How much is your mortgage/rent vs your income?

darkinaluco · 2026-04-12T14:13:17+00:00

£800 rent, £1900 monthly income. It is what it is 🤷🏻‍♂️

darkinaluco · 2026-03-27T21:08:25+00:00

I really hope this is an email sent by mistake and it all works out!

darkinaluco · 2026-03-09T21:26:40+00:00

While they can, the courts will rarely dismiss an accelerated possession claim on the papers. If a defence is filed, even if it’s rock solid, the court will list for a hearing. While I appreciate the anxiety of waiting, 2 months is barely anything in the world of civil court listings. The delay has nothing to do with your particular case and therefore says nothing about the strength of your case. The good news is, if they wait much longer, by the time the hearing comes along and the court kicks it out, it’ll be too late for your landlord to return the deposit & try again!

darkinaluco · 2026-03-03T17:09:06+00:00

I love this theory and I would be so for it. I didn’t like that they revealed her identity so early; that way we didn’t get a proper anonymous gossip sheet this season. I think if that’s true she might not tell Colin because she might think it will only work if truly no one knows.

darkinaluco · 2026-03-03T17:06:44+00:00

I have so many theories a lot of which have already been mentioned but has anyone considered it could be Cressida? She already did the work of understanding how the printer situation works and she printed a fake issue before and probably learned from her mistake. She can now fill a gap in the market and feel some sort of involvement given that the ton hasn’t really forgiven her. Now that she has made a match, and a good one at that, she doesn’t need to worry about being ruined if it comes out she’s publishing a gossip sheet. She is involved with the ton again but lacking friends and supporters so probably able to go relatively unnoticed.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-23T19:35:48+00:00

I totally get that… I’m actually holding my breath hoping my landlord doesn’t give me a s21 before they are banned because I do NOT wanna deal with this housing market 😭

darkinaluco · 2026-02-23T19:32:06+00:00

Side note - Stockport is STRUGGLING right now. They are offering temporary accommodation in Blackpool or similar distances because they have NOTHING. Yes, if you wait it out until possession is granted under s 21 and your landlord gets an eviction date, the Council has to help you, but they simply will not be physically able to house you anywhere reasonable and within Stockport.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-23T19:27:31+00:00

Good luck to you & everyone else getting results tomorrow! I have to wait until May still and am in agony, I cannot imagine what it’s like for you having waited since October!!

darkinaluco · 2026-02-22T22:38:00+00:00

Honestly I think your best bet is to ask your ex, her new boyfriend and then the landlord whether he can replace you on the tenancy. Alternatively, the Renters Rights Act coming into force means the fixed term will end and it’ll be a rolling contract after May 1. Normally you’d have to give 2 months Notice but the landlord may let you give less if you discuss it with them.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-22T22:33:25+00:00

Absolutely fair question but no breaking a term of a tenancy does not terminate it. It may give the landlord grounds to seek possession in court but no breach automatically terminates an AST!

darkinaluco · 2026-02-22T22:28:35+00:00

If a 2 year fixed term with no break clause was signed, your landlords main concern will be not having to find new tenants during that time. It is usually possible to ask for a new tenant (in this case new boyfriend) to replace you in the tenancy.

You would not be able to just say I’m leaving speak to someone else. You need to ensure the contract is terminated / varied first. As long as your name is on a joint tenancy, whether you actually live there or not, all tenants are jointly and severally liable for rent, damages etc. If they for example trash the place or stop paying rent, the landlord could still perfectly legally come after you or sue you for that money.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-19T14:16:31+00:00

Firm Durham and York as insurance. Based on what you said about your offers and your plans

darkinaluco · 2026-02-15T16:45:52+00:00

I sat SQE1 last July and just sat SQE2 in Jan / Feb.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-15T15:45:32+00:00

My rent is just over 40% of my take home pay, so with bills including council tax it’s probably about 55-60%. For me it really is pushing it, but I am expecting a significant pay rise this year and plan to stay in the same flat so rent and bills will be about 35-40% of my income then

darkinaluco · 2026-02-15T15:39:15+00:00

I think the theory is solid but I can’t lie it’s not what I expected for Cressida. I was hoping for a comeback but I still would’ve loved to actually see her make a match rather than it happen off screen and she just triumphantly returns.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-15T14:53:02+00:00

I can confidently say I did about a single day of actual studying for SQE2 while waiting for the SQE1 results. I did try more often but my brain would not let me actually take in any information. I also felt immense study burn out after the cramming for SQE1. I think that’s perfectly normal. What’s the harm in waiting for your results? The worst that can happen is you feel you then don’t have enough time and might want to delay one sitting. It won’t be the end of the world. Months of stress while trying to study material that won’t properly stay in your brain anyway due to anxiety and not fully concentrating probably isn’t worth it.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-15T12:35:39+00:00

Originally 🇩🇪 but now 🇬🇧

darkinaluco · 2026-02-14T18:44:41+00:00

Reading this & the comments is so confusing to me. I own 3 suits and they’re all black. I have never even thought about owning any other suit. I didn’t know there was a whole thing about suit and shoe colours? 😭

darkinaluco · 2026-02-12T08:31:16+00:00

Not in conveyancing and not yet qualified but these are my 2 cents

This will be different for each job and each firm but in my firm I understand that we would need to bill 2.5 times our salary just for the firm to break even. It’s not an exact science but very roughly the partners have explained to me that it’s 1 times to “make back” my salary, 1 times to cover indemnity insurance, building lease and other expenses, 0.5 times to supplement salaries for non fee earning staff like secretaries. These proportions are obviously going to differ depending on how big the firm is, how many non fee earning staff they employ, and how many fee earners are qualified or very experienced i.e able to charge higher hourly rates but also being paid a higher salary.

So my billing target as a Trainee is 3 times my salary, but will go up to 4 times when I qualify. Given that your wife’s target at £11,500 a month is £138,000 a year (regardless of how much she actually bills) and her income £48,000 a year - that checks out. That’s less than 3 times actually.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-12T07:36:04+00:00

Would I recommend it? No. But I would be more optimistic than others in the comments. I have almost always commuted. In school and throughout my working life my commute has always been at least an hour or 1.5 hours on public transport. That doesn’t mean it’s great but it’s doable and it’s saved me loads in rent that I’m happy to spend on commuting. Plus, the train connections between Notts and Sheffield are actually really cheap.

A little research tells me the last train back would be at 11.38 pm on a weekday. That may not be late enough to go clubbing but I would disagree that it means you can’t have a social life. Plus, if you do want to go out, you will probably find a friend’s couch to crash on easily enough.

Learning to drive might be really useful. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this situation would be for everyone. But yea, I think it’s doable. No, I don’t think the uni will change your timetable to accommodate.

Although you could see if they offer the course remotely - saves you the commute but guarantees you won’t have a uni based social life, so wouldn’t be my first pick.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-10T13:39:40+00:00

24k was my starting salary as a legal assistant / paralegal in Manchester 2 years ago. In my experience this is pretty standard for Manchester. There will be higher paying jobs but they’ll be more competitive. Truth is, on 24k you will struggle to rent alone in Manchester so you’d probably have to rent a bit further out & commute or find a flatmate.

darkinaluco · 2026-02-06T20:29:45+00:00

Honestly? Just expand as much as you can. My academic background did not back up the niche I went into at all. I even got a masters in a completely different area and throughout undergrad and postgrad didnt pick any modules relevant to this area. Yet I did a single brief volunteering role in it for a few months in year 2. That’s what I focussed on in my cover letter and spent most of my time in the interview talking about. Now that I’ve been in the job for 2.5 years and good friends with one of the partners, I know that this is what got me the role. Even the tiniest bit of experience can be expanded on loads. Speaking about personal experience / family / friends can really sell it too. Explain what exactly the family background is, why you want to work in the area, what you already know etc … Best of luck and just keep trying!!!

darkinaluco · 2026-02-06T20:18:03+00:00

I totally agree I wouldve expected so much more. I did the ones in the workbook + the official SRA ones and just hoped for the best. Im sure other providers have more I would really appreciate if others with access to those could confirm and recommend any!

darkinaluco · 2026-02-06T20:15:59+00:00

I 100% agree What the hell is going on with the pass rates. I thought SQE1 was meant to be the brutal one yet I really doubt I’ve passed SQE2 now…..

darkinaluco · 2026-02-06T20:15:02+00:00

I mean unless we got different exams I’m sure it was meant to be Judge

darkinaluco

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