How do people afford house repairs?

[Swampmonster1988]

My panic about house repairs are mounting. I just can't afford them.

My house needs:
A new carpet
A new fence
Leading on extension roof joints
A new gate
A new washing machine
Whole house needs painting

Longer term (maybe 5 years away):
A new kitchen
A new bathroom
Windows replacing

I live alone on 30k per year. Still have morgage for the next 10 years so I just can't afford this. I know I could get a loan for some of it but I'm really worried I just can't afford it.

If you genuinely think your council tax band is too high @PauliesWalnuts you can challenge it. Have a look at:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/how-to-reclaim-council-tax-credit/

Sorry, fuck knows what happened with that link, try again.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/how-to-reclaim-council-tax-credit/

How weird, I'm pasting in a link that looks right, then MN is scrambling it.

Anyway, it's under the 'complain and reclaim' section on Moneysaving Expert.

You need to create a contingency fund, ideally up to 5% of house value, to cover emergencies. Prioritise keeping your property watertight and safe. If the room is not large look out for carpet offcuts at Carpetright etc or on freecycle.

I am looking at my awful kitchen which was probably installed when God was a boy.

Come off social media OP. Sometimes you just have to make do with what you've got.

My Dad used to do a lot of jobs for me, there was nothing he couldn't do, joinery, carpet fitting, fence building, painting and decorating. He died 10 years ago and life is certainly more expensive without him.

My advice is find good, reliable tradesmen and nurture them. We make our house a nice place to work with unlimited hot drinks, bacon sandwiches, biscuits etc and we get good service at a fair price.

I personally wouldn't buy second hand white goods as you have no guarantee that they will work or last but there are always deals around.

I would seriously be looking at your expenditure and see what you can cut back on or out completely and start saving money every month for things like a broken washing machine etc even £20 a month soon adds up. The painting is easy enough to do yourself and isn't essential, get a second hand rug to cover the carpet. Can you look at possibly remortgaging/loan/credit card for the roof as it will be cheaper to sort out now rather than leave it to get worse.

There is always something that needs doing in our house . I save the money from the no council tax for 2 months and no water bill for 4 months that paid for last years carpet.

Check out free sites. People give decent stuff away for all sorts of reasons. We bought a house last year which came complete with a fully working washing machine. We already have one, so decided to give to a free site to help someone in need rather than make a buck. Also done this with other bits that we've inadvertently doubled up on.

I bought my ex out of the house 5 years ago.
The house had not had anything bar emergency work done on it for years.
The divorce wiped our savings.
Fab eh?
I've done one big thing a year.
First was fence which was rotten and likely to fall soon.
Following year I replaced all the wooden doors and windows. Some were rotten.
Nothing during covid.
This year I got a new bathroom. It was at the stage where it was getting silly keep fixing things.
Next will be carpets.
I save and prioritise. Isn't that what most people do?

I live alone and earn less, I have no mortgage but bills all add up.
Having lived here a few years I try to do one or two things annually.
First year was expensive as moving, decorating are even when it is just paint. So new windows and flooring upstairs.
Last year I put in new bathroom suite, new vinyl flooring, painted the tiles and walls for about the sixth time!
This year I had two trees reduced to stump at the bottom of the garden which were much taller than the house and sorted out loft ladder and hatch.
Kitchen is soo old but I have given it a face lift by painting the cupboards. Moved on to new worktop and sink. I also gave the tiles a face lift by sticking on some self adhesive style tiles.
I would love to strip off all the wallpaper in every room, apart from it being a mammoth task I am too worried about what it will reveal underneath!
Tbh my list is endless, sometimes I do wonder if I should have spent all my savings to do it all in one hit so I could have lived here these last few years more comfortably.

Kitchen is soo old

I think mine might be coming back into fashion. It's the original one from the early 80s - just inoffensive 'wooden' countertops and sort of beige cupboard doors. The grotty wooden handles let them down, but they mostly open and close well. Giving the walls a coat of paint and getting rid of the Artex made a world of difference, but that was part of an insurance claim [glares and teenager]

Can you move into the spare room and let the larger room to a lodger?

This has all made me feel really shit. I should have savings, I should find it easy to paint a whole house myself but I don't have savings and I wouldn't find it easy to paint a whole house. I don't know anyone who would find that easy as a solo person. I could do it I suppose but there are some parts I definitely couldn't e.g. the ceilings over the stairs as they are really high and I don't have a stair ladder.

I guess priorities are:
Carpet because I don't currently have one and haven't had for 2 years. It was unsafe and I kept tripping on it so pulled it up. I couldn't expect a lodger to live like that. It's not nice floor underneath and not safe as full of splinters etc.
Leading to keep roof water tight.
Washing machine as it's about 16 years old and constantly stops mid cycle for no reason.
Fence because I have to keep the dog in.

That's a lot of money that I just don't have.
Moving into the spare room so lodger can have bigger room is a good idea which I'll probably do. However that makes me so upset and so angry. Living in a single bed in a room the size of a postage stamp because I can't afford to live. I'm in my 40s ffs, have worked bloody hard for 20+ years, a good education etc. I just can't see this getting better. It just seems so wrong, like people are punished for being single.

I'm single, have a teen dd and earn slightly less than you op I have 20 odd years left on my mortgage 😭

Savings are a must, I save £150 a month for all emergencies and another £50 a month for car related problems.

We live pretty simply and keep bills as low as possible, all spare money goes into savings.

Have you gone through where all your money goes to see if you could save money?

Otherwise you'll have to borrow money or find a way to earn more 🫤

don't feel like shit. it is hard.

priorities - you can't afford not to do roof repairs.

washer - second hand electrical shop. appliance from there will be checked and save. a newer washer will save quite a bit water & electric.

carpet - off cuts or rugs

painting is costmetic so can wait
kitchen costmetic I suspect, same for bathroom.
for costmetic stuff look up on yourube how to solve biggest issues.

I don't want to sound mean, but if looks like you can't afford the dog

Bless you, you sound totally overwhelmed by it all.

Can you get one room nice, so you have a sanctury bit to hide in. Painting a stairwell is hard but you might manage your bedroom or your livinb space, , then wait a bit and do another room.

I hated having no carpet too. Its depressing but you might get an off cut for a small sanctury room, even if you cant get the whole house done.

@Swampmonster1988
I get it. It’s very very expensive to have a house. I’m not single but we have one income and 4 people to feed and keep in shoes and clothes.

We also have a list of things that need doing, but I’ll resist the temptation to list them, because it just seems overwhelming when I do. It’s a never ending list too - a bit like painting the Forth Road bridge - finish one job and another has be started.

The only thing I can suggest is focussing on one thing at a time. We are currently saving (very little) for the gutters to be cleaned and the chimney pointed before we get water running down the walls. We have been saving for a year. I try and stay away from the “show home” glossy mentality out there. Magazines and social
media reels have a lot to answer for. In my friendship group it’s normal to have a home that is liveable but not “perfect” or finished. That’s life. X

Prioritise the building fabric first. Join your local freestuff groups for carpets, rugs, washing machine etc. Do you have a paint exchange group near you? People donate their excess paints and it is distributed to people who need it. There's a whole other world of free and bartered stuff out there, you just need to find it.

I think this thread is really valid. Living on your own makes these repairs really tough to afford - I know. I think being one of a couple really helps with all this. Even if you do some painting and repairs yourself, four hands are better than two.

I think think the lodger route is one a lot of people go down. You can definitely get lucky on Freecycle and charity shops for washing machines. But I agree about credit for that - on Argos card.

The dog is absolutely not going. Life would not be worth living without her.

Genuine question but how on earth do you have spare at the end of a month? My outgoings are £1800 per month and I earn £2000. That £200 'spare' gets eaten up so quickly with life things like buying someone a birthday present, MOT, replacing shoes with holes in them (everything cheap eBay), an occasional prescription etc. I don't have any luxuries or buy anything expensive. I don't drink or smoke. I don't go out. There is only one monthly payment I could still get rid of but that's only going to save me £16 per month. Everything else is scraped to the bare bones. Honestly I feel like I'm done. What's the point.

@Swampmonster1988 it sounds like your mortgage and bills are eating up an enormous chunk of your income, is it more than 30%?

I'd make 3 lists:

1. Things you might be able to do yourself
2. Things that you can't do yourself but are urgent.
3. Things that aren't urgent but need doing.

Then make a plan for each thing. So for things you might do yourself, do some research and give it a go.

The urgent things get a loan. Don't be doing without essentials.

Non- urgent things get a savings pot on the go. Get a side hustle for more cash. Or just accept these things aren't going to happen for ten years.

Is your mortgage really expensive? My DDs in total come to about £1000 (mortgage, council tax, bills etc) My mortgage is just over £500 a month but like I said I've got another 20 plus years on it!!

I spend around £320 a month on food, I'm guessing your food bill would be less?

Savings £200

£70 a month petrol.

I earn just less than £2000 a month so still have a bit left for extras.

could you look to downsize? Have you got any money in the house?

It is shit. Home ownership is so expensive but look at it as maintaining your asset.

The lodger doesn't need to be for ever. Just until you've paid for things you want to pay for.

Make the single room a haven for yourself and while you relax there remind yourself you are doing it for long term gain. While you sleep in the single room you own your whole house.

I'm in my 40s too. With 22 years and 5 months on my mortgage.

Did you say you only have 10? That's brilliant.

Are you overpaying? Perhaps you could channel the overpayments into house improvements for a 6 months?

It IS shit but you have options. You really do.