I am trying to stay positive-but life just feels bleak. Anyone else?

[TheBunnyLover]

I live modestly, 2 bed house in the north-but my salary is gone by the first week with how much everything has increased in price lately.

I earn £32k P/A for four days. I am far over qualified for my role but I have been applying for jobs constantly and not got anything. Salaries also seem so low-one job I looked at would get me £2K more per annum but it involves a commute-I currently work from home, the travel costs plus having to hire someone to walk my dog means it just wouldn't be worth it.

I share 3 BTLs with a business partner but profits are minimal, we made a loss last year due to a tenant ruining a house and us having to repair it.

I have been out of my profession for a while (I retrained doing something else) so that's probably why nobody is interested-scholarship will have moved on now. Fingers crossed someone gives me a chance in a higher-paid role.

I split with a long distance partner some time ago-when I got this house I'd only just began seeing her and our plan was always for her to move in-but she'd just strang me along, had no intention of actually doing it. She also lost interest in me once she started doing a hobby two years ago, so didn't want sex with me any longer and didn't want to spend time with me as she was more interested in that (suspected ASD). I wrote a thread about our situation at the time.

I live alone, and everything is so expensive. I had a lodger for a while but she lost her job and stopped paying her lodgings so had to go. I didn't like living with someone else who wasn't a partner anyway, but it did help financially.

I try to keep going. I run, walk my dog, go to a gym that costs £20 per month.

I have an MA and a lot of experience and I have things going for me but things just seem so difficult and I don't see how I'll get out of this slump. A higher-paid, more interesting role would help so I guess I can't do anything other than keep trying. I am also doing a course to get another qualification which may help. I just feel that any more knock backs or if anything else goes wrong, and I'll struggle to keep smiling.

He was paying 10% and me 90%. For more than several years. I questioned why I paid so much more than him and he pleaded ignorance. Then he was very sketchy about giving me the money back.

I don't think selling a property would solve the problem.
I don't have any issues with the admin, everything is done properly, I'm not a bad landlord, I sort anything that needs it, everything is up to date.

I'm sorry for not having figures stored in my brain, but rather on a spreadsheet that at the time of people asking, I didn't have in front of me...

Well, everyone on here is also asking you the same couple of questions (Why are you apparently stuck in a BTL situation with a partner who appears to have the whip hand in refusing to sell, despite exploiting you financially and letting you do all the work? How are you managing to be penniless as a single person with no huge outgoings on a salary of £32 k while co-owning 5 properties?). You appear to think these are irrelevant, but that doesn’t mean they are. And one can’t help but wonder why you have a reason why all suggested actions are impossible? My therapist would ask what is benefiting you in the status quo?

Because I don't see what it would achieve? Other than me having no fall back if anything was to happen to me, or in old age? Yes it would give me a cash injection now(albeit may also be a bad idea with the state of the market) but it wouldn't supply regular income. Half would go to him half to me.

Because profits from BTLs are very minimal. They're a long term asset, not a livable income unless you own perhaps 8 or 9, solely not with someone else.

My income from my job is proving to be not enough, so I guess I need to cut out something (I'm trying to figure out how to cancel amazon!) And/or find a better job that is fulfilling as well as paying more. Going to perhaps advertise for a lodger too. But I'll need to consider properly what sort of person would work this time.

I don’t think anyone is disputing that profits from co-owned BTLs are often minimal! Why can’t you live comfortably on your salary, though? And why are you so vague about your finances? Do you have some giant outgoing you haven’t mentioned? Is someone else exploiting you and you haven’t noticed? Are you this vague and passive about other aspects of your life? What do your friends say when you mention this to them?

I do all of the sorting out of tenant issues, expenses, arranging tradespeople for repairs, changes of tenancies, dealing with the associated agents (NRLA, deposit protection schemes etc) etc but we both submitted our tax separately obviously. We're not married and don't live together or such and have separate incomes/financial situations.

But you can’t figure out how to cancel Amazon?

Okay, I must've been mistaken.
I don't know why, but it seems I can't. Expenses for living are just high.
No, I don't have any other outgoings other than bills/food/dog expenses/car/socialising (although as mentioned I don't go on holiday or have expensive taste in anything). What have I been vague about?

I am a member of two professional bodies for the academic work I do but I can't do anything about that and I pay annually to keep costs down.

I haven't mentioned it to anyone in real life. Everyone I know seems to be doing a lot better than me.

I am not sure what else could be happening but having looked at my bank account it doesn't seem anything is amiss.

I was scammed by a dating site some time ago, they were taking a bi-annual payment that I hadn't noted despite my having left the service around 5 years prior. They won't refund me.

I haven't yet, but in fairness I haven't had a proper look, just had a lot to do this morning/last night.

OP you co-own 5 properties from which you receive income from tenants. You seem to think this is not relevant to your situation and you are crying about not having any money.

you are either a troll or so massively unselfaware that you really should get some sort of help.

you are incredibly privileged to be in this position and it’s insulting that you don’t see it.

How did you get into this?

Did the co owners have far higher earnings and just put you on the ownership?

I might be wrong but I wonder if there's a lack of a sense of community around you. If hobbies like horse riding are too expensive could you try volunteering? Perhaps at a riding for disabled place? Or guides/ scouts or similar? Obviously these things are valuable in themselves but building your network can also help with finding new opportunities for work especially if you do tutoring.

The income from the tenancies is very minimal.

I am not a troll nor am I crying.

I realise I am privileged.

No, I had some money saved up-business partner initially put more money in but I paid him back as soon as I could. We remortgaged to buy the second and third one.

I think you need to sort your finances out. Do you have debt? Do you track spending? If you can capture all your outgoings, it's a great start to getting them under control.
As to the BTL, I wouldn't want to co-own properties with someone I didn't trust. I would prefer to have no BTL ideally, because of tax and compliance issues, the equity would be better, IMO, in a S&S ISA and left there to grow with zero hassle for the next 15-20 years. If I HAD to own a BTL, I would prefer to do it alone Vs with someone I didn't trust. You are setting yourself up for aggravation in future, life doesn't have to be this complicated. Just because the person you own with or the occupier doesn't want to change the situation, doesn't mean you must stay. I would write to them and say you circumstances have changed and you need to exit the arrangement. Set a time for them to decide if they will buy you out or sell the property. Don't be persuaded or enter discussion, just tell them.

That's the financials, which I assume are weighing on your mind.

But social - you don't mention friends or your social life at all? Can you work on that? Any hobbies? Anything you would like to do more of that brings you joy? It might take a bit of effort but very likely would pay off.

I definitely do.
No debt apart from mortgages/student loan.

I do talk to friends a lot on the 'phone and I get away for weekends/nights in/out with them when I can. I go to the pub sometimes-I don't have many local connections admittedly.

I go to the gym and run. I have a new friend who I can do dog walks with but that's complicated-I might make a thread about that actually.

A lot of my friends live in the place I used to live which isn't hugely far away but approx. an hour and a half's drive-not 'popping in for a coffee' distance.

I really want to take up riding again but I will have to figure out why things are so tight money-wise, first.

Maybe I can cut down on food expenditure.

I have cancelled amazon music-that's a shame as I love music and it made me happy but It's a start!

Are you the same poster who has the complex friendship with a married man in your village whose wife you’ve never met, with whom you share a hobby, and who never buys you a drink in your local?

I almost responded to that with 'no I'm not into men' then realised you said friendship!

No-this is a gay female friend. We used to work together.

We got on well.

Admittedly I found her quite attractive but I was in a relationship and then we both left the company and that was that.

She's now began working with me again and we've met up for dog walks a couple of times but she's told me she wants to be with me, and I just don't think It's a good idea. So I don't know whether it would be wrong of me to engage in a friendship at all. Sad becuase we get on well and I would like some more friends who are nearby! I don't really have any currently. I am not massively social so it isn't too much of a problem, and I speak to my friends on the phone a lot.