Require confirmation on costs

dannymccann

Hi there, as you can see I'm new to the forums after a long time of hanging around

Me and my girlfriend of 3 years (we are both just turned 20) are looking into renting unfurnished in a few months time. We are looking at the 'executive apartment' style renting, if that means anything to you, something along these lines. We have been building up certain furnishings over the last few months trying to spreadthe cost out, will be shown below.

I have put together a list of costs for the property above (for arguments purposes lets say we are moving into it tomorrow) for say, the first month, and just want some confirmation on my estimates, and if people can suggest more realistic changes -

First Month
BILLS
Deposit + First months rent upfront = £990
Tax = (single persons allowance, I am a student) £80
Water (fixed price) = £20
Leccy + Gas = £100
TV Licence = £140
Phone and BB = £36 (already have a contract with BT)
Parking - allocated already

FURNISHINGS
Kitchen
Set of crockery - £10 from woolies :T
We aready have varying amounts of accessories such as gadgets and cooking utensils, pots, pans etc

Lounge
Sofa - had 2 donated to us
TV - already have
Coffee table - already have
Stereo - already have
Dining table - donated
Table chairs - £20ea(?) so £80
Bookcase - already have

Bedroom 1
Double (possiby King depending on finances and space) Bed + Mattress - £350
Drawers - £60
Wardrobe(s) - £100 (for a decent sized one, we both have loads of clothes)
Bedside cabinet - have x2
Desk for computer - £40

Bedroom 2 (doesnt have to be kitted out straight away but we have friends who live away and would be nic to have somewhere comfy for them to stay instead ofon the sofa)

Double bed +mattress - £350

Bathroom

Storage units - already have

Now I'm struggling to think of anything that isnt 'needed' (ofc there is plenty of things to buy to make it into a home but they arent requried). The bill of the above comes to - £2356 or £2500 for prudence purposes (im training to be an accountant/financial advisor so I may be helpful in the future on here hehe;))

Thanks for coments

ncooper1974

why so much for tv license? you can pay by monthly DD and it should be a lot less!
I recently bought a double bed and matress (the kind that wouldn't look out of place in your executive apt) for under £199 delivered from ebay.

Everything else looks ok to me....

moneysavinmonkey

obviously you already have a few bits and bobs but i'm just wondering why you are deciding to rent furnished?... particularly as you are renting in the [STRIKE]cramped + boxy[/STRIKE] executive new build style! [tongue in cheek]

generally when you are both quite young it is more usual to rent somewhere furnished. this is usually more conveninet as when you rent you tend to move quite a bit - can be every 6 months although you may be lucky and not have this problem. It is enough hassle moving with just your own belongings without carting large pieces of furniture around - especially if you are living in flats so need to go up stairs through corridors, fire doors etc. do not underestimate how annoying this is!! Furniture tends to take a bit of a beating through all this and usually gets damaged and 'wears' quite quickly. There is also the issue of finding your next place that fits in with your furniture - size/style wise.

It does not cost much more to rent furnished than unfurnished so it is worth considering.

Perhaps there is some reason for renting unfurnished but personally I don't see the appeal.

ncooper1974

I remember my 1st BTL. It was actually my 1st flat that I decided to keep when I moved.
It was a 2 bed 'executive' apt as you put it, so I got 2 double beds (with matress) 2 sofas, dining table and chairs.
Turned out the 1st tenants that saw the place wanted it, but they already had all their own furniture and didn't want any of mine, so I had to sell it (quickly) and only got a fraction of the cost back. Didn't matter to much in the long run as they stayed for almost 6 years and only just moved out (I paid them back their full deposit and even helped them move out)

just wanted to highlight that its hard to 2nd guess what tenant will walk thru your door

moneysavinmonkey

ncooper1974 wrote: »

I remember my 1st BTL. It was actually my 1st flat that I decided to keep when I moved.
It was a 2 bed 'executive' apt as you put it, so I got 2 double beds (with matress) 2 sofas, dining table and chairs.
Turned out the 1st tenants that saw the place wanted it, but they already had all their own furniture and didn't want any of mine, so I had to sell it (quickly) and only got a fraction of the cost back. Didn't matter to much in the long run as they stayed for almost 6 years and only just moved out (I paid them back their full deposit and even helped them move out)

just wanted to highlight that its hard to 2nd guess what tenant will walk thru your door

?? the OP is a tenant not a landlord ??

ncooper1974

yes, they are.
and there are just as many tenants out there that have their own furnishings, as there are those that dont.
Are there any official stats that show which is the greater majority?

churchrat

hi
it looks great and your first place is always exciting. You seem to have thiught of most things--one question, is your gf a student as well? if not I think this may impact on your council tax (could be wrong tho)
good luck -- and don't worry, you are bound to forget something, so at least a £200 emergency fund is a good idea
cr

RoxieW

Try ikea for wardrobes/drawers. They're reasonably priced and sturdy. We've had ours 4 years without bother. Before that we had some from argos which fell to pieces (literally!) with a month!

Do you have microwave/kettle/toaster etc? What about a rug/curtains/curtain poles? curtains and poles can be quite expensive - try matalan for cheapies or next if you want some lined ones that will last a while. You're talking about £100 a pair plus curtain poles.

Sammy85_2

In alot of peoples minds, Furnished = grotty old sofas, worn out squeaky beds and generally cheap nasty dilapidated furniture.

Whilst alot of furnished places are on the whole nicely done with good furniture, there are a few places which tarnish the rest with this image.

Plus there's no guarantee that things are new or properly cleaned with any furnished property! Take the bed for example. Has the mattress has been changed? I read somewhere that the average person sweats the equivalent of a pint of water in their sleep during the year.. all that sweat goes somewhere!! Would you want to sleep on a bed where god knows how many previous tenants have slept and done... well who knows what on... ?? I wouldnt.


Dannymccan,

Have you looked at any other apartments or houses? Your "executive apartment" looks pretty run of the mill except for maybe the built in dishwasher! Wouldnt you rather rent a nice house with a garden? If not, then there is another flat in the same development for 20 quid less per month. There's competition in the building, so get negociating on that price!!

moneysavinmonkey

hmm. i must be missing ncoopers point as I'm not quite sure how knowing the proportion of people who rent furnished/unfurnished helps the OP in their costing exercise. Should be fairly easy to work out for your area.. just go on rightmove and compare the number of properties available as furnished and then as unfurnished. My area comes up exactly 50/50!

churchrat may be onto someething... Certainly for my council you can't combine the student exemptions and single occupancy discount, but if only one person is a non-student they pay 75% of the full charge.

PasturesNew

dannymccann wrote: »

We are looking at the 'executive apartment' style renting

It's a flat. F L A T.
Right. Got that out of the way

dannymccann wrote: »

First Month
BILLS
Deposit + First months rent upfront = £990
Tax = (single persons allowance, I am a student) £80
Water (fixed price) = £20
Leccy + Gas = £100 - should be about £60-70, just learn to read meters and watch them
TV Licence = £140 - go online and pay by DD, pay monthly. Do it on 1st of the month though as you buy it in whole months
Phone and BB = £36 (already have a contract with BT)
Parking - allocated already

FURNISHINGS
Kitchen
Set of crockery - £10 from woolies :T
We aready have varying amounts of accessories such as gadgets and cooking utensils, pots, pans etc

Table chairs - £20ea(?) so £80
Bed + Mattress - £350
Drawers - £60
Wardrobe(s) - £100
Desk for computer - £40
Double bed +mattress - £350

Total of these is £980. No need!

You see, this is the bit that I'd not do. I'd rent furnished in the first instance, or part-furnished. That's a lot of money to pay out when you might have to move on in 6 months to a year - and then you have to pay removal fees. And getting furniture in/out is never fun.

Am I giving you duff advice I'd not follow? No. I am in my 40s and recently sold a house and am renting. I gave away all my furniture, the lot and am renting fully-furnished. It's just easier if you don't know what is going to happen/how things will turn out/where you'll be in 2 years' time.

Having furniture means you feel obliged to move it in/out, put it into storage possibly ...

Put your £1000 in an ISA at 6.5% and save it until you are sure you know you want.

As for beds at £350 ... you can get cheaper ones.

However, all these opinions would vary if we knew how much you are both earning. If between you you are taking home £1200/month then furnished. If between you you're taking home £3000/month then you might as well buy your own stuff because it's a drop in the ocean.