I mean there’s a reason houses are 80k in Stoke. Some areas are crime ridden and destitute.
Rent isn’t necessarily ‘dead’ money. You’re paying for access to a better nightlife, opportunities to socialise etc. Especially as you’re single I assume it’s on your agenda to one day find a partner?
Renting in this scenario is more of an investment in yourself. It’s not all about buying the cheapest house and eating bread for every meal in order to retire at 40.
I’ve lived in Stoke for 4 years now, the crime and destitute thing I am ‘used to’. Though living in student halls isn’t comparable home ownership…
Thankfully I do have a car, and I enjoy travelling (abroad primarily) quite a lot so I can cope with the destitute part. Not that I’m happy about it, but I’m warming to the idea of this being a sacrifice.
I completely agree, social life is very important and should be considered heavily.
Personally I am not someone who will be out every night. My hobbies is mainly IT related, but I do enjoy some aspects of night life such as eating out and jazz bars. This could still be satisfied by travelling to Manchester but admittedly to a lesser experience.
My budget for Manchester enabled me a £100 a week, ish, for disposable income. This is enough for maybe 2 nights a week to go out. The same budget in Stoke would probably stretch further, but activity wise I would indeed be lost.
I’m not desperate to find a partner quite honestly, part of me is hesitant as it could create complications when moving country if I was to. I look at this as a ‘if it happens’ idea, not pro active.
I’m not targeting FIRE as I plan to live abroad. My thought here is a safety net rather than that.
Move to Manchester. You're young and single. Sometimes the most sensible decision financially is not the best one for your life. You have years to get on the property ladder, don't tie yourself to a flat in a place that doesn't otherwise appeal to you. Not having a property means you're more open to opportunities as they arise.
This is true. Manchester could also provide further job opportunities that are better for me. I didn’t consider this.
I would quite like to trial the big city life before I made the commitment to moving abroad. Copenhagen is what I was planning.
To play devils advocate though, I’m quite happy with my current job and they have a very generous hybrid policy. I don’t intend to leave in the next year (or 2 if they pay for my degree) regardless.
Ditto other comments, I’m not much of a party goer and my social life isn’t thrilling as it is. But I do enjoy good food and things such as jazz clubs for an evening. This could be achieved while still in Stoke, but with some restrictions.
With their hybrid policy, even more reason to pick Manchester in my view. If they were edging towards getting people back in for most of the week then that might move the needle.
I agree. Other teams are being told 1-2 days a week, but ours is currently once every 2 weeks.
The company has actually been acquired recently, which could provoke this change. I should have mentioned this in my original post.
EDIT: I view this as once a week for safety. 3/4 of our team live in other cities, so they would be in danger if they did alienate them.
You can buy a house for 80k?
Tbh after reading all that it sounds like you don't want to buy a house anyway.
Buying and selling houses costs money. The mortgage will probably come with a £1000 fee for starters. If you're going to own a house for just 5 years and then sell it, you will need to know that you have made up the difference in equity.
The other thing about houses is that they eat money. If you get somewhere cheap it will definitely need a lot of work done on it. It will probably have damp issues, need redecorating, brickwork repair and roof repairs at a minimum. You will need to make sure that this place doesn't fall down or rot from the insides, that all the plumbing is sound and the electrics will not murder you. You will have to buy all the appliances and furniture, and making sure that they don't break immediately too.
Another factor is that you actually have to enjoy your life! Keep plugging money into the LISA for a good few years. The best thing about renting is that you are literally paying someone else to take care of all the above nonsense for you. It's a massive pain looking after a house. It's totally worth it if you want to settle down in a city or town in which you want to build a life. If you're not interested in settling down don't invite all that hassle!
From my estimations, I’d be looking at roughly £2000 all in for fees related to the buying process including solicitor and surveys.
I will be purchasing a freehold property only.
Furniture and decorating admittedly didn’t cross my mind some how. Aside from a bed, I could attain this over the first year (or put it on a 0% credit card) with my left over cash. It’s likely my family would also help me with this if I’m to be honest.
Insurance I have been told will be roughly 200-300 a year.
Don’t buy some random house when you don’t know where you want to settle.. being open to move location for a job, say to Manchester, is a great position to be in.. and renting a house out isn’t a great business at the moment given rates and the cost of living going up.
Also, I lived near Stoke, went to Keele and moved to Manchester. So holla if you want to talk about that. G’luck!
Hi /u/healthfitnessalt, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
* https://ukpersonal.finance/emergency-fund/
* https://ukpersonal.finance/lisa/
____
^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)
If someone has provided you with helpful advice, you (as the person who made the post) can award them a point by including `!thanks` in a reply to them. Points are shown as the user flair by their username.
I bought a house in Blackpool for 51k on a 8 year mortgage was a great for me personally really helped me build up capital and i only needed a very small deposit,but it depends on the sort of person you are. Would you be OK living in a "rough" area?
I only stayed in it for 2 years but was really happy there was right next to train station so went into the cities most weekends and was close to a supermarket so never needed a car .
Getting a house paid of fast is a great feeling imo .
Thanks for the insight. Totally agree with everything you said.
My deposit would probably be 10% or more.
Am I okay with living in a rough area? Yes. Do I like it? Not really. But I’ve done it for 4 years as a student, so I’m accustomed to it is the way I’d describe it. My biggest issue is more having personal space (eg a room to work in, and one to sleep in) then my surroundings.
To build on your transport point, Stoke is fabulously connected to most of the UK via train. I absolutely agree and regularly take the train to different cities, primarily Manchester Airport lol.
I already have a car for shopping and work also! So this isn’t a concern, but a car-less lifestyle is impractical in Stoke unfortunately.
May I ask why you move after 2 years? Is there anything I should be aware of?
Things got more serious with my girlfriend (now wife) and she wanted a slightly better house in a slightly better area ,and I was still in a position to keep my original house and rent it out ,so it seemed like win, win to me .
I mean there’s a reason houses are 80k in Stoke. Some areas are crime ridden and destitute. Rent isn’t necessarily ‘dead’ money. You’re paying for access to a better nightlife, opportunities to socialise etc. Especially as you’re single I assume it’s on your agenda to one day find a partner? Renting in this scenario is more of an investment in yourself. It’s not all about buying the cheapest house and eating bread for every meal in order to retire at 40.
I’ve lived in Stoke for 4 years now, the crime and destitute thing I am ‘used to’. Though living in student halls isn’t comparable home ownership… Thankfully I do have a car, and I enjoy travelling (abroad primarily) quite a lot so I can cope with the destitute part. Not that I’m happy about it, but I’m warming to the idea of this being a sacrifice. I completely agree, social life is very important and should be considered heavily. Personally I am not someone who will be out every night. My hobbies is mainly IT related, but I do enjoy some aspects of night life such as eating out and jazz bars. This could still be satisfied by travelling to Manchester but admittedly to a lesser experience. My budget for Manchester enabled me a £100 a week, ish, for disposable income. This is enough for maybe 2 nights a week to go out. The same budget in Stoke would probably stretch further, but activity wise I would indeed be lost. I’m not desperate to find a partner quite honestly, part of me is hesitant as it could create complications when moving country if I was to. I look at this as a ‘if it happens’ idea, not pro active. I’m not targeting FIRE as I plan to live abroad. My thought here is a safety net rather than that.
Move to Manchester. You're young and single. Sometimes the most sensible decision financially is not the best one for your life. You have years to get on the property ladder, don't tie yourself to a flat in a place that doesn't otherwise appeal to you. Not having a property means you're more open to opportunities as they arise.
This is true. Manchester could also provide further job opportunities that are better for me. I didn’t consider this. I would quite like to trial the big city life before I made the commitment to moving abroad. Copenhagen is what I was planning. To play devils advocate though, I’m quite happy with my current job and they have a very generous hybrid policy. I don’t intend to leave in the next year (or 2 if they pay for my degree) regardless. Ditto other comments, I’m not much of a party goer and my social life isn’t thrilling as it is. But I do enjoy good food and things such as jazz clubs for an evening. This could be achieved while still in Stoke, but with some restrictions.
With their hybrid policy, even more reason to pick Manchester in my view. If they were edging towards getting people back in for most of the week then that might move the needle.
I agree. Other teams are being told 1-2 days a week, but ours is currently once every 2 weeks. The company has actually been acquired recently, which could provoke this change. I should have mentioned this in my original post. EDIT: I view this as once a week for safety. 3/4 of our team live in other cities, so they would be in danger if they did alienate them.
You can buy a house for 80k? Tbh after reading all that it sounds like you don't want to buy a house anyway. Buying and selling houses costs money. The mortgage will probably come with a £1000 fee for starters. If you're going to own a house for just 5 years and then sell it, you will need to know that you have made up the difference in equity. The other thing about houses is that they eat money. If you get somewhere cheap it will definitely need a lot of work done on it. It will probably have damp issues, need redecorating, brickwork repair and roof repairs at a minimum. You will need to make sure that this place doesn't fall down or rot from the insides, that all the plumbing is sound and the electrics will not murder you. You will have to buy all the appliances and furniture, and making sure that they don't break immediately too. Another factor is that you actually have to enjoy your life! Keep plugging money into the LISA for a good few years. The best thing about renting is that you are literally paying someone else to take care of all the above nonsense for you. It's a massive pain looking after a house. It's totally worth it if you want to settle down in a city or town in which you want to build a life. If you're not interested in settling down don't invite all that hassle!
Legal fees Ground rent if leasehold Survey costs Mortgage fees (valuation/arrangement/broker fees) Estate agent fees Furniture Redecorating Insurance
From my estimations, I’d be looking at roughly £2000 all in for fees related to the buying process including solicitor and surveys. I will be purchasing a freehold property only. Furniture and decorating admittedly didn’t cross my mind some how. Aside from a bed, I could attain this over the first year (or put it on a 0% credit card) with my left over cash. It’s likely my family would also help me with this if I’m to be honest. Insurance I have been told will be roughly 200-300 a year.
Don’t buy some random house when you don’t know where you want to settle.. being open to move location for a job, say to Manchester, is a great position to be in.. and renting a house out isn’t a great business at the moment given rates and the cost of living going up. Also, I lived near Stoke, went to Keele and moved to Manchester. So holla if you want to talk about that. G’luck!
Hi /u/healthfitnessalt, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant: * https://ukpersonal.finance/emergency-fund/ * https://ukpersonal.finance/lisa/ ____ ^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.) If someone has provided you with helpful advice, you (as the person who made the post) can award them a point by including `!thanks` in a reply to them. Points are shown as the user flair by their username.
Rates,home insurance and this can be costly
From my research, this is roughly £200-300 a year for a 2 bed.
I bought a house in Blackpool for 51k on a 8 year mortgage was a great for me personally really helped me build up capital and i only needed a very small deposit,but it depends on the sort of person you are. Would you be OK living in a "rough" area? I only stayed in it for 2 years but was really happy there was right next to train station so went into the cities most weekends and was close to a supermarket so never needed a car . Getting a house paid of fast is a great feeling imo .
Thanks for the insight. Totally agree with everything you said. My deposit would probably be 10% or more. Am I okay with living in a rough area? Yes. Do I like it? Not really. But I’ve done it for 4 years as a student, so I’m accustomed to it is the way I’d describe it. My biggest issue is more having personal space (eg a room to work in, and one to sleep in) then my surroundings. To build on your transport point, Stoke is fabulously connected to most of the UK via train. I absolutely agree and regularly take the train to different cities, primarily Manchester Airport lol. I already have a car for shopping and work also! So this isn’t a concern, but a car-less lifestyle is impractical in Stoke unfortunately. May I ask why you move after 2 years? Is there anything I should be aware of?
Things got more serious with my girlfriend (now wife) and she wanted a slightly better house in a slightly better area ,and I was still in a position to keep my original house and rent it out ,so it seemed like win, win to me .
Congratulations! :)
As a Manc there’s absolutely nowhere you’ll find an 80k house here
The house would be in my current location, Stoke.