About to lose everything...

[Startingagainandagain]

Sorry to make this a heavy chat but here goes. I am in place where:

• I just had a nervous breakdown, currently under the care of the mental health crisis team
• I am on sick leave from work because of said breakdown
• I have a disability and receive PIP alongside my salary
• I have a house that is literally falling apart around me that I cannot afford to fix. broken boiler, toilet was leaking into the living room ceiling today (recently made the mistake of buying an older house and underestimated the costs of maintaining it and how much damage had been caused by bodged jobs although I had a full survey done)
• I live alone so don't have the support of partner and the friends I have live in a different location from me.

I can't see any way out of this mess at the moment...

I have asked my local citizen advice bureau for an appointment to look at my options but I would truly appreciate advice from anyone who has reached that level of failure in their life but managed to get themselves back on track again.

Really what are my options? all I could think of is:

• put the house back on the market after some basic fixes? try to put the cost of the repairs on the mortgage? (will the bank even agree as my salary is quite low...)
• consider traditional auctions or those companies that buy back houses for cash?
• give the keys of the house back to the bank...but is that even an option
• will I even qualify for support if I become homeless in this situation?

Sorry if I am rambling a bit but I have done the best I could in my life to get ahead but I have the worst rotten luck in the past five years and now in my early 50s I think I am about to lose everything and have to start again.

It's possible that the insurance will make good any damage that has been caused by the toilet, which can sometimes mean replacing damaged floors and ceiling and decorating any rooms affected. I'm not saying it was a good thing you had a leak as it's obviously caused a lot of worry but once it's sorted things might look a lot better than you imagine.
They may need to approve the plumbers ongoing works and may cover the cost of these so stick to your plan to call them today.

Actually op, I think you’re doing incredibly well.

you’re having a mental health crisis and have reached out to the crisis team who you’re meeting this afternoon.

you have sorted a plumber for the immediate repair needed: got a quote: and assessed that you can afford it. You’ve organised him to come back and do the work.

you’ve sorted alternative accommodation until that happens.

you’ve called CAB for advice and been signposted to another service, but have decided that you’ll return to CAB for what you need.

and you’ve reached out on here: got valuable advice: and are listening to it and taking up suggestions.

so you’re doing great in fact. It’s just that you feel overwhelmed amid a mental health crisis which is totally understandable.

if I were you I’d focus on what you’ve achieved and keep on doing what you’re doing to get each issue resolved one at a time. Then, when you’ve surfaced from thr immediate challenges, you can start to think about the medium term.

How much equity do you have in house? I would consider downsizing to a flat I think and having as low a mortgage as possible

What a lovely, kind and thoughtful reply. x

Thank you everyone.

I did contact Cepher but unfortunately they don't cover my area.

The insurance has arrange for someone to come this afternoon to get some dehumidifiers in the house and assess what needs to be done to fix the damage caused by the leak. Another assessor will come in as well last another date I think to check other bits.

The plumber is booked for the toilet and central heating but can't come in until next week. This is someone I had hired to do the boiler so it is easier for him to do the toilet as well and he came highly recommended but that means he is booked up well in advance as well.

I had a really good assessment with the crisis team who spent a long talking to me and I was really open with them and everything came out.

That did mean though that they said they were concerned about me, so now I am going to have daily visit from the team at least for a week to give the medication time to work. They are coming in this morning for the first visit.

I am still hoping the house can have a temporary fix so I can at least live there for a few months before I can try to sell/auction or part-exchange it.

I have the rent flat I was staying in for the past year until the end of the month but after that I need to move in as I have nowhere else to go...

CAB were not that useful in person when I went there yesterday. Instead they gave me a specific number for one of their advice line that would be able to help with mortgage/house queries but it has proved hard to get through so far.

My solicitor has written a letter pro-bono to the sellers's solicitors listing the issues and that they this does not match what was stated by the sellers in the forms that they filled in for conveyancing and she is asking them to contribute to the repairs. Of course they will probably ignore that but it was worth a try.

Frankly I am still drowning but I am doing all I can to fight this.

I should have said as well thank you again for all the comments and support and to the people who even took the time to PM me to tell me their stories.

It means so much to me.

@Startingagainandagain you’re doing so well! Look at everything you’ve achieved - you’ve called and booked someone to deal with the toilet, you’ve spoken to CAB, you’ve actioned stuff with your solicitor - these are all huge! The toilet will be fixed soon, the insurance co is looking to see if there’s any damage - hopefully it’s just cosmetic.

As someone who got stuck in a dark hole a few years ago, I know just how mentally difficult it can be just to make those calls, so don’t underestimate your achievements HUGS.

I think you’re doing brilliantly. I don’t have any professional advice whatsoever, but as other posters have said - try not to knee jerk big decisions. Get the facts and figures, but try not to make those big calls until you feel more stable.

xx

You're not drowning, you don't started to swim but it's probably going to be hard for a little longer.

Massive well done for being so open the crisis team- that's key support you have in place now and not easy to do.

See what the plumber says but if he can fix the leak and the dehumidifiers do their job it might not be as awful as it currently seems.

Just tackle one problem at a time but in prioritising the biggest ones you've made a brilliant head start.

Keep your chin up x

So glad HTT are coming to visit you every day. I'm certain you'll pull through this and will be out the other side before long. Perhaps chat to them when the next come to see if you have any social care needs they can request an assessment for.

And so well done on sorting out everything that you have already - that's amazing work and I hope you'll be feeling better about everything soon. I don't know what others think but I'm wondering if perhaps you should wait til the end of the week to speak to the bank, if you've got meds to get used to it might help. Depends how urgent the financial side of things is. But a massive well done for opening up to help, that's a really positive start to getting it all sorted out. Whatever happens, it will be okay and you will cope

Make sure you're doing something nice for you as well as a reward. Allow yourself and your mind to be calm and switch off if you can. Whether that's a gentle walk, bar of chocolate, some flowers or a luxury bath or something. Self care is so important.

Had a much better day today as the Crisis team has been great. I was able to extend my rental by another month so I can keep working in improving the house in the meantime and the leak that happened in the bathroom did not cause any major damage according to the company the insurance sent to check for water damage today, so a day of little victories!

That's brilliant news!

You're doing fantastically :)

How are you feeling now OP?
I came across your post as I’ve had a bit of a mental breakdown after buying my first house.