Helping me move up north! Advice

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:02

Hello everyone, didnt know of anyone i personally know who could help give advise to me on how to move but right now i really need it.
At this point in time i am technically homeless (I'm living somewhere, but i cant do for very long) so i am looking into renting my own place.

I live down south, staying in Bexhill currently (But planning my move to the Preston area, cheaper and stuff and just a new lease on life away from everything down here)

I have savings, i wont disclose how much, but enough to help and everything.

I've done calculations on benefits i'm entitled to, it seems jarringly high but apparently it is accurate (Atleast, estimated accuratly)

I just wanted to know if anyone has any advice? I offer landlords 6-12 months rent in advance and i have a guarentor, they all say it is fine however i cant drive and i dont have anywhere to stay in Preston to view houses (Not to say it's a very pricey process from here) and i need to be in somewhere in atleast 1-2 months. At the most.

My stuff is safe, all of it ready to go whenever. But i'm just confused and worried, where do i go to claim benefits? Can they deny me? (I am jobless, i will be moving without a job and i really dont want to be out of work because i dont like the idea of living off benefits (nothing wrong with it i just feel like i'm relying way too much on others))

Anyone got any advice? Id really appreciate it!

SuperBOB · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:06

Occasionally you will find a rental agency that will let you a property without you viewing it. I did it once when moving from South to North.

FWIW if you intend on working again, perhaps start applying now? No harm :-)

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:08

SuperBOB said:
Occasionally you will find a rental agency that will let you a property without you viewing it. I did it once when moving from South to North.

FWIW if you intend on working again, perhaps start applying now? No harm

Yea i'm sending out applications left right centre up there and i have a few lined up it's just, i have to rely on skype interviews or phone interviews y'know? Atleast until i can get up there.

TommyV · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:11

Probably worth picking up the phone and talking to the job centre if you've got questions.

Failing that, split your PC? Some nice value in there!

koooowweeee · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:14

I'm not sure what universal credit is. (I know its changed to that recently) but from what I gather being on the dole you get around £70 a week for your food and bills and then around £60 a week for your house/flat (if you have one)

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:18

TommyV said:
Probably worth picking up the phone and talking to the job centre if you've got questions.

Failing that, split your PC? Some nice value in there!

I'll be doing that, but trouble is i still dont have access to the trading market. A lot of my components are only 3-4 months old anyway, so until then how i'm gonna flog them is beyond me (And i would keep the graphics cards anyway)

Money right now isnt a huge issue, i have enough money to last me a years rent and food/bills with no concern for overdrawing, however the benefits will help.

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:21

koooowweeee said:
I'm not sure what universal credit is. (I know its changed to that recently) but from what I gather being on the dole you get around £70 a week for your food and bills and then around £60 a week for your house/flat (if you have one)

I got asked a series of questions, put in the monthly bill of how much my private tenancy would be, if i was single and living alone etc. And that is the calculation i recieved. But i have never claimed benefits in my life so i have absoloutely no idea!

FurryLemon · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:23

mxoagentjohnson said:
I'll be doing that, but trouble is i still dont have access to the trading market. A lot of my components are only 3-4 months old anyway, so until then how i'm gonna flog them is beyond me (And i would keep the graphics cards anyway)

Money right now isnt a huge issue, i have enough money to last me a years rent and food/bills with no concern for overdrawing, however the benefits will help.

You won't get full benefits if you have savings. If you have over something like 15k you won't get any at all.

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:24

FurryLemon said:
You won't get full benefits if you have savings. If you over something like 15k you won't get any at all.

They asked me how much savings i had, and it was under the cutoff amount, which was 6k
Well, i mean after moving my stuff, paying the deposit, paying the admin fee, i will definitely be under 6k

koooowweeee · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:28

mxoagentjohnson said:
I got asked a series of questions, put in the monthly bill of how much my private tenancy would be, if i was single and living alone etc. And that is the calculation i recieved. But i have never claimed benefits in my life so i have absoloutely no idea!

Just had a quick Google. It's all the benefits rolled into 1.

So say its £70 dole money as it was and the rest is housing benefit. Then the £12.06 is to help with council tax

So if you get a house for say £450... council tax will be around £70 a month (with lonly man's discount :-D

)

So you will get around £624 a month. Minus your £520 house and council tax.. your not left with much.

But that will be a help if you already have cash.

The reson they give you so little is because they want people to house share.

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:32

koooowweeee said:
Just had a quick Google. It's all the benefits rolled into 1.

So say its £70 dole money as it was and the rest is housing benefit. Then the £12.06 is to help with council tax

So if you get a house for say £450... council tax will be around £70 a month (with lonly man's discount )

So you will get around £624 a month. Minus your £520 house and council tax.. your not left with much.

But that will be a help if you already have cash.

The reson they give you so little is because they want people to house share.

Preston area is super cheap man! I have houses up (Well, studios and one bedrooms) ranging from 300-350 a month, some even include water. And they are all ok accepting a years rent upfront aswell as me being on the dole! which i dont want to be on for too long, i enjoy working.

koooowweeee · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:35

Yeah that's about right for a 1 bed flat/house share. I don't live to far from Preston

booyaka · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:42

Is it wrong that I think you should surely consider what work/jobs you can get before moving to a particular area, not how much in benefits you can get??

Can you not work? Surely finding a job first is the priority, not what house/flats you can rent and what benefits you get?

CREATIVE!11 · 27 Aug 2015 at 14:46

Universal credit, don't know (however it is basically just rent benefit / JSA combined) it but I can help you since I last claimed benefit for a month or so while back.

You get roughly 71 quid a week from JSA, then you get rent benefit for your housing costs that depends on your LHA rate, I don't know what council Preston falls under but find that out then Google LHA rates.

I did the same thing as you, moved away claimed whilst I found a job, made it much easier being in the local area. Did me good getting a fresh start. Good luck.

Edit: http://www.preston.gov.uk/yourservi...sing-allowance/local-housing-allowance-rates/

Here

When you claim benefits the job centre send you a text to confirm your first meeting, then you go in to the local jobby and they will sort it all out with you. Then you come in once a week for work reviews just to discuss what you've been doing which will be no problem for you. It's easy.

booyaka said:
Can you not work? Surely finding a job first is the priority, not what house/flats you can rent and what benefits you get?

Well he is basically almost homeless, I was in a similar situation, not entirely homeless but living with a psychotic parent was not the answer. So I moved from Bristol to Leeds.

Clav · 27 Aug 2015 at 15:34

When I moved towns I just stayed at a youth hostel for a few weeks until I had a place lined up. It was super cheap per night and I managed to get a private room for most of it. It worked out cheaper than the commute costs would have been travelling back and forth to view houses and such.

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 16:10

booyaka said:
Is it wrong that I think you should surely consider what work/jobs you can get before moving to a particular area, not how much in benefits you can get??

Can you not work? Surely finding a job first is the priority, not what house/flats you can rent and what benefits you get?

I'm not going out with the intent to find the most benefits, i'm trying to get an accurate representation of how much i will get so i can plan accordingly. And i wont be able to afford a place in my home town to save the life of me (upwards of 600 a month for a one bedroom, yea no)

+As i have said, i really hate that i am getting benefits, i dont care for the stigma associated with people who abuse it or who use it, i just enjoy working and earning my right to live somewhere, not mope about y'know.

CREATIVE!11 said:
Universal credit, don't know (however it is basically just rent benefit / JSA combined) it but I can help you since I last claimed benefit for a month or so while back.

You get roughly 71 quid a week from JSA, then you get rent benefit for your housing costs that depends on your LHA rate, I don't know what council Preston falls under but find that out then Google LHA rates.

I did the same thing as you, moved away claimed whilst I found a job, made it much easier being in the local area. Did me good getting a fresh start. Good luck.

Edit: http://www.preston.gov.uk/yourservi...sing-allowance/local-housing-allowance-rates/

Here

When you claim benefits the job centre send you a text to confirm your first meeting, then you go in to the local jobby and they will sort it all out with you. Then you come in once a week for work reviews just to discuss what you've been doing which will be no problem for you. It's easy.

Well he is basically almost homeless, I was in a similar situation, not entirely homeless but living with a psychotic parent was not the answer. So I moved from Bristol to Leeds.

I am pretty much homeless if it wasnt for a friend offering me somewhere for a couple of weeks, i got kicked out due to family situations, i wont go into detail because it's a mud flinging contest between two familys and i'm the middle man who sides with neither, i am not welcome in either and i dont have family who still live in this country apart from one who is willing to be my guarentor and lives in manchester. Also my father was quite abusive up until i got old enough to fight back. In which he calmed down physically and started being more of an emotional c word.

My stuff is safe until i am on my feet, no one will touch it, but i am apparently not welcome in either family because i believe both of them are in the wrong for what they are doing.

Anyway, thanks so much for all the advice! I do hope the jobseekers arent as condescending up there as they are down here. The ones in Kent are A-holios.

The_Abyss · 27 Aug 2015 at 17:56

Buy a whippet to ensure that you fit in seamlessly with the locals.

koooowweeee · 27 Aug 2015 at 19:42

Nothing wrong with claiming benefits in your situation. That's what they are there for...... I always paid in when I was younger and when I left a job that I was in for 5 years I claimed for a few months. Then back to paying in again.

You would find it really hard to get a job if you don't level in the area. Moving first is the right thing to do IMO

mxoagentjohnson · 27 Aug 2015 at 20:20

koooowweeee said:
Nothing wrong with claiming benefits in your situation. That's what they are there for...... I always paid in when I was younger and when I left a job that I was in for 5 years I claimed for a few months. Then back to paying in again.

You would find it really hard to get a job if you don't level in the area. Moving first is the right thing to do IMO

I worked for 4 years, so i definitely paid my way in, and i just find it impossible to find work up there when im not living there, especially without the help of job seekers and such!