Completely new to all this!

Trunk_z

We have however both lived away at Uni, so have managed to buy food. Although, that being said we both had to do it as cheap as possible (a pizza lasted me 4 days!). So we may push the boat out a little. I'll have a chat to my parents and see how much they spend a week. Thanks for the suggestion.

What exactly is the cost of referencing? Would that be a recurring cost? Or a one off?

Kind regards,
Chris

ladyrider260

It's usually a months rent upfront and a months deposit equating to another months rent. Then theres referencing costs which are normally non-refundable should you change your mind or your references come back unsatisfactory. This fee varies from around £100 to £250 depending on the estate agents.

So, for a rental property of £500 per calendar month:

£500 rent in advance
£500 deposit (this may be a little higher, again it varies according to the estate agents)
£150 fee
= £1150

It's a one off cost when you move and normally if you move to a different property with the same agents, you won't have to pay it again.

HTH

irishcol

motherofstudents wrote: »

Don't know how you manage to spend only £20 on gas, electricity and food ! Not saying it can't be done but I don't know how you don't freeze or starve to death !

If you're in a flat, and there's another flat above, below and to one/both sides, the heating bill is next to nothing. We used to live in a mid-level 2 bedroom flat and the annual gas cost (for heating, hot water and cooking) was less than £200.

If both the occupants are out at work during the day, then the usage of both gas and electricity is much much lower than, for example, a household where the mum (or dad) stays at home and looks after kids, with the heating on all day, never-ending washing to be done etc.

So it's doable in the right situation.

But £20 a month for food is impossible! My top tip for the OP is - if it's close by - go home for Sunday lunch as often as you can! First of all, your mum's roast will be better than you'll be able to cook. Secondly, it's free! And thirdly, your mum (and maybe dad!) will be happy to see you both. Fourthly, if you time it right, you can watch the football on Sky, meaning you don't have to pay to have Sky in your new place!!

picklepick

irishcol wrote: »

But £20 a month for food is impossible! !

£20 a week, not a month!!
Hubby and I spend about £60 a week between two of us, two cats and a baby on the way! It's totally doable. We cook dinner from scratch every night. No jars, sauces, etc. We eat veggie about 2 or 3 nights a week. I even homemake pizza. Tastes much nicer than shop bought stuff! :money:

Werdnal

For a lot of general info on the do's and dont's of the renting process, see the sticky thread at the top of the forum - A Tenant's Guide to Renting.

You will be asked for a referencing fee from most agents, and it can be anything from £50 - £250 per person. If you fail, you won't get this back either! Then as well as the month's deposit, the first month's rent is due before you get the keys, so you could be looking at laying out up to £1500 before you start!

JimmyTheWig

Don't forget cleaning stuff (household and personal).
When looking at your food bill, include drinks and snacks, etc.
Do you iron, or does your mum do it for you? Learn to do it yourself, or budget for an ironing service. (Won't tell you which I used to do as this is MSE!)

The best way to work out a food budget is to do a food plan for a week. Cost up the ingredients and there's your budget. My point is that despite my ironing comment above, we are very good with getting things cheap. But there's no way we could live each week on the little amounts that some people on here sometimes suggest.

Sara42

Hi Chris
I am new to the forum so not sure this is the right way to go to reply to your post...sure I soon will find out!
I'd include electricity and council tax bills to your list...also, it may help you to include credit/other cards payments, loans, insurance payments, etc...
It'd be difficult to say how much your bills would be, it can vary quite a lot, same with the grocery bills....I live on my own and would not want to say as I'm sure I'll get it wrong for two people...
Hope you find what you want, good luck
Sara

happy-chappy_2

Myself and my partner were in this situation abut 18 months ago..

We have a combined income of about 2400 and at the moment our bills are:

Rent - £550 (furnished 2 bed flat on the outskirts of a city - not London obviously!)
Gas and Electric - £74 combined
Water - £19
Council tax - £85
TV license - £12 although you have to pay double for the first 6 months so that you are paying for it in advance or something!
We also have sky+HD, internet, phone and our line rental through sky for £52 a month... which isnt too bad when you consider line rental alone is £12 I think!

I would definitely recommend living together before you get a mortgage tho... you find out things about a person you never knew before!!

Our initial costs for renting were first months rent £550, deposit of £688 - i think this works out at 5 weeks rent - it is the norm to charge slightly over 1 months rent and I think our referencing charges etc were £180

We spend approximately £30 on food between us for the week which is a couple of meaty dinners, a lot of scratch cooking and loads of fruit and veg!!!

Hope this helps!

Trunk_z

Hey again,

Apologies for the late reply, went waterfall walking over the weekend. Been eaten alive by the flies!

Thankyou all for the suggestions, it's been a great help. I'm putting together a spreadsheet now, just so I can see everything in front of me.

Some of the places which we would be able to afford are really nice, and we are really looking forward to it!

One of my friends rented a house for a while, she wasn't allowed to hang a photo on a wall. Is this common practice amongst landlords? From that, my understanding is that you aren't allowed to change anything?

Kind regards,
Chris

marliepanda

Trunk_z wrote: »

One of my friends rented a house for a while, she wasn't allowed to hang a photo on a wall. Is this common practice amongst landlords? From that, my understanding is that you aren't allowed to change anything?

Kind regards,
Chris

Her agreement probably had something daft in it saying that, but that is unenforceable.

However if you do then you need to take out the hook, and patch it up/spot paint it when you leave. But no you dont have to live in a bare walled space if you dont want!