixed mortgage for 6.1 per cent. While in their second home, Max got a promotion, before deciding to leave the Navy for the private sector. “I landed a job in London as a cyber operations manager for a bank. I got the biggest pay rise I’ve ever had,” said Max. Kayleigh was also promoted twice during this time and, apart from during Covid, received regular bonuses. In April this year, the couple, now aged 31 and 30, decided to move for a third time. “We got married just a few weeks ago and after an amazing honeymoon in Arizona, it felt like the perfect time to settle into a home where we can really put down roots and think about starting a family,” said Kayleigh. The pair paid £555,000 for their new home, which is in Barratt David Wilson Homes’ Ryebank Gate development. They are taking advantage of a part-exchange scheme to sell with, to avoid estate agents’ fees and uncertainty. Their second home was sold for £400,000, £25,000 less than what they paid for it in 2022, but they used this to negotiate down the price of the house they were buying. They agreed a price of £555,000, with Kayleigh and Max putting down a 10 per cent deposit, saved over two years and using the equity they had in their previous home. They have a £500,000 mortgage, part of which was ported from their existing mortgage, enabling them to retain a lower interest rate, while securing a new mortgage at 4.4 per cent on the remainder of the property. As their previous mortgage was due to increase to 6.5 per cent, combining the two mortgage rates helped to lower their overall costs. Kayleigh and Max appreciate that part of the reason they have been able to climb the property ladder so young and so quickly is because they are in a couple. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this as a single person – our income has quadrupled as a household since we first bought,” says Max. Their advice to others wanting to do something similar is to be open minded. “We both work in London, so a lot of people assumed we’d move closer to our jobs, but we wanted to prioritise the lifestyle we could have outside of work,” said Max. “Our advice to anyone hoping to buy their first or next home would be not to compare yourself to anyone else. Make sure you go for what you want, and don’t let others influence your choice,” added Kayleigh. Max also says people should look at different ways of investing when building up savings. “I invest in stocks and shares ISAs and leave them to grow there,” he said. “Getting 3 per cent in a cash ISA is losing money – I now use the markets.” He also credits the Navy with helping him get on the property ladder. “The discipline of the Navy completely changed who I was as a person,” he said. “Although I don’t do it anymore, ironing socks every day made me better at saving money.” Shorts