View Full Version : First flat
sv_rory
24-12-10, 12:24 AM
Hello and and merry christmas :)
Im looking at getting a flat for myself but am totally new to this!
How much would I be looking at roughly for prices of bills etc and what exactly needs to be taken into consideration?
I have found a few places but all it says is £385 a month,
what questions should I be asking? What bills would I need to pay etc
thankyou :)
check if it has double glazing and what state that is in
you will only probably have electric - no gas - so if it is a 1 bed flat I reckon you should be looking at around £40 maybe £50 a month for the electricity.
then you need to add council tax, phone, internet (if you want these)
also contents insurance if you can be bothered.
I can't see you spending a max of £500 a month and that is generously
Dicky Ticker
24-12-10, 08:02 AM
£500 per month for the basics but remember you still have other things like eating,washing and drying clothes,ironing----all the little things and extras that add up to another £200 per month for a few creature comforts.
Being realistic,do you have furniture,telly,bedding, hoover,iron,all the things we seem to take forgranted as it is easy to overlook these things when living at home and deciding on your first move out.
kellyjo
24-12-10, 08:04 AM
Dont forget water rates / meter
Specialone
24-12-10, 09:01 AM
From the title i thought you had your first puncture ;)
sv_rory
24-12-10, 09:02 AM
cheers guys,
So i'll be looking at water rates and electric. I am looking at one bed places. why would there not be gas? Is that why they say storage heating?
Gabriel2k
24-12-10, 09:31 AM
Storage heaters are electric, the idea is that they store heat during 'off-peak' periods when the electricity is cheaper, usually overnight and realease it during the following day/evening.
Also have a quick scan over your tenancy agreement for notice periods etc. Make sure the landlord sticks your deposit in a special account for protection.
I found this http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Tenancies/index.htm which may be worth a read. Have a good christmas and happy flat hunting :)
Owenski
24-12-10, 09:32 AM
From the title i thought you had your first puncture ;)
+1
I was just about to see if it was a spectacular blow out or a little low runner.
regarding the housing My monthly outgoings are:
Mortgage (Rent in your case)
Insurance,
Gas,
Elec,
Water,
Sky: Tv
Phone
Broadband
Food,
Council Tax,
Your gas water elec etc may be a set rate depending on if your flat is individually metered or not so prob worth asking about that. Of the other stuff sky tv, broadband etc is optional.
In total excluding the mortgage and food I think our monthly spend roughly totals £300 but thats for a 3bedroom semi. If I were in your position I'd be crossing my fingers for anything between £500 and £600 each month and thats before you've driven anywhere or eaten anything.
My HONEST advice is, if you think you can "stretch" or "maybe" afford it then dont do it. My first paid accomodation crippled me becuase there were a million and 12 things which I didnt consider/totally overlooked. Ie I made it so I could afford the house but then I couldnt afford anything else, and its amazing how quick your money actually goes.
ESPECIALLY consider the cost of living increase expected from Jan onwards, if your not expecting a wage rise any time soon the increased cost of living alone may be enough to cripple you and before you know it you've sold bike/car/kidney lol in order to survive.
Not clear if you're renting or buying.
If renting remember that most landlords will expect a deposit and for the rent to be paid in advance. So that can be a fairly big amount to find upfront. The landlord will insure the building but contents insurance is down to you. £385/month is likely to be just the rent so include council tax, contents insurance, elec, gas (if any), water, TV licence, phone/broadband, window cleaner (unless you do it yourself but tenancy agreement might force you to have the landlord's service).
And FFS take photos of the place!!! Most landlords will try to snatch at least some of your deposit on the basis that you haven't looked after the place. Take pics of EVERYTHING. Carpets, paintwork, doors, and make a note of anthing that isn't 100%. It can be tedious but it's your evidence.
If buying - most apartments have some sort of service charge. Be sure that you know how much this is a month and what it covers. The seller should be able to tell you this and your solicitor should check it out in detail to make sure that the lease doesn't allow the landlord or managing agent to demand service charge for things it doesn't actually supply. Generally I think that buying an apartment is rarely a cheap way to live, mainly cos of all the add on charges that most leases contain. When I did this for a living it was not my job to put clients off but I always used to ask them whether they had added everything up. Most hadn't.
sv_rory
24-12-10, 11:13 AM
cheers guys,
I see theres quite a bit to consider!
is there anywhere that will give me a rough estimate based on a single person living in a one bed flat for electric, gas and water, council tax
mattb200
24-12-10, 11:24 AM
not sure if you already know this - but single occupants can claim a 25% discount on council tax...
sv_rory
24-12-10, 11:30 AM
ah thats handy to know!
the council tax rate depends on the area your in right?
mattb200
24-12-10, 11:30 AM
yep go to your local councils website and they should give some costs...
Hello and and merry christmas :)
Im looking at getting a flat for myself but am totally new to this!
How much would I be looking at roughly for prices of bills etc and what exactly needs to be taken into consideration?
I have found a few places but all it says is £385 a month,
what questions should I be asking? What bills would I need to pay etc
thankyou :)
Gas
Electric
Council tax
Water
House contents insurance
Phone
Internet
Cable
I think that was ours. Our bills for a modern 1 bed house including £700 a month rent was £1000 overall excluding food.
Pay them all by direct debit on a monthly basis. it helps with budgeting a lot!
Also have a quick scan over your tenancy agreement for notice periods etc. Make sure the landlord sticks your deposit in a special account for protection.
I found this http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Tenancies/index.htm which may be worth a read. Have a good christmas and happy flat hunting :)They have to by Law. If they dont, they as well as you dont have a leg to stand on if it goes pete tong.
thefallenangel
24-12-10, 04:03 PM
I own (ish) my own 1 bedroom upside down house. I have as follows
£250 Mortgage
£130 Service Charge
£12 Telly License
£45 Sky bill (with land line)
£55 Council Tax
That's it.
Have a look around for a shared equity deal if you can afford to buy as it's worth it in the long run.
a modern 1 bed house including £700 a month rent
Ian, you are being shafted royally down there in Brom-er-ley. Here, that sort of money would get you a 150m2 house - ie 3 or 4 bedrooms - in an OK part of town. Is it really that pricey in London:confused:
another thing to consider. is the flat furnished?
Bluefish
24-12-10, 07:17 PM
cheers guys,
So i'll be looking at water rates and electric. I am looking at one bed places. why would there not be gas? Is that why they say storage heating?
storage heaters= you will be freezing, specially in this wheather.
sv_rory
25-12-10, 05:32 PM
this all seems quite scary lol
I will have to get onto the council in the area that I'm looking at moving to and see what the council tax rates are for the area.
I will also have to get a good electric heater too!
If you need a "top-up" heater there are some very good thermostatically controlled fan heaters available now, a friend has one with remote control even!
Remember that electric heating is "100% efficient", i.e. all the energy that goes in comes out as heat one way or another, it's just that electricity is expensive.
If the storage heaters have some control on store/release they can be perfectly effective providing they are sized correctly and the place isn't full of draughts. Make sure they are using the off-peak timing!
Decent curtains will help keep heating bills down.
All this on a bike forum too...........:flower:
thefallenangel
27-12-10, 12:37 PM
look up some shared equity schemes if you reckon you can get a mortgage.
maviczap
27-12-10, 12:59 PM
When I had my flat I had an oil filled raidiator. Cheaper to run than a fan heater.
Depends on your flat, mine was a studio flat, so only one room to heat :p
Was the best thing I probably ever did leaving my folks home, not cos I hate my folks, but good being independant :cool:
Was the best thing I probably ever did leaving my folks home, not cos I hate my folks, but good being independant :cool:
I liked living with my folks, until I moved out!
Left home at 17, moved to Aberdeen, now I struggle to spend more than 2 days at home!
Best thing I have ever done!
maviczap
27-12-10, 04:29 PM
I liked living with my folks, until I moved out!
Left home at 17, moved to Aberdeen, now I struggle to spend more than 2 days at home!
Best thing I have ever done!
Hardest part is getting used to having no money for a while, but come and go when you like,watch what you want to watch, live in your own filth if you want :D
The down side doing your own, cooking, washing and ironing, but that's not a big problem.
Well my total bills are;
£400 rent
£160 council tax
£40 energy bills
£xxx on food
£50% on going out drinking
But its still better than living at home :)
Mine on a 3 bed flat with just little old me in it -
Mortgage - £562
Council Tax - £72
Insurances - £40
gas and electric - £95 (extremely old an inefficient back boiler)
Phone/BB - £27
TV Licence - £12 (£24 for the first 6 months of new licence)
Plus food and diesel and running bike/car. It's very expensive so don't underestimate it :)
My 2 bed is £750 rent a month :( I need to get a mortgage!!
Just getting a deposit together :(
My 2 bed is £750 rent a month :( I need to get a mortgage!!
Just getting a deposit together :(
I wouldn't buy if I were you, you're to young to commit to a mortgage. And while it mightn't be for many many years, the blunt truth Sally is that you will inherit. If you have a mortgage then kiss goodbye to any hopes of going travelling etc.
In 1993 we had saved up £3K, we were planning a month in Oz. We were 32 at the time. Then the bloody roof neded replacing. Being sensible cautious and steady people we did the roof.
We still haven't been to Oz.
Oh for my time again:rolleyes:
Buy a 2nd floor flat, no roof there :p
Only joking, but I get ur point!
Just seems like I am throwing my money away!
Oh I dunno Sally. It's dmaned expensive whichever way you do it. All part of your worldview I spose. We bought a flat in 1987 cos everyone bought back then, prices were rocketing. Now I wish we had just got on a plane and travelled round the USA. Would it have made any difference in the long run? I doubt it somehow. Anyway I'm going off topic so I'll start a new thread.
Back to apartments. Have you noticed how nobody lives in a flat anymore?:lol:
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