The 'We're saving for a deposit' thread

AliceBanned

Hi

I am not sure whether this is the best place to post this. I was due to buy a Right to Buy housing assoc. property this year, but it all fell through and it turns out that it may be a risk to buy as I may have difficulty re-selling (concrete construction). In one sense I am lucky to have a housing assoc. flat with a permanent tenancy and feel secure there, but on the other hand I am getting nowhere. I currently earn £25k gross in London and spent £3k commuting as the flat is in Hertfordshire. Rent is £320 per month, (includes water) and council tax £75 per month, bills £60 per month excluding phones. I don't want to rent for ever, but although the rent is cheap here it is not a bargain for me when adding the train fares. I am thinking of either

a) still going ahead and buying it for £58k (includes £13.5k discount; some people on this site have advised against it as I can't get a mortgage on it at present) and who knows whether it will re-sell.

b) giving it up, living nearer or in London for a while so that I am free to save more per month (currently only saving £150 per month and only have £1500 deposit; feels too slow as I am 42 and first time buyer. Also it is fairly basic with no dishwasher or shower and as I am renting I am loathe to do it up and spend thousands on it to make it more pleasant, yet I could probably rent a nice room in flatshare for the same amount or less. I think.

c) shared ownership - might be easy for me as social landlord tenant, but many on this site advise against it from reading the threads. ?

It would be a big step for me to give it up, as I have lived alone as housing assoc tenant for 8 years, but to be honest I feel quite stuck and fed up of the whole "social housing" thing. It isn't unpleasant where I am now but I have had previous terrible experiences. I think I just want change and for things to move on.

Sorry if it all sounds a bit of a muddle but I am in a bit of a crisis as I feel I am going nowhere, and half my earnings go on basic living. Would be nice to achieve more but I'm scared of making the wrong move. Thanks.

clearing_out_my_pockets

AliceBanned wrote: »

Hi

I am not sure whether this is the best place to post this. I was due to buy a Right to Buy housing assoc. property this year, but it all fell through and it turns out that it may be a risk to buy as I may have difficulty re-selling (concrete construction). In one sense I am lucky to have a housing assoc. flat with a permanent tenancy and feel secure there, but on the other hand I am getting nowhere. I currently earn £25k gross in London and spent £3k commuting as the flat is in Hertfordshire. Rent is £320 per month, (includes water) and council tax £75 per month, bills £60 per month excluding phones. I don't want to rent for ever, but although the rent is cheap here it is not a bargain for me when adding the train fares. I am thinking of either

a) still going ahead and buying it for £58k (includes £13.5k discount; some people on this site have advised against it as I can't get a mortgage on it at present) and who knows whether it will re-sell.

b) giving it up, living nearer or in London for a while so that I am free to save more per month (currently only saving £150 per month and only have £1500 deposit; feels too slow as I am 42 and first time buyer. Also it is fairly basic with no dishwasher or shower and as I am renting I am loathe to do it up and spend thousands on it to make it more pleasant, yet I could probably rent a nice room in flatshare for the same amount or less. I think.

c) shared ownership - might be easy for me as social landlord tenant, but many on this site advise against it from reading the threads. ?

It would be a big step for me to give it up, as I have lived alone as housing assoc tenant for 8 years, but to be honest I feel quite stuck and fed up of the whole "social housing" thing. It isn't unpleasant where I am now but I have had previous terrible experiences. I think I just want change and for things to move on.

Sorry if it all sounds a bit of a muddle but I am in a bit of a crisis as I feel I am going nowhere, and half my earnings go on basic living. Would be nice to achieve more but I'm scared of making the wrong move. Thanks.

If I were you, I'd go for option b as you'd have real trouble when you come to sell either a concreet framed building or a shared ownership property.

I should now leave the 'we're saving for a deposit' thread as we exchanged contracts on Friday and the mortgage account now appears on my internet banking screen! :T

[Deleted User]

Hi all
I added another £51.50 to my savings yesterday. I have had a few babysitting jobs and a fw more to come before the new year which is good! So will be adding more to the savings

pop_gun

I read alot about doing online surveys to make some extra money or get some consumer items. can anyone give a list of the genuine survey sites and a realistic amount that can be made from sites per week\month.

thanks in advance.

Squish_21

pop_gun wrote: »

I read alot about doing online surveys to make some extra money or get some consumer items. can anyone give a list of the genuine survey sites and a realistic amount that can be made from sites per week\month.

thanks in advance.

I only use Quidco at present, it took me about 1 year to get to the £40 payout stage.

dippykitty

pop_gun wrote: »

I read alot about doing online surveys to make some extra money or get some consumer items. can anyone give a list of the genuine survey sites and a realistic amount that can be made from sites per week\month.

thanks in advance.

For survey sites, I use Lightspeed, Onepoll (£40 payment threshold) and Surveyhead (£15 ish payment threshold) for cash (and Valued Opinions and Ipsos for earning vouchers). For daily clicks and cashback, I use Quanti (am waiting to cashout around £10), Fat Cheese (waiting to cashout around £13) and Cashbackkings (have about £9 to cashout). I also do DooYoo reviews for either a £50 cheque or Amazon vouchers depending on my preference at the time. I don't make a lot of money from any of these but I've earned around £200 in vouchers this year, and around £170 in cash with Dooyoo cheques factored in (£70 without). All of these require a fair amount of effort though and you do need to be prepared to wait a while to cashout or redeem on most of these type of things. If you want more information on these sites, you can do a forum search for them or visit the Up Your Income section of these boards.

purplevamp

pop_gun wrote: »

I read alot about doing online surveys to make some extra money or get some consumer items. can anyone give a list of the genuine survey sites and a realistic amount that can be made from sites per week\month.

thanks in advance.

The ones I find the best are Lightspeed, Valued Opinions & Pinecone Research. I belong to quite a few and they all pay out either cash or vouchers. My signature shows how much I've made this year (although I haven't cashed it all in as most thresholds are £10-£25). I joined one survey site in 2006 and have only just reached the £5 threshold :eek:



This month I have managed to save a measly £200, but on the plus side I haven't used any of my savings for Christmas and haven't got into debt :T

:santa2: I hope you all have a really happy christmas and a very prosperous new year :xmastree::xmassign:

dippykitty

purplevamp wrote: »

I joined one survey site in 2006 and have only just reached the £5 threshold :eek:

Blimey! Which one was that?

purplevamp

dippykitty wrote: »

Blimey! Which one was that?

Global Opinion Panels. You need 9000 points to get a £5 Amazon voucher. I think they forgot about me, but in the last couple of months I've about 3 surveys from them which has bumped the points up :rolleyes:

Actually looking back on my history I actually joined them at the beginning of 2007, but still...

JimLad

Well thats Christmas over and done with, my god im full of turkey!

I havent been on this thread for ages so i thought i would pop in and say hello!

Im up to 73% of my target for a deposit now which is looking lovely.

I have a week off now, so its time to list a few of those things i never use on ebay!