Buying A Home Or Private Renting? Which Is The Best Option?

Gigervamp

annbarbs wrote: »

But even if I hadn't I still want to go after an hour or so.
You can't keep it up for 2 and a half hours.

Which is why I suggested a visit to the GP. Most adults have 4/5/6 hours between loo visits.

System

Gigervamp wrote: »

Which is why I suggested a visit to the GP. Most adults have 4/5/6 hours between loo visits.

When I say you cant, I mean you can if you have to but it's very uncomfortable.

Like when you wake up in the morning and you want to pass water because you have been asleep all night without going.
It feels like that.

But that's not what this thread is about.

So lets get back to why I went to Liverpool.


I went there because I wanted to look at my options of private renting and maybe buying a place.

I had hoped to visit some letting agents to talk about this and with the hope of viewing some flat's.

But as you know it didn't turn out that way because I never got round to going to the letting agents.

Because most of my time was spent checking into hotels, checking out and checking in another hotel again.
Because the hotels would not extend my stay.
And I do not know my way around Liverpool as much as I thought I did.

So I never got to go to any letting agents.
All that happened was that I spent £2,500 for nothing on hotels.

That is not what I planned and I am rather disappointed it did not turn out the way I expected it to.

I have come back home and nothing has changed except I have 2k and 500 pounds less in my savings.
And that's NOT what I planned.



The biggest problem is that Liverpool is so far away the only way to look for flats or to buy a place is to stay in hotels if I go there again.

If I was looking for places in London or Southend or even in Kent, for example I would not have to stay in hotels.

Because I can get to and from there by train in an hour or so. So I can do it in a day, go there for a few hours and come home again.

But I can't do that with Liverpool because it is too far away.

So how you look for properties at such a distance?

I mean if you are in London and you want to move to Liverpool, how do you look for flats and do it all without breaking the bank?

candygirl

Gigervamp wrote: »

Which is why I suggested a visit to the GP. Most adults have 4/5/6 hours between loo visits.

For wees? :eek: I must be a weirdo then

System

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

Well, most people in this situation would either
1) leave their hotel rooms well before the estate agents closed and/or
2) be on the phone in the morning to estate agents booking appointments to view (which can be done late in the day)

I know the first one isn't an option for you because you can't get out of the room before late afternoon but I think the second one would have worked. You could have made at least some 5pm daylight appointments at this time of year.

However, I don't want to recommend this whole moving north approach as nothing indicates to us that it's the right move for you at this time.

Well if I had just got up in the morning and gone straight out of my hotel, I would have got to the letting agents.
And I could have called a taxi to the letting agents from my hotel or they would have done it for me.

But even if I had got to the agencies they may might have said they have not got anything.
They don't always have properties or they might have had ones I did not want.


Or I could have just phoned the agents up from my home in London instead of going up there to Liverpool.
Then if they had anything they could have maybe given me an appointment to come up to view it.
And it would not have cost me a hotel room for nothing.

That's probably what I should have done.

Phoned them up first from my home instead of going up there.

But I didn't and it has cost me 2k and 5 hundred pounds.

I cannot keep on doing that.
If I keep going up there and staying at Premier Inns for 3 weeks, it will eat up my inheritance, and I don't want that.

If I knew I was going to stay up there for 3 weeks I could have booked a room at one of the youth hostels which would have been a lot cheaper.
After all you only want a hotel to sleep. And I could have gone to a hostel and saved a lot of money.

But then I did not have to stay for 3 weeks, it does not take 3 weeks to go to the letting agent.
I should have just gone home after my 3 days in Southport then gone back there another time.
Then I would not have spent all of that money.

And NO Liverpool is not the right move for me.
The people were not as friendly as I thought they were.

Here in Essex and London I can talk to people here.
And I told them about my trying to get a flat in Liverpool about my time there.
I also have chats with them about other things.

But In Liverpool when I tried to talk to people they did not want to know.
So they are not friendly up North they are what you would call two faced.

They are more friendly here in the South.

Pixie5740

If you're not careful you're going to burn through your inheritance very quickly. Have you thought about using some of the money to pay for CBT sessions privately?

ViolaLass

annbarbs, we get it, you shouldn't move to Manchester or Liverpool. I wouldn't keep going on about how nasty you found the people. There are nice and nasty people everywhere.

It's useful that you know you drink water when you are nervous. Next time, when you're travelling, try to restrict how much you drink. It will help with not needing the toilet so much. How about no more than half a litre every two hours? That's ample.

Equally, if you know that you have trouble with drinking too much then all the more reason to ask a member of staff about stations that have toilets and whether you are allowed to break your journey there.

countthecost

Annbarbs, most people on here that are trying support you, don't think that it would be a good idea to move from the area where you are familiar and the people friendly. Your visit to Manchester & Liverpool proved to be far too stressful for you. A move there would be far far more stressful. £600 per month rent is really quite reasonable even in Liverpool. Rents of £400 are more than likely in area's that are not so nice. You have now wasted FOUR MONTHS rent on your trip which was mostly spent in the hotel room. Please try to look at your situation in a positive way - you are extremely lucky in that you have a large inheritance as well as your DLA and ESA to support you in a comfortable lifestyle. Many people work for low wages and struggle to pay the rent. They don't have the luxury of a large amount of money in the bank as you do. So please take comfort and gratitude that your mother was so generous to you. And seek out as much support as possible to you in your current location. Good wishes. Fr

System

Pixie5740 wrote: »

If you're not careful you're going to burn through your inheritance very quickly.

Yes if I keep on going on trips to Liverpool and staying in Premir Inns for weeks like I just did I will eat up my inheritance.

Those hotels are all right for very shorts stays of 2 days if you don't do it too often.

But not for long stays of 3 weeks.

That's why most people don't stay there a long time because those places are so expensive.

The Premir Inn and other big hotels charges £50 a night and in busy time as much as £100 and even £150 a night.
They don't have weekly rates like a bed and breakfast or a hostel does.


If I knew I was going to stay up there for that long I should have booked into somewhere cheaper such as one of the youth hostels.

But in my case there was no point in me staying up there at all because I did not do anything.

I spent most of the day in my hotel room and by the time I went out it was o'clock in the evening.

So what was the point in that?

I might as well have stayed at home as I can do that here and it won't cost me hotel rooms.

I think I kept on extending my stay because I went out late so I missed most of the days.

But it never made any difference because I still never got out of my room in time. And still went out late.
So nothing got done.
I never got to go to the letting agents.
But then I don't think I wanted to go.
Sixth sense stopped me I think.
Because I did not want to move up there.

It's all right to go on short holidays for a few days or for the weekend.

And I won't eat up my inheritace if I just go for a few days.

But there is no point in because I did not like it there.
So it's a waste of money for me.

ViolaLass wrote: »

annbarbs, we get it, you shouldn't move to Manchester or Liverpool. I wouldn't keep going on about how nasty you found the people. There are nice and nasty people everywhere.

It's useful that you know you drink water when you are nervous. Next time, when you're travelling, try to restrict how much you drink. It will help with not needing the toilet so much. How about no more than half a litre every two hours? That's ample.

Equally, if you know that you have trouble with drinking too much then all the more reason to ask a member of staff about stations that have toilets and whether you are allowed to break your journey there.

Well it's true.

The people in Liverpool are friendly when you first talk to them but when you try to have a conversation with them they don't want to listen to you.

At least that's how I found it.

And in Manchester they won't talk to you at all.
Manchester is like London but a lot less friendly than London.

In Essex and London I have conversation with people.
And of course I talk about my inheritace and other things.
But in Liverpool I can't because they just don't wanna listen to me.
Other people I met from London found it the same thing. So it's not just me who noticed it.

And yes it did put me off of living there.

It's very hot at the moment and in the hot weather you want to drink more.
So it's very difficult not to drink water when it's like this.

countthecost wrote: »

Annbarbs, most people on here that are trying support you, don't think that it would be a good idea to move from the area where you are familiar and the people friendly. Your visit to Manchester & Liverpool proved to be far too stressful for you. A move there would be far far more stressful. £600 per month rent is really quite reasonable even in Liverpool. Rents of £400 are more than likely in area's that are not so nice. You have now wasted FOUR MONTHS rent on your trip which was mostly spent in the hotel room. Please try to look at your situation in a positive way - you are extremely lucky in that you have a large inheritance as well as your DLA and ESA to support you in a comfortable lifestyle.

Well I have found out that rents in Liverpool are not as cheap as I thought.

As I said most rents for a private 1 or 2 bedroom flat there are from £450 to £550 a month or more.

And it's not worth moving for that if my rent is only going to be £100 less than what I pay here.

Because I am not going to save money and I will be giving up a secure tenancy.


And there are very few flats for £400 a month rent in Liverpool.
So I won't find many and if I did as you say, it is likely one where the landlord does not maintain the property. Or somewhere very run down.
Which is no good.

Manchester is out.
As I won't find anything for less than £700 a month.
Manchester is just as expensive a London.
So no chance of getting anything for £400 a month there.

And even if I could Manchester is still out.
Because the health Trusts are horrible.

My CMHT Social Worker told me.

Yes my visit to the North was very stressful.

I am still suffering feeling very tired now a week later.

And it has put me on edge mentally.

And I have spend 2k for nothing when if I had not gone I could have saved that money.

So it's not done me any good.

A move up there would be very stressful and very expensive.

I have been given quotes from removal companies.
They told me it will cost me £3000 to move my furniture and stuff up there.

That is a lot of money, plus there is the deposit for the flat of about 2k that I would have to pay the letting agent.

So that would eat up more of my inheritace.
Then if I got kicked out of my private flat. I would have to find somewhere else and pay another deposit.

I could find myself moving every 2 years, going from flat to flat. If the landlord throws me out or sells the property.
That means more deposits and removal van fees.

And how am I going to be able to do that when my inheritace runs out I won't.

The biggest risk with private rented is that I could end up homeless if the landlord or letting agent evicts me.

So it's very risky because you don't know what can happen.
And if I was homeless and could not find anywhere I would have to go back to the Council.

And they might put me somewhere I would not like. Or I might even end up in a bed and breakfast.
We don't know.

If I was going to move buying a place would be safer.
Because then at least I would have a secure home for life which I cannot be evicted from.

But then I have got that here with my HA.
As long as I pay the rent and don't break the tenancy agreement my HA will never throw me out.

But a private landlord can do.
Very easily.
So you can have your flat one day then the next day the landlord can just throw you out and there is nothing you can do about it.
It's not worth the risk is it.

I know myself that a HA or Council flat is much safer than a private flat.

£603 a month rent is not a lot of money for my area.
I won't get a private flat anywhere in my area or in Essex for that.

Private 1 bedroom flats here in Essex are from £1000 per month upwards.
So what my HA is charging is very reasonable and very low.

And I am getting £213 a week DLA and ESA.
That is £854 every 4 weeks or £923 per calendar month.
And that is paying my rent and the rest of that pays for some of my bills.
So I am not using my inheritace to pay it as you say.

Kevie192

annbarbs,

I think it's clear to everyone that you should just stay where you are and make the most of your inheritance whilst you have it. When it runs out, you'll have to go back on benefits again. That's just the way the story goes.

Everyone has busy lives these days, so perhaps the people you met in the North just didn't have the time to stop and talk to you or didn't want to know or care about your inheritance? That doesn't make them bad or nasty people, it's just human nature.

A private landlord can't just take your home away with no notice. They have to give you 2 months notice that they are taking you to court and then actually take you to court so the whole process is likely to take 3-6 months or longer. It doesn't make any difference to you because you are doing the best thing and staying where you are but I wanted to let you know it's not as bad as you think.

Take care,

Kevin

System

Kevie192 wrote:

I think it's clear to everyone that you should just stay where you are and make the most of your inheritance whilst you have it. When it runs out, you'll have to go back on benefits again. That's just the way the story goes.

Well 109k is not going to run out overnight.

I still get some benefits, my DLA and Contribution Based ESA which pays my rent and makes up for my not getting HB.

And as long as I don't do anything silly such as spend it on 2k a night in the Savoy or go on round the world cruises which I won't.
That money could last me 10 years or longer.

Last year when I first found out I was to inherit I did not know I would still get my DLA and CTB ESA.
I thought that al my benefits would be stopped once my savings went over 16k

So I was surprised when the DWP told me they would still be paying my DLA and my ESA would only be cut to Contribution Based ESA but not stopped completely as I thought.
Which I look on as a possessive because that £854 a month I get from my benefits is paying my rent. Sop it's not coming out of my inheritace.

My bills come to about £250 a month most of which is also covered by the benefits.
After I have paid my £603 a month rent I am left with about £240 which pays most of the bills.

Sop I am not dipping into my savings as much as what I thought I would have to.

I have not spent much money in my flat since I got my 5 months ago in December.

My biggest expense has been my stay in the hotels in Liverpool and Manchester.
But I won't do that again.

Kevie192 wrote:

Everyone has busy lives these days, so perhaps the people you met in the North just didn't have the time to stop and talk to you or didn't want to know or care about your inheritance? That doesn't make them bad or nasty people, it's just human nature.

Well it's not something you talk to strangers about.
You don't go around places telling your life story or problems to strangers.
That's probably why they were like that.

Kevie192 wrote:

A private landlord can't just take your home away with no notice. They have to give you 2 months notice that they are taking you to court and then actually take you to court so the whole process is likely to take 3-6 months or longer. It doesn't make any difference to you because you are doing the best thing and staying where you are but I wanted to let you know it's not as bad as you think.

No legally not but many landlords and letting agents don't give you 2 months notice.
And if they want you out of your home they can make life very uncomfortable for you.

I am not saying that would happen if I went with a private landlord or letting agent.
I am just looking at the worse scenario which is what members have warned me about here.

I might get a good landlord or letting agent that maintains the property and keeps me on and not have any problems.

Or I might not.
We just don't know.

A secure tenancy can never be guaranteed with private rented. Because most are shorthold tenancies, with a lease of 6 to 12 months.

So there is always the possibility that the landlord or letting agent can refuse to renew the lease after that time.
As they don't have to give you a lease every 6 months.
So it's very easy for them to get rid of you that way if they want to.
You just don't know.
That's why I would be taking a risk if I were to leave my HA to go into private rented.

And that would eat up more of my inheritance because it would cost me removal fees. Which for a move like Liverpool would come to 3k as the removal firms I have contacted have estimated.

And also the deposits for a flat about 2k, because no private landlord is going to rent me a flat without a deposit.

And I would have to pay a new deposit every time I moved if I was evicted.

And the rent won't be much cheaper in Liverpool than what I am paying now.
It is likely to go up every year or so.
Because most Private landlords put the rent up every year.


Then when my inheritace does run out in the years to come
my rent might not be covered by HB.
As they only pay so much of the LHA with private rented.
Or the landlord or letting agent could throw me out as most don't like people on HB.

But that won't happen if I stay with my HA.
If I stay with the HA when my saving go bellow 16k(which won't be for a very long time.) The Council will just reinstate my HB to the same as it was before and I will still have my home.

But with a private landlord I might not have.


All of this is why everyone advises me not to leave the HA.