Madison full marks for even considering things like regular outgoings on top of mortgage or rent. Too many singles living alone or even sharing for the first time don't give any of that a thought and just do their sums based on whether they can afford the rent.

Council tax and water rates are not inconsiderable amounts going out regularly before you even think about fuel. And, of course, if you own your flat you will have to pay for contents insurance and perhaps some of the building insurance depending on your management set up.

My daughter, almost 25, is still housesharing but can now afford to share a NICE 3 bed house with two good mates. Most rental agents now insist on proof of income or combined income and in their case it was about a 70K threshold which they did meet between the three of them but of course this is not just to cover rent.

Even with all of them being reasonably good earners they are economising on fuel for heating (making good use of elec blankets, big jumpers, warm slippers and the like! They've set up a separate account for paying money into to cover bills - council tax, water, elec/gas, internet. She is the lowest earner in the house on about £23K but obviously a lot better off than she was as a student. Even so she is realising that she cannot afford to go to every gig she fancies attending or eat out very often and is budgetting more carefully for more important stuff like travel during holidays.

I wish you all the luck - you will love it. And yes - source as much second hand stuff as you can to save money.

Even places like Freecycle get some good stuff to give away. I know because on the day before I left the UK I put all the stuff I'd kept in my house until the last minute for my own comfort on there and it all went in a matter of hours. From a bed that cost over £1K still under guarantee, bedding, ironing board and domestic equipment, all crockery and cutlery, pots and pans, microwave, TVs, mirrors, pet beds and all sorts.

If I'd known the response would be so good I'd have left it until the morning of the day of the move. I put the ad in the previous evening quite late and they started calling me at 5am! So not everything on sites like that is junk or not worth selling. It's there for all sorts of reasons. Hell, I'd have had to pay the council to take it away if I'd left it outside when I sold.

freecycle is what i've used the most as of recent infact, i have just sourced a cream leather 2 seater couch from there. only having to pay for delivery as i've organised a "man with a van" to pick it up and bring it here for me. also sorted out my phoneline and broadband yesterday. TV license, council tax, gas and elecy to sort once i'm there i think.

have had a couple of hiccups with it though ... got a phonecall from the estate agents on friday saying that the washing machine was broken and the landlord wouldnt be fixing it, instantly told them id gone for the flat with the knowledge that there WAS a washer, so they knew i wasnt happy. i rang them back later on and the last i heared the landlord was looking at quotes

looking forward to tuesday so i can get in there and give it a good old clean!!

Good for you Madison. I manage several properties as well as the one I currently live in.

Owners are left in no uncertainty by me that if they PROVIDE something in a furnished or semi furnished property - THEY are responsible for the costs of repairing and maintaining it. Whether that is the TV, w/m, F/F or even the door locks, taps, electrical fittings.

If they don't want to be responsible for the cost of the upkeep of it - DON'T put it in in the first place. Don't put any old rubbish in and then expect a tenant to fork out to keep it maintained, safe and working correctly.

I have had no bad tenants over the past 5 yrs. I put this down to me treating them very fairly. (I am quite selective about taking them on in the first place mind you). If they get a problem they can either wait for me to arrange a tradesman or they can choose their own repairer if they prefer, get a receipt and deduct it from their rent.

I was able to go to the UK last year for 5 months without a single hiccup regarding my tenants. I was in email contact with them regularly. They paid their rents into my bank in my absence and because I wasn't there to actually 'hands on' manage - I gave them all a 10% reduction in rent for that time - that's the amount I take as commission for managing the properties. *I think they were so happy with that they were probably hoping I'd never come back lol!

I returned to an immaculately clean flat (had left money with one of them to do that), healthy plants, chocolates and flowers and also a supper laid out on a plate as they knew I'd be arriving in the early hours of the morning. And they ALL offered to get me from the airport (I took a taxi).

I am no lover of Estate Agents and it makes me so angry to read about stuff like this. They should have been telling your landlord it was his responsibility without you having to insist on it. They make money out of all this.

thats what i kept reminding myself of the flat was advertised with an automatic washing machine, so an automatic washing machine is what i would like! i didnt totally get why they even rung me in all honesty, because they started by saying they thought they'd already told me ... if that was the case then why ring me? ahwel, ill find out the deal properly on tuesday as thats when contracts get signed. i'll be going through it with a fine toothed comb, and double reading anything that mentions washing machines

i just hope all this get sorted quickly and doesent put a dampener on all my plans over the next week ...

Tangutica its good that you are so hands on with your properties and that you reap the benefits with conscientious tennants and very little trouble ideally i would have preferred to deal with my landlord directly about everything. but i guess going through a middle man such as an agency takes out the hassle of trying to get in touch with them!

It's sometimes the case that the agency or other middle man is the problem.

As I said, my daughter has recently moved into a big 3bed rented house in Reading. They were having all sorts of hiccups with Romans - the letting/estate agents they found it through.

They've now met the landlord in person and he is apparently a really nice and reasonable man and was dismayed to hear how difficult Romans had been over some of the stuff (especially as he paid them well).

He's cut through the carp and told her just go buy new curtains for your room and I will pay (ditto for a room heater) and no objection to taking out one bed if she prefers to provide her own. Stuff like that. And said he hopes to bypass the agents for the second year if they stay on (he is tied to them for this year now) and that will save him money and he will pass half the savings on to them in the form of a rent reduction.

Oh, and he gave them some cash back because the place was not cleaned to a very high standard (lots of pet hair in the rooms) when it had been left empty between tenancies for at least a week so Romans could arrange for it to be professionally cleaned 'pre new contract'. In fact he said that he was totally unaware there had been pets in there (Romans knew and the pets were present when my daughter viewed with them).

I'm relieved and happy that she has a good landlord - she can appeal directly to him if Romans prove to be obstructional in getting anything sorted over the year.