My New £190k gift to my wife and myself.
Congratulations on the investment. It sounds daft but your own home will bring you far more joy than any car.
I was lucky enough to buy a property when I was quite young, and even though prices are pretty much on their arse at the moment houses are still far more expensive than they realistically should be. We bought our 3-bedroom period mid-terrace for £285k nearly 2 years to the day, and a recent valuation suggested it hadn't increased in value, despite us adding an attic bedroom with en-suite and extending the kitchen and dining room. The market still makes me very nervous, but you still can't beat going home to your own house at the end of the day.
Absolutely, since the wife and i met 6 years ago, for 5.5 years of those we have rented. This is the 3rd property we have tried to purchase in that time. The first was when the recession hit and the apartment was downvalued by 2x valuations. We bottled it (rightly so) and hadnt tried again till last year. Unfortunately, we decided that as the house was leasehold and the covenants were ridiculous, we bottled it again. Finally, this is 3rd time lucky and we have now exchanged contracts.
I used to own a 2 bed flat as well, and wish i had kept it (sold in 2007 at height of value). Dont think it would have gone up in value at all, but id be the majority of the way through the mortgage.