₦airaland Forum

wallg123:
I’m not sure where you heading with this but I can tell you that data is inaccurate as of today.
My sister in-laws is training to be a plumber, she earns over £45k and she only works Monday to Friday in London. Her dad (my father-in-law) is a gas and electrician by trade and he earns more than £90k . I only got to know this cuz I saw the tax documents.
As at 2016 HGV (7. Tonne) drivers working for IKEA/DHL were on £35K while those from agencies earned £15/£17 per hour. A class 1 HGV driver would earn more than a 7 tonne HGV driver. Likewise HGV drivers that drive those fuel tankers earn over £50k as at 2016. …

You can’t be a long distance driver for the fun of it. You have to love driving for you to enjoy it…

I only got a HGV license as my plan B in 2016 just in case I didn’t get an engineering job. I don’t use it anymore but at least I have an option.

Anybody that loves driving and can do manual handing should use the opportunity ( shortage of drivers in the UK) to train.

Won't you be picking extra shifts during this shortage period .
Mind breaking down how to achieve being a plumber since you have a first-hand experience.
I did google it and the apprenticeship option seems to be a long journey and age capped, but a diploma doesn't come with experience. How then does one get the experience?

TheGuyFromHR:
It's not that Nigerians don't want to believe it - they know this very well.
But the Nigerian man's love for white-collar employment as a definition of self cannot be uprooted; what do you want them to tell the people at home na?

Sometimes personal preferences matters. I personally can't take up these jobs full-time as I believe there are numerous ways to make easy money, just find your niche.

While ("More work" != "More money"{
"Keep working smart and being happy are the most important things...at least to me "
}

TheGuyFromHR:
Apart from the HGV drivers job, which entails a lot of sleeping on the road, washing up in petrol station bathrooms, or sometimes pooing in bags, there is an absolutely balanced work-life balance for plumbers and the rest who are self-employed and who a) take jobs at their own discretion, and b) work at their own pace.

I can't agree more. HGV and delivery jobs are quite strenuous as you're half of the time behind wheels

deept:
I hired a guy to come plaster a section of a wall earlier this month, paid over £200 for less than a 2 hour job. Speaking to him, he said this was his if i can remember correctly his 10th job for the year. He used to drive a Porsche which he sold recently even at a price higher than what he paid for it. My mouth dropped at some of the stories he told us about how much he has made over the years and believe me lots of is that do white collar jobs don't earn that kind of money and they collect cash so don't pay HMRC anything.

Paid one to do the kitchen, minus the cost of the appliances and cabinets i calculated £4000 as his take home for about a 10 day job and he worked at his own pace. How many of us earn that?

When you start, you might have to build credibility and experience, but when you get that, the sky is the limit to what you want to earn and how you want to work.

All the people that ask what certification they need to do to get a job in the UK, of you are still in Nigeria, go and attach yourself to that Baba painter and Bana plumber and Baba carpenter even barber to learn the trade, come here fine tune the skills get whatever CSCS card or certification you need and with God on your side, there are no limits.

I totally can understand from this point of view. However, the store is different for HGV drivers.

On a lighter note, the guy doesn't pay HMRC anything? How manage? Doesn't he have to proof his source of income and tax whatever to show that his cash isn't from illegal proceeds? Just curious how he's managing without paying HRM

wallg123:
I read in the papers today that HGV drivers now earn more than starting salary of £54k, while plumbers now earn up to 150k annually. So those of you looking for office jobs should go and learn how to drive lorry or learn plumbing/ electrician …. ( Thank me later)

What is the work life balance of these jobs?

newdawnnewlife:
Altogether I did about 10 hours of practice, should not have been up to that but they kept postponing my test date. I wouldn't advise going for a test straightaway, it is important to learn the principles of driving in the UK from the tutors. It costs a lot but I have no regrets at all and passed the first time.

Okay, just wanted to confirm

umarwy:
You can't pass the practical test without doing any lessons.


You will fail.


Truth is sometimes bitter

Sure

EngrSaks:
Advisable to book 10 lessons first with a driving tutor and see how things go...everyone is different and learn at a different pace.

Anything between 10 to 40 hours should be enough to brush you up as there are alot of different rules and regulations...the faster you are in dropping old habits and picking up clean driving methods, the shorter time you would need...

Also beware of money loving instructors, some can delay you just so they get more money from you


Summary:

watch alot of driving videos on YouTube,get a result oriented instructor (an instructor with a high pass rate for first timers) and adapt fast in remembering new skills...also watch videos of the test routes on youtube, that helps too

Be patient, dont rush yourself....learn without pressure...the better driver you are, the safer it is for you and other road users


I used these methods and passed the practical test in one attempt in a town with a 40% pass rate

I agree, there are alot of helpful YouTube video.

Chukwuka16:
Midnight musings: you would own nothing and be happy

I agree with your PoV, the media coys these days are mostly dishing out news that's not important.
I haven't read it for once on BBC front page about employers giving employees deadlines to be vaccinated, yet these things are happening which forces the hands of a lot of immigrants.

Isn't this a country where you're supposed to be free to make certain choices? After all we will be paying for the mismanagement of funds during this covid period for decades to come.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57958178

newdawnnewlife:
I agree with you, normal Nigerian licence allows you to drive for a year. I was asked to drop a photocopy of my licence at my former place of work so as to be able to drive the company cars, they said they needed to send it to their insurance company so as to verify it, it came back a week later and was told I could drive but for a limited time. The date they gave me to stop driving until I was able to get the UK licence was about one year after I got to the UK. Unfortunately I had to stop driving my car and company cars when they kept postponing my driving test but all that is now history.

Just curious, did you do some brush-up classes to do away with the naija style of driving or you just registered for a practical test straightaway?

Ticha:
Leaseholds are fine as long as the lease is long enough (more than 100 years) and the covenants not too restrictive - some might say you can't rent it out or have pets. If the lease is lease than 98 years, factor the cost of extending the lease into the purchase price. Banks won't lend on leases of less than 78-75 years and extending a lease can cost as much as £25k!

Our very first home and property purchase is a leasehold flat which we still have.

Make sure it's close to facilities, public transport and has a parking spot as well. Mainly because flats are starter homes so you'll often have turn over.

Seems like getting over 100 years on old builds is hard to comeby now based on my recent searches.

Ticha:
Now compare that to the very first house we bought in the UK in 2010. 2 bedroom leasehold flat - paid £105k in Bristol. It's now worth almost £300k. When we rented it out in 2012, the tenant was paying £280pcm. The current tenant is paying £650pcm and we've almost paid off that mortgage. 11 years. property is a long game.

You've said valuable information.
What's your take about Leasehold flat? I'm thinking of starting off with a flat as it seems to be the easiest to even rent out. However the whole story about leasehold and it's shortcomings is really scary.

Lexusgs430:
Yes ...... Once someone is independent, they need to show ties to Nigeria.......

Those ties must be tidy enough, to resist temptation...... May we all have the ability to resist temptation........

Even if she provided that bank statement, they would find another reason to refuse her ........

A couple of years ago, when my younger sister applied. She was refused, according to the jobsworth that dealt with her file, my mum's bank statement was FAKE ..........

My younger sister was working and earning well..........

My elder sister and I put our legal wigs on, appealed the decision (had loads of evidence on tow ).......

We headed down to Feltham on the hearing day, within one hour, case was over ........ Immigration judge ruled in our favour ........ Sent a letter to UKBA to issue visa ...........

My younger sister is now fully resident and legal in the UK .....

Out of curiosity, was this a visitor's visa?
Did you really go to court to appeal this(visitors visa)?
E dey possible? I thought it's just writing them back to appeal the matter!

STENON:

Like others mentioned, not putting in the statement of account will have helped or even attaching a cover letter to explain the low funds and the reason for that.

Think of this, she's self-employed and also a dependent earning £400 PCY and the next thing on her plate is to travel to UK for holiday, to do what? Work?

Good thing is you learnt the hard way though it is painful

Ticha:
It's called Property Log. Link below

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/property-log/jccihedpilhidcbkconacnalppdeecno?hl=en-GB

Thank you

Ticha:
PS - download the chrome extension property log. It shows you all price changes, reductions, increases, and changes like properties being removed and then re-listed. It gives you a good insight into how the market is tracking.

PSS - If it's a leasehold house on the other hand, run away!

Thanks for the tip.
What is this extension called? Searched property log, the most useful I got is "brickpal"

giselle237:
let the money be in the student’s account. They want to see it in the student’s account or the parent’s
They wont ask u about source of funds for student visa.
If u are asked on the form. Simply say you are sponsorin or parents sporing.
If u want to over stress urself, let the sibling send to the parent, then the parent transfers to the applicant.. such hardwork
For more understanding of wht i am saying- check the tier 4 student visa page on nairaland

Thanks for the response.
I had no idea I didn't post it on the stydent thread

I tried searching for the answer on the thread but it was hard getting the answer. You can't search for things in a specific thread on nairaland I got unrelated results from other travel threads.




I do understand that only your parents can tender their statement of account as POF, else everyother person has to deposit the money in your account.


This said student will be sponsored by her sibling and is ready to deposit the money in her account.

The question is,
1. Can the student say that this sibling is the sponsor or she has to mention the parent?

2. Is there any point in the application where you're asked what your sponsor does? Because the parents can't sponsor as they don't earn enough to.

Sponsoring is not the problem, but how to make it official without leaving doubts for open questions. The sibling will be sponsoring the student; how do they package the app?

Lexusgs430:
₦ is like Bitcoin..... Very volatile.....

Wrong. Naira be like shitcoin. After mooning, it goes on a search for oil never to raise again

justwise:
Definitely very expensive though London is not just a city , London is a brand

A brand that is affecting Essex as a whole. Houses are expensive because of their proximity to London

Ticha:
When I screen potential tenants, I expect an income of 4 times rent as that's what my insurance requires (I have rent guarantee insurance) which means I have to ask for the monthly income and proof of it. So yes, expect to also send in payslips or bank statements to back up the amount you say you earn.

Understood. Now I understand where their coming from.

LagosismyHome:
Yes normal or at least when I was a tenant , it was a standard question. Dont know if things have changed ..... they have to be sure you can afford the rent

All the assurance buhaha.
Thanks for the info

Ilekokonit:
They have the right to ask if that is what the property owner or their insurance company requires. I even know that because their insurance company requires such, some landlords will not rent out apartments to unemployed people even though their rent is guaranteed by the Government paid housing benefits (provided that the tenant has a UK passport or indefinite stay).

Moreover, they can't do anything sinister with your salary details but they want to check that you can afford to pay the rent and don't be surprised if they do a credit check on you to see your credit standing or if you are owing any Gas, Electricity, Water or Phone bills from your previous address and some even ask from a reference from your last landlord.

Is okay. Thanks for the enlightenment

Lexusgs430:
This is why a credit check is run....... You cannot use Blue therapy to bamboozle them.......

Lol... Still doesn't matter I can have a good credit score and earn 60k with £100 left at the end of the month.
Person wey go default go still default

TheGuyFromHR:
There's something called purpose limitation under the UK GDPR - they very likely can't use your information obtained for the purpose of renting you a house to cold-sell you property.

I understand. But that's if I know what they do with it nah.
Not cold -sell but use it for whatever demographics they want or so.

But it's well.

Lexusgs430:
To ascertain affordability...... To ensure you are not pricing Agege bread, when all you can afford is puff puff.......

What if I earn 60k with alot of financial commitments....no be the same thing?

icon8:
So, what happens then?

At the bolded, you gave them the info as a prospective renter. What’s your point?

Agents are already pro sellers nah.

Vicas2000:
Lol. Most agents now put all these crazy checks in place to avoid time wasters and potential defaulted.

If you earn enough salary...just let them know how much you earn.

If it's an issue....just ignore and look for others who won't ask.

I understand, just that I found it weird because they mentioned a statement like so as to know if I can afford it.

Are they the one to tell me what I can afford abi. I'm not calling for a serviced apartment worth £2k

icon8:
Yes. It’s part of the screening process, and it’s so that you both don’t waste each other’s precious time. Look at it this way, why book someone in for viewing when they can’t afford to rent the property? Some people go for viewing like window shopping, just to kill boredom . Only that for viewing, someone else’s time is involved.

If you really need or want the property, disclosing your income should not be an issue.

I understand you. But look at it this way, I tell them my salary, they store it in their database.

Few months later, I'm in the market to buy and they are the seller's agent. They already have all my information without me giving them.

My naija people, is it normal an estate agent to ask you how much you make per annum just to book an appointment for viewing their listings.

Mind you I want to rent not buy the property.
I was asked what I do which I perfectly understand. But my salary