How much would I need to earn?

[I'm With Stupid]

In order to afford a £385 a month flat? I mean obviously I can do the maths, but realistically, what sort of money will I need to be earning?

If you don't mind, could those of you with full time jobs and houses tell me how much you pay, and how much you earn, just so I can get an idea?

[Crystal Tipps]

http://www.i-resign.com/uk/financialcentre/meanstest_calculator.asp might help :)

I don't pay proper rent or bills (live at home) so couldn't help more. My annual salary is £16,235 which is £1,027 a month after tax, NI and 4% into my pension (oh, and works social club/lottery!), if that's any use.

[sophia]

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[Man Of Kent]

£385, obviously.

However, if you also want to afford food, power, phones, TV etc then it would be more than that.

It also depends on where the flat is, because you will have to take travel into consideration. This really isn't a simple case of stating a figure because it really denepnds on the rest of your life.

[katchika]

My rent is £370 a month but that includes heating and hot water (ie the gas bill).

I earn about £14,500 a year. I find it a struggle and am constantly overdrawn.

Bear in mind extra bills such as council tax/electric. It's not nice to have half of your monthly pay gone before you've even seen it.

[Olive]

It also depends on where the flat is, because you will have to take travel into consideration. This really isn't a simple case of stating a figure because it really denepnds on the rest of your life.

:yes:

However, I would say £16,000 bare minimum. More if you want to be able to splash out now and again/pay back debt/go out boozing. If you're planning to earn less than this, a room in a shared house would be your best bet, as then all your bills will be cheaper as well as your rent.

[I'm With Stupid]

It is a shared house. Just a bloody expensive one. My friend's bought it, and he's worked out that that's how much rent he needs to be able to afford the mortgage repayments. So he's offered me the room. To be honest, I think I could get a £16k a year job, it's just a question of getting one within a month in a place 2 hours away from me at the moment.

[girl with sharp teeth]

You need to do a proper realistic budget.

Rent
Council Tax
Water
Gas
Electric
Contents Insurance
Telephone
TV Licence
Any Rental Appliances (eg. washing machine)
Travel Costs
Food And Housekeeping
Tobacco (if you smoke)
Clothing
Entertainment/Socialising
Saving (for Christmas/birthdays/holidays/general fund)

I'd expect you to spend a minimum of £65 PCM on council tax, £5 a week each on gas and electric, £18 PCM on water, £10 PCM on insurance, £40 PCM on internet/telephone, £25 a week on your food and £11 PCM on the TV licence. The others vary from person to person but you still need to factor them in because it's unrealistic for you to go without them.

[katchika]

That's a rip off for a shared house, I mean for that price I get a nice one bedroom flat all to myself.

[girl with sharp teeth]

Not to be horrible to your friend but he's an idiot if he's bought the house with little chance of paying his mortgage off unless you move in as well.

[sophia]

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[Man Of Kent]

Hell, I've got a three bedroom semi in the South East for less than that!

[Olive]

Have to agree that your mate is having a bit of a laugh. That's how much we pay for our mortgage repayments!

The going rate for a room in a nice shared house in a good area in leeds is about £60 p/w.

[I'm With Stupid]

It's in Salford Quays. I think that's the going rate for the area, but I dunno whether I can be arsed paying a fortune for it, because I know I can get something else much cheaper. But then again, if I can get a job that will let me afford it, then I would like to live with a friend.

[I'm With Stupid]

Not to be horrible to your friend but he's an idiot if he's bought the house with little chance of paying his mortgage off unless you move in as well.
Rich parents. ;)

[katchika]

Fair enough but you could use your spare money to save up for a deposit on a house of your own for the future rather than subsidising your rich mate.

[I'm With Stupid]

Good point. But to be honest, I wouldn't use the spare money on something sensible like a house. I'd get a car or professional camcorder.

[lucifer devil]

so he's going to pocket that money himself, not his parents?

[lucifer devil]

Good point. But to be honest, I wouldn't use the spare money on something sensible like a house. I'd get a car or professional camcorder.

what £385 a month on these?

[I'm With Stupid]

what £385 a month on these?
Well no. £385 a month on a place to live plus these. I'd say a car will set you back about £5000 a year, including buying it in the first place (but I haven't priced that yet). And a camcorder? Another £5000 minimum really for a nice one.

[I'm With Stupid]

so he's going to pocket that money himself, not his parents?
No, I'm just saying that it's not a risk getting a mortgage that requires another flatmate to pay it off if your parents are backing you up.

[sophia]

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[Guest_]

He won't get £385 on the open market though, I'm certain of it. So if you don't move in there, he's going to have to lower his asking price a lot. If I were you, I'd do a bit of research, find out what the average cost of a room in that area is, and make him an offer of that.

You certainly can't commit to £385 a month though when you don't know what you're going to be earning yet.

Absolutely. Market rates!

I'd beat him down a bit (or as much as you can) on it (friend or not, but if he's expecting you to pay over the odds, then well...).

[Tweety]

I would expect council tax AT LEAST in that price.

[Man Of Kent]

Might be worth checking the local rag to see what the local prices are...

[Shortay]

.

[lipsy]

does the £385 include bills and council tax?

[lipsy]

because flats in Manchester don't get much nicer or in a more desirable location than mine, and I pay £375.
actually the apartments on salford quays can be bloody expensive!

[Crystal Tipps]

I find this is a good way of working out how much £ you need for the lifestyle you want: http://www.i-resign.com/uk/financialcentre/meanstest_calculator.asp

:rolleyes: Are my posts invisible?! :yeees:

[Shortay]

.

[I'm With Stupid]

actually the apartments on salford quays can be bloody expensive!
I know. I checked them out a while ago and you were looking at starting prices of £500 a month for a two bedroom (exclusive of everything) but most of them were around £800 to £1000 a month, so I wasn't surprised when he told me how much the rent would be. Yeah, I don't think I'll be going there tbh because there's more important things I can be using my money for than a nice apartment at the moment. And I don't think doing the work I want to be doing, I could commit to such a large outgoing every month.

[lipsy]

tbh i'm not sure why the apartments on the quays are so expensive. its a peaceful location with an excellent view of old trafford but thats about it. the metro to town can be quite pricey and slow and there aren't any local amenities. you'd be much better off in town or a nice student area.. or even didsbury ooer.

[I'm With Stupid]

I should learn Manchester a bit better before I go to be honest. All I really know is the Arndale and Trafford Centres, Maine Road and Eastlands stadiums and that's about it.

[sophia]

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[Click to see more]

Back in 2002, I rented a 3-bed terraced house for £364 per month, on a take-home pay of £850 per month. I was able to live comfortably - but from reading some of the comments in this thread, you'd think I'd have been absolutely broke all the time...

I could have claimed overtime for my extra hours and reduced/removed donations from my salary - but I never had the need to. Just where does everyones money go? :D

[lipsy]

I live right in town, in a brand new and really swanky development, and a two bedroom flat is £700-£750. I don't get why Salford Quays would be more than that...?
manchester apartments are usually really small. salford quays must be a sought-after area, i mean it does look quite pretty and its really peaceful. also the apartments might be much bigger because theres more development space. i think alot of them have free wireless internet and 24hr concierge service too.

[Olive]

Just where does everyones money go? :D

Council tax, buildings insurance, contents insurance, car insurance, gas bills, electric bills, water bills, phone bills, mobile phone bills, TV licence, broadband, food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, furniture, appliances, petrol, car tax, car maintenance, house maintenance, pension, dentist, optician...

[lucifer devil]

doctors!

[RubberSkin]

scratchcards :D

[briggi]

scratchcards :D

Got it in one :thumb:

[littlemissy]

... electricians, plumbers, birthday / christmas presents ...

[briggi]

Pub.

[rachie004]

I should learn Manchester a bit better before I go to be honest. All I really know is the Arndale and Trafford Centres, Maine Road and Eastlands stadiums and that's about it.

Thats more than what I know and I live there :p

[Tweety]

James

[lipsy]

Thats more than what I know and I live there :p
whereabouts do you live?

[purplebutterfly]

£364 sounds good for a flat share. I'd have to pay about £550 a month for a single flat and £600 for a decent size one. Thats why I live at home. £200 rent a month and I can save about half my take home pay.

[confusedaboutlife]

Thats over half my mortage repayment on my 2 bed flat and I'm on a repayment mortgage too (paying off the capital as well as the interest). I live in a city on the south coast.

[Schnap me Baby]

I take home around 1570 a month and I still can't afford to move out mate it sucks :grump:

[Senor Miguel]

I take home around 1570 a month and I still can't afford to move out mate it sucks :grump:

:eek2: where do you live, on the moon?

[lucifer devil]

hertfordshire.

or more specifically..you could look on her links. ;)

[Schnap me Baby]

hertfordshire.

or more specifically..you could look on her links. ;)

you are so stalking me :p ;)

Yeah hertfordshire. I'm looking at around 600-700 rent a month where I live without any bills etc

[Senor Miguel]

yeah just too lazy i guess, i wasn't that interested like it was more of a rhetorical question :P hertfordshire's no worse than london, and i was living in zone 4 on around £950/month take home pay so go figure.....

ETA: right i get you now, too posh to flatshare ay? :p

[Schnap me Baby]

ETA: right i get you now, too posh to flatshare ay? :p

haha, na I'm not, I'm so far from posh! :p I do actually wanna flat share as I wouldnt want to live on my own it's just getting the cash behind me to do it really. I pay 220 a month on travel to work so is quite a chunk of my wages really

[Senor Miguel]

well all you really need is a months deposit and months rent in advance it's not too bad, and if you relocate closer to work then you wouldn't have all those travel costs.......so you're saying it's 600-700pcm for a flatshare?? you could live in the west end on those prices, what's so good about hertfordshire then? :p

[Schnap me Baby]

well all you really need is a months deposit and months rent in advance it's not too bad, and if you relocate closer to work then you wouldn't have all those travel costs.......so you're saying it's 600-700pcm for a flatshare?? you could live in the west end on those prices, what's so good about hertfordshire then? :p

I just really want to live close to my family and friends for the moment as I think it is the stability I need. I have concidered moving to london to save on travel but I think I would be very home sick to do that at the moment. I may think about it after I've lived on my own here for a little bit. We'll see I guess, it will be a while before I have anymoney saved up anyway. and yeah that 600 was for a flatshare, not a nice one at that

[Randomgirl]

Might be worth checking the local rag to see what the local prices are...
:yes:

Or try looking on www.loot.com for similar rooms in that location to compare prices.

[Senor Miguel]

aye fair play, i'm sure you'll find somewhere nice when you're ready, if you're looking in London gumtree's pretty good for finding a place and if you hunt around you shouldn't have to pay over the odds, i'm paying around £450/month with all bills included, which is pretty good for this part of town, shame i have to move soon :(

[Schnap me Baby]

aye fair play, i'm sure you'll find somewhere nice when you're ready, if you're looking in London gumtree's pretty good for finding a place and if you hunt around you shouldn't have to pay over the odds, i'm paying around £450/month with all bills included, which is pretty good for this part of town, shame i have to move soon :(

Yeah that don't sound bad, I'll keep it in mind for when I eventually move, thanks :)