Renting a house first time.

Lechop

Me and my girlfriend are going to start looking for a house to rent the one we are looking at is £450pcm i get roughly about £750 per month from my job and she gets £900pcm cause she does more hours i was wondering would this type of income be sustainable in a house that costs this much?????


the house we are looking at comes under council tax band - B

if that matters or not i don't know.



Thanks alot

GwylimT

So £450 a month, what is band B in your area? Have you factored in the cost of other bills, electric, gas, phone, TV licence and internet? Or are bills included?

Are you stated earnings before or after tax?

What sort of costs do you have at home at the minute, do you both pay rent or a token amount to your parents? Do you pay for food shopping etc?

Lechop

Yes my girlfriend pays £250 per month to her mother at the moment (which i think is way too much) and yes that's after tax my wage may vary £10-30
depends on cut off days for wages at work and we put down as follows for bills.

£100 each for food (monthly)
£30 each for electricity (monthly)
£30 each for gas (monthly)
£20 each for broadband (monthly)

we have the deposit already saved at the moment i just was wondering if this budget is sustainable the lowest houses in our area are £350 but they are in terrible neighborhoods and are far from our work.

I have no idea what tax bands are besides the closer to A the lower the council tax (i think).

Blackpool_Saver

Many other outgoings to add to that list but I am sure you know that. Go to the nice area ;-)

GwylimT

Right so first you actually need to find out how much council tax you're going to be paying. When she lives on her own you and her will realise what a bargain £250 is.

On your figures before council tax you will be paying just over £800 a month, now personally when my partner and I were finding housing we ensured that if one of us were to lose our jobs we could still afford our home so it isn't a budget I would be comfortable with, but it is do able. Is it possible to find a flat that is near enough to work and cheaper?

Do anyone of you run a car? If you do just do a quick check to see if your insurance would change significantly, its better than getting a nasty surprise when you move, trust me! If you run a car have you included the running costs in your budget?

Werdnal

Good sticky thread "A tenant's guide to renting" at the top of the forum is full of useful info for newbie renters.

Blackpool_Saver

GwylimT wrote: »

Right so first you actually need to find out how much council tax you're going to be paying. When she lives on her own you and her will realise what a bargain £250 is.

On your figures before council tax you will be paying just over £800 a month, now personally when my partner and I were finding housing we ensured that if one of us were to lose our jobs we could still afford our home so it isn't a budget I would be comfortable with, but it is do able. Is it possible to find a flat that is near enough to work and cheaper?

Do anyone of you run a car? If you do just do a quick check to see if your insurance would change significantly, its better than getting a nasty surprise when you move, trust me! If you run a car have you included the running costs in your budget?

Yes £250 board is peanuts

Lechop

Well taking into account she pays £250 to her mum and buys all her own food i think it's abit expensive for staying with a parent.


But no we don't drive thats why we need a flat in the local area within walking distance the cheapest flat we could find was £375 partly furnished.

and what other expenses "outside living expenses" were you talking about?

GwylimT

Again, how much will your council tax be?

Other expenses can be lots of things, buying furniture, having an appliance go wrong, mobile phone contracts, socialising, buying clothes/shoes, saving for a rainy day etc.

Parents do have housing costs you know, its no different to living in a house share.

Lechop

I have no idea how much the council tax will be since it's my first time i have no idea how to find out. I am viewing the flat tomorrow so i'll ask the landlord but it did say in the summary that it was in the lower tax band so i suppose that's positive.

we both have phone contracts at £30 a month each sorry forgot to mention.

GwylimT

Lechop wrote: »

I have no idea how much the council tax will be since it's my first time i have no idea how to find out. I am viewing the flat tomorrow so i'll ask the landlord but it did say in the summary that it was in the lower tax band so i suppose that's positive.

we both have phone contracts at £30 a month each sorry forgot to mention.

Thats the thing it is easy to forget little things but those little things add up. All you have to do is google council tax for your area.