An Irish author and well-known social media sketcher has admitted he has moved his family back to his parents home in order to save for mortgage approval.
Funny man Rory O'Connor of Rory's Stories landed back to his childhood home last month when he couldn't find anywhere else affordable to rent in the area, after his landlord of seven years sold the house they were renting in Ashbourne, Co. Meath.
Rory and his wife Emma decided to move back into his parents home with their two young children and take the opportunity to save enough to get mortgage approval and a deposit on their first home.
The frank comedian who has been very open on mental health issues in his social media sketches says he decided to talk about moving home to take the stigma out of it for many people who feel embarrassed because they have to move back because of the housing crisis.
"We have been renting for the last seven years, near where my parents live in Ashbourne and the rent was affordable but the landlord had to sell the house, which is understandable .
"We were hoping to buy in the next few years anyway but it's hard to try and save while paying rent alongside all other bills and childcare costs.
"So thankfully my parents were happy to let me and my wife and our two kids - who are seven years old and 16 months - move in with them which gives us breathing space to save a bit and apply for a mortgage, hopefully by the end of the year.
"That said, getting a house in Ashbourne that we can afford is a different story but we're not going to move away just to get the first house we can afford. Ashbourne is my home. I'm born and bred here so if I can stay here, I'll wait it out until we get the right house for us.
"Getting a house for our generation is so different from our parents time and being self-employed like me doesn't help.
"Emma is off work at the minute to take care of our children because childcare costs would take most of her wage anyway but she is hoping to get back working this year.. The way I work is erratic so I couldn't commit to looking after the kids full-time because I could be down the country at gigs or filming a video.
"The waiting lists for creches here are unbelievable anyway and most childminders would prefer school-going kids which are, I suppose, a little easier to manage. Hopefully we find someone soon, so my wife can go back to full employment.
The reason I put this out there is that there are a lot in my situation. I don't reveal all my life but sometimes it's important to people's mental health to let them know they are not on their own - other people are under pressure in terms of rent and mortgages too.
"And it's not our fault. We have to stop blaming ourselves for being priced out of the rental market or buying a home to rear our kids - we didn't make this problem which we were promised would never happen again.
"There is very little options to rent in the area. If we hadn't got our parents, we could be very well declaring ourselves homeless like so many others and facing the prospect of emergency accommodation - and that's just how easy it can happen, it’s a thin line.
"They tell you to chase your dreams. I'm doing something different and it's a risk I'm taking because I don't have this secure desk job that automatically ticks all the boxes for a mortgage.
"We’ll keep ploughing on and hopefully secure a mortgage in 2020," he said.
