In a bit of a mess

AndrewLondon

Hey guys. I'm in a bit of a financial mess, and it seems just as I'm getting back on my feet something else comes along.

My salary payment after tax is about £2100 a month. I have no overdraft.

My monthly outgoings:

£1213.33 Rent
I live in Acton in West London. It's a pretty !!!! area really, but it's expensive. I'm paying for a two bedroom flat even though I live on my own. Basically my brother lost his job and so I asked him to move out so that I could get a subtenant, and also so I didn't have to provide for him (food, bills, etc.) But I never got around to getting another tenant because I want to move out, and my landlord wants to sell the flat.
I want to move out, but I'm in a tenancy agreement which says I will have to pay the rent until they find someone else to take over the property. But nobody will take this place on because there is a terrible mice infestation. Which as you can imagine is horrible to live with!! Especially with all my financial issues.
She has offered to reduced my rent to £1050 if I stay here for "accommdated viewings by appointment". But I can't see someone buying a flat in this state, with the market how it is. I haven't signed the agreement that puts this offer in writing.

£350 monthly repayments

Also, living with people who don't pay their bills meant that I got really behind with everything. I've got on top of that now, but I've been paying about £500 in utility bills per month to catch up!

My debts so far:

£5000 Loan
I got this out on 5% interest. It was my first loan and I needed it for a deposit to become a tenant.
I ended up paying more than my fair share of the rent, and the other tenants left me in it with outstanding bills and rent. So I extended it, and this time the interest was 12%. I couldn't manage the payments when I fell out of work and it went to a collection agency, who gave me a settlement figure of £4300. I've paid £750 towards since then, so maybe it'll be a bit less? I am paying off £250 a month.

£1000 TV
37% interest or something ridiculous! I got this TV with 1 year interest free, but I forgot to pay it off on time, there was always something more important and the year went quick! The interest free part was only about £700 and I've been paying £50 a month for almost two years! I'm paying £100 a month in a hope to get it paid off quicker.

£1940 Council Tax (Until March 2009)
This is the worrying one. I just received a bailiff letter. They say they have authority to remove goods to the value of £1940.28. Now there's no way I can afford to pay that. I'm already leaving myself short every month and not even being able to get to work. Ealing Council want to charge me until March 2009 even though I plan to move out as soon as I can!

So I have no idea what to do now. There's absolutely no way I can find £1900. And I've sold everything worth selling. Ideally I would get another loan that would combine all of these debts in to one with a much smaller interest. But that's not possible because I fell out of work in December and missed quite a few payments, and my credit file is wrecked. And I would move out of here and find myself a bedroom in a shared flat for about £600 a month (East London is much cheaper!).

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

Horace

Hi and welcome

Please can you post an SOA so that the peeps on here can see what APRs you have on your debts as well as what your income and all outgoings are.

https://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

As for the mouse infestation - get yourself some good old-fashioned traps, clean up so you don't leave crumbs lying about and maybe speak to your local council as they should have some pest control offers who can come and put bait down for the little blighters.

AndrewLondon

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2100
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2100

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 1213.33
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 160
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 10
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Travelcard.............................. 125
Total monthly expenses.................. 1903.33

Assets
Cash.................................... 100
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 100

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
AA Loan........................5000......250.......12
TV.............................1000......50........37
Total unsecured debts..........6000......300.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,100
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,903.33
Available for debt repayments........... 196.67
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 300
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -103.33

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 100
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,000
Net Assets.............................. -5,900

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

savingholmes

Thanks for having the courage to post your soa. I would look at your phone bill and mobile bill. Could you cut down to having one or the other rather than both? Are you on a mobile contract - could you change to pay as you go and set yourself a low weekly limit. My average mobile is £10 per month.

Your tenancy agreement sounds odd - I would check it out with Citizens Advice. Also check whether you are liable for full rent if they have allowed it to be mice infested. I certainly wouldn't want to stay in a pest infested house and I would see that as the landlord's duty to resolve. It may be worth checking with the council too...

It does seem like you need to get out of there asap - preferably to somewhere where you are paying a fixed rate inclusive of utilities and council tax. The council can't charge council tax for the period after you move out - but they can continue to charge back pay. Don't ignore them -ring them up and explain the situation... Remember that council tax is one of your most important bills as you can be fined or imprisoned (unlikely) for that one but can't for the rest.

mummytofour

Well when doe the tenancy end??? I would say get out as fast as you can, providing you can find something else or failing that get a lodger, it seems the rent is a large chuck of your income and to pay so much for a hell hole must be so depressing.

sammy115

You do need to get out. There are other things you could be doing to cut your outgoings back like combing your telephone and internet services together. BUT what you haven't accounted for in your outgoings are things like going out and clothes etc. As you have said yourself things crop up.... What crops up..... you need to know.

Start to keep a spending diary of what you spend on a daily basis.

I am also assuming you are single. £200 per month on groceries is a lot of money to be spending on one person. You could cut that back with a bit of thought and planning.

You also need to look at trying to bring in some extra income in the meantime... I know it might be hard but until you move out you may need to, but as others have suggested take the tenancy agreement down to a solicitor. How much was your deposit - will you get that back when you move out?

urg123

Hi,

Thanks for sharing.

I think Shelter may also be able to help you with the legal side of you tenancy. Have a look at their website - it has a section on renting and also has a helpline number: 0808 800 4444

Good luck.

Debt_Free_Chick

Post about your tenancy agreement on the House Buying, Selling & Renting board.

Plenty of knowledgeable landlords & tenants on there. I very much doubt you have to stay on "forever" -more likely that you can get out at the end of the fixed period. If you're out of the fixed period, you only need to give notice - but post on the House board for specific help with this as you must get the dates right.

AndrewLondon

savingholmes wrote: »

Could you cut down to having one or the other rather than both? Are you on a mobile contract - could you change to pay as you go and set yourself a low weekly limit. My average mobile is £10 per month.

My ISP is on a yearly contract. So I have to stay with them until December.

Your tenancy agreement sounds odd - I would check it out with Citizens Advice. Also check whether you are liable for full rent if they have allowed it to be mice infested. I certainly wouldn't want to stay in a pest infested house and I would see that as the landlord's duty to resolve. It may be worth checking with the council too...

I've been complaining about the mice since the day I moved in. In the last month the letting agent (Ludlow Thompson, worst in the world!) have arranged for someone to put down bait traps. But they've not killed any mice (as far as I can tell) and they are definitely going to put off potential buyers.

It does seem like you need to get out of there asap - preferably to somewhere where you are paying a fixed rate inclusive of utilities and council tax. The council can't charge council tax for the period after you move out - but they can continue to charge back pay. Don't ignore them -ring them up and explain the situation... Remember that council tax is one of your most important bills as you can be fined or imprisoned (unlikely) for that one but can't for the rest.

I did actually speak to them recently. They said they could give me a discount because I live on my own and would send me a form. But I didn't receive the form and suddenly now I have this bailiff letter!

Well when doe the tenancy end??? I would say get out as fast as you can, providing you can find something else or failing that get a lodger, it seems the rent is a large chuck of your income and to pay so much for a hell hole must be so depressing.

Yes it is! Especially when a few days after my salary has cleared I'm left with about £100. My 12 month break clause is on the 1st December 2008, and because I need to give two month's notice I can't move out until 1st March 2009.

BUT what you haven't accounted for in your outgoings are things like going out and clothes etc. As you have said yourself things crop up.... What crops up..... you need to know.

This is the thing. I haven't bought myself any clothes for a couple of years!

I am also assuming you are single. £200 per month on groceries is a lot of money to be spending on one person. You could cut that back with a bit of thought and planning.

My downfall is my shopping. I like to eat very good food, preferably organic. But that means I spend more. And working in central London means buying myself a good lunch can cost £8 per day. I've included that in the £200, but I probably spend a little bit more than that.

How much was your deposit - will you get that back when you move out?

I currently have £1680 tied up in my deposit. I'll get that a few weeks after I move out.

Post about your tenancy agreement on the House Buying, Selling & Renting board.

Thanks, I'll do that

Thanks for all the responses!

sidnee

AndrewLondon wrote: »

Yes it is! Especially when a few days after my salary has cleared I'm left with about £100. My 12 month break clause is on the 1st December 2008, and because I need to give two month's notice I can't move out until 1st March 2009.

So you couldn't leave if you notified them in October you want to leave at the end of the 12 month agreement?

My advice would be to set aside a spending diary. List everything you spend on food/lunches/anything and write it down. That way you can keep a lid on what goes out and where you can certainly cut down (possibly without affecting how you choose to eat).

Debt_Free_Chick

AndrewLondon wrote: »

Yes it is! Especially when a few days after my salary has cleared I'm left with about £100. My 12 month break clause is on the 1st December 2008, and because I need to give two month's notice I can't move out until 1st March 2009.

Can you post the exact wording please? You ought to be able to give two months notice ending on 1 December ... so you could give notice on 1 October and be out on 1 December. But we need the wording. Also, confirm the Rent Day as stated in the contract or the period that the rent covers (sounds like a calendar month, but might not be).