It may seem difficult to not only climb the property ladder, but mount it in the first place, especially among millennials who are now starting to think about settling down after being in work for some years.

However, outside of inheritances or house flipping, it’s not always clear how someone can get started. Excellent opportunities for real estate investors such as those offered by FasterFunds Lending may grant some a reprieve, but not all are able to do this.

Moreover, with houses becoming more competitive, house prices rising, and the millennial need to live in relative proximity to potential places of work (compared to older generations who may have had the chance for home ownership already), it’s not hard to see why many are at a loss of where to turn.

Now, we can’t define your own experience because depending on where you live and what opportunities come your way, this task may be much more difficult or much easier than you imagine. We can, however, offer some broader principles that could help you help you climb the property ladder:

Personalized Mortgage Programs

If you have a particular career that may help you set foot on the property ladder, then it’s good to use mortgage providers that account for the reliability and trust of your professional. For example, many teachers-only mortgage providers are happy to offer more competitive terms based on the scope of the career, its average earnings, and the longer contracts offered.

But teachers are just one example, if you work in the healthcare field, are a veteran of any military branch, or if you have a government contracting job then you may be able to sustain a better outcome with services geared for your exact purpose. This isn’t a promise of course, merely a nudge in the right direction to look if you are so inclined to climb the property ladder.

Leverage Every Convenience You Have

It may not sound romantic, but leveraging every convenience you have for a short term period can secure you better and more comfortable housing in the future. So for example, if your parents allow you to live with them even into your late twenties, and you’re happy with that arrangement, you may save a great deal on the rental payments demanded by a private landlord.

Some others make sacrifices by living in shared houses and renting rooms in that space, allowing them the freedom to save money they can eventually put forwards towards a deposit. Leverage every convenience you have, and don’t feel ashamed by doing so.

First-Time Apartments

The idea of what constitutes “property” is quite outdated, at least in conventional terms. There’s absolutely no shame in opting to jump onto the property ladder by owning a small apartment outright. Here the loan will be much less, the deposit more affordable, and you can still keep a couple and perhaps a small child quite comfortable here as you move forward.

As your potential real estate asset appreciates in value and you make the necessary investments in it, this can grant you a little more freedom to choose the next step up, be that a larger apartment with a second bedroom, or moving to a slightly better area.

We’re not suggesting this process is easy, only it can make the property onboarding process that much easier. Moreover, with the advent of minimalist houses, you may be able to find an even more affordable and comfortable option to help you climb the property ladder.

Extended Mortgages

More and more millennials are opting into longer mortgages with longer repayments, sometimes up to thirty years and more. Now, while that may sound relatively undesirable, if it grants you a stable asset like a household, the chance to overpay your mortgage to complete the contract earlier, and of course, if this ends up being much less than renting in a similar area, then there may be quite a few benefits to selecting this option.

Of course, you can also port your mortgage depending on the value of the new household, which will give you the chance to slowly climb the ladder even with the current or adjusted repayment terms. Extended mortgages may seem like a bad option, but they’re a decent reprieve in a highly competitive marketplace that seems to be pricing too many people out of possible ownership.

Millennials Can Climb The Property Ladder

With this advice, we hope you can consider a few different jumping-on points to mount the property ladder and climb it at your own pace.

Note that these are just suggestions, and what may or may not work for your own situation is something to reflect on at length. We wish you all the luck in the world.