Just starting out

Ghosttown

Hi,

I have searched for info on where to start with setting up bills if you haven't started yet but can't find anything.

Me and my wife have just moved in to our first home together and I know that I should be paying for bills like electric and water but I don't know who to call to start making payments or what else we should be paying for.

So far I have figured out we need to pay

Electric?
Water?
Council tax ( this I have managed to set up as I just called my local council)

Also we get paid weekly not monthly so can I pay weekly for these things? And how do i do a budget?

Sorry for loads of questions but all this is a bit confusing.

Ghost

Zero_Sum

Water is the local water company.
Electric / gas - it should state somewhere in all your documents from solicitor (or if new build, the builders shouldve told you)

Also open up a Santander 123 Lite account for bills as you get cashback of the direct debits.

Ghosttown

Hi Zero

So I should have mentioned our house was a gift, it's my grandparents old cottage, it's not been lived in for years.

I am now the only member of my family that has stayed in the area so I was gifted it.

Can I just call any electric company and say I need electric?

Is there any other bills I should be paying, I haven't lived in my own home before this so never paid bills before.

Ghost

Zanderman

Is there electricity/gas(?)/water there already and connected and working? If so you already have a supplier. Who will need paying. So you need to know who they are and ring them to say the house is now yours and you should register to pay the bills.

There is only one possible supplier for water, depending in your area. But gas(if you have it) and electric may be supplied by a whole range of companies. Find out which ones!

You can switch gas and electric supplier to another company later - but first you need to register with the existing ones.

If there's no gas or electric connected that's different - you'll need to contact companies to get them restarted. There may be no mains gas available at all of course

warby68

If the house has utilities at present, where do the bills go? For simplicity you could take these over - ring them up, give a final reading for old bill payer and set yourselves up as the new one. If everything is disconnected, then you will need to be reconnected by whichever companies you choose and have the safety aspects checked most probably.

There could be some costs attached to getting your services if they are not currently in place so be sure to ask.

Regular household bills:

Council Tax
Water
Gas (or other fuel)
Electricity
Phone/Broadband
Insurance - buildings and contents
TV Licence if required
Check if there is any ground rent or leasehold charges if applicable.

Other things

Get your bin collection set up (look on council website)
Post redirection or notify everyone of new addresses
Electoral roll

eDicky

Are you actually in the house, with water supply running and lights on?

Look around for old utility bills, or ask your grandparents for them.

Congratulations on your new home..!

Ghosttown

Thanks for all the replies

Realised I have a lot to figure out. The bills just went to my parents but they cancelled everything when we moved in 1 week ago and they live overseas and it's not easy to get hold of them.

I will set everything I can up now where I don't need to know an exact company and see if I get a reply from my father regarding the rest.

The lights work so we are deffo getting electric from somewhere!

We have no gas or boiler just a log burner.

Is there a budget form I can do to figure out how much I need to pay and how much we have left?

Ghost

LobsterMemory

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Zanderman

You need to read the meter(s) asap (just write the readings down for now and keep in a safe place), otherwise the electric and water won't know which is you bill and which was your parent's.

Electric meter may be just one or if there's offpeak electric too there may be two meters. Read both.

Water might not be metered at all. But if it is find the meter (it may be under the sink or it may be in a small manhole outside) and take a reading.

Ghosttown

Thanks for all the replies and help.

So figured out you put a key in a box in the cupboard for electric and I just top it up at the shop. It's saying I have £108 In credit so I'm guessing that will last a few weeks?

I have gone through your list Warby68 thank you very much for that and set everything up except water I can't get through to them so will have to try again tomorrow.

I am going to do the link that Lobstermemory gave me, I seem to have accumulated a lot of direct debits in one day.

My grandparents died a few years ago and the house has just been empty since then, my parents just kept things going until I turned 18 and could take it over.

So here I am, taking it over.

Ghost

Ghosttown

Have no Idea if I have done this right and have had to guess some stuff like water as I don't know.

We get paid weekly so I just x my weekly pay by 52 then ÷ 12 is this right? Anyway if it's right I think we are alright and don't need to worry.

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2383.33
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2166.66
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4549.99

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 139
Electricity............................. 150
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 8
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 125
Road tax................................ 12.77
Car Insurance........................... 75
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 9.25
Contents insurance...................... 7
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1063.52


Assets
Cash.................................... 9876
House value (Gross)..................... 75000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5495
Other assets............................ 2000
Total Assets............................ 92371

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,549.99
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,063.52
Available for debt repayments........... 3,486.47
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3,486.47

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 92,371
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 92,371