Nationwide — Adriana Goncalves, a 26-year-old woman from South London, bought her first home at 24 through a shared ownership scheme and quickly learned what early homeownership really involves. Now, she is opening up about her biggest regret and the lessons she wishes she had known before buying.
She purchased a one-bedroom flat in June 2024 after saving a five percent deposit of £7,000. Adriana was able to reach that goal by living with her mother rent-free, which allowed her to put away around 70 percent of her salary each month for seven months.
Although she feels safe in her area and says her neighbors are friendly, Adriana does not see the flat as a long-term home. Her main regret is not waiting longer before buying, especially since her salary increased shortly after she began the process.
“I always knew I wanted to have moved out by the time I was 25. I think for me the biggest regret was I wish I had waited a bit longer before buying — as I was promoted at work during the process of buying. If I’d waited a few months, I could have used my salary increase and gone for a two-bed house in Essex rather than staying in London, which is more expensive,” she told My London.
She also admits she underestimated how much her commute would affect her day-to-day life. Adriana now drives up to an hour to get to work in another part of London and believes moving further out could have shortened that travel time by up to 30 minutes.
“I think growing up I wanted to stick where I was and wanted to stay in London […] but I didn’t realise the travel distance from where I live to where I work which is in a different part of London from me. I guess the solicitor process in itself was confusing.”
On top of that, she found the conveyancing process stressful and hard to follow. “I would get emails from solicitors saying ‘we’re going to apply for this’ or ‘we’re waiting to hear back on this’… I would have to find out by doing my own research ‘what does this document mean?'” She added that things felt rushed toward the final stages of the purchase.
Looking ahead, Adriana plans to move out of London in a few years and hopes to buy a larger home in Essex or Kent. She now encourages first-time buyers to take their time, research thoroughly, visit areas at different times, and make sure they understand solicitor processes and service charges before committing.