HELP!Advice on renting needed!!!!!

Bendybops19

Hi there. My partner and i deperately want to move out (19 and 20) as we are living with my parents at mo.

We dont earn alot of money between us and renting is seriously expensive round here (St. Albans). I dont mind moving away slightly but we both work in this area.

Here is what we earn and our out goings at the moment (we are both looking for evening.weekend jobs as well) :

Me:
Salary per month: £850
Mobile: £19
Loan payment: £200

My partner:
Salary per month: £400
Car insurance: £200

So we arent left over with much :eek: . For a flat it will be about £550 a month to rent, and that isnt even including the bills/food etc!!

I just dont know what to do We do really need to move out soon as the situation at home isnt exactly good! So the option of staying with my parents isnt there.

I hope anyone can help, or has any suggestions at all!!! Im pretty desperate after looking at the costs and realising how little we both earn. I'm getting so down!!

Lemoncurd

Have you considered renting a room in a shared house? you might be able to find something a lot cheaper that way, although it will be harder to find one that is happy with a couple sharing a room.

If you meant that your partner is paying £200pm on car insurance it might be worth considering looking for a car which is a bit cheaper to insure.

Other than that - keep saving and good luck with the job hunt.

Shugster

What type of car does your partner drive to be paying £200 per month car insurance? A good place to start would to get a cheap runabout, with low insurance quite easily.

BargainHunterCat

I understand why you want to move out but quite frankly financially speaking you are much better off by staying at home! Many would envy you there as you're saving a packet.

Have you done a full budget yet? You may be shocked at the cost of living including council tax, electric, water, gas, contents insurance plus any additional travel expenses if you move further away from your place of work.

Anyway, to find the cheaper lets I would shy away from letting agents as they charge fees for check in, check out, inventory and reference checks. Some of the unscrupulous ones actually cash in a bit by over charging tenants for some services (I'll name no names so please dont ask!)

You will be much better off finding a private let which are usually cheaper, so have a look in the back of the local property papers and check the local paper & free ads. You can also look for private landlords ads on the internet on sites such as https://www.houseladder.co.uk.

Take your time to get the best deal. Also do your homework to find out which areas are the cheapest to live in and have a look around to see which areas you like. Cheap doesn't always mean scummy!

I looked hard and found a 3 bed furnished house, privately let for £420pcm so don't give up!

Bendybops19

That is a very good point, it cant be £200 a month, hmmm i'm gonna go and ask why he told me it was!! Its about £1100 a yr if that helps.

Lemoncurd

Bendybops19 wrote:

That is a very good point, it cant be £200 a month, hmmm i'm gonna go and ask why he told me it was!! Its about £1100 a yr if that helps.

Perhaps he factored in running costs - servicing, tax and MOT etc?

rchddap1

I agree with previous suggestions to map out a budget. You won't just be paying rent and everything needs to be taken account of.

Also, what will your bf contribute to? Will you both be happy not to go out at night? Will you spend less on 'stuff' and beer and clubs? Look at what you are spending your money on now and ask yourselves which bits of that spending could you willingly swop for a house. If that total doesn't come up to your monthly bills budget for running a house then you need to seriously think again.

I will also echo the suggestion to look for a private house / room. If you find a good landlord it can be far cheaper and better for you.

Good luck

Edit: One further suggestion. You could always see if you would qualify for a housing association home (council house). If you get yourself on the council list you never know what might pop up. My partner and I definately wouldn't have qualified for the next 200 years, but we put our names down anyway, but ended up being considered for a shared ownership property. Nothing ventured...nothing gained.