Worth the move?

ghogie91

Wages of 1700 a month

Nice house within walking distance of work has come up which I really like

Rent is 700 and my bills amount to roughy 300

Am I leaving myself very short?

Don't go out much, spend most my time watching tv, cycling and xbox so all I have outside of rent and bills is bike maintenance

Any comments?

johnnyskeleton

ghogie91 wrote: »

Wages of 1700 a month

Nice house within walking distance of work has come up which I really like

Rent is 700 and my bills amount to roughy 300

Am I leaving myself very short?

Don't go out much, spend most my time watching tv, cycling and xbox so all I have outside of rent and bills is bike maintenance

Any comments?

The very general guide that a lot of people use (though not necessarily true) is 1/3rd of your net wages on accommodation. Discussed more here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056465866

700pm on a salary of 1700 (I assume net) is about 40%, so it's a bit above the general guide.

Is €300 per month for everything i.e. electricity, gas, television, broadband, food, clothes, transport, medical, insurance etc or is it just for utilities? It sounds a bit on the high side for utilities to be honest, and if so you can ask this question:

Would you rather give up your high speed broadband and sky in favour of the better pad, or would you rather have the broadband and sky (or whatever) and stay where you are?

Will the €300 translate into about the same in the new place? If you are going from a 4 person share to a one bed apartment (for example), you might find a 1/4 electricity bill in a house of 4 is less than a one person electricity bill. Are there additional costs with the new place? Will you save on bus fare/transport costs?

If €300 includes everything (food, entertainment etc) other than bike maintenance, and €1700 is net rather than gross then you could easily go for it and have €700 p.m. to save or spend on your bike.

If however €300 is just your utilities, and there is a risk that these will go up in the new place, it might be a bit tight to pay €700 p.m. in rent.

Why not try saving the difference between your current rent and the €700 for a few months and see how it goes e.g. if you are now paying €500, save €200 this month and next month. If you find there is a squeeze, forget about it but if it is no problem then go for it.

ghogie91

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

The very general guide that a lot of people use (though not necessarily true) is 1/3rd of your net wages on accommodation. Discussed more here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056465866

700pm on a salary of 1700 (I assume net) is about 40%, so it's a bit above the general guide.

Is €300 per month for everything i.e. electricity, gas, television, broadband, food, clothes, transport, medical, insurance etc or is it just for utilities? It sounds a bit on the high side for utilities to be honest, and if so you can ask this question:

Would you rather give up your high speed broadband and sky in favour of the better pad, or would you rather have the broadband and sky (or whatever) and stay where you are?

Will the €300 translate into about the same in the new place? If you are going from a 4 person share to a one bed apartment (for example), you might find a 1/4 electricity bill in a house of 4 is less than a one person electricity bill. Are there additional costs with the new place? Will you save on bus fare/transport costs?

If €300 includes everything (food, entertainment etc) other than bike maintenance, and €1700 is net rather than gross then you could easily go for it and have €700 p.m. to save or spend on your bike.

If however €300 is just your utilities, and there is a risk that these will go up in the new place, it might be a bit tight to pay €700 p.m. in rent.

Why not try saving the difference between your current rent and the €700 for a few months and see how it goes e.g. if you are now paying €500, save €200 this month and next month. If you find there is a squeeze, forget about it but if it is no problem then go for it.

Thanks for the reply, yes the 300 includes all bins, net and utilities

Food is a different matter that would be extra! I mean I can find places that are 200/300 cheaper but they would be further away from my job so would warrant transport costs where as the one for 700 is nearly within eyeshot from my work place

Your right though I can try save back the bit and see if I can squeeze through

endacl

You can see your job from the new place? Think of the time you'll gain. Can't put a price on that. Time = life.

lau1247

ghogie91 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, yes the 300 includes all bins, net and utilities

Food is a different matter that would be extra! I mean I can find places that are 200/300 cheaper but they would be further away from my job so would warrant transport costs where as the one for 700 is nearly within eyeshot from my work place

Your right though I can try save back the bit and see if I can squeeze through

Do you drive?? If it is 200/300 cheaper per month, then i'd consider getting a run around car like a micra, it might cost a bit more than what you are expecting with tax and insurance but in the long run you still own it.

Even better yet, can you cycle to work from your current place? Get your cycling and money saving out of the way in one go

ghogie91

endacl wrote: »

You can see your job from the new place? Think of the time you'll gain. Can't put a price on that. Time = life.

Yep its literally a 5 minute stroll up the road

lau1247 wrote: »

Do you drive?? If it is 200/300 cheaper per month, then i'd consider getting a run around car like a micra, it might cost a bit more than what you are expecting with tax and insurance but in the long run you still own it.

Even better yet, can you cycle to work from your current place? Get your cycling and money saving out of the way in one go

I do indeed but sold my car in May of last year as it was a pile of dirt and never got another one since, if this move didnt happen this year to a place closer I was planning on getting a car so it be one or the other, insurance and costs wouldnt be too much more I suppose I have fairly low insurance and suppose tax wouldnt be too much on a smaller engine

odds_on

If you had your own place, with a spare bedroom, you could always rent out the room to a lodger, if that was necessary, should you need several hundred per month

ghogie91

odds_on wrote: »

If you had your own place, with a spare bedroom, you could always rent out the room to a lodger, if that was necessary, should you need several hundred per month

I have heard horror stories both on here and other places on the net about this? Have you ever done it?

djimi

I must admit that I wouldnt be overly keen to sublet out a room in a property that I was renting. Just seems a hassle that I could do without.

odds_on

djimi wrote: »

I must admit that I wouldnt be overly keen to sublet out a room in a property that I was renting. Just seems a hassle that I could do without.

The Op is contemplating buying a house and if he has enough income to do so - thus, he won't be renting.

Yes, I have rented a room in an owner occupied property in two properties during the last 21 months. Personally, I prefer to live with an owner occupier as s/he tends to keep the property in decent nick. It is also easier to leave, usually with one month's notice. I was 9 months in the last house and moved out because I bought an apartment.

johnnyskeleton

endacl wrote: »

You can see your job from the new place? Think of the time you'll gain. Can't put a price on that. Time = life.

Don't forget though that sometimes you need to have a bit of distance between home and work, or else the two can start to blur into each other. I prefer to live close to work so I can have lazy mornings and a few minutes to get home in the evening, but it can also mean that people want you to do more, stay late or sort out problems at short notice.

djimi

odds_on wrote: »

The Op is contemplating buying a house and if he has enough income to do so - thus, he won't be renting.

The OP talks about rent costing 700 a month; Im not sure where you get the impression they are talking about buying?

odds_on

djimi wrote: »

The OP talks about rent costing 700 a month; Im not sure where you get the impression they are talking about buying?

Sorry, djimi, you're quite right. Having re-read the OP original post, I see I misunderstood that he wanted to rent the new house, not buy it.

_Kaiser_

The point about sub-letting is likely a non-runner anyway as most landlords won't allow it.