Help to work out the costs of owning a property

[DorisHatt]

Hello,

I am looking to buy my first property in the next year or so. I have a reasonable but modest amount in savings, and it is only me who will be paying for all costs. My income is between 2/300 a month. I have a mortgage in principle approved for around £200,000.

So, without anyone sharing too many personal detail, it would be really helpful if people could give me a run down of what their expenses were up to and then monthly having a two bed flat or small house.

I am not able to go to a lot of people in real life about this, so any help is appreciated. I am in my early forties and out of a long-term relationship last year, currently living with an old school friend who works near where I do.

For example, at the moment I know:

Monthy ground rent etc - 50/100 or higher
Mortgage - around 800/1000
Electricity - 2-400 (seen it vary a lot)
Council tax - about 100 depending

Basically, with the cost of living as it is, I am wondering if it is realistic that I will be able to afford all of the outgoings, or whether I should start to look at different long-term plans. Any help appreciated, and thanks if you have read this far!

100 seems low for council tax I'd say.

You'll also need home/contents insurance. Think we pay in the region of 400 a year for this.

Also have a fund for general repairs...doesn't need to be a lot, maybe 100 a month.

Also, think about life/critical illness cover too.

Yes, sorry, that was a type I had meant to correct - more like 140 or so again based on a couple of properties/conversations.

What is your income after tax? 2/300 can't be right?

@KentishMama I presumed she missed another 0 off, so 2k to 3k a month.

Another typo - my income is approx 2500 per month after tax

where abouts are you thinking of buying ? council tax in Wandsworth for example is significantly different to most other places. Not all places have ground rents etc

Gas/electric- 2k
Rates- 2k
Water bills 400-500
Broadband- 5-600
Maintenance - boiler service, general repairs , window cleaner. - minimum 500
Insurance - 300-500
So ball park figure of 6k a year in addition to mortgage.
If you can live comfortably on 1k a month it is probably doable.
You could consider renting a room out if it is a struggle.

I think £500 a year for house maintainence is very low. We put £500 a month by for this but we are living in a house which needs a lot of work. I would think £100-£200 a month would be more sensible.?

A lot will depend on your lifestyle. I live in quite a small 3 bed semi with a garden and am quite frugal but here are my costs, for what they're worth.
I'm out all day and only have the heating on for an hour in the morning and a couple in the evening. I'm also in the South West where it's been incredibly mild.
I shower rather than bath and only run the washing machine and dishwasher when full. I also use an air fryer and slow cooker instead of the oven. I pay £120 a month for gas and electricity which covers it. British Gas averages below
www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/guides/average-bill.html
My metered water bill is approx £250 pa.
All of the Councils publish their council tax rates on their websites. If you live alone, you'll receive a 25% discount.
I've just renewed my broadband for £25 a month

So we own 2 bed flat in London. Per month general running costs are

Mortgage - £1000 (it is actually £700 but we overpay by £300 pm)
Council tax - £156
Energy - £78
Service charge - £150
Contents insurance - £15
Broadband - £25
Water - £32

We save £400 per month for repairs and maintenance, but it is a bit of a money pit (thirties flat). Just this month we had to pay £170 to replace the grill element in the oven and £120 to replace three window handles.

On top of that I would say we have probably spent an additional £20k in upgrades since we bought it 8 years ago - replaced the bathroom, redecorated the whole flat, new curtains and blinds, new garage door, new carpets, new built in storage, new internal doors, contribution to fire safety works in communal areas.

There's some good info already posted. This website may also help?

https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/average-uk-household-budget#nogo

The biggest thing to nail down is the location and type of home you want to buy. Everything else will fall out of that. Alternatively, work out what you can borrow and afford for a mortgage (do we know how much deposit you have?) and then work back from there.

Regardless. Good luck. And high praise from me for doing your homework so far in advance.