Looking to buy a 1st flat - wanted an idea on bills...

[judgefudge]

Am looking to buy my 1st one bed flat for just me... but I was trying to work out what the monthly bills would likely be...

Gas?
Electric?
Water?
TV License. I know the cost of that.
Service charge. I know that.
Council Tax. I know that.
Home insurance?
Internet?
Anything else I've forgotten?

There are some estimates on websites but I am not sure how accurate they would be with the current cost of living crisis.

THANK YOU.

Do you know the efficiency rating of the property? That will effect the cost of heating etc.

Re 'service charge'. Part of your service charged will be put aside each year into a separate fund, usually called a 'sinking fund' to pay for major and/or unexpected repairs eg. roofs, lifts, re-pointing of the building etc.. If the money in that fund isn't enough to pay these larger bills, then leaseholders can be met with unexpected calls to pay larger amounts. SO....it's worth looking (if you can) at the last annual accounts of your block of flats , so see how much is in the 'sinking fund'.

We have a two bed 1960s ex council flat, 2 adults. Our combined gas and electric use is about £100 a month. BT Wi-Fi £32. Water £17 a month (get a meter if not one already there!).
We only have contents insurance, I think it’s £9 a month, if you pay a service charge and it’s leasehold then check the lease because ours includes buildings insurance.

Monthly bills when I was single-

Water approx £30
Electric £100 (no gas) tbf this will probs be more now.
Internet £40
Home insurance £9
Food was about £30 weekly.
Council tax was £110

I have a 2 bedroom 4ish year old flat, moved in in June, before here I lived in a 10ish year old flat with a flatmate (I actually don’t find 2 people much more expensive than one!)

Gas and electric - was costing me about £55 a month but I think will cost about £70 per month for winter months. Pre energy madness my old flat was about £45 in summer and £65 in winter so that tracks.

Water - free in this flat because I’m in Scotland! My old flat was £36 per month for two people, I think one person prob would have been £32/£33.

Internet - shop around! I’m with BT for TV and internet and got a good deal. I wfh so a good internet speed is important to me but if you don’t wfh it might not be so important. You can check price comparison websites for deals.

Home insurance - I paid £111 for the year in June, you can get quotes easily on price comparison websites. My service charge includes buildings insurance.

You might want to take out boiler/home cover and consider the cost of an annual boiler service.

If you don’t have a parking space you might need a parking permit?

I can’t think of anything else atm!

To expand on my PP, in other words if the accounts show very little cash in reserve, you can expect 'service charges' to increase to build up a reserve. If, on the other hand there is a significant cash surplus, then you can be somewhat assured that big increases in service charges are less likely.

"You might want to take out boiler/home cover and consider the cost of an annual boiler service."

Any idea how much would this cost?

Thankyou

Depends on make/age of boiler, new/existing customer etc.. Go to British Gas site, fill in details, and it will give you a quote

I went with British Gas for boiler cover - If you look up British Gas Homecare Cover there are various levels of cover. Other places offer it so you can check price comparison websites, probs will be between £5-£25 a month depending on what you want it to cover.

If you can't be arsed to google any of that you're not ready to be a homeowner 🤷‍♀️

Oh you might want critical illness cover and life insurance but that partly depends on your circumstances. If you are using a mortgage broker someone will discuss this with you.

Re boiler cover we pay a local company £7.99 pm and that covers an annual service and any repairs. I'd recommend a reputable local company over British Gas any day.

Look for a company that's been in business at least 10 years, ask around for recommendations.