Been living in student overdraft for years and partner is unemployed. Will this affect us renting?

Spiderroo

lordnadez said:

pinkshoes said:

If you take home £2200 a month, currently living rent free (?? - I'm making this assumption as you say you are wanting to start renting) and living in your overdraft, then what on earth are you spending your money on?????

In terms of affordability, then your salary is fine for such a low rent (in my area, £450 a month would get you a single bedroom in a shared house!), but if they want to see bank statements, then earning so much yet spending more than you earn won't look good. 

It might be a good idea to take a good look at your spending patterns.

I JUST started taking home 2.2k.

My previous job was 1.6k. I started my new job this month.

My rent is £440 per month currently at home, plus, I pay for a lot of things for my partner as she is currently unemployed. Also have to pay for all my own food and such.

I know it seems like there’s no need to rush paying off your student overdraft while it’s 0% but sorting it first will make a huge difference. When you rent there’s always nasty surprises and having debt to pay off makes it harder to manage that so you could end up further in debt. I spent years and years trapped in a debt cycle which started with a 0% student overdraft. They make it seem fine but living in short term debt is not good for your credit score or your budgeting skills. They can also ask for that money back at any time in full and destroy your credit rating & take you to court if you don’t return it. 

When you start renting you’ll probably have less money at your disposable each month, even with your pay increase of £600 because you’ll have all your bills (at least £300) and your partner’s food, etc to fund. They won’t be eligible for universal credit or any other means tested benefits given your earnings. If the bank then asked you for £2000 back or you had to go on statutory sick pay due to illness how would you cope? Better to pay off the overdraft before you move out so you’ve not got that to repay on top of your normal costs. You’d also then have the safety net of an overdraft if you genuinely need it as a short term source of funds.