Help Me Rationalise The Sale Of Our Beloved Holiday Home

[MrsGypsy]

I know. Holiday home. No doubt you're thinking "hah! I should be so lucky etc". But DH and I bought it at a time in our lives when we were very secure financially, and we believed that we would retire there. We live overseas, and this was to be our European base.

Fast Forward 6 years. DH was made redundant 3 years ago, and set up his own business with 3 colleagues. Then the global economy imploded and it took so much longer than anticipated to get the business up and running. We decided to wait out the financial crisis with the business, and use our pot of savings to cushion us, and finance the business. Except the financial crisis has continued, we can't get a business loan, we can barely pay our mortgage (we have negative equity so can't sell), and every month it's a struggle (but seriously) to pay our bills. Savings are gone, pension funds attacked, downgraded the car, no more restaurants, new clothes etc. We rented out the holiday home so it could pay its way, but now, the bills are just too much. It has to go.

It makes financial sense to sell it. I can see that. I've re-read the above, and I know what I have to do. But it breaks my heart. I've been overseas for years, but this place was home for me. Can you fall in love with a house? I did.

Help me rationalise this decision so that I can start accepting it without snivelling. It's what I need to do. I just need a bit of moral fibre/backbone/shoulder straightening. Tell me to get a grip.

There is a lot of money tied up in even the smallest home. You can visit this place and stay in a hotel or rent a flat. Less responsibility too.

Be glad you have a partial solution to your financial woes and good luck for the future.

Well I think you do need to cry, to let it and to grieve. As you said this was for your future, for growing old in. There is no shame in being upset.

You will be ok. This is part of your journey, the best bit is yet to come, you just don't know what it is yet.

I'm having to sell some much smaller items now to make ends meet, and I know what you mean about the emotion of it.

Try and see it as a different route on the journey through life.

As pippop1 said this doesn't have to be the end of your dream of living in this place, even if you sell your holiday home you can always rent there in your retirement.

You need to have a bit of a cry about the future you were going to have then try to have a shift of mindset and think that by selling your holiday home you have a good shot at keeping your business afloat and building a new future for you and DH.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I'm sorry I didn't come back to my thread sooner. I have had a bit of a snivel, and toughened up. I've got an estate agent going round the place this weekend, and it's going to be sold.

You've all said exactly what I needed to hear: it's all part of a journey through life, not necessarily the journey I had planned, but with a positive attitude it'll be OK.

It could well be that in the long term selling the house gets you to your next step and the house becomes a part of someone elses lifes ladder .......I have never felt so safe or secure as I did in our first home,it was a big old victorian terrace -very lovely but in a very undesirable area - i sometimes dream im back there,wake up and feel ....selling the house meant we could move to Norfolk,we didnt stay there but we had a lovely time for 2 years....our dc loved the time we spent there and dont even remember the old house.

I recently by chance met the man who bought our old house - he loves it,he and his wife had children later in life and he enjoys all the aspects I did when mine were young-so I had my time there which led to our time elsewhere and hes having his time there with his children.