Can I live alone if I only make 9k/annum? [North East]

SurviveTomorrow

Ok so right now I'm 23 and living with my brother and my father, I only pay £90/month for rent//electricity/internet because my father gets sickness benefits that reduce the rent a lot.

Then I probably spend about £200/month on food. £48/month on bus to work, but that could change depending on location.

I really have no idea what it costs to live alone or what to avoid when looking. All I want is 1 bedroom 1 kitchen 1 bathroom, somewhere close to my workplace (Team Valley, Gateshead)

I technically make 9k/annum from my part time job but you can probably add 3k in overtime as it's often available and I always take it. I'm also open to full time work and hopefully will get a full time job with my current employers sometime this year.

I have about £1400 saved up at the moment. Only necessary items I don't own personally are an oven, washing machine, tumble dryer and a freezer. Hopefully I can rent place with some of these already installed?

edit: I didn't go to uni and don't have any debt, forgot to mention that because it's pretty uncommon for a 23 year old!

Caz3121

It will depend primarily on rental amounts where you live. For affordability calculations many landlords/agencies will use a calculation of income being at least 30x the rent amount...so on £9k you would be looking at a rental figure of under £300 per month, so more likely to cover a room in a shared house rather than a self contained property
You are likely going to need the full time income if you want to live alone

HappyMJ

SurviveTomorrow wrote: »

Ok so right now I'm 23 and living with my brother and my father, I only pay £90/month for rent//electricity/internet because my father gets sickness benefits that reduce the rent a lot.

Then I probably spend about £200/month on food. £48/month on bus to work, but that could change depending on location.

I really have no idea what it costs to live alone or what to avoid when looking. All I want is 1 bedroom 1 kitchen 1 bathroom, somewhere close to my workplace (Team Valley, Gateshead)

I technically make 9k/annum from my part time job but you can probably add 3k in overtime as it's often available and I always take it. I'm also open to full time work and hopefully will get a full time job with my current employers sometime this year.

I have about £1400 saved up at the moment. Only necessary items I don't own personally are an oven, washing machine, tumble dryer and a freezer. Hopefully I can rent place with some of these already installed?

edit: I didn't go to uni and don't have any debt, forgot to mention that because it's pretty uncommon for a 23 year old!

Are you wiling to share?

If you could find someone willing to share a flat with 2 double bedrooms you can rent one in Team Valley for £550 a month, along with council tax, gas/electricity, home phone/broadband you could be looking at around £800 a month in total which you could share with one other bringing your share down to £400 a month which on £9,000 would be affordable leaving you with £350 for your food and other costs, Any overtime earnings could be used for saving and entertainment/going out money. If you do no overtime you will have to stay at home and not spend anything.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-54221578.html

edit: the above property includes the appliances you don't own.

Khrisjun

Hi,

Just taking a quick look it will depend entirely on how much you can rent a place for.. If we count the overtime as money for life (Enjoyment/Sociliasing/clothes/Gym etc) then a small place you might have £75 Council Tax + £15 Water rates + £25 Gas/Electric + £15 Internet/line rental + £200 food + £48 Bus you have expenses of £378 before rent.

Based on your 9k you should have around £740 per month Net pay, can you find a place to rent (that you consider better than living with your brother and Father) for less than £362 per month?

Im sure you could find shared house for less which may also include the bills above, then it will just depend if you want to live in a shared house with less disposable income or with your family and save more.

I was personally lucky when i rented my first place as moved in with a friend for £300 a month inc bills which i considered reasonable as was £100 more than i was paying living at home with parents, if however it was going to cost me £600 to live alone and salary was £740 i personally wouldnt move out yet, but would wait for the full time job.

SurviveTomorrow

No I wouldn't want to share. I'm not under any pressure to leave my family and I'd rather live with them than a stranger, I'd just really like to live alone.

If that means it's best to wait until I have the full time job, I can wait for it.

RIPironman

Some estate agent websites actually tell you the minimum you need to earn to afford each property. They say that you should use approx 35% of your salary on rent/outgoings. Would you not be entitled to some housing allowance? Have a look on this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-local-housing-allowances-rates-broad-rental-market-areas

What about something like this? Not sure if you can get to Team Valley from Windy Nook but there will be buses.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-54189619.html

SurviveTomorrow

I could find out that for a 1 bedroom location the LHA would be £90/week in my area, but I really can't find on any information on if I'm eligible for it or if I'd get a reduced rate or anything like that.

It sounds promising though, I'm heading to work any minute now, but I'll look further into it tonight when I get back.

ReadingTim

It might be possible, but you wouldn't have much left over for doing much else such as going out socialising, cars holidays etc, let alone saving. You'd have place of your own, but won't have any money left to do much other than sit in it. Possibly on your own.

Furthermore, as you won't have much left over to save, it'll take you a very long time (unless or until you get a payrise) to save up anywhere near enough to buy your own place, so you'll be paying someone else's mortgage for a very long time. I would therefore suggest staying with family might be preferable until you're in a position to buy somewhere yourself, rather than merely rent it.

Rent now, and you risk renting forever.

missbiggles1

Whatever you decide to do, you'll need to stop spending 50 quid a week on food for a start!

Caz3121

SurviveTomorrow wrote: »

I could find out that for a 1 bedroom location the LHA would be £90/week in my area, but I really can't find on any information on if I'm eligible for it or if I'd get a reduced rate or anything like that.

unless you receive disability benefits, under 35s are only entitled to the shared accommodation rate (irrespective of the size of property) so any benefit calculations would be based on the £60 per week and your income is likely to high for any assistance on that rate

TheGardener

Clearly on the current income it would be a meagre existence trying to maintain a home. However, your opportunity to move out will come much faster if you plan ahead; research what's available in your area and what sort of rent you are likely to need to pay (and how much you need to be earning) - get a feel for the local rental market and start saving a much as you can. Be aware that single person accommodation is probably the highest demand and certainly most councils have more singles on the waiting list than any other type of home. Keep your eye open for homeware bargains that you can stash away for when you have enough £ to move. Setting up home alone needs more than just a fridge(there are a lot of local charities that sell second hand household appliances) but all the mundane stuff like bedding, towels, pots and pans.
Focus on making independent living a future goal and put all your energy into getting ready and the wait will seem more positive.