London living on a budget?

[shepherdessbush]

Currently in London and I have fallen in love, particularly with West London. The period properties, the buzz, the markets etc etc. Been looking in estate agents windows and can't believe the price of what look like very ordinary flats/houses and keep wondering who can afford to live here. Can two teachers for example rent a 2 bed flat for £2000 a month and still have enough left over to live? Or is London only for those who are very rich or very poor?

How much is your combined income? And do you need two bedrooms?

I'm about to move to lo do and have had that same issue, I am about to start renting in Tottenham hale for accessibility and price, but ideally wanted Islington or Camden. It seems you have to rent far ahead of peak times to get decent prices, for example I worked out if I book my next place in Feb for August I will save about 30% on renr

To london rent

Around Acton you can get a one bed or studio for 1200 per month? You can save the 800 for a deposit to purchase a property

Rents are extremely high in certain desirable areas. Might be better renting in another area then visiting often?

Most teachers I know in London (granted They are all under 30) do house share with other people, paying around £900/month for a room in a four or five bedroom house. I think renting a two-bed in London on a close to starting salary for two teachers would be tough

This is why some jobs have London weightings and the London living wage is higher than the NMW. And why many people prefer to live (sometimes much) further out and pay ££ for a season ticket for a packed, sweaty, smelly, germy ride in - because home is worth it

I think you’re talking ‘prime’ London?

A couple of teachers can easily afford 2k rent between them but most would probably spend less, like that 1200 to save up to buy.

In terms of long term affordability, I’m in zone 5 and it’s full of teachers who’ve bought houses and are bringing up their families here.

It depends where in London OP, and then there are compromises to be made. As a student I loved Hampstead for example (and worked there), so I ended up renting first on the Finchley Road and then in Archway. Both cheap but proximate. When it came to buy I realised I could buy an entire postcode a much nicer home in south London for my budget, so I moved there.

In general I'd say it's unusual for people on average salaries to choose prime areas of London to live in - they may be "just" affordable but you wouldn't have much left over each month.

In general I'd say it's unusual for people on average salaries to choose prime areas of London to live in - they may be "just" affordable but you wouldn't have much left over each month.

Lol As a single teacher in my 20’s I bought in a naice part of zone 2 and used to take the bus to another area to get cheaper haircuts or buy clothes I could afford.

Thanks for all of the replies. My two teachers two bedrooms was an entirely theoretical situation as I would really need a 4 bed for my family, so obviously the idea of London for me is a mere fantasy. It has left me really intrigued as to how people afford to live here.
Last night dh got chatting to someone who worked in the restaurant we we eating in and he told him he has 7 children aged 1-22 and live in a 3 bed terrace. Is this sort of overcrowding typical?

Yes it is sadly. And a lot of people bought pre-crazy price era. Prices in my area have triped since 2000 creating a whole generation of have-nots.

We used to live in London and moved because of the high prices of rent. We moved away in our early 30s at the time we had a combined income of around 70k and couldn't save enough to get us bear buying. So in answer yes it's very hard. Many typical couples share houses or flats. Then many people on low to average wages with families are in overcrowded living situations.

When you have 7 kids and a low paid job, where in the coutry would you have adequate accommodation? (Ie a mini mansion with a lot of bedrooms?)

Closer to central London, it is more crowded. In outer zones, it’s the usual house with parking or garage and a good garden. And you needn’t have bought pre 2000 either (none of my friends are that generation).

I’m not very rich, nor am I very poor. But the difference is I have a housing association place. I do work, not a high earner but a good amount above minimum wage. My place is a 4 bed in zone2 and is £700 per month, so a lot cheaper than private rent. I have friends/colleagues in a similar situation. Others have gone for shared ownership. So no I think there are plenty of ordinary people like us in London, not at either extreme.

Lol As a single teacher in my 20’s I bought in a naice part of zone 2 and used to take the bus to another area to get cheaper haircuts or buy clothes I could afford.

Ah, but tell us JoJo, WHEN did you buy? Where did you get a London deposit? Because to buy even one of the very cheapest zone 2 flats on Rightmove (ex council, not nice estate, poor public transport) is £250,000 plus and they don't take 10% deposits any more. Cheap haircuts aren't enough to let people on lower incomes buy in London these days.

My two teachers two bedrooms was an entirely theoretical situation as I would really need a 4 bed for my family, so obviously the idea of London for me is a mere fantasy.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-95172638.html

Example of what a teacher family would live in in London (it’s a nice area in zone 6). Hardly a disaster.

Mereum can I ask how long you had to wait to get an association place? I thought it was at least 10 years in London?

And just to clarify I don't think I mean 'prime' London as in Notting Hill, I mean the area around Shepherds Bush Market, which seems quite ordinary to me but a 3 bed terrace is more than £1 million

Also someone mentioned about shared ownership, is that a big thing in London? Where I am it is considered a false economy but might be an easier way to buy in London?

@JoJoSM2 so families need to move far out then?

My cousin & her partner are both teachers, they rent a room in a shared house in Green Lanes (must be about zone 2). They won’t ever buy in London because they don’t have family money to make up the deposit.

Well I had my DC in 1989 and 91 so I easily got a council place back then. Then over the years I exchanged into different properties, finally ending up here. I’ve been here for 15 years now. Having said that, my next door neighbour has a child of 4 and she got her 2 bed HA place when he was 2. So she definitely didn’t need to wait 10 years. Council properties are in very short supply but housing associations have a lot more stock and buy properties all the time. My road is probably about 90% private, but the HA own a few houses on this street. I know there are some HA’s that will only rent to working people like key workers etc.

Does that mean they can't ever have children? Surely you couldn't have children in a shared house, or is this me being terribly naive?

That's really interesting Meruem, I didn't think it was quite that easy!

@Stuckforthefourthtime I’m not claiming a single teacher could buy in a naice part of zone 2 these days. I’m still in 30’s (only just) and had saved all of my own deposit as a FTB.

OP, anybody who wants a decent garden needs to move out as they don’t exist in central London. On teacher salaries, 1M homes aren’t affordable unless you’re 2x secodary heads. For ordinary teachers who don’t want kids in a bunk bed in a 2-bed flat, it’s generally a case of moving to outer London. Nothing to feel hard done by about as it’s much greener, safer, better schools etc.