You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Well the letting agent ha got back to me about my 'offer' to rent the flat.
The landlord has refused it and decided to sell instead! Essentially the new rules have pushed them over the edge of viability so they're getting out. They didn't realise until going through my proposed contract with the agency. I wasn't the only person who put an offer forward either so it's not just me.
Back to square one.
Bugger!
Well despite the search still ongoing I haven't even been able to get a viewing for a while now. One of the agencies I was in contact with has taken me off their list as their affordability criteria is one of the stricter ones and the rents being asked now mean I'm right on the edge at £900 pcm, they're getting places coming up at £900+. I have noticed that the advertised rents have jumped up a £50 band since the announcement of the rate rise, presumably landlords want to protect themselves from any further rises. It does mean that the market is going above my level though, going to give it a few more weeks before making decisions about everything. I have a pay review coming up at work that could lead to a rise in January, that could help but I doubt it will be large enough to make any material difference.
Not sure if there is anything suitable here, this is the letting agency down the road from me.
Saw those, the cheaper ones were small with no parking and the rest are out of budget. I've never had a follow up from that agency from any of the properties I've enquired about either. The issue is that I'm right on the limit of affordability so landlords won't consider me as they have no room to up the rent in the future. It's why they prefer young couples with no kids or pets, little risk and room to up the rent each renewal.
Wales is following on to be unaffordable too.
It's getting to the point where even if I just moved within Cardiff I wouldn't be able to afford that either!
Didn't realise that over 30% was classed as unaffordable, I'm struggling to find anything in the market below 50%!
Well the search is officially off for now. Spoke to two agencies today about properties they were advertising at the £900 mark and they both said my current wage no longer qualifies me for even getting a viewing. They both said that rents are about to go up too, anything I'm looking at will soon be £950+ and that's too much for me. Means I'm stuck with my long commute until either the market cools down, my wage goes up or I decide to jack the job in and look for work elsewhere where I can actually afford to live.
Without going back through the full thread you said you wouldn’t mind a drive / cycle combined commute. Isn’t there anywhere a bit further out from Bristol that is cheaper that could do this but still work out a lot better than commuting from Cardiff?
Could you share a place?
Isn’t there anywhere a bit further out from Bristol that is cheaper
People are onto that, generally.
So here's a thing, I had spent most of my prior life before moving to London in 2000 living and cycling Bristol city centre. At most as a regular ride I would ride out to my parents in Hengrove. I move to Kingston upon Thames/Surbiton area and think nothing of riding into WC1A and beyond. That's 15 miles, and I did it almost every day. My biggest daily ride for nine months was KT7 to Maidenhead = 25 miles on SS (okay its is flat) So Keynsham from BS1 is like 6 miles, say 10 miles where does that take you out from Barton Hill, and get a Scooter for the odd day off?
As said above if you can get anywhere on the railway path then it's pretty easy to get to places. I lived in Bristol for nearly 20 years: fishponds (twice), knowle, easton (greenbank) and lockleaze
I used to cycle from easton to UWE quite a few days on the railway path to get the miles in. All traffic free. long route was just shy of 10 miles and short route was 3.
Have friends in warmley who cycle in regularly. Also friends in backwell,nailsea which is a lovely ride in.
Have you consdiered lodging or rent a room for a while?
the cheaper ones were small with no parking and the rest are out of budget
I've a lot of sympathy for anyone trying to rent but that said, could you not see your way to considering a small place with no parking? I gather they're cheaper...
Isn’t there anywhere a bit further out from Bristol that is cheaper that could do this but still work out a lot better than commuting from Cardiff?
Prices don't really start to come down until you're a 30 minute drive away, then the cost of the driving plus the increased rent is too much. I'm lucky my current rent is very low so I can afford the commuting costs for now but any move, even to a flat in the same block I'm in now would be a £2-300 increase and would make using the car unaffordable.
Could you share a place?
Would drive me nuts, I really struggle with not having my own space. I also really value having security over my belongings so having effectively a stranger living with me would really make me uneasy. The joys of having mental (and the odd physical...) scars from over 2 decades of being bullied sadly.
As said above if you can get anywhere on the railway path then it’s pretty easy to get to places.
That's where I've been looking but as a lot of people use the railway paths for commuting by bike they're in high demand and that pushes the price up.
could you not see your way to considering a small place with no parking? I gather they’re cheaper…
I once had a place with no parking nearby (was on the street round the corner) and I got royally fed up of not being able to park anywhere near my flat, having the car vandalised, arguing with other residents over 'their' space and it being a complete ballache.
Well I have slowly restarted the search the last few weeks and managed to get a viewing this morning. A place I'd enquired about 6 months ago and the agent actually rang me on Thursday as the current tenant is leaving in a hurry. Was one of 12 people looking at it today and it all went well, nice place in Keynsham with parking and tucked at the back of a quiet cul-de-sac. Just had the call to say whether I'd been successful with my offer of £950 pcm (was offered at £900) and been told I missed out, went for £1k pcm which is above what the letting agents deem affordable for my income. Really annoyed as the long commute is really hammering the car, it needs new front suspension now (shocks, top mounts, ball joints and possibly a wheel bearing too) and yesterday a stone flicked up from a lorry and put a big crack in the windscreen. Probably £1k of work it needs on top of new discs and pads that are due soon too.
As an aside, Bristol City Council announced last week that they were looking into banning bidding wars on rentals, this had the effect of everything seemingly going up £100 or more overnight. The market has to cool down soon, lots of people just cannot afford anywhere now. IF it doesn't then I'm definitely going to have to give up on moving closer to the new job (been there a year now) and finding work either closer to home or moving to a cheaper part of the country.
Mate that's sh*t. All of my family now live in Keynsham and not only have I never wanted to live in that backwards little place but I cannot fathom a bidding war for accommodation there. I always remember the Location loc loc when the lady started crying when they viewed a place in Keynsham whilst trying for Bath. What about Chippenham?
The commuting cost on top of the high rent would make being that far out unaffordable sadly.
Wooton, Kingswood, Wickwar?
All too far out?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131739395#/?channel=RES_LET
Much nicer than Keynsham. Garage for bikes.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85972104#/?channel=RES_LET
This is a 30 second ride to the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, and about a half hour walk to Barton Hill. All the services you could need within a short walking distance (even IKEA), and it seems within budget? Apologies if I'm missing anything obvious.
Keynsham is ok, I live there. There has been approx 1500 houses built in the last five years, so hopefully the town is on the up, new cafe/bar opening on the high street, 73degrees bike shop (roadie/cyclocross orientated unfortunately) has just moved into a cavernous new shop on Bath hill by the park.
10 minutes on the bike and you're into country lanes to Chew valley and the Mendips or the Cotswolds. 10minutes on the train and you're in Bristol or Bath.
The town still suffers from anti-social behaviour but its getting better.
Those two linked above look OK. Fishponds used to be a bit shit but its much better now and that is a good location near Eastville park and close to the big shops. The Stoke Bishop one (loose definition of Stoke Bishop, which is pretty nice but close enough) is a great location. The garage is handy but if you could live without it then it'll sublet for over £100/month I suspect.
Sorry mate but it's a depressing little town. The Fry's development is smart but those people are spending their money elsewhere. It's certainly well located for an abundance of quality road riding.
The Stoke Bishop one, area described to us as “lower slopes of Stoke Bishop” by an agent. 🤣
That's imaginative, even for an estate agent! I'm still not getting why it's a great location though. It's always felt detached along the Portway, and surely it's busier off Roman Way now the ULEZ is active, with it being the last place to turn off?
Just coming here to say that I quite like Keynsham. Nice little high street with some cafes, swimming pool, park with river access and Riverside walks, a few good pubs (lock keeper), close to Saltford and Bitton, country walks, good access to chew. Yeah it's got a few shit parts to it. But that's the same as anywhere really.
Maybe it's because I live in a crap part of Brislington and Keynsham seems a bit of a nicer place.
The first one is out of my budget, have emailed the agent about the second one but it's been up for a week and isn't in the greatest area so don't hold out much hope. It's also suspiciously cheap for a place with allocated parking.
Fishponds in general, or that specific location?
Fishponds is Fishponds, it's just luck who your neighbours will be in what area, flats make it a little more of a turkey shoot, but there are a couple of flats going in that area of Fishponds Road that are under 800, one up by the Aldi, so even better for the shops 😁
Seems to be a few on the market here and there, some around St George near the park, and a couple that look quite nice out between Warmley and Cadbury Heath.
Almost 10% of the population of Bristol is in Fishponds, so it's as big as a lot of towns. As a result, it's a mix, for sure. But I'd take it over Cadbury Heath all day long.
I was looking at it from the requirements and the relatively low budget. Factor in the commuting times and the cost from the outskirts and it's not that desirable to be too far out, or am I missing the point here? Going from a small city like Cardiff, you'd notice it pretty quickly.
Anyways, good luck with the search.
The recent housing boom was driven in part by the BTL craze. I do wonder whether the rent crisis might be the straw that breaks the back of the housing market.
It is definitely having an effect. If people cannot move to a new area thanks to high rents/lack of properties then social mobility grinds to a halt. The cycle of find a job, move to a rental nearby, settle in then buy falls down if people cannot do the rental part first. How long it will take to have a real effect though is uncertain, I worry that this current govt will do something to keep the housing market buoyant and just make things worse!
I was looking at it from the requirements and the relatively low budget. Factor in the commuting times and the cost from the outskirts and it’s not that desirable to be too far out, or am I missing the point here? Going from a small city like Cardiff, you’d notice it pretty quickly.
Fishponds does tick a few boxes, namely the commuting as I want to be back to cycling in every day. What it doesn't seem to be good for though is being relatively quiet or calm! I showed the listing to a few colleagues at work this afternoon and the response wasn't very positive. mainly about it being busy and pot-luck on whether an area is good or bad. Fully aware that Bristol is a totally different type of city compared to Cardiff, which is really a glorified medium sized town. If I can't get the commuting costs down to near-zero then it's not going to be viable thanks to the rent jump. Still holding out hope though, just need to find one place!
The Fishponds property is in a good spot - its well away from Stapleton Road and also from the busier bits of Fishponds Road, but also easily accessible to the supermarkets further up Fishponds Road, and going down Stapleton Road to the trendier bits of Easton such as St Marks Road. Thingwall Park on the other side of Fishponds Road to the property is a very desirable road. You would also be close to Eastville Park which links into Frome Vale, Snuff Mills all the way to Frenchay with offshoots to Oldbury Court on one side and Purdown / Stoke Park on the other via the motorway underpass.
The other property in "Lower Stoke Bishop" might be quieter but would be a ballache for most things unless you had a car or could rely on the train from Sea Mills station.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130755236
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131801336
Both are within budget, both are waiting cycle distance on fairly tame routes.
Shared house in Kingswood in the first link. OP doesn't want a house share.
Duff link on the second?
Thingwall Park on the other side of Fishponds Road to the property is a very desirable road.
And some.
I'd snap the Marina Gardens one up if I was you. Great access to town, walk to Morrisons and a decent pub just along the road.
Yeah, but people can be properly snobbish about Fishponds. It's not south of the river for the hipsters, or off Gloucester Road for the middle classes, but as a cheap(ish) place to live in a very expensive city, its often a winner.
Have had to pause the hunting for the time being.
I got rear-ended on the way into work last Wednesday and it's possible my car could be written off. With the way the second-hand market is right now I'd have to spend all my moving savings and a bit more on a replacement car, leaving me unable to afford deposits etc. This would push me beyond my safe financial limits so would have to give up my job and find something back in Wales.
Bit of a body blow really.
Just to bring this to a close.
Thanks to everyone who helped with choosing areas and highlighting places to rent but my search is now over. After looking for a solid 12 months I have had to make the decision that it's not going to happen and have handed in my notice at work. Really gutted as I like the job, the staff and the customers but the rental market has continued to accelerate past what I can afford and there's no way I can put up with another winter of my current commute.
Back to hunting for a decent job in September.
Sorry to hear that. I was following your story with a particular interest living in Bristol, and it all sounds staggering. Beyond your own story there are countless examples and articles of how affordable renting is a rarity. Don't know what else to say other than I wish you luck and hope things improve.
Indeed. That’s a shame. As an employer in Bristol it is certainly a problem.
It's definitely an issue that needs to be addressed. I have noticed a rise in the number of campers parked up around the place, even noticed a few more in Cardiff. I fear nothing will be fine about it until the shops, cafes and bars suddenly have no staff as no-one can afford to live near work on low wages. If I can't afford a place on my decent wage how the hell are people on the minimum wage going to cope?
Trying to not let it get me down though, need to focus on basically starting from scratch again.
I can sympathise and can understand why you handed your notice in. It's a nightmare almost all the way along the M4, especially going around Newport. And now the M4/M5 roadworks is going to "finish" in the middle of next year.
I used to live in Bristol (Hanham) just over a year ago. Landlady wanted to sell and finding somewhere to rent was impossible, mostly because I have a dog. I ended up moving to Chepstow. Not keen on the place but needs must.