Rent budget advice needed...

jonny_power

I have to move (to sheffield) for a job, and am trying to work out my budget for renting a small flat. my sal will be £21600 and will also be paying off my student loan, what kind of figure should i roughly be looking at per month... is there some off hand calculation i should do? i reckon between £400pm-£500pm or am i a bit high?

cheers

jon

moneysavinmonkey

do a search on rightmove for the area you want...
can probably lop a bit off the rents advertised if you manage to do a deal or rent privately.

Melissa177

If it helps, when I first moved to London, I earned 22K a year, a paid 500 a month rent (house share), plus student loan repayments.

I lived perfectly well, had a nice life, and didn't have to take on debt. I didn't save much to be honest, but hey-ho.

The one watch out is if you're living on your own, costs increase. For example, you can't split the leccy bill five ways, and you pay 100% of the council tax (okay, 75% if you claim single persons discount).

Sheffield is also a lot cheaper than central London.

jonny_power

thanks melissa that was the kind of answer i was looking for. basically i want to live comfortably, save a bit and hopefully run a car. will try to look for a flat for about £450pm maximum.. hopefully on a short lease so if it's a bit tight i can always get out

PasturesNew

I'd say:
Rent plus £150 should cover your basic bills if you aren't leaving the heating on, water running and lights on all the time! So to be safe, put £200/month in a separate account for bills (especially as it's winter so you'll have lights on more and heating will be needed).

You will need to pay for: Council Tax, Gas, Water, Electric, Phone Line, Broadband, TV Licence,

Don't forget to insure your personal items - Endsleigh insurance do a policy just for tenants, costs under £100 for a year.

You will pay a fee to the agents for credit checks, say £200.
You will pay 4-6 weeks' rent as a deposit.

So, money up front for a £450 flat will be likely to be:
£200 agent fees
£675 deposit (1.5 months)
£450 first month's rent
====
£1325

Also, when you move in, you'll want to buy some household goods. Every flat comes with different items. I was in a friend's flat the other week and they'd even given him towels/linen!! But that's unusual.

Mine, on the other hand, only had 2 odd plates.

So, set aside £50 to spend in the first 3 months of random things like cooking dishes, tin opener, tea towels.

minimoocow

Hello!

I'm from Shef so would say it depends what you want - some areas you could rent a 3 bed terrace (unfurnished) for that amount of money (nice enough areas too).

If you want a new build flat you might be struggling (some 1 bed flats on at £700 pm!) and you would probably have to pay extra for parking!

Alternatively there is lots of post grad/young professional housing where you could pay about £200 - £270 a month for a room in a shared house.

Council tax in Shef is high though at about £90 a month Band A so make sure you factor that in.

If you want any more details on areas, agencies etc then PM me.

MMC

Debt_Free_Chick

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'd say:
Rent plus £150 should cover your basic bills if you aren't leaving the heating on, water running and lights on all the time! So to be safe, put £200/month in a separate account for bills (especially as it's winter so you'll have lights on more and heating will be needed).

You will need to pay for: Council Tax, Gas, Water, Electric, Phone Line, Broadband, TV Licence

Plus food/grocery shopping?

I think what you've listed will easily add up to £150-200 without "shopping" (and I mean all the other carp we buy like washing powder etc, in addition to food)

moneysavinmonkey

Melissa177 wrote: »

Sheffield is also a lot cheaper than central London.

Understatement of the year!