Cost of Living

[ash t]

Hi.

I have been looking to get my own house with my girlfriend. The thing is, im not too sure of what other costs there are apart from the usual monthly payments towards a mortgage, and bills.

What other things do I need to think about?

Theres Mortgage, Insurance, Council Tax and Utility bills. Anything else I should think about?

Cheers

Ash
____________________
When You're Starting To Choke, Take Some Pills With Your Coke, Its Hyserical

[Annabella]

You need to make a complete budget sheet.

Don't just include the obvious - Mortgage, income insurance, buildings and contents insurance (this will vary depending on your house and area), Utility bills, council tax.

What I will certainly suggest is that you get yourself down to the local housing office or at least call them. You and your girlfriend will certainly qualify as a "Young family" (parents under the age of 25) and as such will qualify for low cost housing and possibly housing benefits. There will be a Housing Adviser on the end of the phone who will know exactly what you are entitled to benefits and housing wise.

They generally all work on a preference scheme, so you can choose where you would like to live and which house to live in. They will go through your budgets and calculate exactly how much things will cost.



You have a choice in Stoke:
Beth Johnson Housing Association,
Three Counties House,
Festival Way,
Stoke On Trent,
Staffordshire,
ST1 5PX

01782 219200
www.bethjohnson.org



Staffordshire Housing Association
'Knight House',
2 - 4 Woodhouse Street,
Stoke on Trent,
Staffordshire,
UK,
ST4 1EJ

01782 744533
www.staffshousing.org.uk


Stoke-On-Trent City Council
Civic Centre,
Glebe Street,
Stoke on Trent,
Staffordshire,
ST4 1RN

01782 234 567
www.stoke.gov.uk



Out of the three I would probably say your best bet is Beth Johnson, however, they may direct you towards the council for advice issues. There are Housing Advice Officers who work at Beth Johnson and they are all lovely
____________________
Avast! Pirates ahoy!
I did Cadwell!
www.bikepics.com/members/bella

[ash t]

Theres no rating for WOW.

Oh well

Thanks for all that Bella
____________________
When You're Starting To Choke, Take Some Pills With Your Coke, Its Hyserical

[Annabella]

It's a pleasure me dear.

From what I've picked up, a "Young Family" should get benefits such as Council Tax rebates, the option to buy a share in a house or to rent one from the local Housing Association with subsidies towards the cost.

I'm not an expert by any means, but there are lots of people who are
____________________
Avast! Pirates ahoy!
I did Cadwell!
www.bikepics.com/members/bella

[ash t]

I have actually looked at a couple of Shared houses in my local area. Staffs housing own 50% and we own the other half (if we buy)

We also pay £30 a week rent to them.

Im going to talk to a few people about this. It looks good, but im unsure if theres a catch.
____________________
When You're Starting To Choke, Take Some Pills With Your Coke, Its Hyserical

[Annabella]

[ash t]

Brilliant. Theres a couple of houses literally down the road from me which are shared, so I know the area well. Il have to give them a call.
____________________
When You're Starting To Choke, Take Some Pills With Your Coke, Its Hyserical

[nrml76]

Your monthly budget should take into account:

Mortgage
Council tax
Parish tax/ local tax
Electricity bill
Water bill
Gas bill
Life insurance and critical illness cover (you would be crazy if you took a mortgage without this)
Home insurance
Reapayment of outstanding loans, credit card bills, student loans etc
Petrol / commuting costs
Maintanance of vehicles, MOT, insurance etc
Entertainment expenses
Food and domestic consumables
Clothing

There may be many more expenses, depending on your individual circumstances etc. Make sure you can afford to keep up mortgage repayments if the interest rate rises.

[Mrs Kickstart]

Hi,

how about

Mortgage
House Insurance (buildings and contents)
Life insurance
Council Tax
Water Rates
Electric
Gas
Home Phone
Mobile Phone
Broadband
Car/Bike tax
Car/Bike insurance
Car/Bike servicing
House repairs and maintence (you will need money for this)
Clothes Mum/Dad and Baby
Food
TV licence
Entertainment (you will need a little)
Sick fund /income protection insurance

Citizend advice can be quite good at buget advice I belive. For water rates you can get a year free from the grant fund if you can give a good reason why you can't pay but will be able to later( ie just starting new baby etc it may be worth a try)

As far as I know there is no catch with Housing Assoication stuff but make sure understand what your contribution to repairs will be.

For insurance shop arround the deals with vary a lot just like bike insurance.

Income protection is often better than mortage protection and is cheaper the longer you can say you will wait before claiming. To work this out you will need to know how much sick pay you can get from work and how big your slush fund is, again shop arround.

Try to make sure you save a little each month for repairs and things else you send up having to borrow for a new cooker/fridge etc and quickly get in debt.

Regards
C
____________________
Help fight the safety camera partnerships -- www.pepipoo.com

[cc123]

Jebus, funny. I posted almost the same thing in the Scottish section.

Me and me misses are looking just now. We've been approved and started to look.


I also have my doubts but I'm sure we will be ok, both working and have some money set aside. First time buyers tho? Same here, just don't know what its really going to be like and true month to month costs.
____________________
Old bikes >>> https://www.bikepics.com/members/cc123/