Difference between affording to buy & affording to RUN the house?

Owain_Moneysaver

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

This was our first ever property viewing & i must say - do people not care about their house once they decide to sell? The walls were a state with stains all over them. The landing bannister looked like it had had dogs chewing at it as the spindles were half gone.

Cosmetic things like this will put off lots of buyers but are cheap and easy to fix, especially cleaning.

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

We'd probably value it at £20k less than it's listed, but it's already been dropped £5k. According to Zoopla it was bought by the current owners in 2008 for an extra £20k on what they're selling it at now. We're not even going to bother going in £20k lower as no way would anyone take that.

They will if they're desperate to sell or heading towards repossession.

JustAnotherSaver

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Cosmetic things like this will put off lots of buyers but are cheap and easy to fix, especially cleaning.

Oh i know this, i was just saying. I'm a tidy person & i'd hate to have people coming into my house & seeing it in a right old state, even if i was selling.

They will if they're desperate to sell or heading towards repossession.

We expected the owners to be showing us around. Turned out they had moved out at some point this week, so the place was basically just a shell. I imagine they've found somewhere else to stay & are just waiting on the sale.

ILW

Have you accounted for rising IRs in your affordability calcs?

cod3

Is there anything i've missed?

Clothes and shoes.

moneyshoe

The thing about the just managing thing is that it relates to a seismic change in lifestyle and thinking associated with having children and almost impossible to quantify.

I really don't know how I started spending so much less per month once we had kids. I know that I didn't go out as much (dinner/ drinks/ cinema - I notice you haven't budgeted for any of these - is the TV and the gym your only recreation?), we didn't entertain as much. I stopped buying magazines, I wasn't buying lunches at work and when I went back I took a packed lunch. I stopped buying clothes and shoes because it just didn't seem important anymore (again you haven't budgeted for this), I'm not saying I ran around naked but I became a lot less vain. However I still don't really know how I went from spending all my salary to saving and overpaying the mortgage - I suspect I was spending a lot of money on disposable crap that we didn't need. Looking at your budget you are much more sensible than I was pre - kids.

If you think you really do want to have a child but are seriously worried about affording it have you looked at a mortgage package that would allow you to take payment holidays? We were previously with Nationwide and were teed up to take a payment holiday during the 2nd part of my mat leave - we didn't have to but knowing it was possible was a relief. For when your wife wants to go back there is tax relief for childcare, child benefit and I have friends who have reciprocal childcare arrangements with each other so that they don't have to pay for nursery.

I suspect you are going to flame me for this but I think you need to try not to worry quite so much. Looking at your figures you can afford this house now (although not the one you have viewed since you didn't like it). If you chose to have a child then you will have to make sacrifices in order to allow your partner the time off work but your life will be enriched by becoming parents. I doubt you will need to live in one room eating bread and water.

michaels

Christmas presents, birthdays and holidays?

Car repairs and depreciation?

Major household purchases, boilers, washing machines, Tvs, laptops all stop working after a while, matresses need repalcing and even beds and furniture can break.

However on the plus side the S&S ISA is saving not spending and could be stopped for a while if need be giving you an extra buffer.

JustAnotherSaver

ILW wrote: »

Have you accounted for rising IRs in your affordability calcs?

IRs = interest rates?

No i haven't, but i have had it in the back of my mind when i say i don't think £600 disposable is enough. The problem (my view) with a lot of people telling us that £600 is ok, is that modern day Britain doesn't seem to plan for tomorrow & they only live for today. I'm not like this. Everything will rise apart from my pay.
I do think too much, but not because others say i do. I think most don't think enough.

cod3 wrote: »

Clothes and shoes.

That'd come out of the disposable over time. I really don't buy a lot of clothes or shoes. My shoes last me a few years & my clothes even longer. I have a few t-shirts that i cycle. A few shirts IF (rare occasion) we go out. The same pair of 'good shoes' for the past 6 years. My jeans last me many years. I don't buy clothes because i wear the clothes i own to death so the cost is really minimal. I bought new shoes last year & can guarantee you they'll not be getting replaced until at least next year but more likely the year after. My clothes last even longer than that.
Due to working hours i/we don't get to go out much, so i only really wear my own clothes on a Sunday & a Saturday - IF i get a Saturday off work.Through the week i'll just keep my work clothes on until shower time & then bed.

moneyshoe wrote: »

I really don't know how I started spending so much less per month once we had kids. I know that I didn't go out as much (dinner/ drinks/ cinema - I notice you haven't budgeted for any of these - is the TV and the gym your only recreation?),

There is a reason i didn't budget for this. We don't eat out much - we make at home. We don't smoke (at all!) & we very rarely drink. If we do drink then it'll be a couple of bottles every so many months to the point where it's barely worth counting. I mean literally a couple - 2number, every 2-3 month or whatever, maybe even longer in between. The cost might be 2 or 3 bottles for £5 (i can't remember what offer they put on Cidre as i don't drink that much, but that's what i do drink).
As for the cinema - as said, we'd be pushing it if we went 5 times per year. We don't buy newspapers or magazines (well the missus buys the mags, but she's cut down drastically to barely ever now (from frequently)).
The thing is, people talk of cut backs - but many people go out say once per week, have a takeaway once per fortnight or whatever & they talk about cutting back from that. We already don't really do that so it'd be difficult to cut back even further. How does people think we've managed to save £50k when we earn approx £1k net per month & have some bills to pay already?
Due to our working hours, through the week by the time we're both home we only really get 2-3 hours together. More like 2 tbh. I work most Saturday's so we only get from about 6pm together. Sunday is our only real day together, so that's what we do - spend our time together, which doesn't cost anything. We'll go out for walks or biking places - which is free. So where many people spend their free time spending the odd £1 here & there on a drink or so, our free time is exactly that - FREE.

when I went back I took a packed lunch.

We both take packed lunches. As i say, we both watch our money quite closely so have already made many of the usual cut backs.

Looking at your budget you are much more sensible than I was pre - kids.

My wife has readily admitted that our sensible side, our money saving etc, comes from me. She likes to spend, i like to save. She's slowly come round to saving. We're pulling much more as a team these days.

I suspect you are going to flame me for this but I think you need to try not to worry quite so much.

Not at all. I fully agree with anyone who says i'm an over-thinker. At the same time though, i'd rather get involved in something knowing the ins & outs than risking by jumping in with both feet.

I doubt you will need to live in one room eating bread and water.

I said that because of the people saying "you don't need this, you don't need that". I was trying to make the point that you need SOME enjoyment in life otherwise what is the point in living?

michaels wrote: »

Christmas presents, birthdays and holidays?

Car repairs and depreciation?

Major household purchases, boilers, washing machines, Tvs, laptops all stop working after a while, matresses need repalcing and even beds and furniture can break.

I agree with you - & that is the basis of why i think £600pm is not enough. I don't know what IS enough, but i'm not confident £600 is it.

However on the plus side the S&S ISA is saving not spending and could be stopped for a while if need be giving you an extra buffer.

I know what you're saying & technically yes it is saving, but it's an amount of money out of our wage that we wont see again for a very long time. The S&S ISA is our retirement fund. We started doing this very late (i was 28, wife 29). We only pay £100pm in it so not a lot at all. This really does need to increase, not decrease or stop. We've been advised against pensions for our situation & towards S&S ISAs. Although unlike pensions we can touch the money whenever, we wont be touching it until we retire as that's the purpose of it.

theoretica

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Despite this ... at what point do you stop? If we keep talking about only what a person needs, then we'll all be living on bread & water & living in a 1 room building that acts as bathroom, kitchen & bedroom in one. [...] So while i may not 'need' something, i might actually want it. It may mean i'll have to go without something else that i want, but then i'd prioritise & just do without that other thing so i could have this thing.

Exactly this. I think it is a really good idea to know what you have that you don't need - so you can prioritise and decide where in your priorities the house lies. And perhaps appreciate them more by acknowledging them as luxuries. Saying you don't need cherries/lottery/gym is not saying you can't have them - but you might want to spend that money on a more expensive house instead. Or you might have to cut out many of the things you don't need when child expenses come along. If you cut your budget to the bare bones of what you need you can then decide how to spend everything that is left without giving undue priority to payments that have perhaps become habit without giving good value in enjoyment.