1.8 million Brits have held on to a bad relationship to get on the housing ladder, as one in ten admit they’d stay if it meant buying their first home
It’s tough out there as a single Londoner. Cuffing season may well and truly be over but if the Summer of Love Island showed us anything we Brits love to get loved up (if only for a hot minute in a hot country).
But would you stay in a relationship in order to buy a house? If so, you’d be in good company. 1.8 million people in the UK are estimated to have stayed with a partner just to get on the property ladder.
According to the survey conducted by L&C Mortgages one in ten of all non-homeowners said they would consider remaining an unhappy relationship if it meant they could buy their own house.
44 per cent stayed with a partner over a year longer than they would have otherwise in order to save together for a mortgage or a deposit, with two in five still coupled up in order to buy a house.
“With such large sums needed for deposits and combined salaries often the only option to achieve the required mortgage, the temptation to stay with a partner is understandable,” said David Hollingworth of L&C Mortgages.
“We place a great deal of importance on owning our own home, and of course buying property is one of the biggest financial moves you can make – but it isn’t right that people are sacrificing their emotional wellbeing in order to focus on financial stability,” he added.
“Taking professional mortgage advice will help ensure you are doing the right thing financially but you shouldn’t ignore your emotional wellbeing when making such a big commitment.”
So there you go, some serious relationship advice from your mortgage advisor.
It’s one thing to admit that part of your attraction to your date lies in their owning a property. One has to admire the chutzpah of Esther Walker, who admitted she mainly fancied future husband Giles Coren due to his large, five bedroom house in Kentish Town.
But stay with someone who negs your dog, is a bore at dinner parties, or binges on your favourite Netflix show without you, all for a one bed in Walthamstow?
Of course, history is littered with people, mainly women, who had to stay with terrible partners in order to keep a roof over their heads.
But when you can’t buy a house without shacking up with someone you’d rather not in 2017 it’s dire times for love indeed.
Mind you, entries for Love Island 2018 are open. A month living rent free in a luxury villa with the chance to win £50,000 to put towards your deposit sounds tempting.
And even if you didn’t win you might find a partner to harbour a seething, silent resentment towards as you save for that first mortgage.
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