Stuck in a 1 bedroom flat - is there anything we can do?

patchwork_cat

I just did a sample calc on entitled to assuming that your DH worked full time and received £16 000 a year and you should be entitled to £3209 tax credits. Please post a SOA as suggested as without that it is very hard to give solid advice.

Essexgirl81

patchwork_cat wrote: »

I just did a sample calc on entitled to assuming that your DH worked full time and received £16 000 a year and you should be entitled to £3209 tax credits. Please post a SOA as suggested as without that it is very hard to give solid advice.

Thanks for taking the time to do this but I contacted the Tax Credit people in October when I left my job to give them the info.

Shortly after they sent me a breakdown through the post which basically said that nothing had changed - i'll still be getting £39 per month Child Tax Credit.

My husband earns £23,500 per year. I used to earn £14,500 pa but I actually only earned about £5000 last year before giving up my job so I guess it's still too much to be eligible for any more than that.

Thanks again for your help. I do need to get down to posting a SOA...just haven't done it yet

Essexgirl81

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1440.88
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 119
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1559.88

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 751.45
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 100
Council tax............................. 109
Electricity............................. 42
Gas..................................... 26
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 28
Mobile phone............................ 5
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 201
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 28
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
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...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 12
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1660.45


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 104000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 105000


Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 108000...(751.45)...7.69
Total secured debts........... 108000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,559.88
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 1,660.45
Available for debt repayments........... -100.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -100.57

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 105,000
Total Secured debt...................... -108,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -3,000

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

My husband showed me his latest wage slip before going to bed so I could put in the correct figure and it works out that he's actually still getting £22,439 per year instead of £23,500 as promised by his boss last September. It's only a difference of £61 after Tax each month so he didn't really notice until tonight!!! Just goes to show eh?? I think he'll have something to say to his boss tomorrow morning!!!

The company he works for was taken over by a larger American firm so they do things (incl. pay rises, bonuses etc) in September instead of April as in the UK.

The £119 per month is my income that includes £80 Child Benefit and £39 Child Tax Credit which I use to buy nappies, toiletries, clothes etc for the baby.

Oh yes, and we're currently only paying about £700 a year off of the capital of our flat. So far we've paid out about £34,500 as a repayment mortgage to the lender and only about £2700 has been paid off of the capital. Is this a 'normal' ratio??

HappyMJ

I'm trying to find what you can cut down but all i can find is missing things. Only £5 per month on clothing for 3?? No building insurance? No Haircuts and No prescriptions/dental?

I think you spend a bit too much on the landline. Are you using Moneysavingexperts uk call checker to get the cheapest supplier (18185)?

Have you compared using public transport instead of the car for some journeys. Doesn't always win but for 1 person it sometimes does.

Essexgirl81

EdInvestor wrote: »

What interest rate is the OP paying on her loan at the moment?

The current SVR at BM is 4.84%, which should be available to her from November when her fixed rate ends.The SVR may even be lower by then.

http://www.askbm.co.uk/mortgages/info/rates/rates.asp

Light at the end of the tunnel?

If we could get that rate it would make a big difference as, if my calculations are correct, our monthly repayments would then be about £550......£200 less than now!!! :j

Pssst

Flats (or apartments !) are the biggest time bomb in this country at the moment. Too many of them have been built (flatpacking),sold at way over what they were worth in an over cooked market and now you'd be lucky to give them away. I suspect many of them will be handed over or leased to social housing and that will lead to further depreciation. The end game might be bankruptcy for many people.

robpw2

looking at your soa, if im honest the only solution really is for you to find some work , either in the evenings or at weekends, so hubby can babysit or you get some of your hubbys wages in childcare vouchers and work in day .

if you did rent out the house and pay rent to your mother you would only be £100 better off but that would be swallowed up by other emergency expenses haircut and clothing .

I am sorry if i sound negative.

on the plus side , you could possibly save some money on groceries if you go one brand cheaper so instead of heinz by sainsbury etc , you would be suprised at the difference , plan meals in advance , cook and freeze so you have food for later dates, shop at aldi, lidl etc that may get your food bill down to about £150 but £200 is quite a decent amount.


check to see your getting the best deal on the following , gas, electric, car insurance , mobile phone, telephone, insurance etc just to see if you can save any money at all

check out entitledto just to make sure you are both in receipt of all nessacary benefits such as hb, ct, childtax cred, etc

barnaby-bear

Essexgirl81 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1440.88
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 119
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1559.88

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 751.45
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 100
Council tax............................. 109
Electricity............................. 42
Gas..................................... 26
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 28
Mobile phone............................ 5
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 201
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 28
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
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...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 12
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1660.45


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 104000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 105000


Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 108000...(751.45)...7.69
Total secured debts........... 108000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,559.88
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 1,660.45
Available for debt repayments........... -100.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -100.57

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 105,000
Total Secured debt...................... -108,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -3,000

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

My husband showed me his latest wage slip before going to bed so I could put in the correct figure and it works out that he's actually still getting £22,439 per year instead of £23,500 as promised by his boss last September. It's only a difference of £61 after Tax each month so he didn't really notice until tonight!!! Just goes to show eh?? I think he'll have something to say to his boss tomorrow morning!!!

The company he works for was taken over by a larger American firm so they do things (incl. pay rises, bonuses etc) in September instead of April as in the UK.

The £119 per month is my income that includes £80 Child Benefit and £39 Child Tax Credit which I use to buy nappies, toiletries, clothes etc for the baby.

Oh yes, and we're currently only paying about £700 a year off of the capital of our flat. So far we've paid out about £34,500 as a repayment mortgage to the lender and only about £2700 has been paid off of the capital. Is this a 'normal' ratio??

To be honest I think you should repost this on the DFW board - this is really the best area to get advice and decent idea of costs.... quick look would suggest petrol quite high and water is too... what is the mortgage interest rate
£108k at 7% = £772 pcm for 25 years
at 7.5% = £762 pcm for 30 years
at 7.6% = £761 pcm for 34 years

it seems to suggest a serious sub-prime rate.... but BM are a pretty mainstream lender.

To be honest (as someone churning out science graduates) your husband's salary is low for chemistry graduate, he'd get more without a PGCE working in a private school as a teacher and the salary escalation pretty good or most graduate management programs. If he 'loves' his job enough to sacrifice the salary and the flat was his idea then it might be in order for him to do 2-3 hours tutoring a week which could bring in £200+ after tax each month. If there aren't career prospects in his area.
Don't be put off by GSK laying off some people - some firms are hiring but in the right areas e.g. organic chemistry maybe laying off but catalysis or aerosol divisions are completely different markets for example.

barnaby-bear

lightSwitch wrote: »

I think selling is not such a bad option. Think of it as a car, everyone that buys a car loses money. The good thing is all properties are going down. So sell, live at your mother's, save up a small deposit and buy in 18 months when prices have settled. You'll be paying £70 for a 1 or 2 bed flat by that time and even less if the economy really goes t-ts up.. That is a good result, so cheer up and go and have a nice meal at a restaurant.

Seeing the SoA and the lack of other debts - it may well be worth taking a hit on the negative equity and getting a loan. The location and accommodation neither seem to offer great prospects and a 10k loan over 5 years might offer the chance to move - even if property prices improve the bigger flat/house will just get less affordable again and they'd need significant equity to get a deposit and then much higher salaries to get the bigger mortgage with just a 10k debt they'd be able to rent / move to somewhere with better job prospects/lower rents proposional to salaries and be eligible for social / HA tenancies on a family home. Have you investigated a loan?

sarah_elton

barnaby-bear wrote: »

To be honest I think you should repost this on the DFW board - this is really the best area to get advice and decent idea of costs.... quick look would suggest petrol quite high and water is too...

OP has already said that OH drives to work which is a good distance away - my guess is this is at least 90% of that petrol cost so can't be cut down.

Water - I live in a 2 bed flat nearby. We don't have water meters and they can't be installed. I pay two water companies (one water, one sewerage), one is about £21 a month and one £14 IIRC. OP - are you on a meter? If not, your flat rate seems a bit high since it should be less on a one bed flat than my two bed.

OP - as others have said, post this SOA on the Debt-Free Wannabe board as they're experts in this stuff. As others have said, I think the fact that your mortgage repayment is nearly half your income each month is the main problem.

Re Flying Flowers - they're on the A12 between Kelvedon and Witham, so you do need a car to get there. However, I had a friend who worked there a while ago and they were pretty decent as call centres go. It was taking orders for bunches of flowers so he was talking to relatively happy people most of the time.