How much would you spent on rent?

apeskin

I know this is pretty subjective stuff, but my friend is starting a 26k job. Trouble is, he has to move to a new area in order to be able to start the said job. Obviously, he wants to go 1 bedroom or studio. In terms of options, occasionally places come up for £350 per month which I think would be just about do-able. However a lot of the places listed are more like £400-500+ PCM

But...if he can get a place for £350 PCM I reckon adding an extra £150 on top is about right for tax / utilities. So now we're talking about £500 per month on just housing alone!! (let's just say £550 to be safe)

Or on that sort of pay, should he just ditch the idea of having his own place and just knuckle up and dig into a house share (these are more like 300-450 ish per month inc bills)?

PasturesNew

£350 on £26k is peanuts.

Agents work on an affordability criteria that sets a minimum salary to be able to afford rent. That figure is about £600/month needs an £18k salary. So an agent might be happy that a £26k salary is good for £850/month or so.

glasgowdan

£1700 take home should make £500-600 a month rent quite affordable.

Say 600 rent, 120 council tax, 100 power, 100 other bills, 200 food, 300 travel and 300 left to drink.

Hermia

I rented a £525 flat on £26k and had money left over each month. Trying to find a one bed or studio for £350 would be a struggle in many parts of the country. I assume he hasn't lived on his own before and has no idea how much his typical bills are?

ceb1995

Our household income is 27k, our rent is £550 and we re reasonably comfortable albeit we don't drink but we re able to afford to save £200+ a month at the moment.

[Deleted User]

Just wondering where you are getting your ideas of affordability from? Does he have debts? You seem to be forgetting his income is actually quite generous and the proposed rents low.

I'm wondering if there is an error in there somewhere because I wouldn't be worrying at all based on those figures.

However its likely there will need to be money for admin fees, and a month's rent and deposit paid up front at least. That will be the biggest problem if he's only just starting a job.

juniordoc

A professional house share is a really good idea when moving to a new area, meeting people who already know the area helps you establish friendship groups and get integrated into a community.
They often also have short minimum terms, so your friend could do this for 4-6 months before getting his own place when he will know the area better.
I've also managed to live in much nicer houses than I could afford myself when in house shares, and paying bills living alone is extortionate!

datlex

glasgowdan wrote: »

£1700 take home should make £500-600 a month rent quite affordable.

Say 600 rent, 120 council tax, 100 power, 100 other bills, 200 food, 300 travel and 300 left to drink.

If these are based on your own bills, they seem very high. I pay under £80 a month for council tax. Travel is only £47 a month (though I appreciate that is low).

Doshwaster

A common affordability calculation used by agents is an annual income of 30x the monthly rent

That means a max rent of £860 on a salary of £26k. Personally, I would be uncomfortable with that level. I think when I was earning that much I was paying around £500 in rent and I found that very easy to afford.

Of course if you are planning on buying in the next few years you need to take into account how much you can save into your budget planning.

apeskin

juniordoc wrote: »

A professional house share is a really good idea when moving to a new area, meeting people who already know the area helps you establish friendship groups and get integrated into a community.
They often also have short minimum terms, so your friend could do this for 4-6 months before getting his own place when he will know the area better.
I've also managed to live in much nicer houses than I could afford myself when in house shares, and paying bills living alone is extortionate!

Mind if I ask you how you go about finding the 'right' house share. Because I like the idea of potentially meeting new people and friends rather than dwelling by my lonesome! But, I'm also worried about being stuck with people I end up absolutely hating (and or visa versa)

Pixie5740

Is this one of those asking-for-a-friend scenarios when you're actually asking for yourself?