YOUR WEEKLY MONEY DILEMMA

 

I want to buy an apartment in the next year & I am now newly single.  Should I rent & have my on lease OR share house to save?

First up, sorry about the breakup. They are never fun. From a number's perspective, I am sure you know my answer... It’s generally much cheaper to go into a share house. Not only because you pay less rent, but because you also, typically, pay less in bills. Sadly, things like your electricity bill doesn’t halve when you only have one person at home.

When you break up with someone you once lived with, there is often also a division of all of the life stuff...like who gets the fancy toaster etc. So, it can be an expensive outlay to have to buy all that stuff again straight away. So, getting a flatmate gives you the opportunity to bank more cash, it also means more time to rebuy anything you need. I also think it makes sense to rebuy any stuff once you have bought your apartment and know exactly what space your new place has.

It will also mean probably make the Bank happy as you will likely have a bigger deposit, which may also reduce not only the amount you need to borrow, but may mean less cost for things like Lenders Mortgage Insurance...etc. You generally only need this if you don’t have a 20% deposit. And in a housing market that doesn’t seem to want to slow down, that extra cash could very much come in handy.

Now, as someone who lurrrrves living alone, I also think it's worth calling out that it's an expense I am very happy to pay. Sometimes it's not just about the money. As a secret introvert, I need a lot of alone time to fill my cup back up. It's about what you are willing to trade off. If you know cohabitating with a new flatmate, with all their beautiful quirks, will be far too much for you right now with your heart healing, then maybe that needs to be factored in. On the other hand, you may find yourself an on-hand buddy/confidant/cheerleader who (hopefully!) you can enjoy a glass of red wine on the couch with every now and then. You need to decide if it’s a pure money decision or one based on how much you want to live alone and have full control of your abode.

If my time being an Adviser has taught me anything, it's never as easy as just numbers on a spreadsheet. That would make it too easy. Good luck!

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Obvs all of this is general advice only... especially important to note any and all of the comments above do not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided and the nature of the relevant financial product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.