₦airaland Forum

justwise:
That is high even without water meter, my water bill is less than £25 a month for a 3beds property, the problem with water companies is lack of competition in that sector else water bill will be a lot cheaper. Keep writing and calling them until they bring it down

Well, it depends. The average water (and sewage) bill in England and Wales is about £503 which is £42 monthly which is exactly what I pay and I have a meter. Your £25 may not be the norm. His £48 monthly is only slightly high especially without a meter

jesmond3945:
Ok thank you.
Now let me school you.
When you pay 548 pounds a year thats 48 pounds per month. Thats half day of work pay.
What do you get
Unlimited water. You can leave your water and go and sleep. Nothing like everyday pumping of water.
You get clean purified water. You can even drink the water. Nothing like buying pure water.
You get heatable water for washing plates
Your poo is taking care of nothing like soakaway.
Anybody complaining of bills in Uk should take the first flight back to nigeria. Enough said.

You're wasting your time. These fellows are known for trolling UK pages to say how folks are suffering. UK people are also funny and indulge such people in their ignorance. A resident who saves £10k every year in his ISAs will be responding to you: "we're suffering o" because of a £30 water bill. I never forget the day Ticha schooled one of them when he was saying she's unable to save and build a house like her mates in Naija.

NDANAKU1:
Hello, please am presently in Newport I need help getting a job any job I don't mind.

I also need help in getting accommodation

Are you sorted?

HollyMadison:
Hello elders,

Thank you for your help and advice, I have been liking responses to my visit visa questions.

I have one more question for now

Grandma is not paying anything towards her visit. So how do I answer the question below, I tried to put 0gbp but it wasn’t accepted.

Should we send some naira for her to use as her personal contribution to the trip?
Or
Should we leave the 4k there (though it’s our contribution, not hers)?

Oh, no! Not 4k! More like £100... If there's money in her account. If she has like N100k, then put £100 ish. Funding her account now is not advisable.

missjekyll:
You WILL NOT need a consent letter from an adult permitting another adult to travel.

No offence meant to the OP but this is notverygood practice carried over from Saudi applications. The EO will find it very very odd.

To be fair, it's usually not a consent letter. More like "proof of ties to home Country". Her spouse writing to say she will be back and won't overstay bla bla bla, like adding credibility to her application. Could also be an Employer. Most people just use it to show Mama has a living spouse back home that looks forward to her return. .. But I see your point.

Santa2:
When I got the £1000 bonus from last year. It felt so so good. Make I start to dey gather this year own .

Sweeter when it's Husband and wife. £2k!

5th April is around the corner. If you want to benefit from LISA in the Tax year, shake body before April to maximize the bonus

harddrive2012:
Thinking I can have it shipped over when it’s ready. How can I confirm with BritishAirways if they would allow that? Or is there anyway to check before booking ?

I might be wrong, but I don't think Airlines care. Once you have the flight ticket, Visa and a valid passport, you should be fine.

This page is so rich in information already!

Goldie10:
Hello All,

For those who have gone the route of purchasing their first property after moving to the UK, please I have some questions:

- Did you have to wait for atleast 2 years before purchasing?
- How did you go about finding a mortgage broker that was not asking for 25% deposit (this seems to be the norm for those of us without up to 2years residency in the UK)
- Now that Help to buy is over - what other options are available for first time buyers aside LISA that has a cap of £450k on property value?

Recommendations for brokers who have experience with immigrants witout ILR will be appreciated. We really need a guide o for newbies here please

Time for UK Mortgage thread

FlowAssurance:
Hi Guys, Quick one and Quick maths please

Let's say I want to withdraw £600 cash from my CC, and it has a 3% cash fee and 30% APR on cash withdrawals, if I want to clear the balance at the end of the month, I am paying about £634 yeah?

Kindly help my little calculation and does it have any effect on my credit score if i withdraw cash on my CC?

Yeah, roughly that, if you pay in full in 30 days. No negative impact on your score for that.

Good time to inspect the car in VI.

Selling

No stories, selling due to upgrade. Neat ride.

WhatsApp

N2,900,000 only.

Location: Lekki or Victoria Island (during working hours)

Osoderi:
morning house, I have been trying to build my credit but it is not strong. I have applied for American credit card and I am using it. I have register for vote, I have included all my direct debit payment in my credit karma but still my scores is 570.

I have applied for credit cards in two of my banks but was refused. saying I am not eligible due to my score is low. pls what other ways can I do to increase my score.

A friend adviced me to get Argos card to use it to buy things and pay back.

pls I need more advice, I really want to build my credit.

I have stayed one year in the UK.

is there any lenders that can borrow me money to repay back to enable me build my credit pls. kindly advice. Thank u

The more you apply and get bounced, the lower your score gets. Stop applying and just use and repay judiciously. Try and stay in same house for a while, don't close Bank Accounts. But most importantly: GIVE IT TIME... For many, with all the hard checks that came with your application, you may need to wait it out to improve

taif:
Thanks for this explanation, can they be easily access,I mean to get to where one will board it, hope it is not stressful like the train own and how do one book for it

It's easiest to access, the Coaches are right at the door of the Airport. You can book at the airport or on their website

taif:
My brother please this national express are they train station as well, because I have been thinking how we go survive all the load I get.

It's not Train but Coach, it's like what we call "Luxurious bus" back home. They have space for a lot of luggage and is the cheapest means of transport you can get, really. If you book ahead, each person can pay as low as £20

dupyshoo:
Showing her pension account with no balance will suffice. I applied for my dad with just his pension account which had about N20k and it was not an issue. It was mentioned in the application that he spends all his pension.

The main issue is your account, you need to prove that you can sponsor her. What I normally do is to put aside £400 per month in a separate account for about 7-8 months. I show the account, my payslips, mortgage statement and add letter of invitation.

The beauty of Nairaland, thanks for sharing your experience, it helps!

Lexusgs430:
My mother in-law and mother, have never had visa issues........

Their bank statements, NEVER carry any weight during their application processes...........

I'm about to apply for my Mother-in-law end of this month... She's a pensioner, gets monthly pension less than N100k but no balance as she spends it all. I got her sons to fund her account to about N250k last week though just as New Year gift/stipend.

So I'm gonna sponsor. Until last month, I wasn't really keeping funds in my account. My income is good but I move it to my Stocks and Shares ISA and leave like £100 in my account but in the last few weeks, I got my Tax refund and some borrowers paid me back so the Account has seen inflow of several thousands and I intend to leave it that way till month end when I apply.

Do I have to explain each of these inflows? Any other thing I need to be aware of before I apply?

Lexusgs430:
Your mum not working is not a crime....... You would have been upfront in your application letter, stating Grandma was coming to look after her only grandchild. She would be visiting for 3 month's and all expenses on your head (flight, accommodation, health insurance) etc etc.........

Does this work? People keep saying that Grandma must contribute something or at least her Bank Statement must be uploaded even if it has like N200k.

Another challenge I think he had was that £1500 contribution from him may have been considered small.

JaySterling:
Hi guys, I just moved to the UK In October for my PHD with my wife and 2 kids. I’m the main applicant and wife is dependent.

My two younger brothers are also coming in February for their masters with their wife’s
and kids

The 3 of us are planning on buying a property which would serve as a family house for 3 of us our wife’s and kids, instead of paying multiple rent.

We jointly have about 18M in Nigeria
Please can this be enough to serve as a down payment for a bungalow where we can spread the balance over the years in a mortgage plan.

Also, we are planning on putting all the funds (18M) into one account and send it to UK via form A. Would this be possible?

Please can someone advise me on the process for all this and guide us on what best to do to avoid mistakes

Depending on the location, a house that would contain 3 families could cost anywhere between £180k and £600k on the average and you need to make at least 10% down payment plus other fees. Also, having just arrived, you might not easily get a mortgage, the list goes on with regards to the challenges you will face.

3 families in a house, I really wanna know the City cos you will need a house with so many rooms. Maybe 5 rooms with at least 3 of them being double rooms

On the Form A, not really possible. You have to find a way to move the funds via the black market so your N18m would just be £20k or less.

I'd say you should shelf the house purchase idea for now. If you must live together (please don't), you can rent a place and if you save hard enough, in a year or 2, you can resurrect the house purchase idea.

HollyMadison:
Hi people,

Please does any contact for a driver that can pick up at Heathrow and drop at South Shields (Tyne and wear)?

Why not consider National Express to bring the person closer, they won't mind all the luggage and their terminal is right inside Heathrow. It won't be easy to get a driver for this 6-hour journey.

Tier4Dependant:
My oga’s in the house, I need help on how to go about referencing. I want to change my job and I don’t want my current employer to have a clue about it until I give him my 4weeks termination notice. More like I want to get the job first before saying I want to leave.

I have previously worked with 2 other companies that can give me reference but my potential new employer wants a reference from current employer.

How can I go about it? Please I need all ideas I can get from you all. Thanks

I would tell the new employer clearly that I can't get a reference from my current employer. Every HR practitioner should understand that is a hard ask for a candidate.

sugarkemi:
Please anyone in Newport or somewhere close to Newport that can help with accommodation?

I'm in Newport now. You have to drop this your 6 figure talk though o, if you wanna embark on this journey o.

Lexusgs430:
Been mortgage tied ......... What does this mean .......

Can you compare the equity appreciation vs interest expectations........

Let's assume it takes 5 years to get your naturalization, you want to be paying your landlord's mortgage for 5 year's......... I say no more ......

We need some financial management lessons 101, on this thread............

Simply sell the house,when you want to JAPA*2 .......

Very easy formula!

ukay2:
Unfortunately l don't know this one. Big ogas like Lexusgs430, Sumotaya, Justwise, Ticha etc may provide answers soon.....

I'm so proud to see my name sandwiched among these great folks. The simple answer is: there is no such genuine "cash saving" scheme with such returns here.

sugarkemi:
Happy new year. Please I need a sincere advice for my next move.I got admission to southwales for Feb intake . I'm making 6 digits monthly here in Nigeria.I have a wife.As a Student with dependent is it possible for both of us to be saving like 3k pounds in a month.

£3k will be quite difficult, not impossible. A rule of thumb for a couple in South Wales would be £100 income for each working day for each person (spouse works 6 days weekly and student twice weekly) and expenses of £60 daily for the couple. With this calculation, £1k savings monthly is more reasonable.

As for your 6 digits, means nothing, it's your choice. Some people here were making much more, others were making less but each had to make a personal decision and know why they intend to move. You may be better off there or here.

Those asking about BRP, i have a family that attended Biometrics appointment on 20th to switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2, they got successful feedback next day, 21st, and got their new BRP 1 week later, 28th. Sure they would have gotten the BRP faster if not for the numerous Holidays in-between.

eniola1010:
My sister. Want to ask u something. Is it possible for one's credit score to increase without having to devise the cc or borrow and pay back on time method.

Cant someone just live his life normally, earn his salary, and use his card to buy something with the money in his card. Wont this also increase credit score?

It is very unlikely. The idea of credit score (and history) is to know your integrity with borrowing and repaying. A Bank won't want to give you £200k for a house when they haven't seen proof you can be trusted to repay.

davide470:
How much Avios would the person you refer get?

1,000 and another 5,000 so about 6k as welcome bonus, if I still remember

.

I need to quote this long post I made just to be sure you read it.

Solumtoya:
So Credit Cards (CCs) are one of the best Credit Tools you can have but yes, like every good thing, it does have its dangers.

Most folks here are trying to build Credit Score and to be very honest, CCs are the easiest way to do so. There are so many other ways, of course, and you should do them: Registering in the Electoral Register, Setting up Direct Debits for Utility Bills, Phone/SIM Contracts, etc but from experience since these are not Credit facilities, they may not boost your score as much as a CC.

The rules of CC usage are simple: ensure you pay at least the minimum balance (usually 10% of your usage as at the statement date). So if your cycle is 1st to 30th of every month, on the 30th, you get a statement saying you have used £2,000 and you are given a grace period (typically extra 14 to 23 days) to pay back 10% or more, and whatever balance is unpaid, interest will be charged to the card after the grace period. During this grace period, the next cycle has obviously started running. And the next month balance will sum of what you spent in the month, plus the unpaid balance from the previous month and the interest added. IF YOU DON'T PAY THIS MINIMUM, YOU HAVE DEFAULTED.

Now, the main reasons why CCs are a brilliant facility are evident:
1. Their Interest-free periods means you can use them without ever paying interests: to do this, you must pay everything in full as the interest only starts counting on the unpaid balance after the grace period. An exception is usually Cash Withdrawals, Interest on Cash Withdrawals start counting immediately. Another evil trick of Cash Withdrawal is usually that their interest is higher. There's another evil of Cash Withdrawals but it might be a little technical to explain in this post. Just avoid Cash Withdrawals if you don't want interest
2. CCs are revolving, meaning they are like Overdrafts, not Term Loans, so if I have a limit of £6k, when I spend it and repay, my full limit is re-instated, so I don’t need to re-apply (ever) unless I void the contract. 3. Rewards: Most CCs earn you Miles, Points, etc for usage and referrals.
4. Fees: Many CCs come with little or no extra fees to the Cardholder. I could go on and on.

So, pretty much, you can use your Debit Card for only Cash Withdrawal and use Cash for non-Card payments, while you use your CC for everything else and pay little or no interest while building your credit score.

Now, as beautiful as it sounds, in my 7 years as a Credit Card Product Manager, I have seen so many people wallow in heavy credit card debts. The truth is most humans are not just disciplined enough to handle such an allowance of funds. They deep their hands into it at the slightest opportunity and end up living above their means. CCs are very addictive so don't get a CC if you love to spend, the CC provider would love you and keep increasing your limit and you may land in a gloomy state: you earn just £2k monthly and are given a £6k CC, as you spend and spend, they keep increasing the limit and before you know it, you have a £20k CC fully spent on that Funeral you sponsored in Oshogbo and that trip to Turkey. How will you pay You break the card and start paying back £600 monthly, but that covers only the interest and the amount is NOT reducing every month. You realize you are stuck and have fallen for our trap and that is how we make our interest income and cover for those who are using the card wisely.

I'm sorry this post was really long, I even had to cut this short because I could go on and on about the benefits of CC (purchase protection, chargeback, acceptance, etc), the financially wise know this and hardly ever use Debit Cards but enjoy the benefits of a CC. The financially foolish use CCs to have fun for a few years or months and spend the rest of their lives as slaves to it. The choice is yours!

EDIT: For those who want the easy-to-get AMEX card with NO FIXED fees, you can use my referral link below. You get points for British Airways flights and Holiday bookings:

https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/jEDIDAcKK3?XL=MNANS