I clear £800 a month in wages.
I'm considering moving out from family home. Alone.

Renting privately, I think, is expensive. I dont know anyone who does it.

I cant get a mortgage for even a run down 1 bedroom council flat in rough housing estate.

What is the maximum amount I should be looking at for rent? bearing in mind I have council tax and all bills to pay myself. I dont want to be skint at the end of every month.

Would you think of sharing a flat? It'd be much cheaper and you could probably get a room for £200/month. If you're looking for a one bed flat by yourself(I take it you're looking in Glasgow?), you'll be lucky to get one for £350 I'm afraid.

Are you eligable for a council flat? Some are pretty nice, and much cheaper than a private rent.

I have been on council housing list for 10 years and only 2 years ago did they offer me a crummy flat, in a vandalised building in a rough run down area. Talk about Chav Land!
I didnt go along to view it. I went in my own time to look at the building and the area. The stench of urine from the common landing prevented me getting any closer. I didnt and still don't want to live in an area like that by myself. I would not fit in or survive.

I dont like the idea of sharing my new home with a stranger.
It would take me months to feel I could trust a stranger, they would have to be female, non smoker, no pets.
I wouldnt know who their friends family and visitors are. I wouldnt feel safe to go out and come back not knowing who else would be in my new home, who she might give a key to, if she has friends over for a party. I dont think it would work.

And while I'm looking for a flatmate, this rules out getting a 1 bedroom flat I could barely afford. I would then need to rent a 2 bedroom flat that I certainly couldnt afford.
And if they decided to move out or move in with a boyfriend, I'd be struggling to keep on the 2 bedroom flat.

All my friends are in relationships and I'm the only single one (lucky me).
I want to live alone somewhere. But need to be near a bus route to work and to a relative I care for. I want my own life and space for the first time. Fed up being all things to all people.

I have seen flats in town advertised for £400 a month, with council tax, all bills and travel expenses, I dont think I would cope financially.
It's true what they say, two do live as cheaply as one.

You could always have a lock fitted to your room if you shared. I've shared flats with loads of people I haven't known - it is a great way to meet people and there will be plenty of non smoking females looking for other people to rent with. I suppose if you think about it long enough, you'll just see the risks but you could end up making friends for life out of it. Trust your instincts when you go to view flats, and take your time picking one and you'll be fine.

Are you thinking about Glasgow? There are newsagents all around advertising rooms in shared flats and the Evening Times does ads twice a week.

Alternatively, have you put your name down on Housing Association waiting lists?

Realistically, a one bed flat is pretty expensive - with council tax and bills you'd probably end up paying out 3/4 of your wage straight away.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

quote:

Originally posted by ally_in_glasgow:
I have been on council housing list for 10 years and only 2 years ago did they offer me a crummy flat, in a vandalised building in a rough run down area. Talk about Chav Land!

10 years???!!! Ally, you have my sympathies! I hoped that the council housing waiting lists were much shorter in Scotland than they are in Southern England! I got tired of being on the council housing list after 3 and a half years that I went and rented a small flat for £395 a month last year. It was expensive! I have now bought a 1 bed flat (sadly its in Chav land! ).

I do find it despicable that there is not enough affordable housing for young and/or single people on modest incomes. Lets hope the next parliament get their act together!

Ally, the affordability criteria of rental incomes is a third of your gross salary (I'm assuming the £800 is your net monthly salary?). Anyway, good luck in your search for a home!

Have you considered a bedsit? That's where I went for my first home alone, and I found a lovely one with a separate kitchen. They aren't all like the grotty stereotype.

You only share bathroom facilities. I paid £17 pw in 1990 for rent, rates and water How times change

quote:

Originally posted by MattW:
I do find it despicable that there is not enough affordable housing for young and/or single people on modest incomes. Lets hope the next parliament get their act together!

Not attacking you at all Matt, but I find it so strange that people in this country seem to think that having a property to live in all by themselves is a right, rather than a privilege. Young and/or single people have very rarely been able to afford to buy their own property. Flat/house sharing, renting a room or a bedsit, or living with parents has always been the norm. Even though I was able to get a mortgage on my flat in my sole name back in 1993 (right at the bottom of the last crash), there is no way I could have afforded to live here on my own once the other bills were included.

I agree with vbland's suggestion of a bedsit. I lived in a couple of absolutely fabulous ones when I was young and single. In one of them I had my own little kitchenette and the bathroom I had access to only had access from one other bedsit in the house. Nearly all my friends lived in bedsits and/or shared properties when they were young and/or single. Even council properties for single people in a lot of cities are bedsits (albeit with their own kitchette and bathroom so I suppose that technically makes them studios).

Have you tried contacting a housing association? We have a pretty fair flat with one, and I know several of them in Birmingham have spaces for people who work in the area and cannot afford private housing.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Giving me lots to think about.

My "housing need" is low and that's why I have such low housing Points. I did apply to one large housing assocation but heard nothing from them in over 2 years now.

Yes £800 month is my net wage. Unlikely to increase.

At the moment I live in council house with family in chav land but a very nice safe part of chav land where most of our neighbours have bought their houses.

I am scared of the unknown. I've lived in same house all my life. It'd be weird moving out and being on my own, not knowing neighbours, have no other family and my friends have all moved far away and they would never come and visit. I'd be alone.

I'm a very private person, still uncomfortable with idea of sharing a flat with a stranger. I hope this doesnt make me sound childish and immature. Being an only child and having no-one my age as a friend growing up, I'm not used to sharing, not used to people seeing or touching my things (as lousy and cheap as they are). I feel weird at the thought of a stranger flatmate bringing friends back who could have been in my room or who could have drank out of my mug in the kitchen.

Flats that I have seen advertised for rent are £400 to £450 a month plus all bills and expenses, I'd be working with little spare cash left over. Hmmmm. Big step.

I shared many a house when I was younger.....and had a bl**dy good time. Never had so many parties, never met so many new friends. Rent a room in a shared house (don't choose the cheapest one, choose a nice area with professionals) and you will love it. Moving into a flat by yourselves (which you might not be able to afford so can't go out and have a life) might not be a good move.

quote:

I am scared of the unknown. I've lived in same house all my life. It'd be weird moving out and being on my own, not knowing neighbours, have no other family and my friends have all moved far away and they would never come and visit. I'd be alone.

All the more reason NOT to live alone and to share somewhere!

I shared, never had any problems finding anyone to share with, still in contact with lots of them. In fact 5 of us from a house share of 8 people and which I was in years ago are getting together next month for a catch up. So you can make some really lovely friends.

I felt the same as ally about flatshares - I had been used to my privacy at home (mum very low profile) and I would never voluntarily share with a stranger. I had to share a flat with three other girls during my first year at uni and I hated it, they were messy, hogged the bathroom and nicked anything you put in the fridge - although one girl was very sweet and we stayed friends for a year or so. After the first year I could stand it no longer and moved out.

I rented several bedsits - some as Joolz describes with their own kitchenette and shower room. I had one really great one, the others were pretty lousy, but at least it was private, and you can move on to something better later on.

I think you are either the sort of person who enjoys the idea of house-sharing, or you aren't, and ally sounds like the latter.

The plus side of a bedsit/studio flat is that there will be others in the building, so you can make friends that way so not feel too alone - but you can get away to your own space when you want to.

quote:

Originally posted by ally_in_glasgow:

I am scared of the unknown. I've lived in same house all my life. It'd be weird moving out and being on my own, not knowing neighbours, have no other family and my friends have all moved far away and they would never come and visit. I'd be alone.

Be careful.

My circumstances sort of sucked me into the the situation of being quite isolated and it can be hard to live with. Consequently, I spend a lot of money getting away from the damn place and am hardly ever there, but sometimes I need to spend a little time there to get away from everything else.

I know it's odd.