Why renting is so pathetic !!!😳

cheeky-virgin

Hi

I m living in a one bed flat in east london and paying about £800 a month from 5 years. Now we have addition in the family and needed a bigger place to stay in and looking for 2 bed room house or flat from last 3 weeks and it's been a hell to find out that estate agents say you must be earning at least 36k a year to have 2 bed property which rent is £1100-1200 a month.

I earns around 28k a year and mrs not working and looking after the kids at the moment so it is impossible for me to get the private renting, I ain't claiming any benefit but still have this problem.

Please advice what to do.

Thanks

topdaddy_2

Thats expensive. Where abouts?

dgtazzman

Living in London because of work? If not, move an hour South or North and rent a 3-bed house for less than you are paying for your 1-bed flat.

EmmaHerts

I work in London and live in Kent. My three-bedroom house is much, much cheaper than what you are paying now.

Move!

hcb42

How does Estate agent decide what you can afford...never heard anything like that. They are not qualified financial people for a start

I would get a new estate agent on side

AdrianC

cheeky-virgin wrote: »

2 bed property which rent is £1100-1200 a month.

I earns around 28k a year and mrs not working and looking after the kids at the moment so it is impossible for me to get the private renting, I ain't claiming any benefit but still have this problem.

So you're happy to leave yourself with about £600 for four people to live on, per month, after rent - but before council tax, bills, food etc etc? Can you see why landlords might feel you're a higher risk of not paying the rent, and prefer a different tenant?

Do you have somebody who'd provide you a guarantee?

If not, then your choice is simple. Earn more, or find somewhere cheaper to live.

A quick look on Rightmove finds nearly 250 2bed flats for less than £900pcm in London.

thequant

cheeky-virgin wrote: »

Hi

I m living in a one bed flat in east london and paying about £800 a month from 5 years. Now we have addition in the family and needed a bigger place to stay in and looking for 2 bed room house or flat from last 3 weeks and it's been a hell to find out that estate agents say you must be earning at least 36k a year to have 2 bed property which rent is £1100-1200 a month.

I earns around 28k a year and mrs not working and looking after the kids at the moment so it is impossible for me to get the private renting, I ain't claiming any benefit but still have this problem.

Please advice what to do.

Thanks

Stop having children you can't afford and tell the Mrs to pull her fingers out and get a job.

cheeky-virgin

thequant wrote: »

Stop having children you can't afford and tell the Mrs to pull her fingers out and get a job.

I ain't here to discuss my personal life whether or not I should have kids, stick to the topic and if you have enough information whether you should earn 36k a year to rent 2 bed house London then comment on it otherwise refrain making comments.

I don't think many Londoner earns more than Average of 25k a year or less.

cheeky-virgin

topdaddy wrote: »

Thats expensive. Where abouts?

Barking in Essex !

[Deleted User]

cheeky-virgin wrote: »

I don't think many Londoner earns more than Average of 25k a year or less.

The average UK salary is £28,000. London is far more affluent than the north of the country, I would not be surprised if the average London salary is nearer £40,000.

For a married couple with children £28,000 is not a good income, especially in London. I would go as far as to say it's a bad level of income. If you picked 2 random 22 year olds off of the street and gave them minimum wage jobs they'd have a joint income in the region of your family income.

If you're happy with an income of £28,000 that's fine, it's your choice, and money certainly isn't everything... but expecting to be able to live in the most affluent region of the country on that income is crazy.

The guideline amount that most people in personal finance circles will give you for rent is 30% of your take home income, 40% is the maximum someone should consider before they're entering into dangerous territory. You're proposing that you should pay £1200 per month on rent alone when you have an after tax income of £1850. That's 65% of your income spent on rent! 65%! That's absurd and doesn't even consider that you'll have higher utility usage, higher council tax....

Here's the simplest way to look at it: at the moment your rent is £850 per month and you're looking to increase it to £1200 per month. Do you have £450 to spare every month at the moment? That's how much more it's going to cost you (+rent, +utilities, +council tax) every month!

The letting agents are doing you a huge favour by turning you down because of their affordability criteria. This would drown you financially. It's a great shame that you've been priced out of the area that you've made a home -- and it's certainly a big problem this country has with housing costs -- but that's the way it is and you need to approach it realistically, you can't bury your head in the sand because you'll cause yourself even further financial problems.

Thequant was a bit rude in the way he approached his comment but ultimately he's right, you can't afford to have children in the south on your income. Your wife needs to get a job and you need to look at increasing your salary (although of course: easier said than done).

specialboy

You have a couple of choices open to you, move to a cheaper area or increase your income. At the end of the day you cant really moan about the cost of housing if you continue to increase the size of your family.