Cant afford the house :(

[Emmielu]

i posted on here last week about asking if i should ring the landlord & see if i have the house, well i got the house :D

But now im going to have to say no to the house. My friend advised me to ring my local council for help with the deposit (£550) i rang them, they put me though to HB. HB said they will give me £499.98 for my rent, i have to put £50 towards it. I knew that anyway but had to note it down. I rang the housing officer back at my council & she said she wont help me with the deposit. For these reasons:

It needs to be commercial.
It needs to be substancial for me & dd. (It is i told her i had found this house, had a look, it is only 2 bed i know i wouldnt be able to afford more thats just stupid)
I need to be able to give her £40-£50 a month.
HB only pay for 40 weeks of the year so id only get £460 a month.
Therefore she suggested i ring the landlord & ask him if i can pay his deposit & rent for £500 only.
She also has to come & view the house & ensure via the landlord that it will be for a long term contract.

I said to her he knows i want it long term, he will put me on 6 months first to see how i get on because its my first house to move into, then if all is well & i can afford it still he will put me on a longer contract. She said call me back when the landlord puts it down to £500 or less.

I cant afford the deposit. What do i do? Should i say no to the house & look back on the council list? I've been on the council list for 3 years & theres been nothing for me in this town. I cant drive so going out of my town is out of the question as DD's school is here too. I honestly could cry right now.

My parents work full time one in a care home the other at an airport. I used to work & that's where the savings came from. In order for me to work I need to travel away from here. I've applied for 8 jobs last month, got 2 interviews & didn't get any further because there was no childcare for a start as early as 6am. I tried the I'm entitled to only working term time route but how many employers do you know will happily employ someone who can only work term time when their vacancy post is all year round?

Getting a job seems to be the priority as that will give you the opportunity to save, I have a similar aged child and know it isn't easy but it is completely possible to work. Have you looked at childcare options?

I suspect this house isn't right for you as you can't currently afford it however it it is possible (& usual) to negotiate with landlords. They are often happy to accept a 10% reduction on monthly rent if you are a good tenant and will rent for the long term.

Not sure what it's like where you are, but where I live there is no shortage of holiday clubs for kids which should tide you over the school holidays. Unless you want to work in a school you're almost certain not to find anything term-time only, but with holiday clubs, some swaps with friends (pretty easy when you only have one DC) and possibly some help from your parents or your DD's dad, you should be able to patch together something for most of the holidays - and take annual leave for the remainder.

I also manage to stretch my leave over a bit more of the holidays by swapping round a few days either side of the holiday (so I work 5 days a week, rather than my usual 4 in the weeks before and after each holiday) - depends on what sort of work you want to do, but once you've got started if your employer likes you they're quite likely to be a bit flexible with you.

There are charities that can help with deposits -

england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/rent_deposit_and_bond_schemes

Worth a try.

Getting a job has to be priority, i remember past posts saying you will only work term time between school hours but if you want your own place then you simply cant be so picky. I'm sure a lot of parents would like to do those hours but it simply doesnt work like that.

Once you have employment you'll have a far better choice of houses and will be in a position to fund a deposit etc.

Life doesnt get handed to you on a plate, you have to work for it. Your lone parent is being realistic. Once your child is school aged the benefit rules get tougher and you wont have much choice if you continue to claim.

Well, so far i have managed to find a voluntary job in a nursery. Didnt get the other job i applied for last week. I have 5 items on ebay for sale, have just transfered my income support money into my savings so i just need another 223.20 until the deposit money is saved.

Thanks for the help ladies! No biscuits this time! LOL! But you may have

I should add the nursery are looking for maternity cover in june. So fingers crossed!

Good luck to you. Voluntary work can be a good foot in the door for when paid work comes up - and you can ask them to give you a reference for any other jobs you apply for. Hope you enjoy the job, and manage to save the rest of your money.

(Bit early for I think, but will maybe later :))

Crisis Loan or Budgeting Loan if they're still in existence will give you the deposit money. You pay it off out of your income support gradually. At least you'll be using it for a genuine reason - when I was unemployed in me yoof I remember standing behind someone who was queuing up for it to pay for their annual summer holiday :/

www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/sb16-a-guide-to-the-social/crisis-loans/

www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018905

Well done, that's really good going. It feels good being proactive too doesn't it? I think you'll be fine

I know it's not paid work but it's experience in something I have qualifications in. Lone parent advisor will go spare at me but it could lead somewhere. I feel better knowing I only have 223.20 left to put in the savings then it's ready!