To spend half of my wages on rent? Silly idea?

I’d go for it

Try for a a houseshare. It will be a lot more fun and social.

Do it! I think it's quite common to spend half your wages on rent if you're not an especially high earner. There may be the odd few days of beans on toast but freedom is worth so much more!

I've lived in a few houseshares at uni, the first one was great apart from the one housemate who knocked on the bathroom door to remind me to do my washing up. I had literally left a bowl, a spoon and a mug in the sink as I wanted to get in the bathroom while it was free. But he had ASD so while it was understandable it wasn't a great way to live.

My second house share the housemates put a flat out ban on other people using the shower. My partner at the time was staying over as we had both stayed out until the early hours and she was just going to borrow some of my clothes to pop to her 9am lecture. But nope, not once was she quickly allowed to jump in the shower so we'd shower together as that wasn't using extra water.

The third was great- lived with a great bunch of friends but the house stunk of weed as one housemate would have the cheeky joint in his room at night. Was friends so didn't want to cause friction.

I've looked at a couple of houseshares already but my office is half an hour away from the city i'd ideally live in. The small town i'll be working in has none apart from accepting lodgers but there's the most beautiful flat in a recently converted Georgian manor house. The flat is flooded with light, is fully furnished and is literally on the highstreet. It's a two minute walk to the train station so I can be in London to see my friends in 45minutes, in my home city in 30, and the other city I train in/socialise in 25. Oh, and it's a 5 minute cycle ride to my office. I'd love to have my nieces and nephews stay, which I wouldn't feel comfortable with living with others.

I think i'm going to drop the estate agents a message, explain my situation and see how the landlord feels. I have three good references and my net salary is over 30x the rent. Also being a landlord myself usually goes down well too.

Thank you for all your opinions, i'm going to put the ball in the landlords court and see what happens. You never know, it may already be gone as it's so beautiful.

Tbh, I think as so many young people need to live in houseshares these days, that there are some really lovely ones to be found.

I wouldn't want to spend half my wages on rent and then need to pay Council Tax, water, gas, electric, TV license, TV/internet subscription, phone bill, transport, food, cleaning materials, toiletries, clothing and anything else on top. But there are many people who do it and manage fine- some as they have no other option, some as living alone is worth it. It's all about what you are comfortable with.

In your shoes I'd look for a decent houseshare, but I'm not you. If you can find a landlord happy to rent to you on your income, and you've worked out a realistic budget that you can stick to, and you'd rather pay the extras in rent and bills than use the money for other things, go for it.

Yes it should be doable. Over £400 a month for -
Water
Gas Electric
Food and everything else.

There are families out there that have less than £400 a month for the above.

I’d do it. And have done it. It’s amazing. You’re broke but you learn to cope and I loved living on my own. In London my rent was always around half what I earned so really not a shocker

I'd be even less inclined to fork out what will probably be at least 60% of salary for housing and bills if I were working such long hours that it'd basically just be a place to sleep and fuck.

really appreciate all the feedback. It's just deflating reaching the adult world, that essentially I maybe living back in similar housing as a student. I feel like I work hard, I don't want to come back at the end of the day to have to clean out someones pubes before I have a bath.

Is it that bad? I lived in shared housing till I was 30. I had a fabulous social life and lived in some really nice places. I made some great friends.

Personally, I wouldn't.

Living independently is not the same as living as a student. Your bills add up fast - council tax, gas, electric, water, internet, TV license, phone contract, car insurance, petrol, MOT, contents insurance...

Then you need to add on food, paying to park anywhere, clothes, shoes, toiletries - you'll need appropriate clothes for work, for example.

Do you need furniture? Or if the flat is furnished, what about crockery, bedding, towels, appliances like a vacuum cleaner or a microwave, kettle, toaster etc.

I would take the house share until you've saved up a decent cushion to fall back on just in case.

It might just be do-able. Just. I think I would try to find something a little cheaper, or share but I understand your need to move out of the parental home, if only to be rid of the lectures.

My living standards dropped significantly after graduation OP!

I went from having loans, grants and a part-time job, to having a low-paid full time starter job and beginning to save for a deposit. At least you’ll get your lump sum soon-ish so it’s not forever?

Run your outgoings through Martin Lewis' Budget Planner and see if you can get by, and if you can, do it. It's worth the expense to have your own place, especially if your parents are hindering your love life!

FWIW I have a shared ownership flat (mortgage on 35% of it, rent on the other 65%), and it costs me just over half my wages.

Not unreasonably - but you may find HMOs with ensuites.

really appreciate all the feedback. It's just deflating reaching the adult world, that essentially I maybe living back in similar housing as a student. I feel like I work hard, I don't want to come back at the end of the day to have to clean out someones pubes before I have a bath.

I'm currently on 20K a year, plus £2,500 towards my car (plus millage). I also get 2K a year from my inherited trust fund but this money is what I call 'me' money. I.e. if I fancy going to tour Africa for a couple of weeks this is what this money is for. I also have my eye on a sofa I like the look of which I wouldn't usually buying something new.

After my dad left/then died we essentially lived in poverty so still it feels unnatural to spurge money on heating or on food. I'm the type of girl who walks around with two pairs of socks and sleep in a hoody.

I just don't want to have to go back to having to make small talk in a shared house. It would be different if I was living with friends but they are either living with partners or still students. I'm also in a new area so most of my new friends are students living in halls.

The only real expense I have is the sport I play, but I've already paid membership and training costs for the year. Apart from that I'll be working 6 days a week, and will be on call most of the summer. I won't be able to go on a proper holiday this year apart from a long weekend if i'm lucky due to being busy at work.

There was a thread on here yesterday (turned out to be a previously banned poster and got pulled, but nevermind) where the poster was complaining about having a 2 bed council house for her, husband, and 2 children.

It did make me think a little bit as I had to take a very small flat as it would accept the cat. I decided I was being whiny about mine being small!

When you're younger you're more resilient, shared houses can be a nightmare, you sound quite focussed and sorted OP so if you like your own space hope the flat works out.

If you definitely think you can afford it, do it. You can't put a price on your mental health, which it sounds like your Mum is wearing down. The flip side to consider is whether you swap being stressed and unhappy at your Mum's against whether financial worries would cause stress.

I refused to move back into my parents after a divorce. I needed to protect my own mental health.

Yes. Your household bills need to fall under a third of your income if they are going to be sustainable.

Oh and yes you can’t do Airbnb, it will breach your tenancy agreement

Rent the room in the shared house. Try and save money for a year to give yourself a financial cushion. If you find you have plenty of money after a year then look at getting your own place.

My rent is more than a third of my take home pay (affordability checks are based on gross salary) and money is always tight. I have very little leeway for unexpected expenses.

I spend half my salary on rent, as do most of my friends. Depends where you are as to whether a landlord will take you. In London there wouldn't be many renters to choose from if you needed them to be spending under 50% of their salaries.

if you don't need to worry about a future deposit obviously do it. well, do it anyway but even luckier re deposit.

You will not be able to legally sub let any part of your flat including the sofa on air b&b or the bedroom while you sleep on the sofa. If you did that the house I rent out you would be breaking the tenancy agreement and invalidating my insurances. You are then unlikely to get a reference for your next rental as well as losing the one you have.
My BIL is renting a studio flat which I think is about half of his income but he has a guarantor .

Have you got friends nearby?

What do you spend your income on?

I'd suggest going for the flat if you love it and like your own space.

You made me think about what I pay, I guess it's nearly half of income (to include all bills and tel bill).

Do you go out much?