The most expensive flat on Spareroom.co.uk

The current most expensive flat on Spareroom.co.uk is a flat in Oxford Circus for £1200 a week.

 





You would think for that kind of money the agency would have lit their photos a bit better but there you go.

Earn £100 000 to afford rent in Central London

According to an Evening Standard article this week an 'affordable' rental property is defined as being 35 % of your salary.  According to research a person has to earn £100 000 a year to be able to rent a property by themselves and still be able to have a decent standard of living.  That would work out as £1750 a month rent.

I earn about £1600 a month at the moment so an affordable rent for me would cost £560 a month.

So how many flats on Spareroom.co.uk are there for rent for £560 a month in London?

Well there is this 'flat' in Streathem Hill for £550 a month which seems to be a single bed room with a sink and possibly a hot plate.  No information on whether you get a toilet or not.



And this £500 a month room in Greenford which does come with a bathroom (or 'wet room' as the advert describes it).  Not sure why the plug socket needs to play such a prominent role in the photo.



What could I get for £1500 to £1750 a month ?

A lot of choice in Central London, that's what.  Once you get down to £1000 a month the amount of choice really tails off....

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/earn-100000-to-afford-rent-in-central-london-8754108.html

Rules for Tenants

A landlord created the following set of rules for potential tenants to read through when they came to look at his property:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2260035/No-pork-fridge-showers-longer-15-mins-I-approve-visitors-Womans-shock-shes-presented-list-house-rules-viewing-flat-rent.html

How to save up for a deposit whilst renting in London

The Evening Standard provides some advice on how to save up for a deposit whilst paying a big proportion of your salary in rent every month.

This article was in the paper in September 2012 and it made me smile at the time so I thought I would share it here.

In September 2012 an average deposit for first time buyers was £57,175.  The Evening Standard came up with several solutions how someone might save this money.

1) Live Frugally
The Evening Standard stated that living frugally could save you £4000 a year. 
So it would take 14 years to save for a deposit this way.

This is the method that I have been using to save money.  I like to think that I live fairly frugally but I only manage to save about £1,500 a year this way. And despite putting this much in my savings account each year, some of it has been spent already on things that I`ve not been able to afford with my salary (rental deposit, new laptop, brother's wedding, general day to day living when I first arrived in London and wasn't managing my spending very well).

At my current 'living frugally' rate I will have save for a deposit in 38 years time.  However, I could definitely live a bit more frugally, as I do spend quite a bit on theatre tickets.

2) Take a Second Job
The Evening Standard suggested that if you could earn an additional £99.20 per week, you could save for your deposit in 11 years.

I have earned a little bit of extra money via this method.  My job pays us a 1.5 hourly salary for our overtime.  In addition, I've done a few hours of freelance work for a company where my friend works.  To be honest, I haven't really had many freelance hours and the money I've earned this way has almost all gone on day-to-day living.

I currenty work 40 hours a week. I think if I got some additional hours I could speed up the 38 years it will currently take just with frugal living to save up for a deposit.

3) Live Ultra Frugally (this one was called postpone having children)
Save £14 000 each year for 4 years.

This is actually impossible.  By the time I get my salary and pay rent, bills and train tickets I don't have £14 000 a year:

My salary net is about £18 000 a year.
My rent and bills on average are about £6, 840 a year.
My train ticket is about £3 500 a year.
That leaves £7 660 a year for everything else.  So I'll leave that suggestion with the Evening Standard.

4) Live with your parents
Save £15 000 of your salary each year for 4 years.
My parents don't live within travelling distance of my job.  I was living with my parents for 6 months when I was unemployed.  I applied for jobs anywhere I could find them and the one I got was in the other end of the country.

4) Preherit
Aka ask your family for the full £57,175.

blog on generationrentv

blog on generationrent

Here is the article in full:

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/raising-the-roof-how-generation-rent-can-get-on-the-property-ladder-8315847.html

My rent

I thought I'd work out what proportion of my salary I spend on rent in London and travelling to work. 

Flat 1 March to September 2010
5 bedroom flat, 2 bathrooms but no living room
Private landlord
Zone 2
£670 a month rent including bills (50 % of my salary at that time)
£256 a month train ticket (19 % of salary)

Flat 2 September 2010 to September 2011
3 bedroom flat including a living room and a yard
Sublet from colleagues
Zone 2
£650 a month rent and £70 bills (54 % and then 52 % of salary)
£269 a month train ticket (20 then 19% salary)

Flat 3 September 2011 to March 2012
3 bedroom flat including a living room and a balcony
Sublet from friend of the owner of the flat
Zone 1
£700 a month rent including bills 
£283 a month train ticket

Flat 4 March 2012 to current
4 bedroom flat including living room and a balcony
Private landlord
Zone 2
£510 a month plus about £60 bills (38% of salary)
£298 a month train ticket (19 % of salary) 

Gumtree

I think that I could fill a whole blog with adverts for flat shares from Gumtree, but I'll start with this post:

Advertising the spare room in your flat share is your chance to find exactly the kind of housemate you want.  Don't stop at vague requests for your new housemate to be male/female/gay/bi/mid 20s/student/professional, this is your chance to get specific.  No need to be shy now...

Their nationality:

"I'm open to Filipina ladies only."
 "irish housemate wanted female "
"Large Single Room for Indian Professional "
"Zone 1 (French Females Preferred)"
"it would be a great advantage if I had a French speaking housemate to help me to learn the language"
"Free room share for qualified or professional native Latin American Spanish speaker "
"looking for Asian girl to share with another asian channese girl. "

Posting in the language of the nationality you are looking for will help a lot:

"Duza dwojka do wynajecia dla dziewczyny lub dwoch dziewczyn w domu z ogrodem"
"Turkce konusan bayan oda arkadasi ariyorum."
"Ragazzi ho trovato un 3 bedroom flat fantastico (high standard at affordable prices) u have to see it to believe it, appartamento davvero bello  "

Their religion:

"Muslium Female wanted to share room with other pakistsni female "
"cheap room sharing for muslim girl"
"This is a christian home for people with a passion for Jesus Christ and people. "


Their personality:

"looking for a girly-girl"
"looking for a friendly and sociable flatmate who loves dogs,"
" Friendly young clean guys wanted for triple room share" but also "This is NOT a party house. "
"Would be cool if you were artistic/architecture-y but not fussed."
"Vegetarian, friendly, clean and tidy, mature person wanted"
"Responsible,Friendly, considerate, appreciative of other Cultural Backgrounds, only these type of persons need apply."

Their hobbies:

"If you like organic food, jogging, cooking and a nice chat around a glass of wine with friends - this is your type of flat. "
"Small double room available in 3 bed flat .... Must like wine! "

If you're not sure who you're looking for then go for a range of people:
"Double Room in Southall for Couple/Children or Females."


 Also there's the small matter of persuading them they want to live with you...

"inclusive of fresh flowers, weekly cleaning, laundry and ironing, gas, electricity, water, telephone rental and wireless broadband"
"One small catch is that we must rarely walk through one corner of your room to get to the separate kitchen,"
"two old dears either side of us who don't appear to care how loud we go."
" Superb House Shared By Europeans."

Anything else you have to offer?
"For 15£ per week I can arrange the rental of a bicycle  "

Once your prospective flatmate has been identified you've got to check them out:

"please drop a few lines about you along a link to FB or Linkedin page."
"DEPOSIT AND PROOF OF EMPLOYMENT , AND IMMIGRATION STATUS REQUIRED......"

Gumtree you provide me with hours of entertainment.  If only I could say I'd found a place to live too.

18 buyers for every home in Central London

According to the Evening Standard there are 18 buyers for every home in Central London at the moment.

This is bad new for renters as more and more people who would have been buyers in previous years are now being forced to rent. 

www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24035366-record-18-buyers-chasing-every-central-london-home.do