1st flat. Can I afford it?

mmmsnow

I would get some savings behind you first, before you rent a place. As most people have said, 500pcm is a little steep and wouldn't leave you much room for a life as well as a flat. I think sharing a flat is a great idea and will help you with all the bills, not just the rent. Living alone can be very expensive!

ROV_SPARKY

Thanks for the replies!

This has to be the best response to any forum post I have ever made and I have probably made thousands across a few forums!!

What a brilliant community :T

Anyway, I completely agree with the above posts, £500 is too much, I have not included extras like having a life! Thanks for confirming my doubts.

however I think I found a bargain. £475 for a 1 bedroom flat, all bills included.

I will only need to pay for broadband, but I may ask the guy downstairs if he will go 1/2s if i can use the wifi code;) obviously he will probably be able to see exactly what I'm doing if he is some computer geek but hey ho.

I had a viewing today and its a good size, I would be happy there.

Now I have done some number crunching and after given myself more generous figures like £150 for shopping and £30 petrol (even though the flat is within walking distance from work) and I still have £50 left with loads of over the top figures, Im pretty sure I included everything including having a life, including stuff listed in posts above. Now I'm hoping since I have given myself generous figures, I will only end up with cash spare at the end of the month which I can put away for unexpected costs.

I have £4,000 in savings. Originally I wanted to buy a house but, I need accommodation and 500pm would only pay the interest on a mortgage anyway. So in an emergency It is there.

The landlord is actually my other half's Grandad. He doesnt even want a deposit and he said he will furnish it for me.

How does that sound guys?:beer:

Some of you are probably wondering about my girlfriend
she may move in with me in september so she can go to the local uni. She can not move in until then, student loans etc will then cover half my bills on behalf of her

psychopathbabble

Provided that all bills are definitely included, it sounds ok to me. I'd give it 6 months, see how you get on financially and rethink things after living there for 5 months (allowing a months notice to move out!). At least with knowing the landlord, he can understand your circumstances should you need to move out again for any reason

Only thing I would say is how often do you use your bike? I know you are going to walk to work but you may be underestimating how much you actually use it outside of work.

ETA: Where possible, stick to a budget and try to put more into your savings even if it's only a few quid a month, aim to still save for a mortgage

Badger_Lady

That does sound like a good deal! Does it include council tax? Sometimes that comes under the category "all bills" but sometimes not...

The best way to be sure about your budget is to fill out the whole thing - I used Budget Brain under here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning

It helps you to prompt you on all those little expenses that you never think about, so you get a pretty accurate figure.

Good luck!

ROV_SPARKY

well luckily I can confirm it doesnt cost too much because I have had it 5 months. I pay £30 a month, and thats with a 5mile each way daily commute.

yes I defiantly want to contribute some savings, £100 a month if possible.

That 4k was paid into a 5% mortgage saver account (£300pm) I have to put £100 minimum in that account or they will close it . If I can do that, that would be awesome.

If not, I will need a new account (flex ISA probably)
Or I can withdraw £1k, suffer 1 month 0% interest and then use that to pay in £100pm. Will need to do some calculations to see if I would still gain anything but I do love that 5%!

thanks for that budget calculator. I will let you know the outcome, and yes I smiled when he told me that it includes c.tax!

lvm

Well done for working everything out before taking the plunge (wish I had done the same!)

I think the problem lies with your income - it wouldn't be a bad idea to head over to the "Up your income" board to get some ideas on supplementing your income. A part time job, selling everything you can get your hands on on eBay, surveys (you'd be surprised how much you can get) etc

Although you've managed to get a good deal on a 1 bed for £475 all inc, I'd be inclined to try and find someone also looking to rent (on Gumtree?) and split rent/bills etc on a 2 bed which might end up about £350-£400. Considering your income, that £75 saving would really help. And if your girlfriend did eventually move in, you could either save even more money.

Good luck with the move - and keep lurking on here to keep yourself on the straight and narrow!

Butti

There are basically two ways of measuring affordability. One, the residual method, is basically what is left for housing after your other costs have come out of your budget. It is the method used for applying housing benefit and means you could effectively live in Buckingham Palace and get the taxpayer to pay for it.

The other method, the ratio method, says your housing costs can be up to 30% of your net income. So it is around a third of the £850 take home pay you have. I would respect this limit because of all the other crap you end up having to pay for like...council tax, gas, electric, food, water, clothes, coffees, toiletries, nights out etc.etc.etc.etc.

Butti

I'm a bit behind the times aren't I?!!!:o

ms_london

Yes, this is a great forum - stick around here and you will be set for life :0)

That does sound like a good deal, just see how you get on - but well done on the savings, you are very sensible, so I am sure you will be fine.

All the best.

lucystardust

Also don't forget you will need a decent amount saved up for the deposit, plus many letting agencies will charge an administration fee which could be anything between £100 and £300. This is to cover the admin costs which can include a credit check, checking with an employer that the details you've provided are correct and sorting out the lease document.