Finally found a place in Scotland, Wondering if we can truly afford it

We've found what I think is a perfect home for us, the rent is 600 pounds and the council tax adds another 120.  My husband will be the only one working until I find a job once I get there and he will be making 36,000 per year.  Without knowing food costs and all the things we have to pay for I don't know if this is too much to pay or not. 

To be honest, I think you'll be fine. £36,000 is a pretty high salary for the UK (the average individual salary in Scotland is £21,000) and a relatively normal rental amount (average rent in Scotland is about £540 per month).

I earn just under £24,000 base salary (plus shift allowance of about £5,000) and I pay £550 per month in rent (1-bed flat). I'm single, but even with bills, food and running my car I can still put anywhere between £500 and £1,000 into my savings each month towards other expenses (clothes, household goods etc.), holidays and a house deposit - just depends how much I've spent on other things (like trips, clothes, the gym, going out etc.)

In comparison, I have a friend who earns around £14,000 per year and pays over £700 in rent each month (it's much more expensive where she lives)... and she's living pretty much paycheque to paycheque, though she does just about manage it (she usually manages a week-long holiday somewhere in Europe each year).

Just to add a letting agency will want to see 30 times your monthly rent as your annual income.  So £600 x 30 = £18,000.  So you will be earning double what they will want to see!

Whew! This sounds great! I'm pretty excited about this house. It's right in the town we'll be living and less than a mile from my husband's school, it has 4 bedrooms, bathroom and WC, solarium, garage, separate dinning room and a nice updated kitchen. It's actually not a lot smaller than my current house which is small by US standards (about 1300 sq ft) so I think we'll fit in nicely.  It also has 5 foot walls around the garden so my boys (dogs) will be safe and won't be able to jump over.  It will give me a room for a studio and hubby an office and still have a room left for a guest room. It all seems too good to be true so I just figured there has to be a catch.  Looking around it seems the average decent place to rent runs about that much.  I wasn't expecting the counsel tax, though hubby was. We know some expenses will be lower as we won't have to pay out of pocket for health insurance and will only have one car instead of two. But other than that it's kinda all guessing at this point

Oh yes, you'll definitely be fine with that rent on that salary! Where the heck is it that you're getting a 4 bed place for only £600??

Where are you getting a 4 bed for that price?? here in Dundee you pay that for a small 2 bed flat!!

I was gonna say actually - £600 is amazingly cheap for a 4-bed house!

Last year I was paying £650 a month for a tiny terraced 2-bed house in Lincoln... which is a relatively cheap area (where I grew up in SW England a similar house would probably be a couple of hundred more at least).


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You may want to check that the rent was listed as £600 pcm (per calendar month) and not £600 pcw (per calendar week)?   

I was paying £670/month for a two bed flat two years ago -  Granted, it was furnished, so a bit more money, but still, £600/month seems really cheap for a 4 bed house, with garage and solarium-  and if so, a really great deal! 

£600/month on a £36,000 is quite comfortable, even with food costs and transportation and heating/electricity, council tax, etc etc

When you're budgeting, especially in Scotland, don't forget about heating!

The Western Isles, where I live, has-- on paper-- one of the lowest costs of living in the country.  However, we also have one of the highest rates of fuel poverty, because energy prices-- no matter what the source--  are the highest in the country, and we have to use a lot more of it, because of the weather, and because so many of the houses here are older, uninsulated, and have old, inefficient heating.

Not to say that you won't be able to afford it on your husband's salary.  Just be aware that you might not have quite as much leftover disposable income as you'd expect.

Oh yes, woadgrrl is spot on as usual. A few years ago I lived in 200 year old stone cottage which was the most freezing abomination of a place ever.  It had really dodgy electric underfloor heating that was broken in several places. In the middle of the winter, I would come home from work or wake up in the morning and the temperature in the house would be -1-2ºC.  So I had to use electric radiators that I would drag from the sitting room to the bedroom. It cost as much in rent to heat each month in the winter and I would still be freezing.   It was cheapish rent at least for a 2 bed flat, but the place was so mouldy from the constant cold and damp and my health was suffering!   It was EPC rated 'F' so that should have been a red flag, but at that point, I was desperately needing a home (long story) and it didn't matter to me where I lived.   

So definitely try and find yourself a place with a decent 'EPC rating'  if you can, that will save you a boat load. 

Where are you getting a 4 bed for that price?? here in Dundee you pay that for a small 2 bed flat!!

Castle Douglas, it's a very small town.  I was blown away by it too. 

You may want to check that the rent was listed as £600 pcm (per calendar month) and not £600 pcw (per calendar week)?   

I was paying £670/month for a two bed flat two years ago -  Granted, it was furnished, so a bit more money, but still, £600/month seems really cheap for a 4 bed house, with garage and solarium-  and if so, a really great deal! 

£600/month on a £36,000 is quite comfortable, even with food costs and transportation and heating/electricity, council tax, etc etc

Well this is all very comforting!  It's definitely PCM, my husband met with the Estate Agent when he was over a few weeks ago. This place came up after he'd left so we haven't seen it in person, just in pictures. But the estate agent said he lived in that area for 20 years and it's very nice.  It's an extremely good deal.  I think the reason is because they don't get much "fresh blood" in this town.  According to the agent the house was up for sale but it didn't sell so I think they're pretty desperate. He said they'd even be willing to hold it for us until August 1st. Again, all sounds too good to be true doesn't it?

Oh yes, woadgrrl is spot on as usual. A few years ago I lived in 200 year old stone cottage which was the most freezing abomination of a place ever.  It had really dodgy electric underfloor heating that was broken in several places. In the middle of the winter, I would come home from work or wake up in the morning and the temperature in the house would be -1-2ºC.  So I had to use electric radiators that I would drag from the sitting room to the bedroom. It cost as much in rent to heat each month in the winter and I would still be freezing.   It was cheapish rent at least for a 2 bed flat, but the place was so mouldy from the constant cold and damp and my health was suffering!   It was EPC rated 'F' so that should have been a red flag, but at that point, I was desperately needing a home (long story) and it didn't matter to me where I lived.   

So definitely try and find yourself a place with a decent 'EPC rating'  if you can, that will save you a boat load.

This town is in the Borders area so it's more moderate but my hubby is totally vigilant about that issue because like you he lived in a cottage that was lovely but he swore they actually got ice on the inside of the windows and his fridge stopped working because it was so cold in the house!  YIKES!

Ahhh, the Borders! I'm pretty sure that area has one of the lowest costs of living in Scotland, so that makes sense. Nice part of the world there 

Technically it's Dumfries and Galloway. It's on the border but it's not the Borders, which is the official name of the county next door