Am i being unrealistic? (Renting)

He is paying WAY too much rent relative to income. He will regret it 6 months in when he is flat broke.
 
Where exactly do you mean by living in London, London is a big area but there are some expensive and some cheaper places to live within 2-10miles from Central London.
 
mjt said:
I think there are some people in this thread who don't realise just how high rent is in London.
Living in London means that a massive part of your monthly income is spent on rent.
I don't think SideWinder's being unrealistic at all.
I'd rather pay a bit more than live in a ****hole.
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You don't think at least over 75% of ones income on rent is unrealistic? The whole appeal of living in London is being able to go out and do stuff. Having only a few hundred quid (max) left after the rent/bills/travel etc has come out puts pretty much everything off limits in town.
 
Just to put another figure in your head.

Beckenham, large 2 bed flat with garage should be about £1000/month. 7 minute walk to choice of two stations. 20-25 minutes to Victoria (16 mins if you get the morning fast train), 25 minutes to London Bridge, 35 minutes to Charing Cross. Night bus from Trafalgar Square.
 
Scort said:
I think you may have underestimated tax/NI deductions - If it’s of any help I’m on 25K a year and my take home after stoppages is only just over £1,500, iirc when I was on around the 17K mark, take home was just over a grand.

I wish you both the best though!
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In the OPs defence, he did say £1,400 after tax... :p
 
Pudney@work said:
In the OPs defence, he did say £1,400 after tax... :p
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... and no offense to the OP - but how many psychology grads (and most other subjects for that matter) immediately start on a £23/£24k salary? Not many.
 
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Rich_L said:
A decent one-bed place you should be looking at £1,000, £1,200 a month tops I would have thought?
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Yeah I used to live in a 1 bed in Putney which was £1000/month, bout 3min walk from the mainline station and 5 to east putney tube. It was ok, had free heating and council tax was pretty cheap so overall not too expensive.
 
I currently live in a 3-bed flat in Tooting (Zone 3 SW London), 3 of us, and the total rent is £1350. We each put £70 in for all bills and council tax, so total is £1560.

1 bedroom flats of a decent quality can be rented for £800-£900 pcm near Morden (Zone 4, end of the Northern Line).
 
Kol said:
... and no offense to the OP - but how many psychology grads (and most other subjects for that matter) immediately start on a £23/£24k salary? Not many.
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Well that's an entirely seperate matter.

In either case my vote would be don't live in London, move outside and commute in. Even better, don't work or live in London.
 
www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk

£17k = £1137/m
£21.5k = £1396/m

I'd say pay about a third of your salary on rent if you want to have a life as well as live in London.

Bounds Green is my tip for cheap rent. Also, give up on the 2 bedroom idea! You'll be able to put your stuff in the living room so just get 1 bedroom.
 
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Rich_L said:
Seems fine to me - the benefit being you don't have any crazy expenses. You won't live amazingly but

That said, £1,400 is a lot to pay a month - put it this way, it's how much our large 2-bed 2-bath flat in Limehouse is, 20yds from the river. A decent one-bed place you should be looking at £1,000, £1,200 a month tops I would have thought?

Your other expenses will be fixed, travel, bills etc - £500 is absolutely fine, you won't be saving much or going on expensive holidays but otherwise you should be quite comfortable

*edit* - council tax is £130 a month, as it has been in the last 4 places I've lived in London - where are these places which are over £200 p/m? :confused: :p
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Sorry for the thread revival but Rich is bang on here. I'm in a one bed in Limehouse which costs us £260 pwk so about £1180 a month and I feel like I'm paying top end - in fact my mate lives across the road in a two bed for the same money. Admittedly our flat is nicer but there's nothing fundamentaly wrong with his flat, especially given the price.

There's a lot of rubbish spouted about London property tbh, you just have to look out for the right area and think a tad laterally.

Limehouse is perfect for me because I can walk to work in about 20 minutes (Canary Wharf) but it's actually pretty much ideal for most parts because of the DLR and being so close to Bank.
 
Thanks for the tip Tory - she is actually looking in your area for places and we may well be focusing on properties that are £220-250 a week. :)
 
Mad old tory said:
Sorry for the thread revival but Rich is bang on here. I'm in a one bed in Limehouse which costs us £260 pwk so about £1180 a month and I feel like I'm paying top end - in fact my mate lives across the road in a two bed for the same money. Admittedly our flat is nicer but there's nothing fundamentaly wrong with his flat, especially given the price.

There's a lot of rubbish spouted about London property tbh, you just have to look out for the right area and think a tad laterally.

Limehouse is perfect for me because I can walk to work in about 20 minutes (Canary Wharf) but it's actually pretty much ideal for most parts because of the DLR and being so close to Bank.
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Are you by any chance in the Limehouse Basin area? The tower blocks there look pricy to live in!
 
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