What I Own: We lived rent-free to afford our £278,000 flat in the London suburbs

Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder. This week, we’re having a nosey around Emily McAllister and Ciaran Dennis’ £278,000 two-bedroom maisonette in Upminster. The pair got on the property ladder when they were just 23 and 24 respectively, having saved while living with their parents. Now, they’ve found that the cost of their monthly mortgage is actually lower than the average rental rates for the area – and they’ve been able to put their own spin on the place, too.

Here’s what Emily had to say about their property journey…. I’m Emily McAllister, 24, and my boyfriend, Ciaran Dennis, is 25. We’re based in Upminster, East London, with our Corgi, Padron. I work as a marketing manager, and Ciaran is an insurance broker. We live in Upminster, right at the end of the District Line in Zone 6. We’ve both grown up here and absolutely love it. It’s the perfect mix of quiet countryside and city living. There’s a park at the end of our road for dog walks, yet we’re only 20 minutes from London by train. It really feels like the best of both worlds.

We got the keys in May 2024, but we didn’t officially move in until August 2024, after completing some much-needed renovations. To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro's London news hub. We paid £278,000 for our two-bed maisonette. We put down a 10% deposit of £27,800. Our total monthly cost is around £1,817.49. Our mortgage is £1,250.20, and we overpay by £150 each month to chip away at it faster. Our council tax costs £177, water is £40, gas and electric £100, WiFi £27, TV licence £12, and contents insurance £23.80.

One year since viewing our home 🥺 It needed SO much work but it was in the perfect area so we put an offer in as soon as we left the first viewing and it got accepted the following morning 🫶 #renovation #renovationproject #firsttimehomebuyer #fixerupper #ukhomerenovation #home. We also pay for boiler insurance, which costs £22 per month, a Ring doorbell at £7.99, and a window cleaner at £7.50.

We were really lucky to be able to live rent-free with our families while saving, which made a huge difference. We both used Lifetime ISAs (LISAs), which helped boost our savings with a government bonus, and my parents kindly gifted us around £5,000 towards our deposit. It was definitely overwhelming at first but we had an amazing mortgage advisor, Jason at Grech Wealth Management, who guided us through every step. We honestly couldn’t have done it without him.

We have a 35-year mortgage with a 4.89% interest rate. We’ve always saved with the goal of buying a home, and renting in our area is actually more expensive than a mortgage. So, it was a no-brainer for us to buy rather than rent. We spotted it as soon as it hit Rightmove and booked a viewing straight away. It needed a lot of work, but the location was perfect. We walked out of the first viewing knowing we had to put in an offer – so we did, immediately.

We did a lot of work when we got the keys. We’ve had a full rewire, a new boiler, we built an office mezzanine area and new flooring. Doing all of the work was essential to make it liveable, but also meant we could really make it feel like our home by putting our stamp on it – huge shoutout to our amazing builders at Essex Install. I get most of my interior design inspiration from Pinterest or TikTok.

Probably our open-plan kitchen/living area – it’s great for hosting because whoever is cooking can still be part of the conversation. I also love our office mezzanine. It was a wasted space before, and transforming it into a functional area was such a satisfying project. For now, yes. Even though it’s a two-bed maisonette, we’re lucky to have loft access and a garage for extra storage. Creating a separate office space also made a huge difference in keeping our work setup away from our main living area.

We’ve done a lot already, but the list never really ends. Our next big focus is tackling the front and back garden to get it ready for summer. Inside, we still need to install built-in wardrobes in the spare room and paint all the doors. Since our home was built in the ‘60s and hadn’t been updated much, we had quite a few issues. We had to do a full electrical rewire and install a new boiler, along with lots of cosmetic updates. It was a lot to handle at first, but worth it in the end.

Everything costs twice as much as you expect. Also, Facebook Marketplace will be your best friend when it comes to finding affordable furniture and decor. Be patient – things take time and money, and it’s better to live in your space before making big interior decisions. Trust me, you’ll change your mind more than once. The one-stop-shop that makes designing and fitting your new bathroom so easy….