I moved back in with my parents after finishing uni last summer and been saving up ever since. I have plans to move out soon (within 1 - 2 months) and rent a flat/house with two other mates. I have around 3K in savings and just wondering if this is enough to cover initial costs (deposit and some furniture) and some rent? I’ve heard some people say having 4-6 months of rent saved away is a good idea. I have a full time job and worked out £500-£600 is what I’m aiming for on rent per month. I’m very glad the estate agency fees are being banned from next week!
Where are you looking to rent
I got a two bed flat in Oxford 950 (475) each
Was about 1000 total to get furniture though we generally got second hand. The more of you there are the less this will be each
Letting fees were about 400 and then the deposit was one and a half months rent
You might need to rent a van etc. To get furniture
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ah I live just outside oxford haha! Looking to move around Maidenhead area.
Thanks for letting me know how much you spent on furniture - helpful to know!
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I use to be an Estate Agent and it all depends on the property your looking at and home much the rent is as they ask for 1 months rent in advance and a deposit and a admin fee
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Thanks useful to know. It’ll be interesting to see how much difference in moving costs the banning of estate agency admin fees makes when that comes into play from 1 June
Yh i left cause i thought it was just taking the piss out of people who was in need and they just make the price up as they go along
Sorry about the the phrase i used
Living independently is a big leap that is a never ending learning experience, the first year can be intense, and financial stress can ruin the experience… everything is more expensive than you expect… but moving out can be a very positive experience and as long as you approach it sensibly you can reap the rewards.
Personally I’d recommend against buying furniture. Furniture is a luxury and a burden. I would recommend finding somewhere furnished and make do with what is included but if you can only find an unfurnished place then I recommend buying the absolute minimum required: an ikea bed, an ikea mattress and a rail to hang your clothes on: you can do all that for £200. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you need to furnish your first place on move in day, everybody regrets it. You can gradually furnish your place over time, once you’re settled and back to putting money into savings then you can think about what you want (rather than need).
Although in an ideal world you’d have lots of savings available, in the real world – especially as a young adult – it’s impractical to rely on having 6 months of savings available. You should aim as an adult to have 6 months of expenses available as an emergency fund but it can take years to build that up, putting your life on hold to build an emergency fund is not necessarily a good idea.
Although rent will be your biggest cost, the other costs build up too. Sharing with others is a great way to cut down on not just rent but also utility costs, because although there’s usage charges there’s also costs that don’t scale linearly with usage like standing charges. The same is true of council tax, although you may live in an area with a single persons discount, typically that’s only 25%. The more people you can share with the lower your costs, although the more people you share with the more stressful it can be, so it’s important to find the balance between cost saving and protecting your sanity.
Although not financial advice, it’s important to remember that if you sign a tenancy agreement with your flatmates that you are all joint and severally liable, meaning that if one of your friends causes damage and disappears with unpaid rent: you will be held responsible for it. You should always ensure that you trust the people you live with, you need to be confident that they can pay their rent on time and treat their home with respect. I’d highly recommend pushing for a 6 month tenancy agreement, or at the very least a 6 month break clause in a 12 month, because being stuck in a 12 month tenancy that hasn’t worked out can be very stressful. Although it can be awkward, don’t be afraid to take a hardline with your friends on their personal responsibility: if they can’t confidently demonstrate to you that they can afford this – and it’s their first time moving out – don’t take the risk. A tenancy with friends gone wrong is a lot more painful than living with your parents.
If you’re already employed then you’re in a good position to move – starting a new job and moving at the same time can put stress on finances because often you’ll have a short pay period. The general rule for how much you can afford to spend on rent is roughly 1/3rd of your take home income, although in higher cost of living places (like London) often you have no choice but to go as high as 50%.
Looking at Maidenhead I think £1500 is a reasonable budget to get yourself a nice 3 bedroom place. A 3 bedroom place is likely to have a council tax cost of £120/month. Electricity, water and gas usage will vary depending on the type of heating and your usage, but I’d ballpark £220/month total assuming it’s 3 adults who work full time but spend time at home when not at work. Broadband and TV will depend on your needs, £50 is a safe budget for that. Side note: I’d recommend getting a cleaner since they’re pretty cheap – you could pay £40 every 2 weeks – and it will make your life so much easier, but if you’re budget constrained it might be worth skipping.
£1500 rent + £120 council tax + £220 utilities + £50 broadband/tv = £1890/month. Split 3 ways you’re looking at £630 each all in. You should expect to pay 5 weeks deposit upfront, split 3 ways, which is £570 each, plus first month rent: £1070 each due before you can move in – plus the agency costs which will probably be about £20 each at most since the fee ban.
I’d recommend grabbing a spreadsheet or some paper and taking the total of your savings and your average expenditure for the last 3 months, then project the next 3 months including your income and any new expenditure incurred from moving out: keep a running total per projected month and it’ll give you a rough idea of where you’ll be 3 months from now: use that to determine if you think you’re ready.
From running those basic figures – £1070 upfront, £630/month – you should be fine to get started with >£3000 as your upfront costs will take you to ~£2000 and then you’ll get paid before you have to pay rent, bills etc. again.
Anyway I could talk about this for hours, I’ll cut it here 
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Thank you so much for your really thorough response - so helpful!!
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All depends on location I rent out an unfurnished 2 bed flat for 550 a month in the Midlands they then pay bills and council tax etc. As a deposit I charge a month and a half with a months rent up front.
I’ve always found furnishing is all personal depends if you have expensive taste or if you are willing to get furniture from somewhere like the British heart foundation.
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Just watch rents go up. Everyone in the chain still wants their money.
It should hopefully lead to clearer costs for tenants even if those costs go up.
It’ll also hopefully put an end to those horror stories you hear of people handing over hundreds £££ in agent fees and then those agents deciding the tenants aren’t suitable for the property and keeping all the money. I’ve known of this to happen on more than one occasion.
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I moved out and very far away from home (+300 odd miles) with a job offer and enough for a deposit and 1 months rent.
I moved into a house share which had the essentials and so all I needed was some more specific kitchen stuff which I sourced as cheaply as possible.
Bills were included so I didn’t have to worry about Council Tax or Heating/ Internet etc, but I know from experience at Uni that internet is one of the more expensive bills to account for - you can usually expect to spend £120 + £100 every quarter on electricity and water respectively if you are in say a 1 bed flat or studio flat.
As long as you aren’t spending more than 50-60% of your total income on your rent alone (if bills are separate) it should be manageable - especially if you have some buffer after deposit and first months rent.
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