Is there any way I can get on the property ladder in Brighton?

afterglow_2

Hi there, after some advice because im getting very frustrated with my situation.
I live and work in Brighton, 33 years old, male, and work 2 jobs, as a chef in the days in a hospice and as a barman/licensee at night. Am a trained photographer so thats where would like to be but due to setbacks and debts in past have ended up working these jobs.
So I work 50-60 hours per week for not much money and cant see how I will ever get on the property ladder.
And I need to make some big changes or it will never happen.

Any advice on how much deposit I would need, and how to save / get this (no relatives have the money to help out!!). Do I have to change career path, move away, when I m so happy here, what can I do........any advice would be great:o
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1600
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 100
Total monthly income.................... 1700

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 600
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 75
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 35
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 120
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 15
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 140
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1187

Assets
Cash.................................... 3000
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 2000
Total Assets............................ 5400

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR

Total unsecured debts..........0 0

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,187
Available for debt repayments........... 513
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ 513

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 5,400
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 5,400

neas

Hi,

I see your rent is 600 pounds.. is it possible to move to a house share this would save you 200-300 pounds a month in rent and probabl another 50-100 quid in bills (as they are shared etc).

It may help you save up quicker. That wpuld give you around 600 pounds per month savings.... providing you with 3600 pound per year deposit. Im sure once you get to 10-12k deposit you could offer and get a mortgage on a house.

jonewer

Do you HAVE to live in Brighton? Arent there more affordable areas close by?

olly300

jonewer wrote: »

Do you HAVE to live in Brighton? Arent there more affordable areas close by?

He needs to balance cheaper rent compared to costs of getting to work.

afterglow_2

....thats the tricky thing this is an expensive area, to get cheaper rent would mean moving a few miles, and as I cycle to and from both jobs and work till 2-4am some nights that would be impractical. Also have live in plenty of house shares and would far prefer to spend £200 per month extra for my own flat, got good deal here for Brighton.
Is there any way I can invest, say in a garage, small property overseas, woodland, etc that would give good return or could be sold off and used as a deposit??

neas

ok so preferrrung to stay in own flat costs you 3.6k per year... presumably if you;d saved for last 5-6 years you;d have a 20k deposit saved and a house now...

Just food for thought.. sometime people want something but are too 'in their comfort zone' to do whats needed.

afterglow_2

....thats a bit harsh, have been working 8 shifts a week for almost 2 years to pay off debts and start saving, hardly a comfort zone. And have been in some houseshares which have ended up costing more thanks to housemates leaving unpaid bills/rent!
I would only save the £20k you suggest if I wasnt paying any rent!

PasturesNew

Spending £600 on rent is a lot, you're working two jobs so can afford it, but that leaves you open to the risk of either of them ceasing.

Have you thought about living in a studio? e.g. picked at random, here's one for £450 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-25279990.html

Also, I bet it's a lower council tax band.

If you're out working two jobs you won't be at home much anyway. That one's got "good storage", so room for your spare stuff (although if you have spare stuff then you can get a self-storage unit for £5/week, which is cheaper than keeping your spare stuff in a 2nd bedroom). Also, as a chef, you've no real need for a much of a kitchen to cook for yourself because you have easy access to good food at work probably.

I've just spent 30 months in a studio, saving me about £8k in rent/council tax/extra heating costs over that time.

afterglow_2

Luckily my council tax banding is the lowest possible! One reason I need space is that I am buying and selling on ebay more and more, with this being on the way to being a good extra income, this includes some retro furniture which I will need room to store and do up and this flat offers me the space to do that.

lincroft1710

Is there any way I can invest, say in a garage, small property overseas, woodland, etc that would give good return or could be sold off and used as a deposit??

None of these would guarantee a return on your capital, not to mention finance and administration costs.

neas

i only mentioned it cause i've lived in house shares foe 4 years as sgtudent.. and then 3 years as a professional. rents for 1 bed flats are about 500 quid....but once you add on 100 quid council tax a month, 60 quid elec/gas, 25 quid water, 11 quid telephone, 10 quid internet then it adds up to Rent + 200 quid more for bills a month. Which in your case is 800 quid or so for pleasure of living on your own. Whereas most probably house shared would be 300-400 quid for a decent room with all bills included.

Its what most people do... to ensure they save faster... and what i did. Am now in position to buy after 4 years of annoying saving... would've had 25k or so if on my own but now married so its a bit more and puts us in good bargaining position on house etc.