A young Australian woman has revealed she regularly questions whether owning a home is worth it, claiming she is working harder than ever just to pay off loans.
Maddie Walton, 26, worked 80 hours a week and juggled two jobs for years before finally being able to buy her first property in Queensland at the age of 23.
He bought his house in 2021 and only had to pay an affordable $550 a week in loan payments, leaving him with just one job.
You are now shelling out $1,000 due to a series of interest rate increases that were passed on by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Walton has been forced to take drastic measures to keep her property, including renting out her spare rooms and earning extra money with side jobs.
Maddie Walton (pictured) has revealed she is struggling to pay her mortgage due to higher interest rates, after the young Australian bought her home aged just 23.
‘I would give anything to be able to continue living in my house. I manage, but sometimes there are times when you feel like ‘is it worth it?’ she said yahoo.
The 26-year-old, who has a college degree, used to juggle two jobs as a vaccine developer and as a tech support worker at an Apple store.
Ms Walton, now a mortgage broker at Loan Market Edge, worked 80 hours a week between both jobs to turn her dream of home ownership into a reality.
“I trusted the RBA when they said rates wouldn’t start rising until 2024,” Walton said.
The RBA presided over 13 interest rate rises between May 2022 and November 2023.
The move led Ms Walton to seek out a mortgage broker to help her manage her finances and obtain a loan to purchase her property.
He said he had to go through seven mortgage brokers to try to get a loan.
Walton said she was inspired to become a mortgage broker to help others navigate the real estate market so they wouldn’t have to endure the same struggles she did.
The career change came at a cost, as she now earns less income and struggles to save money.
Ms Walton (pictured), who is now a mortgage broker, said she is earning and saving less as she saves money to pay off her home loan.
“I’ve just been trying to fight the mortgage,” he said.
And the thing is, nothing extra will allow me to pay the mortgage. It’s just the interest, which is probably the most frustrating thing.’
He has rented spare rooms in his house and works exclusively on commission, in an attempt to increase his income.
He has also found side jobs by earning a few hundred dollars participating in surveys and market research, to help pay for essential items like groceries.
Despite financial constraints, Walton said he wouldn’t have it any other way if it meant keeping a roof over his head.
Financial comparison website Finder found more than one million households across Australia struggled to pay their home loan in January.
The figure represents an 11 percent increase in the number of homeowners who had difficulty paying their mortgage in January 2022.