Joint accounts, first time renters and bad credit rating.... oh dear

iain_h

Hi, I'm very sorry is this repeats some other posts, but I've read that many posts and looked at so much stuff over the last month or two I'm getting quite worried about things and would like some advice / help.

Brief background to our situation is that firstly my girlfriend and myself are going to be renting a house from her older brother, and I don't want to screw it up for us by choosing the wrong bank, utility suppliers broadband etc.

Secondly I have some doubts as to what is best to approach things for day to day running of things, i.e. joint account for bills or keeping things separate.

And finally with regards to the best way to provide a good credit rating for our future, i.e. getting a mortgage some time for when we want to buy.

I myself (as ive already said) want to do whats best for us as a couple but also (and to a greater degree) do whats best for my girlfriend. I really want to make the best choices now before we move in and make it as easy as possible with regards to finances.

Firstly banking:

We are considering getting a joint current account for the household and general bills but we don't know which is best to go for. We would like it to be cost free if possible (money will be tight and I would rather over budget for things than under budget) but I wouldn't want to rule out paying for banking if it comes with good deals on insurance etc that save money else where. However I remember reading some where (on this site I think it was) that if one person of a couple has bad credit rating history (which I think I do) then you should keep things as separately as possible to help preserve the other person credit rating. So my first question would be should we keep our finances separate? If getting a joint account together would be the best approach to help mend my credit rating, and building up our credit rating for the future which bank account would be best suited for the role, and if there any accounts out there which are outstanding value (if you have to pay for it) for money?

Secondly Utilities:

As this is the first time my girlfriend and I are moving into a property we have no idea how much utilities we are going to use, nor which supplier would be best. We have no 'smarts' with regards to best energy deals etc and no data to help make a decision. The only thing we have to go on is that house we are moving into doesn't have central heating but has 2 gas fires and a gas cooker, and I do like to use my laptop alot (mainly after 7). So which energy supplier (for gas and electricity or separately) would be best?

We are rather concerned about our possible usage or electricity and gas (especially with no central heating) is going to be. Is there any ways or tips in which we can cut down on bills by combining gas and electricity suppliers, investment we could make in the house to our limit our usage or heating usage?

Thirdly (and finally) TV Broadband mobiles and other bills:

This is all the add-on bits for the home, things that aren't important with regards to keep financially stable or keeping out ourselves out of debt but help make a house more of a home. (And this is where my head starts to hurt especially when I still thinking about all the things I just asked about above).

As I've already hinted about I like using my laptop mainly for the internet (probably a heavy user GB wise). I would like to get a good broadband connection speed wise but I'm not sure what is the best route to take with regards to getting bundle deals or separate contracts (i.e. Virgin/Sky TV with broadband, TV & mobiles).

I have a pay as you go mobile (around £10 per month usage) but I guess could use a land line instead to make out going calls. My girlfriend has just renewed her contract with Vodafone.

We wouldn't mind having Sky/Virgin TV but could just as easily use free view satellite or without a TV if we got broadband.

And finally is there anything I've forgotten? I know I haven't even begun to look at home/car insurance yet nor possible heating options for the house.

I'm very sorry for the essay above but, that all going through my head at the moment, I haven't slept for days and getting quite worried as to what we should do. I've never really had to deal with most of these things before and especially on such a large / time scale.

I would really appreciate any advice anyone can give me. I want to get things right and as prefect as I can for my girlfriend and I as I know money will be tight and I want to take as much pressure of us as possible when we move in.

Please feel free to private message me.

andy_vip

You haven't mentioned council tax. Quite a large chunk to budget every month, dependant on the house value and area. For example we pay £150 a month for a 2 bedroom flat.

As a vague idea this is what my girlfriend and I pay each month:

Rent: £775
Council Tax: £150
Electric: £20
Gas: £25
Water (inc sewage): £30
Broadband & Phone: £30 inc line rental

We have a combi boiler (cheaper) and the flat is very insulated - if you're moving into a house, budget more for gas and electric and possibly water too.

As for suppliers, you won't get a choice for water, gas and electric you save if you have both with the same supplier so look around, several comparison websites out there and choose the best one, don't necessarily stick with the supplier that are already there. Same goes for broadband and phone; unfortunately we didn't have a choice and now pay £30 for Virgin phone and BB only, where we use to pay £30 to sky which included TV (and sky+) but we weren't allowed to put up a sky dish in our new place.

Home insurance is normally fairly cheap if your renting as you only need contents insurance - although I would add on optional personal possessions insurance to cover valuables outside of your house. We pay £10 a month to Direct Line for this - but variable on where you live. Same for car insurance - cheaper if car is on driveway or in a garage rather than on street.

I'm sorry I don't know if a joint account it better for credit history and ratings or not, but to start with I would stick with your own accounts (I've been with OH for 5 years and we still have our own accounts with no joint). One person can pay rent, the other everything else and work out the difference and make it up.

However, one word of caution with utilities. If you have a JOINT bank account then you can put both your names on your bills, so if you split up you are BOTH responsible. However, if you decide to keep your own accounts with no joint account it's easier to have just ONE name on the utility account, so if they owe you a rebate they can send a cheque to just one person otherwise both your names are on the cheque. The downside of this is if say your name is on all the utilities inc council tax, if your Mrs does a runner you will be left to pay everything. I'm sure that won't happen though just something to think about.

Hope that helps!

MeeNorr

My OH and I moved in together 2 and a half years ago and whilst I have no idea of your circumstances such as income etc, a few tips that I'd give are:

Don't be in too much of a hurry to sign up for 'extras' such as Sky TV, superfast broadband etc. You'll be surprised how much all the 'little luxuries' add up, you think it's only £25 a month but if you're on a budget these all add up. We signed up for expensive BT Broadband and soon regretted it when we were getting bills for £100 or so every quarter. We moved into our second place together in March and this time we've gone for Freeview, free 2MB broadband and we're saving quite a bit compared to before. Don't forget you've got things like TV licence oh and food! What I'm trying to say is you'll probably end up paying out more than you expect so unless you really can afford it, don't be in too much of a hurry to sign up for things that you could probably live without, at least til you have a good idea of what money you have left over every month in reality rather than just written down on paper.

getmore4less

DO NOT GET A JOINT ACCOUNT if you don't have one allready.

no need to become financialy linked till you have to.

Ask the brother for the bills for the last few years
Is it modern or old?

Do a SOA
http://www.makesenseofcards.co.uk/soacalc.html

Work out if you can afford the place BEFORE you move in.


Agree with the other basics first don't commit to anything you don't need, wants are off the list for now.

Mobiles are free or near free with a cash back deal.

Purple_kitten

Hi there, I'm not sure about the credit rating on the joint account, it sounds bizzare. But basically my husband and I have a joint account, it is a basic cash minder account with coop that will never offer credit, and a set amount goes in each month to cover, Gas, Electric etc. We pay the council tax in one foul swoop otherwise it's a big chunk each month.

Our business uses the broadband so we've got a good deal on that, but vise versa for the mobile phones we are on a simplicity tariff of 10 per month as we rarely really need the mobiles but they are nice to have.

I guess what I am saying in a round about way is, it depends on your circumstances as to what you opt for.