To live in a Travelodge

[oakkiln]

Inspired by the other poster who started a threads about liquidating their assets and living in luxury hotels in their old age (but, for us, sadly without the assets!)

My husband and I are in a desperate situation. We are both late middle age and still rent. We are doing everything we can to save for a deposit for a house and live very frugally.

Rent, rates and all house costs etc come to £21k a year. But we could live in a Travelodge for £11k. Storage for furniture etc would be £2k

Are we crazy to consider it for just a year or two?

None of the travel lodges I’ve ever stayed in have a wardrobe (or drawers) - it’s just a niche with a rail and a shelf over. Maybe stopping people doing this is why!

I've got some very good suggestions for you OP given that you are both over 55 - don't ask how I know! I just do as have been in a similar situation so gave a great deal of empathy and no judgement.

What I need to ask though first is are you tied to a particular area/location because of your job etc - ?

@oakkiln

Isn't this what asylum seekers have to put up with?

Not a financial advisor, but I'd look at maximizing the use of your pension as a tax efficient vessel. On 50k, throw as much into your pension as possible to lower your tax bill, build your pension. Post 55 you can take 25% out tax free- there are rules around this, but if you think about using this as they way to save for your house deposit... Drop any savings in here too. I think if you do this, then they won't be counted against pension credit (youd need to check this....).... Also, for benefits, it's net income that counts... So if you are throwing large amounts into your pension , then would you be eligible for UC top ups?

Get a caravan, use club sites, possibly a seasonal pitch, as suggested.
Don't bother buying, put your name down for housing association over 55. You can then store your caravan for trips once you have the h.a. accomodation. Simples.

Some really good ideas here, thank you.

Ok OP as you haven't said what area you are these suggestions may or may not be helpful

First off I think you need to try and get your costs down as you've said to think about saving more so don't shun over 55 housing- there's no way you would find living in travel lodge ok long term - washing/cooking facilities etc and you would struggle to get it at £30 a day consistently too - in my view best option is to look at an over 55 flat for initially a few years - this will give you the security and lower rent too to bang more away -

Have a look at anchor.org.uk - you can search on regions but also on immediate availability too - better in some areas than others- they also keep their own waiting list as well as via local authority - on average will be about£780 a month plus maybe around £420 a month for heating/counciltax/water etc

The other really good site for this is housing21.org.uk - again you can search on regions and then specific developments and it shows if they have ones currently available within the property text.

Both these are social housing but over 55- so you have the security - also with housing 21 it doesn't matter if it shows as an 'extra care' facility if you don't have any care needs- it's just an indicator for those that do need additional help . Some are very modern and really nice too - I know someone on her own who got a nice 2 bedder in a nice area too within 4 months simply as there was availability

If you could then save maybe £800 to £1000 a month to put away and still wanted your own place/rural there is a scheme called Heylo your home which is basically shared ownership but on the open market - you need to put down 25% in cash and it has to be a house not a flat but it can be anywhere that's in good condition - so if you could save say 40 to £60k over 5 years by utilising a cheaper over55 flat you can then look at places£160k to £200k -age isn't a factor - it's a long term lease and you benefit from increasing values too - you then pay rent on the part you don't own - so on those values would be about £550 a month rent. No service charges as can only be a house anyway -

There are massive advantages to shared ownership at your stage or indeed rented over 55s in case you loved it and stayed put- your rent is eligible for UC - so if you only have your pensions the chances are you would get a fair bit towards rent - you would struggle to get a mortgage anyway and could only get a mortgage over a relatively short time meaning much higher payments which may well then become a problem if you have to stop work.

Hope this may be of help

Also not a financial advisor but there are ways to buy houses that allows a retirement interest only mortgage and the lender recoups the repayment on your death. If you don't mind not leaving any inheritance this might be more secure than renting

I'm pleased you agree with me on the risks of a landlord wanting to sell up.

@oakkiln Are you willing to give some figures?

It's pretty impossible to help you otherwise.

You're on £50K so how much is that net a month, and how much are you saving?

How much have you already in savings?

What kind of price is the house you're looking at?

Have you done some basic calculations? Have you spoken to a broker or a mortgage provider?

-Price of property
-Mortgage payments over a 10 year loan
-Deposit needed - usually 10% can be less.
-Legal fees

Is it actually feasible that you can pay a mortgage (plus the interest) in 10 years on your current income?

@oakkiln
We have previously lived in a premier inn in a nice area for a few months. Feel free to pm me and I can tell you the pros and cons.

@CanelliniBeans if you are relatively young though you will need a huge deposit - I looked into this myself - both RIO and lifetime mortgages. The RIO mortgage may well be an option as less age restricted-

2k to stote "stuff" seems a waste of money

When I was saving up
I rented a room in a shared house, which included all bills
I worked 2 or 3 jobs & only slept at the property
I ate at my work plaves

You're not allowed to have them in a Premier Inn.

There was a heartbreaking story about an older couple (retired) whose landlord had sold their rental home, and they'd been reduced to living in Heathrow Airport. They were waiting for the Council to house them.

Not unreasonable at all. I have used an Air B&B frequently - for work when I needed, the Air B&B host has let one of his out longer term - might also be an option.

DW and I rented an Airbnb in Greece on the coast for 4 weeks from mid July to mid August 2024 for £900. Food is cheap as are flights if you need to get back quickly. No rates, gas or electric bills and plenty of sunshine. I know there are great deals for winter accommodation in Spain an other hot Eu countries and of course there are many European non EU states that will allow you to stay 90 days on a free visa. We are planning a 3 month Far Eastern trip where 1 month's rent can be from £300 and you are guaranteed sunshine or at least warm monsoon rains. It can be made to be cheaper than living in the UK and likely as not. We are both pension age so our combined pensions is less than our overseas outgoings. You would not be living in luxury and should not consider it a holiday with concomitant costs, just simple living whilst seeing something of the world. Best of luck!

IMO you'd be better off buying a mobile home/camper van/Winibago and moving around.

Could you afford a cheap tourer caravan and just move around as I believe you can only stay on sites for limited period?

Living in run down travel lodges next to roundabouts on outskirts of towns.... great

I thought of him too 😂

Buy a caravan or motorhome or move up north

Do you like animals?

If you do, and decide to give up your house, you could try house/pet sitting. I do it as a means of travelling the uk, but I've been offered plenty of local sits. Some are quite lengthy as well, up to a couple of months.

Some people are a bit funny about allowing people to pet sit if they're technically homeless, but tbh you don't need to elaborate on your housing situation.

You could move from Travelodge to Travelodge but there are limits to how long you can stay in one.

Trustedhousesitters website. I know of a number of people who move from house sit to house sit in the interests of saving money and it has worked for them. Sometimes house sits are for a few months. If you have some days where you don't have a sit then check into an Airbnb for a few days. You would save a large amount of money.

I forgot to add - you could stay in travelodge between house sits, or get cheap air bnb. In summer the demand for housesitters is highest, when hotels are most expensive.