Looking for affordable housing, nursery nurse

Jowo_2

Good idea. Of course, when I was young and struggling to afford my expenses in a big city with my first clerical job, I took on a second part time job but that seems a terribly old fashioned approach now, what with the changes to tax credits and housing benefit for those on low income. Not that I'm suggesting the OP does this as I can't say that I enjoyed working in a chippy in the evening after a day in the office.

I ran a quick check through the benefit calculator and it seems the OP is potentially entitled to an LHA top up of around £35 per week if she secures shared accommodation in the higher LHA rate part of Westminster or £5 per week in the lower LHA rate but I expect the rent for many good properties in Westminster are way above the LHA rates anyway, plus the rates will drop under the proposed move from the calculations from the 50th percentile (median local rent) to the 30th percentile (lowest third of local market rents).

BitterAndTwisted

Didn't the OP says she was currently living in Acton? I suspect that is the LB of Ealing. I think St Johns Wood is in LB of Camden. The LHA rates in those boroughs will be very different to Westminster, I expect.

I once knew a live-out nanny for a couple who lived in Knightsbridge and she lived in one of the parent's family's holiday home in St Johns Wood. She had a three-bed luxury mews house all to herself for 50 weeks of the year. Also lucky!

There are ways and means of getting a deal out there all for the want of looking. And contacts.

Jowo_2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Didn't the OP says she was currently living in Acton? I suspect that is the LB of Ealing. I think St Johns Wood is in LB of Camden. The LHA rates in those boroughs will be very different to Westminster, I expect.

SJW is in Westminster, I think, but the LHA rates for Camden are identical.

I had a quick glance at the shared accommodation or studio costs for key worker housing and didn't find them particularly cheap, though perhaps the OP can review them, compare them to what she is paying now, and comment.

A zone 1-3 travel card (without any eligibility for a discount) costs £116 per month. Bus fares are around a half of that.

So if she can secure shared housing in central London less or equal to the LHA caps and is eligible for any LHA, if this property is within walking distance, she could find the top-up and transport fares make it worthwhile. Lots of 'ifs' i know. Apparently LHA rates are set for the average of local prices but I'm not aware if they truly follow market rents or a fantasy low DWP imagined rent. Plus many landlords don't like LHA claimants as tenants.

schessilibam

Thanks for all your further comments.

Our nursery is on the border of Camden and Westminster, but is located in Westminster.

I registered with the housing options website and found the same information about the "maintained setting" - which means funded by the council, but as one of my colleagues has already secured a place there must be other organisations who might not quite have that criteria.

The part-time job on top of my full-time job would be an option if I wasn't studying part time from home which takes up most of my free time already. As for approaching the families, our contract doesnt allow us to provide any sort of Babysitting etc. for the families of the nursery.

I currently use a zone 2-3 travelcard and exploit the fact that when you go from East Acton to St Johns Wood, the system has a fault and doesnt charge you for going through zone 1, so I save money on that. And I also get the 30% discount.

East Acton is still located in Hammersmith and Fulham borough. I'll look into the Local Housing Allowance in a minute I havent heard of that before. (I am originally from Germany, so many things are still new to me).

For the option of renting a room in a family home, I considered that but its just not quite the same if you are foreign and you try to meet new people and you cant really invite them home. Also my boyfriend of 2 years and me do like to stay at each others houses and most families are not allowing this. Also I see lots of children at work all day, so I am not sure if I would enjoy living with children and potentially being woken at 3 in the morning from the crying baby etc Gotta have SOME quiet time.

Maybe I'll just need to convince my other half to finally move together and share a room.. but well he is already living with a great houseshare, so I'm not sure how willing he'd be to move after 7 years with his best friends

Catblue

Would you consider a houseshare with a couple of friends of yours? Could be good fun.

You could also try babysitting in the evenings. I know you can't offer this service to the parents of your own nursery, but there's nothing to stop you doing it for other parents. You could advertise locally and with your background as a nursery nurse, you'd be seen as ideal for a lot of parents.

I bet you'd soon get a few regulars and then you can start to pick and choose who you want to sit for. I did this when I was a student and just used to turn down the families with the rowdy kids who were up till all hours.

If the kids are asleep in bed when you are there, it would effectively give you a quiet space to do your studying whilst getting paid.