Would you continue living here?

[MBailey99]

I earn 35k a year, but pay nearly £1000 a month in rent. Once I have lessened childcare costs from September I will only get a tiny contribution from universal credit (likely about £50), but will be better off than I have been. My issue is that my rent is really high and just under half my salary. I'm torn as my house is amazing and so is my landlord. We have wonderful neighbours who own and my son and their son get on well. We have an open door policy some Sundays where the boys can run between the houses (our front doors face each other and there is no road by us. Which is also amazing!). My house has views over the city and we have a lovely tiny garden with a mini vegetable patch. It's basically a lovely idyllic little house that I'm so content in, but it's just a lot of money. I've been toying with moving to save money, but at the same time desperately don't want to move. My landlord is also happy to put me on a 5 year contract which feels very secure.

Should I just count my blessings and continue living here? Or look at moving so I can get some savings that are more than £100 a month under my belt?

stay for now but apply to housing association

How realistic is moving? What are rental prices like for somewhere suitable?
Moving costs themselves can be high.

Are your earnings likely to increase? Will the landlord commit to a 5 year contract at the current rent? If so I think that's actually a pretty good deal because rents are rising so fast and will continue to do so as landlords leave the market.

Realistically how much can you save in rent?

The life you describe in that home sounds amazing.

Personally rather than trying to reduce costs by £200 per month, which will involve a loss of quality of life, I'd try to earn an extra £200 per month. Could you find a small side hussle?

Quality of life is very valuable. Your whole family's mental health is built on it.

To be honest I live south east where rents are pretty high (not London prices though) and reckon I would only save 150 a month if I moved. Where I am now is under market value but my landlord is decent.

I think it would be at a slightly higher rent but only by £15 or so. Earnings may well increase if a managerial position opens up at work but not likely to be in the next year or so.

For £150 I wouldn’t risk the upheaval.

A new landlord could be rubbish, or easily out the rent up by that much.

*put

Stay put. A move will cost deposits etc. A good landlord is like gold dust
My ex H and I had a mortgage of just under £1000 per month, with salaries much lower than yours.

This is the thing. It really is idyllic and I never thought I would find anything like this. My landlord gave it to us because he used to be the letting agent for my last place and we got screwed over by awful landlord. He didn't even advertise it and basically said 'it's yours you deserve it'. So wish I could buy it!

Is that salaries combined?

Stay where you are
You are blessed with that situation
No amount of money will replicate it or improve it

I worry so much about being in rented forever and how I will cope when I'm elderly. Whether I should be prioritising buying (which on 35k with a 4yo is unlikely will happen). All just feels so uncertain.

Stay where you are, I have had good neighbours for 20 years now on one side and when next door sold I was worried. We have more nice neighbours fortunately.

You haven’t said your age, as much as owning your own home is desirable for security reasons it does sound like you have an exceptionally good landlord. You could be in a place you don’t like saving 1800 per annum is it worth it.? Where I live a small terrace in a non desirable area is 180k what’s the cost where you are?

A good environment for your child is the priority. Look at broken windows theory, a nice neighbourhood is very important.

Is your current house good for schools?

Would moving to a cheaper area involve higher travel costs to work etc?

Security and good neighbours are worth a lot.

I would stay where you are and take up the landlord's offer of a 5 year contract. Don't worry at the moment about what will happen when you are older, our lives change all the time, you may meet someone and be in a position to buy a house together.

We moved to a cheaper area to get a bigger and more affordable house. Yes our finances have improved, but someone was stabbed in a knife fight outside the newsagent at the bottom of our road yesterday, so our decision to move here has obviously come with its drawbacks!

Tricky one OP but I'd stay put. For the sake of your son. He won't ever be able to replicate the lovely arrangement he has now. kids can manage without material things but I don't think he would understand if you tore him away for a little bit of extra income. And the 5 Yr security is great, another cheaper property could increase in a few years. Better the devil you know in this case I think.

Definitely stay put x

I would continue living there, your place sounds lovely 🥰

It sounds fab OP- stay put. If necessary look at your earnings and maybe a side line. Do you get maintanance on top?

Stay, without a doubt.
Try to increase your income if you can, and go through your finances with a fine tooth comb.
To be happy, settled and secure in the dreadful housing situation atm is like gold dust.

Stay put. The rent isn't expensive in context. Of couse £1k is a lot but not where you are so unless you're moving to a cheaper part of the UK, this is the going rate - and below the going rate for the lovely place you describe. Anywhere else in that area is going to have other drawbacks and £150 isn't much of saving, esp with moving costs and risks of them putting the rent up. If you need cheaper rent you'll need a bigger masterplan to move away or apply for HA etc. but I'd grab that five-year deal and find ways to make extra cash.

MBailey99, yes that was 2 wages, combined. I can't remember exactly how much we earned. I was nursing ex H,was a cleaner. Keep hearing about how lucky us baby boomers are. The mortgage rate went to 16% , this was in the late 80s. The mortgage was £997.23 . I started doing agency work as well as my day job. We added years on the end as well. It wasn't a mansion,it was a 3 bed mid terrace,ex council property (we bought privately) not from council.

i’m south east and paying 950 for a one bed flat. i’ve looked into moving but i’m struggling to find anything decent for a rent drop low enough to consider the stress and costs of moving at the moment. id stay put in your situation