Can I afford it?

BoozyBabe

Hi all,

I have a property which was rented out. When that tenancy ended I toyed with the idea of moving into it myself, but was put off the idea by family & friends.
However, I can't find suitable tenants (I'm prob being fussy) to move in, so I'm toying with the idea again.
I'd love to move in, but I don't know if I can afford it.

Could ye give me a breakdown of prices please:-

i.e. How much would a basic weekly shop for 1 cost, groceries & household?
How much is ESB? I'd be there from 6 in the eve & go to bed around 11. I'd be a conservative user.
How much is bins?
How much is a tank of oil? Or how long would a tank of oil last you? I don't know how big the tank is, so say:- how long would €200 of oil last you if the heating was on from 6-11 each day?
How much is TV license?
What other bills are there that I need to think of?
(Besides mortgage of course!!)

I know ye can only make guestimates, but a ball park figure would help me decide.

Thanks
BB

Moonbeam

My esb was about 60 euro every 2 months
www.esb.ie

My Gas was around the same
www.bordgais.ie (look at the new pricing scheme)

Bin - it depends on how much you put out.Look at your local cc website.

tvlicence - www.tvlicence.ie


You may benefit in other ways too being an owner occupier and not an investor anymore.With tax relief especially but not quite sure how or if it works when it was originally an investment property.

The_Conductor

First of all- I really do not know that an owner occuppier is treated more favourably in any manner other than perhaps mortgage interest relief.

All of those bills that you get to write off against your rental income before calculating your taxable income- are no longer writeable off against anything (with the exception of refuse charges which are capped at 400 Euro in 2007). You have to pay your management charges out of your after tax income- and have no credits towards it- this can be as much as a months total after tax income (depending on the apartment- in a lot of cases there can be a very low initial management charge- rising startlingly after 2-3 years).

Bills will depend on a number of factors- e.g. if you're using storage heaters you might have a gigantic electricity bill in the winter time (could be as high as between 300-400 for a 2 month bill, depending on how easy it is to heat your apartment), if you have gas heating- your electricity bill may very reasonable and you may get whacked with a gas bill instead.

There are special low tariff rates for people who only use either a small amount of gas, or none at all during the summer months- might be something to investigate (you may get away with paying a higher per unit cost, but no connection charge- which works out very well if you don't use much).

Shopping (groceries) depends on what level of taste you have. Most of us have survived on Koka noodles at one stage or another- its not to be recommended. A weeks shop for 1 person in Superquinn could easily hit 60-70 Euro, depending on the level of oppulence you want to live in. Tbh- you may as well feed yourself properly......

TV licence is 158 Euro per annum(its due to rise shortly).

Oil depends on when you buy it, and what size your tank is. Its about 58 cent a litre at the moment. Usage would correspond roughly with gas usage. Its impossible to guess what your daily use is- there are too many unknown variables.

Bin charge depends on where you are- a large wheelie bin in SDCC is 8 Euro per lift (this might last you 2 or 3 weeks depending on how much rubbish you generate).

You'll probably have NTL cable tv- that another 35 Euro a month, parking (depending on the apartment complex) - etc. etc.

As an owner occuppier- you will have to take out life assurance on your mortgage (not necessary for an investment mortgage). This could possibly be another 35-40 a month.

Other bills are your usual VHI, gym, etc bills that you have in everyday life.

You could go on and on......

Supercell

smccarrick - Wasn't aware that waste charges are deductible, is this for everyone?
Here in Wicklow we pay for special purple bags which are picked up by a company called Greenstar (they only pick up rubbish in these bags).
If I get receipts for these bags should this be tax deductible?

The_Conductor

Longfield wrote:

smccarrick - Wasn't aware that waste charges are deductible, is this for everyone?
Here in Wicklow we pay for special purple bags which are picked up by a company called Greenstar (they only pick up rubbish in these bags).
If I get receipts for these bags should this be tax deductible?

Yes.
And even better- if you've kept the receipts for 2006- and are in the mind to whack in a personal tax return to the Revenue Commissioners for last year(you have 5 weeks) there wasn't any limit in 2006.
Limit for 2007 is set at 400 Euro.

Note: its only for domestic refuse- skip hire etc is not allowable (I tried )

S.

Supercell

smccarrick wrote:

Yes.
And even better- if you've kept the receipts for 2006- and are in the mind to whack in a personal tax return to the Revenue Commissioners for last year(you have 5 weeks) there wasn't any limit in 2006.
Limit for 2007 is set at 400 Euro.

Note: its only for domestic refuse- skip hire etc is not allowable (I tried )

S.

Well jaysus, never knew that!!

I'll be collecting receipts from now on so!

Thanks