Right, I have finally come to a decision!

I have seen two amazingly nice flats online that are well within my current budget and I am going to book a couple of viewings tomorrow!

I am absolutely fed up of living in this house.

One, because it's a shared house. I don't have anything against the people in the house and we actually get on quite well but I'm 28 not 18.

Two, because it's fricking freezing in this house. Even through the summer it managed to stay cold! How is that even possible?

Three, because the house is falling down (well, not literally) it could really badly do with some renovations!

The flats I have seen have private parking and one of them even has underground parking which reduces my car insurance premium by over £200 a year!

I actually really can't wait to get looking and moving now!

fingers crossed for you. I viewed something like eight flats before I found one that I liked. The others all had something wrong - too small, no off road parking, shared bathroom etc.

But once I found the right place i loved it.
Have you incorporated bills into your budget?

Yes, had to guess though as I don't really know how much they will be?

Any tips on what sort of price to expect?

Good luck, I hope they're better than the ones I looked at earlier this year. I was shocked at the state of so-called "luxury" flats that estate agents seem to think is OK to charge £600 to £750 a month. Most were either filthy, falling apart, needed a coat of paint throughout or new carpets. Overall, I was disgusted at them - so I'm still in my 1-bedroom flat, which is much nicer, clean and only £370 a month, but it's just a bit small for me now. I just have to put up with the noisy neighbours for a little while longer - heard from my landlord yesterday to tell me he was serving them with a Section 21 (Eviction notice). Hooray!!!! Peace at last.

Oh, don't forget to ask them what band the Council Tax is, though if you're living alone you get a 25% discount, make sure you claim it. And check on Home Contents Insurance too - ground floor flats are usually cheaper to rent - compared to the same sized flat on 1st or 2nd floor - but more often than not cost more for insurance, as they're easier to break into. It's also worth checking out the area after dark too.

Hope you discover your dream pad though! Are they furnished, part-furnished or unfurnished?

I can give you some rough estimates...

Electric: Anything between £60 - £90 a quarter (mine's about £90 every 3 months). No heating on this.

Gas: Depends on the time of year, and whether your central heating is on Gas or not (mine's about £30 to £40 a month, only running 3 radiators and hot water)

Worth asking about combined Gas & Electric deals with suppliers.

Telephone: £40 to £50 a quarter with BT on Free Evening & Weekends
Broadband: £15 a month?
(You can get good deals for combined telephone/internet packages)

Council Tax: My 1-bedroom flat is Band A, with 25% discount works out about £65 a month.

Home Contents Insurance: about £90 a year for me, but it's quite secure - depends on area and security of building.

Hope that helps your budgeting. Don't overstretch yourself, be realistic about what you can reasonably afford.

That's mental! The cheapest you can get a 1 bed flat down here is £450-500!! And that's if you can actually find one.

Oli, I'm impressed. Fine spot of decision making. Godspeed.

Much the same in the Bay - and we're hardly like the employment capitol of the SW. I can't understand who's affording them...

Much of that is down to me being in this flat for 10 years and the rent has stayed the same in all that time. To get a comparable flat to mine now would probably be between £475 to £500 in Manchester. Guess that's inflation for you. I'd like a 2-bedroom, but then you're looking at £600 to £700 a month in a decent area - and that's just too big a chunk of your wage these days.

I suppose you always think you can find somewhere better, but it's only when you start looking around that you realise how lucky you are with the flat you have. The grass isn't always greener.

My electric is metered, and I spend ~£10/week (~£40/month). I've had heating on throughout November (three hours a day) and I've had to put an extra fiver on. I run a Mac Pro and a 600w server for around five hours a day on that too.

Lol, that reminds me of when we were looking round flats in Edinburgh several years ago. Central heating appeared to be an optional extra in many places with the general comment "well, it's warm enough in the summer".

Woohoo exciting stuff! Hope you find something you like soon

I best not mention London prices lol

Done,

Booked a couple of viewings for tomorrow!

This one which is a top floor flat and from pics of other flats in the same building could be very nice

and...

This one which doesn't look as nice on the inside but has underground parking meaning a £200 saving on my car insurance

1 bed flats are £700 or so where I live. My last 2 bed was £1100 a month.

Currently my mortgage is around £750 a month

Quite. The only people I know who can afford that down here are benefits people (which of course 99% of the ads discriminate against) and those working in well paid (for now!) public sector jobs, most of whom are in relationships and probably living with somebody else anyway

And yet, splitting a two bed at say, £600-650 is cheaper. Bloody single people tax again. [LIFTED] me off no end!

Oli, the first one says parking permit "by arrangement" and the second one has an en-suite. Get involved! And forget £200 off your insurance - no more bird bombs, or rain, or tree sap etc.

Yeah, but Sas, people get paid decent money up there. Most people I know (in there late 20s, early 30s) will struggle to exceed the mid to late teens for salary down here. The odd few scrape £20k or just over, but even that would be difficult to rent a £500 flat AND run a car (which is essential down here).