I'm fed up with my budget - advice needed

want2bmortgage3

I wish zoomy, if I can find a part time evening/weekend job thats about the only way I can see myself earning more anytime soon! Are you heading towards a better career then?

Doozergirl

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

yes my lender is fine with letting they just have a consent to let form and £100 charge i believe. the agent is well established locally and my grandmother used them in the past to let her old property. The agent only offers a full management service and deals with everything, although I have requested to be informed about any repairs or anything that needs doing before they use their tradesmen as I dont want any surprise bills being deducted from my rent.

That extra £20 will disappear faster than a rabbit down a hole if you use a full managing agent!! They are never worth it.

They charge you 10-12% every month simply to take a phonecall from the tenant and then they find a tradesperson, cost not considered, to fix the problem. The quality of work is unseen by you. If there is a problem it is far better for the tenant to contact you directly. It might be hassle but you will pay far, far less and you will have control over the work.

It may not be convenient but they will not be trying to charge you well over the odds for repainting a flat that's just been repainted (this happens!) Or to get an odd job man in, paid, to fit a new shower curtain!! (tenants really don't need babysitting to that level but the agent will make money!)

Honestly, managing agents are turly a rip off. If they don't try and charge you left right and centre for the work, they will simply ignore the tenant's requests whilst taking your money and allowing the condition of your house to go to pot.

You must take take responsibilty for the property. It's your very important investment and not for other people to manage, not by a long shot.

want2bmortgage3

doozer
i see the property as a long term investment, and my plan is to over pay the mortgage giving me more equity making it easier to buy something more expensive in the future.
i have tried living here for a while but cannot get comfortable knowing i have such high outgoings compared to my income.
as mentioned above, lodger was an option but not much demand in this area, plus it would mean im stuck here too when at my age i fancy a bit of freedom.
so now ive decided to the property out and forget about it for a min of 6 months possibly a few years. in the future i would consider managing the let myself but for a while im happy for an agent to do it for me. i doubt i would have got a lot more in rent doing it myself as the agent seems to have got a high rent for me, more than i expected initially, anyway.
i dont really want to go back to the parents for a few reasons (location/backward step in terms of independence), but i dont have any other offers through friends/contacts as to a spare room/flat share.

want2bmortgage3

cant believe this... the tenant has pulled out.. so for a second time i've been expecting to move out in 2 days and now its all off!!!

want2bmortgage3

so back to the drawing board with a tight budget, a spare room, and the option of rent-free at my parents....

Welshwoofs

Personally I'd say you made a bad move up front securing a mortgage where repayments represented over 50% of your net income. Though having done that, I'm afraid to say that you have to man up and accept that going out on the town and getting new clothes are luxuries you just don't have the money for.

In your position, on your income you need to be realistic. Rent out your flat but for God's sake manage it yourself! You may think that's a pain in the butt, but in all honesty you're not in a financial position where you can choose the easy option - £20 a month clear after mortgage/LA fees/insurance is not enough. What happens if a boiler blows? What happens if a pipe bursts?

Personally I think your only option is to go back to your parents (but I wouldn't view it as a 'freebie', that's not fair on them to have an adult child boomeranging back home and expecting to live for nowt) and pay them housekeeping and let out your current place. I'd get rid of the car and if your work isn't commutable by bicycle or public transport, look at a cheap moped. What you want to be putting your spare cash into is upskilling yourself to earn a higher salary rather than any ideas of saving for a deposit on yet another property when you can't actually afford to live in the one you have.

Have you put adverts in the local paper for your flat by the way or contacted the local authority? Those are often far more fruitful ways of renting than going through an agent which is often expensive and can result in perfectly good tenants being turned down on credit checks.

want2bmortgage3

ok so i am overstretched and if i was buying a property now (lets say i sold what i have and kept the equity), then i would have about 30k in the bank as a deposit. so with earnings of about 18k and a 30k deposit what value property should i be looking at?

superfran_uk

No more than 100k. (30k + approx 3 x salary)

want2bmortgage3

so i guess i could sell up and buy something at that sort of level and have a more affordable mortgage. or i could try again for a lodger and use the money to overpay until its down to an affordable level?

want2bmortgage3

just an update i have been doing overtime lately which is hopefully for as long as i want it, making my 7 hour work day a 10 hour work day, which i can cope with just fine. this extra 3 hours a day is available 3-5 days a week.

with my pay from this my mortgage isnt looking so big, and comes under 50% of my net income. i still feel a bit under pressure but i think if i work hard the next year or two i will be able to bring down the mortgage balance to under 100k. add to this the snowball effect of lower monthly payments leaving more room to overpay and hopefully i will be ok..