Analysing my Finances to Move

leeegglestone

I was unsure where to post this, in either Mortgages or House Buying.

Anyway Im approaching 25 and last year I set myself a target to have moved out from my parents house.
I have a fulltime steady job, been in it for over 5years now , Clerical Officer. I am at the top of my grade &so the only increase will be via annual Pay Rise.

My Salary is £15,000 & live in the North East of England, County Durham, in a small village just outside the City.
In addition I am getting £150 a month, however not permanent or with a fixed future. It is some work on a Website mostly.

I have made a spreadsheet of my personal outgoings at present & also similar to the Budget Spreadsheet here on Moneysavingexpert.com, included some of the various "possible" outgoings if I had my own place.


All to help me see if I could
1. Afford a Mortgage & have my own place
2. Afford to Rent a Property

I have also added all my Current Accounts, Savings, Bonds/Policies, Cash etc. As for a long time I have been saving regularly for me to eventually move out.

Can anyone give me any advice on what sort of Value Mortgage I could get & also afford to pay along with other Bills & manage.

Im torn between looking to buy a place if I can afford it or to Rent somewhere. In some sense I see Renting as, throwing away money which could have been put towards buying something, however If i cannot afford somewhere of my own, it is the only option.

Heres the Link to my spreadsheet, if anyone thinks I have under budgetted certain areas, please let me know, obviously its best to be over cautious.

http://www.geocities.com/leeegglestone/Calculations.xls

Joe_Bloggs

I had a quick look at your spread sheet. That aol service must be very special for the price. It seems sad that you have hit your peak at 25 and can't advance in your job. Are perceived qualifications a factor ? Can you take courses with your present employer that could advance you ?
The savings amount is very impressive. Unfortunately many lenders use an income multiplier and I'm not sure what you can get for 3.5x your gross salary plus your deposit. You will need to hold on to a few £K for one off costs.
For a payment of £300 a month you could get a 5% 30 year repayment mortgage for £56K (£20K+ dep). What type of property would that buy ?.I'd visit your parents /grow your own food on £100 a month food budget.

Regards J_B.

leeegglestone

Well im Scale 3, and been on it so long I cant increase my Salary, only a change in job would, a higher scale.
Its in Administration & im trying to get into an I.T orientated job, however not working in an I.T office with 2 years experience I think is holding me back.
I did do a HNC in Computing part time, and have various qualifications, however I do have other qualifications & doing that ECDL seeing as its free thru work even though I can use everything.

Someone did tell me that usually you are given 3.5 x your Salary as a Loan.
Its the fact that well that means just over £50K

It seems madness when I have over £13K in an ISA, easy cash. But saying that I knew i wouldnt be able to get a good figure to buy somewhere.

What type of propery would I buy? a small house or flat, possibly 1-2bedrooms.

Just really want to work out what best suits me financially & possibilities

mummytofour

The world is your oyster...

There are options
1) shared ownership
2) get a larger deposit ( maybe help from family?)
3) buy with somebody else
4)get a new job with more money...
5) get a really well paid job in the UAE and live tax free for a couple of yrs saving evey penny
6) rent
7) retrain and become something where you earn loads of money!
8) Marry somebody rich

Good luck

missile

Firstly, well done for having the sense to prepare a spread sheet and the savvy to save so much. My son is a similar age earns a good deal more but is 12K in debt! In fairness he is in the student loan trap and has not worked as long as you.

I would suggest you:
1. Ditch AOL, the cost is ridiculous and their service is pants. As you are likely to be moving do not tie into a 12 month deal. I suggest you check Virgin, 2Mbs download speed, no limit @ £13.99 per month.
2. Visit one or more estate agents and view a few properties to get a better idea of what is available in your area.
3. A two bed property would allow you to rent a room and offset your mortgage.
4. See a mortgage advisor. With a 10% deposit you ought to be able to get circa £70K at less than 5.00%
5. Get a better job and part time work in a pub.
6. I suspect you have many other outgoings which are not on your spread sheet eg you have not budgeted for things like car maintenance/ repairs / replacement. Keep a list of EVERY penny you spend over the next few months and revise your spread sheet accordingly.
7. There are many "hidden" costs living on your own. How do you estimate only £20 for home phone? You currently spend £30 on mobile, presumably in addition to using parents land line.

Joe_Bloggs

@leeegglestone
Put the gross rates you are getting from your various savings accounts in your spreadsheet.
The £1722 NS& I Investment account is listed by NS&I at a rate of 3% gross. This looks feeble. The Newcastle Building Society is offering 4.9% gross.
http://online.newcastle.co.uk/online/IndexNewcastleSavings4.htm?webabacus_id=1137583493171-1
The Barclays esavings of £2037 is not the best either (@ 4.08% gross).
J_B.

leeegglestone

Have updated the spreadsheet+put some Rates in

http://www.geocities.com/leeegglestone/Calculations.xls

SAP_Saver

I think that you should keep on going with the savings but possibly shuffle them so they perform better i.e, having a Barclays current is awful, you can set-up an offset account with Barclays so each time your CA balance goes over £500 it is shifted into a better account. I think the idea of getting a second job is good but often does not bring in loads'a'money overtime helps. On £15k your on more than £5 p/h and you will only get £5p/h in a pub. Moving into IT is always a money spinner, I am only 22 and earn over £100k in IT. I also think that the money saving gurus are correct that you have not accounted properly for your budget, especially food £25 a week...? does that include washing up liquid, washing powder, soap, towels, loo roll, list is endless. Maybe a chat with the folks would help. I sat with my parents when I moved out 4 years ago and went through their budget with them to see how much it would cost, it was a big eye opener. Do you have a mate to share with? that helps...

Good luck - keep us informed...

leeegglestone

since my last post i have seen a property, viewed bidded, accepted and had my mortgage accepted and onto surveys etc now

I saved £2500 off the value off the property, plus the owner is leaving all the furniture,which meant i could put down a much bigger deposit. around £20K

which brings my monthly payment down further to
£273 a month.


yes if your right about my not accommodating alot of things, well it will mean having less money to myself per month. Im making the leap and am excited. im confident i can manage my money well enough not to hit problems. and i had some savings as a fal lback, which i shouldnt need to touch.

beautifulgorgeous_2

Well done and GL

SAP_Saver

I am pleased you have got one foot in the door.. now kick it open and go for it...

Good Luck