Can I afford to buy?

l_cronkrite

Hi

I am currently looking in to whether I can afford to buy my first property. I'm happy with my research in to mortgages etc however I need help in knowing what my other monthly outgoings will be. I am currently renting a flat which is above a shop. All utlitles are shared with the shop and are included in my monthly rent so I have no idea what my outgoings would be. Any advise on where I could look to find out I could expect to pay each month for Gas, water and Electricity in a 2 Bed flat in Wiltshire (Swindon) would be greatly appreciated. Obviously i unserstand things like this vary with usage.

Thank you in advance.

moneysavinmonkey

Hi,

Couldn't really help with specifics without knowing more details but I was in the same situation a few months ago moving from 'all-inclusive' rent... to another rented property.

We made a list of everything we needed... it helped a lot to look through peoples SOA's to make sure you haven't missed anything then do some research to find out approximate costs... we used the uswitch website to work out roughly what our water + elec would cost... You can ring the council to find out what council tax would be and research most other things online.

Don't forget any additional costs of owning should be factored in...
solictiors costs
mortgage arrangment fees
stamp duty
building + contents insurance
mortgage insurance
repairs
management fees
etc.

you will probably find that it would be much cheaper to continue renting and let someone else worry about paying all those unexpected repair bills!
save the difference and keep an eye on the property market is my advice.

Sapphire

For the best deals on utilities (gas and electricity), check under 'Phones and Utilities' on this site. There's very useful information here for the best deals to be had in your area.

Also don't forget things like home contents and building insurance - see under 'Insurance' on this site!

Hope this helps.

pigeonpie

can you ask the shop owner to show you the utilities bills so you can get some idea of your usage? Then on that question, you could use the calcs on this site for energy providers to get an idea of what it could all cost you as presume you would use at least half of the total bill (just you and the shop?).