'I had £55,000 job but couldn't afford a house - this method changed my life'

'I had £55,000 job but couldn't afford a house - this method changed my life' Philly Garrett had a £40,000 deposit and a good salary but found it nearly impossible to buy a home A woman with a decent job and £40,000 in savings has revealed how she found a solution to the property crisis many people might not have thought of. Following an eviction from her rented home when her landlord decided to sell up, Philly Garrett was determined to secure her own property – and believed she was well-positioned to do so. Yet despite the 33 year old's careful planning and £55,000 salary, she discovered it was "almost impossible" to buy even a one-bedroom flat in Zones 5 and 6 of London. It was frustrating - but she eventually came up with an idea that changed her life. "It felt deflating to have saved a sizeable deposit, and not be able to afford a home in an area that felt safe near my work," Philly, who at the time worked as head of brand marketing for a collective of fashion brands, said. "I had saved over £40,000 and had a stable career." On London's outskirts, she could realistically only consider modest properties priced up to £300,000 – but discovered that in Reading, she could purchase a three-bedroom house with a garden for considerably less. But this on its own would not be enough to really make the move work. Philly said: "It was a no-brainer to move out. A lot of people said I was 'brave' for moving to a new area where I didn't know anyone, but logically I had to buy and live somewhere as nowhere let me rent with a big dog and I wanted to pay into my own assets." Philly finally managed to buy her home in Reading in 2020 for £267,000, renovating the property and watching its value soar to £415,000. She designed the space with co-living firmly in mind, knowing from the outset that she would have two lodgers living under the same roof. She said: "I ripped out the carpets and put hard flooring in the rented bedrooms, so it's easy to keep clean. When I renovated the kitchen, I included plenty of cupboards so everyone has their own designated space. "Designated storage in the bathroom is a simple yet effective way to keep the space clear. Revenue from renting rooms has far exceeded total costs of renovating my home. "Having lived in house shares in London rentals for seven years and at uni beforehand, it was an easy adjustment as co-living is normalised in the rental world. In fact, this now means I have complete choice of lodger, and I keep my house homely because I own it. "Co-living really suits my life stage of being a single female in my 30s. When I have a family one day or young children, I wouldn't use the rooms for lodgers, but if that time comes, I'll be in a better financial position having bought, thanks to house appreciation and paying down the mortgage. Buying a house was the best financial decision I have ever made." Yet the struggle to get a foot on the property ladder stayed with Philly, and after a decade working in the beauty industry, she resolved to tackle the problem head-on. Armed with a fresh concept billed as a 'solution to the housing crisis', when Philly found herself out of work in 2024 — having been earning a £75,000 salary — she took the plunge and launched Cucoon. She says the firm is an online platform designed to help single professionals jointly purchase their first home, with all the necessary legal and practical protections in place. It has the backing of Virgin StartUp's Momentum cohort — an accelerator programme aimed at supporting entrepreneurs with dyslexia. Philly explained: "It was inspired by my friends who co-bought together successfully, and the fact that co-living is very normal in the rental world, with the likes of Spareroom, which I previously used. I wanted people to have the opportunity to make home-buying choices that set themselves up for the future. "Many people are choosing to stay single for longer and Cucoon offers a solution for those who are ready to buy without waiting for traditional milestones such as marriage or inheritance. If a service like this existed at the time, I would have used it to buy a bigger home in an area of London that felt safe. "I didn't know anyone who was able to buy single, especially without family help, and I don't believe home ownership and ability to build wealth should be dependent on relationship status. I thought there had to be a solution to the housing crisis, and this solves the biggest barrier of affordability."