living on CL alone as a single mum - paying private rental - how do you do it?

[Little Chicken]

Look up greyhound freight they do reasonable couriering prices as long as you drop off and pick up from a depot. You can get quotes online. If it is a rental he can't change the locks, so take beatrix up on her offer to stay and go get what you want from your place tomorrow and take someone with you.

[Traveller]

does anyone know how much it would cost to courier a washing machine and dryer over to sa from vic? we have spare ones here. actually, we will probably have to get rid of a bit of stuff that might be able to help out. if we get the sized house we think we'll get, we may have a spare kitchen setting too. i don't want to have to pay for a storage unit for any period of time, so PLEASE, let me know and we can arrange something. our house hasn't sold yet (hopefully soon) so it's not time sensitive to get it out atm. it's just sitting here as we got a larger set and haven't decided what to do (we were going to set it up in shed for DH's work stuff - but then he lost his job... sigh)

contact a removals company who does interstate moves. If you only have a few things they will be able to transport them with someone else's full house move and it will not cost very much at all.

[briggsy's girl]

cool - will look into it for you if you want Gigi.
as i said, it's here if you need it. i'd rather see it go to someone who needs it than to have to lug it to a charity ( a lot of whom, sadly, won't accept electrical goods anymore)

[tiggerandpooh]

gigi - are you feeling the love hun.

[Beatrix]

As i said I will store anything you want!!!! so storage is not a issue!!!!

[Just Me]

Gigi, I am thinking of you at the moment

[melbel]

Thinking of you hun...geoff and I have a laptop here for you when you are ready so you don't need to worry about that......

[Gigi]

i am meant to be rushing out the door right now, so will only make a quick reply

1. THANKS for your kind posts
2. Monday night, bilby's dad came home, acted like nothing happened!!! (so bizarre)

will come back later today to update better and do replies. it's hard for me to reply when he's home. bilby and i spent most of yesterday in doctor's waiting rooms.

anyway, the proverbial did NOT hit the fan on Monday night - like i was expecting. Maybe he is only going to react when he comes home and bilby & me are gone. The Land Of Delusion continues for bilby's dad.

[Gigi]

this week has gone so fast, had to take bilby to two diff GP's on two diff days, been driving around looking at rentals from the outside, i've had time at night but no privacy, so i can do Facebook then (surface stuff), but not the "real stuff" - like replying to this thread. (which has been on my mind alot).

yes Vicki, i DO feel the love, i am overwhelmed by the kind offers, so overwhelmed i don't even know how to reply to them - i think i need to talk it over with a Mod, not sure who they are, or which one i'm meant to contact (in this area). BB members certainly do have the biggest hearts, the kind words, the concern, the offers, it's so incredibly kind - and supportive. Makes me feel less alone about all of this.

i've been madly doing craft at night, it's become my new "therapy" for keeping sane. I have to do something "neutral and safe" at night, so if i'm checked up on, i'm doing something legit - e.g craft. i would rather be looking up real estate websites and belly belly, but it's too hard with him home (at night) to do that. i work on a destop computer, his computer is half a metre away (tiny room, two big desks, two computers).

it's Friday now, and STILL, bilby's dad has not questioned me on WHY i have done the "separated but living under same roof" form. I guess he must suspect how hard it will be for me and bilby to find anywhere to live - and he's right - i AM finding it very difficult.

I've asked for help at many places, they give me numbers to ring, some don't exist anymore, some i don't fit the criteria, most just tell me to ring the places i've already rung. i feel like i'm going around in circles.

i now have a bag in the boot of my car, with the bare essentials, if we have to suddenly go. Including the important documents folder.

feeling very scattered, so this post must sound all over the place, the few times in last few days i've come into this room to reply, needing to concentrate, then bilby "i need you mum" - i never thought i would get to reply, but she's at CC today, so i did finally get to reply - sorry for delay - must seem very rude, but was not intentional.

[Gigi]

I'm still very keen to hear from other mums living on a low income, paying 50% of your income on rent. what is it like? what do you do when rent increases each six months, but your income doesn't (increase)?

it's the rent creeping up, each six months that scares me. Cos that must mean, in a few years, you'd be paying much more than 50% of your income in rent.

[deletedit]

Things must have changed since I last rented (2005). I've never had a rent increase. I have tenants myself now, an older couple living in a massive 3 bedroom house paying $110 a week, and I wasn't planning on upping their rent until .. well, never, really, but then I have the house for sale too because I have kids to look after, I don't need tenants to look after too.

There's a lot of competition for the cheaper houses though. I was looking in the < $200 a week range (does it still exist in Adelaide?) and on the Northern side of town basically ended up with a choice of Salisbury/Elizabeth general area, Gawler, and scruffy units close to the city. To even look at a house in Elizabeth with one agent - who had most of the listings - you needed to sign the lease and hand over a tonne of info in advance (which I refused to do), and the ones closer to the city there would be 20 other people at the inspections.

I ended up with a 1br place really close to the city for $180pw. Before that I had a 3br place in Elizabeth that I was paying $150 a week for but getting $50 a week rent assistance and had a housemate in the third bedroom, so I was paying $50 a week. Trick is not to pay too much to start with.

[Beatrix]

def in northern suburbs you can get rent ranging froom $150-$200

ok so maybe the areas arnt the best... but sometimes a roof over your head is more important then the area its located in.

[Traveller]

As a landlord I have never increased the rent I was charging. One house I rented out for 2 and a half years, with no urge to increase in all that time. Perhaps after 5 years I would have looked at increasing but no sooner than that.

[SJL]

Firstly sending big hugs to you and Bilby.

I am in Victoria and am a single mum on centrelink. We get by ok financially, its tight but manageable you just have to watch your money, buy things on special and use charity when you need to (dont feel ashamed of it - I did for a long time time and struggled but then when I finally went to the local centre they were great and didnt judge me like I thought).

We have gone through homelessness 3 times in the last 3 years. The last time our agent had increased the rent by $50 a week (first increase in 2 years - when you get a house look at your lease agreement and know your rights when it comes to rent increases). The most recent time I ended up putting everything in storage and going to the local homelessness service and they had no choice but to help us on the spot, that night we had accommodation. They had ben telling me they couldn't help because we didn't get a high enough score on there assessment (no alcohol, drug, DV issues) but once we were officially homeless and had no where to go they had to find something for us. They will have to do something for you - keep pushing! and dont tell them you will go back to him even if you havent yet removed all of your things, they dont need to know you are going back to collect things.

For furniture / whitegoods etc the Salvos should be able to help you to get those things.

Good luck, take care of your self.

Sjl

[Gigi]

yesterday I went to an open inspection (15 mins) for a one br. unit within ten mins of where i live now. There were 25 people inspecting the property when i was there, it was a good location, but more what i would call a bedsit. The "back yard" was the size of the a fold down line and the space to stand there and peg up wet laundry. That was for $225 per week. If that one had worked out, and i was approved, at least i could have kept some routine in bilby's life.

I get emails from real estate sites sent to me daily, i scan the local newspaper classifieds online. i see 2 br units and small houses for the 200 - 250 mark (in the northern suburbs). The competition is fierce.

In Saturday's paper i only found TWO rentals that were under 250 per week.

Sometimes i find rentals for under 250, (just, i mean like 225) but then it says at the end "six month lease" or "three month lease".

Where i am currently, the rent increases every six months, and i do hear of that happening to others too.

I hope i find a landlord like you Traveller LOL.

i also think - if i am looking at the bottom end of the rental market, the reality is that some of the places are very rundown, so it's not unheard of for landlords to bulldoze places and build brand new places, so that would mean moving again for me. ($$$)

tonight, bilby's dad, just before going to bed (on loungeroom floor!!!!) said "so does this separatedunderoneroof thing mean a change to your money"? and "will they make us live in separate houses?" - he still has no clue - that maybe I want out myself, nothing to do with a government department telling me to go.

SJL - sounds like you have been thru the wringer. I'm glad you have somewhere to live now.

I admit i am petrified of starting again, with a child, in an area i know nothing about, by myself.
I know i would feel very differently if it was just me.
and i would love a "no B/S guide" to the northern suburbs. i'm sure, like everywhere, there are good and bad bits, which the locals know about, but i don't.

You are right Beatrix, shelter is the main priority.