It's time to begin.....

bellevie

Just seen theres a calculator to work out what your direct debit should be at based on your usage on the household bills section of the website, I used my estimated annual usage on my latest bill it was pretty accurate, worth checking it on that maybe?

Kakiste

Thanks- I'll have a look at that

Jellytotts

Have you registered with any local lettings agents? There are often properties that don't even make it to Rightmove because the agents have tenants waiting.  

When my DDs wanted to rent to gain a bit of independence they checked the local listings and there was nothing, phoned one agent who said we have just signed the paperwork on a flat, can you view it in the next hour? They were first in to view, deposit and checks done within a few days and all moved in within a few weeks.

Kakiste

Thanks @Jellytotts. I've registered on rightmove to receive notifications for properties in a 5 mile radius that are 2-3 bedrooms and within a given rental price range. So far there have been 2 this month- one was no longer accepting applications by the end of the first day listed and the second was also in the really rough bit of town I've previously mentioned. But I've not gone directly to the agents- I'll look up some local ones and see if I can do the same with them. 

I'll get there- It's making me happier to know that I could easily and quickly leave now once I find somewhere. 

Aimingforthegoodlife

Sounds like amazing progress, I have everything crossed you can get out soon!

SandyShores

You've done really well to get to this point.  I was just wondering if you could think about buying somewhere using one of the  affordable home ownership schemes? I know someone who used shared ownership and their combined rent/mortgage is almost half of what they were paying than renting.  

Kakiste

Next few years I'll be able to afford to buy- but right now I'd need at least a £6K deposit for that (plus my credit history is trash as my defaults don't drop off until 2025- so I'm unlikely to get one from any of the main banks until then) 

I'm not worried about renting- just need to play the waiting game. 

greensalad

If you know you've got 2025 as your credit history repair point, then that's really awesome to work towards as your next goal. You can move from the DFD boards to the saving boards and get a deposit together  Will be such a nice thing to work towards for you and your daughter!

Kakiste

Yep- that's the long term plan. I've currently got 2.5 years of completely clear credit history- once the defaults (given in July 2019) drop off then it'll be a completely clear slate

GeorgianaCavendish

It seems like everything is coming together  

Just a thought but once you have the deposit together (and some money for fees etc) it might be worth speaking to a mortgage broker to see if there are any lenders that would be able to work around whatever defaults are left on your file at that point. There is a really good thread in the Mortgage section of the forum with lots of advice.

There were a few things about our application that I thought were going to be very complicated and a potential turn off for lenders, but the broker gave us so much information and reassurance about them and made sure everything went smoothly in the process.