Advice needed

superfran_uk

3 years you reckon?! As a young single person with a job and presumably no kids, you will never ever get a council flat so you can wave that option goodbye.

Get on gumtree, or flatmateclick, or any one of those sites and just visit a few properties and see if you like any of them. There are no hard and fast rules of who you should share with although personally I'd say no to sharing with an owner-occupier as you have less rights as a lodger.

Lotus-eater

House share, most definitely. You have got some fun to catch up on if you've been living at home till you are 27!
BUT and it's a very big one, pick your house mates very carefully indeed. I always think a OO makes for a better house, he will have the final say in anything and that's not a bad thing. He will also care about his house.
I don't think it's important to like to do everything that the other people in the house like to do, I used to live in a house, one of us was a bouncer, one used to go clubbing and pulling all the time, while I was away at bike rallies all the time, but as a team it worked really well and we all used to go to the local together. But I do think it's important that you get on with them really well. You will have fallings out, so it's important you also try to get people that you think wouldn't be the best people to get into a fight with, ie no nutters.

becky_rtw

I house share in London and while I miss my own place and we dont go out drinking together its nice to have someone to chat to...

They are a bit messy by my standards so you have to learn to comprimise - its good if you can just let things slide - I get annoyed when my flatmates dont wash up for 2 days, but I grumble about it to a friend and then its gone - keeps the house happy rather than having an argument

Pick a nicer house rather than the cheapest one and you should get better flatmates

cuthbertlilly

superfran_uk wrote: »

3 years you reckon?! As a young single person with a job and presumably no kids, you will never ever get a council flat so you can wave that option goodbye.

Get on gumtree, or flatmateclick, or any one of those sites and just visit a few properties and see if you like any of them. There are no hard and fast rules of who you should share with although personally I'd say no to sharing with an owner-occupier as you have less rights as a lodger.

yes, 3 years I do reckon. Obviously, you have no idea how the housing allocation process works. It is done on number of points when bidding for a home, NOT who you are/what job you do, etc.
Please don't make sweeping statements like that with no back up to your argument. Thanks for the advice about gumtree, however.

cuthbertlilly

superfran_uk wrote: »

Net income is a bit of a pointless number - your actual take home pay (exclusing tax, NI, pension) minus any debts would be more useful as this would indicate how much mortgage you could get.

However basically for the south east, a single income of 15k a year is not enough to buy a house with, even a cheap one. You would be better off in a cheap flatshare until you get that payrise.

err, isn't net income the same as take home pay (obviously minus pension)?!?
i have no debts, bar 12,700 student loan. don't pay into a pension, pay parents 220pcm inclusive for shared room with bro.

Dinah93

Don't go in with students, they don't pay council tax which will mean the entire bill falls to you.

rj2009 wrote: »

err, isn't net income the same as take home pay (obviously minus pension)?!?
i have no debts, bar 12,700 student loan. don't pay into a pension, pay parents 220pcm inclusive for shared room with bro.

Don't run a car? Any transport costs to get to work? Mobile phone bill? Gym membership, dental insurance, subcriptions, contact lenses etc? Your disposable income to spend on a flat is usually minus a few deductions for bills you have to pay regardless of where you live.

mchale

Try and buy your own place & then rent out a room to a lodger, renting is dead money.

cuthbertlilly

00ec25 wrote: »

I was 28 when I left home, I had saved hard and my first step on to the property ladder was to buy a 3 bed ex council house. Starting so high up the ladder was a big advantage and has certainly helped later on.

However, with hindsight, I do regret never having shared with people of my own age in a flat and all the possible social benefits that may bring - but obviously also a very costly exercise.

I would never buy a flat on the sort of figures you are talking about, what with service charges on top of the mortgage you'd be existing not living. Either continue savings at home, or if it intolerable (and that I can understand from your post) then go share, you never know who you'll meet.

some of the messages on here make fun reading:

i've shared before when at uni - and had the ups and downs that go with it. just haven't shared as a non-student yet. is it any different from sharing at uni (barring the obvious council tax)?

cuthbertlilly

Dinah93 wrote: »

Don't go in with students, they don't pay council tax which will mean the entire bill falls to you.



Don't run a car? Any transport costs to get to work? Mobile phone bill? Gym membership, dental insurance, subcriptions, contact lenses etc? Your disposable income to spend on a flat is usually minus a few deductions for bills you have to pay regardless of where you live.

I know about the council tax situation.

I don't run a car (have a licence though), £15 a week bus to work, mobile £5 a week PAYG, have good teeth thanks!, no subscriptions, have good eyes as well!, could I live well on £500pcm flat rent, plus council tax and bills on my £1,016 net income?

cuthbertlilly

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

A flat/hous share. If you buy or rent you have to pay council tax plus all the bills. Usually those costs are pooled by the other sharers and often you get broadband, Sky TV and a landline too.

good point, I could have sky and internet, which I don't have now. is it worth staying at home for £220pcm in a shared room or moving to a house share for £325pcm?