From Trash to Cash: the £100 to 10K Dribble thread

YummyMummy20

The flat didn't happen We went up there a few times over the weekend and realised how scummy the place really was. 3AM there was some lairy drunken chavs smoking weed outside my front door, apparently that's the norm around there. That's when I get home from work, I can't deal with that 3/4 nights a week. My friend wouldn't even dare go in flat at that time and he's a big tough guy, supposedly. Went and told the council that there's no way we can live there and that their ridiculous to even suggest a 3year old be brought up in that enviroment. They won't move me because 'nothing specific or prolonged has happened to me personally' and they want 4weeks rent and council tax to cancel the tenancy, the guy didn't tell me this till after i'd signed the paper saying i didn't want to live there and then had a go at me about the 3k in council tax i supposedly owed from years ago (said he recognised my name, he meant my sister, they cancelled her tenancy when she was robbed twice in the first week of living in her flat and didn't stop charging her council tax for a year and half, they won't overturn it). I had a massive hissy fit (so did the bloke tbf) and stormed out. I'm not the most agreeable person first thing on a Monday morning. :rotfl: I'm now only comunicating with the council in writing so i can prove what has/hasn't been said. I'm actually worse off now than ever! :mad:

shell06

Yummymummy, sorry to hear about the flat but if you didn't feel safe then you have every right not to stay there. I would recommened writing to your local MP as well as the council, let them know how badly you have been treated etc also write a letter or speak to the local paper works wonders up my way so you never know xx

aud_lee

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks. I've armed myself with a cuppa and I'm ploughing my way through the forum.

I look forward to chatting to you all and sharing our progress. I've only made £42 so far, but this thread has given me the kick up the bum that I needed and I'm going to rummage through my cupboards for things to sell.

xx

YummyMummy20

shell06 wrote: »

Yummymummy, sorry to hear about the flat but if you didn't feel safe then you have every right not to stay there. I would recommened writing to your local MP as well as the council, let them know how badly you have been treated etc also write a letter or speak to the local paper works wonders up my way so you never know xx

Thanks, that's a good idea.

It's the guys attitude that got me most, I understand that council systems are a bit ridiculous, that's a given, but he didn't listen to a single thing i had to say, told me i was stupid for signing for it in the first place (like i could know the state of the neighbours :mad: it's not a bad area as such, just a bad block of flats) and then had a go at me about something completely unrelated to the situation. He was so unprofessional and downright rude.

Right now, I have no fight in me, I feel sick all the time and sad i guess. I'm having probably the most rubbish week ever and it's one of them dead people anniversary times of year for me so even if everything else was rosey i'd still be sad. Think i'll just try and get the weeked out the way and get back in the game next week.

MummyandPaige

YummyMummy - have you tried private rent? sod the council, there was a 3 year waiting list where we used to live, the council built 800 new houses, weveryone got excited, then the council announced tht they were for immigrants only. Gave up in the end, the council offer 2 other schemes though.

First is rent and deposit, where you find a private rental ad they loan you the first months rent and deposit and you pay them back interest free (we borrowed £780 and paid £70 pm back)

Second is you find a private rent and council means test you and chip in on the rent by BACS you whatever % they agree to pay (varies from 10%-90%) every month. It depends on what you earn as to how much they offer.

Don't know if this will help but you tend to find private rentals are kept in better condition (and for the most part, better areas).

BTW as you have a 3yr old, they will pay percetage of a 2 bed house/flat, whatever you choose. When we were hving bad times and both on JSA, council covered all but £28 of our rent for us. Least this way you can choose a place that you wat, rather than waiting to be given another cess pit.

YummyMummy20

MummyandPaige wrote: »

YummyMummy - have you tried private rent? sod the council, there was a 3 year waiting list where we used to live, the council built 800 new houses, weveryone got excited, then the council announced tht they were for immigrants only. Gave up in the end, the council offer 2 other schemes though.

First is rent and deposit, where you find a private rental ad they loan you the first months rent and deposit and you pay them back interest free (we borrowed £780 and paid £70 pm back)

Second is you find a private rent and council means test you and chip in on the rent by BACS you whatever % they agree to pay (varies from 10%-90%) every month.

Don't know if this will help but you tend to find private rentals are kept in better condition (and for the most part, better areas).

BTW as you have a 3yr old, they will pay percetage of a 2 bed house/flat, whatever you choose. When we were hving bad times and both on JSA, council covered all but £28 of our rent for us. Least this way you can choose a place that you wat, rather than waiting to be given another cess pit.

I tried something similar to the first scheme before, the landlords that pre-registered totally took the mick and charged the highest rent they could get away with for places with damp/holes in the ceiling, i viewed about 8 of them. Trying to find somewhere myself that would go for the scheme (because the council give them a bond of some sort rather than a cash deposit) didn't get anywhere. There's not alot of landlords around here really, it's definately a big fish, little pond sort of thing. I can see lettings agents visably shudder whenever i mention housing benefit. Privately, most places in my price bracket, accounting for what help i would get and what i can afford, are almost all try-before-you-buy new build apartments. I don't understand how there can be so little available for what is a pretty big demographic group. I'm now at the point where my debts are mostly under control and am saving up for a deposit etc myself, i don't like handouts and even though I have every right to these things they don't work out anyway!

MummyandPaige

Bless, I know thet feeling, to get our place, we went through an agency, and because neither of us had a good credit score, we had to part with 3 months rent upfront and an £800 deposit, now that seriously stung, we had to EBay just about everything to afford that, but we did it, just!

I kow you feel bad, but everyone needs a helping hand sometimes, I know what you mean about benefits being a dirty word when lookig for a house (so is cats btw!) but the council give you the option of paying you the rent as opposed to the landlord if you tell them that the landlord doesn't accept benefits, so they don't need to know. Is there a property section in your local paper in the classifieds section? This was where the best ones I found were.

yellow3

oh yummy sorry you are having such a terrible time, i personally hate councils, there is a 3 yr waiting list round here too. i managed to get housed within 6 months because i used to go in the office kicking off every day, when i had the baby i used to take her with me in the carseat and plonk it on the reception desk until they offered to consider me for a place!!!! worked though, they offered me a few !!!!!! holes first to be fair, but then we got given our lovely house, was a disgrace when we got it but a nice area, i can buy it in 2013. so thats partly why i am doing this challenge, to pay off debt, to free up more money/deposit money for the mortgage.

lady gaga was brilliant last night, danced me little feet off, got to get dressed in a min though and go get the baby.
will be quite a slow money making day today as will be in MIL's all day but got a few listings on ebay starting tonight so that should help.
supplies came yesterday for the main business idea so can get cracking on that tomorrow!!! woo hoo!!!

xxx

YummyMummy20

So i don't have to tell them i'll be getting HB? I thought I had to
Agencies only seem to be helpful once you've got as far as the viewing and they're in hard sell mode. Think i'm going to be spending the rest of the morning trawling through rightmove.co.uk, hopefully find something to cheer me up a bit.

I don't like that the 4weeks rent and council tax i now supposedly have to pay for nothing is going to ruin my saving :mad: I don't understand how they can get away with that when I gave the keys back on technically the first day of my tenancy, it seems so harsh

Mimms - 6months is record timing for a council place.

MummyandPaige

Mimms - well done, i tried that and they offered to put me in a home for battered women when I turned on the water works! :rotfl:

YummyMummy - they would like you to tell them if you are on benefits, but you don't have to! Agencies will prob ask to see your bank statements and suss it out, but private lanlords can't so they have to take your word for it, and if you have the deposit in your hand, they assume you can afford it.