to give up my council house and buy a house?

[dirtyface]

here is our situation, i am 33 and dh is 42. am (mostly) a SAHM to 2 dcs relying on tax credits and a very small income from a (very) part time job :o

DH earns about 28k, which is an ok salary where we are are (in the midlands). we are in a 3 bed council house which i was lucky enough to get a few years ago, as was a single mum at the time. my house is my bit of security, i love it, i love the area even though its a bit rough lol and i know if the worst happened the kids and i would still have it.

i always assumed buying was out of reach due to mad house prices in the last few years. but did a bit of research and looks like we could buy a decentish house for about 80 - 90k. nothing great, just a small 3 bed. we have a couple of grand in savings already and could easily save a few more by really cutting back and would poss get help from my Dparents as they are very keen for me to buy a house.

however, i worry if we bought a place, if dh and i split up i would be left a single parent again in private rented. as this is exactly what happened to his exW. as, like me, she didnt work, she was a SAHM, and he paid the mortgage etc and got the mortgage based on his salary. i would never get the security of a council place again.

DH is opposed to buying as he owned before we met and says its not all that. he had money problems and at one point was depressed and almost suicidal due to the pressure of trying to keep a roof over his familys head when interest rates went up :( and i never want him to feel that again. he feels there is more security in renting ie if he lost his job we could just sign on and get HB to pay the rent, whereas we could lose everything if we owned a house and he lost his job (or worse). in fact money stresses were one of the (admittedly many) things that caused him and exW to split.

i also worry that with DH's age we may not be offered a mortgage anyway. as he would be 67 by the time its paid off. plus both of us have had debts / bad credit in the past (although they have mostly been cleared or are being cleared now)

however, buying has always been a big ambition of mine, and one of my biggest life regrets is that i did not buy in the late 90's / early 00's when i had the chance and when prices were very affordable. and i think its a now or never thing tbh. unless we have a lottery win :o

something i would also add is that we are TTC for #3. so if that happens it will effect our finances (obviously)

phew! sorry its long but would appreciate some advice please :) x

What I would do is stay put for now, at least until you are in a position to look at employment again after DC#3. But I would save and save hard. You say you have a couple of grand, that's not really that much in the scheme of things. You should look to put as much as you can away for say the next 5 years, and at that point you'll have better choices.

Although I'm another one who says you shouldn't feel guilty about staying in your secure tenancy - that's what they're for. But I think you may want to consider what you want your lives to be like in 30 years time - DCs all away from home, do you still want to be paying rent? Do you believe it's important to be able to pass on wealth to your children? And of course, although the bedroom tax doesn't apply to pensioners now, that's no guarantee for the future - how would you feel about being rehoused to a 1 bed flat in 30 years time?

Difficult questions I know - no rush to answer them. But save, save, save and then you'll have options.

Best of luck to you and your family.

We have had this discussion recently We are in a similar situation. Dh earns similar figures and we can pick up a 3 bed 2 miles away for 100k.

For the time being we have decided to stay in our ha house. It is affordable. In a nice area, larger and the money we save gives us a car each and a nice holiday each year. We have been lucky and if the rules were to change then we would re Evaluate.

last time we went to look at a house they wanted a huge deposit and it was a 3 bed semi so it maybe you can manage the mortgage repayments but the deposits been expected are huge that is what got us we dont have 20k for a deposit

I am not angry

I just wanted to say I admire your principles regarding right to buy. I am totally against it too, although I understand why people would want to buy the house they are living in for a cheaper price. However, like you, I just feel thats one less council house available to someone who really needs it, and I think the whole rtb should be stopped.

Anyway, I hope you come to a decision thats right for your family.

Feeling I am struggling to get past how you are entitled to tax credits when your DP earns 28k and you have a part time job... DP is a full time work earning 20k i am a SAHM and we are not entitled to ANY tax credits or housing benefit we have one child and one on the way.... I take it your still claiming as single?!

I think you need to check out your facts rather than accusing the OP of benefit fraud.

If you husband is working full time and you have one child and no child care, you should be entitled to around £2390 a year rising to £5110 when your second child is born

I am not angry

you may not be angry but you did insinuate the poster was on the fiddle

I can truthfully say that having scrimped and saved to buy my own house when I was left alone in my 40s is the best thing that I ever did - I have just finished paying the mortgage, and have been able to retire knowing that I am not dependent on HB etc (which may or may not be there in the future) to keep a roof over my head.

The peace of mind now is worth all the scratting about for money when I first bought - it was a very close-run thing, but I did it and now I have somewhere to live in my old age without the worry of finding rent etc each month (sorry, that really isn't a stealth boast - it's just such a relief )

feeling

Directly accusing another poster of committing fraud especially when you have no idea what you are talking about is seriously out of order.

It also does not matter if a court would decide her need of this possible future house would be greater than that of her dh should they part company.

A court cannot give a house to someone who cannot maintain it,paying the mortgage would come under that expectation they do have the option to make the other party fund it whilst she remains in it BUT they can only do that if the income exists to do so. Not a chance that this would happen on the dh's salary as the court would need to account for his need to secure himself accommodation as well as his ability to fund hers.

From a tax credit/dwp view point any money he was ordered to pay for HER future would be classed as income even if its housing cost related so she would end up in a much much worse situation.

To the others who say we don't know what is going to happen with social tenancies in the future,in a way you are right but there is a reason any changes made in relation to the actual tenancies (and not dwp or benefit related) only impact on new tenancies and that's because its unlawful to do so to the older ones.So in reality we do know exactly whats going to happen to older tenancies and that's that they will stay the same,its a subject that has been done almost to death by the powers that be.

op I'm going to be quite blunt here and please don't be offended but if you hand back your tenancy without being in a compleatly secure financial/relationship position then it will be a really really stupid thing to do.

As things stand at the moment the security is yours and is not dependant on you having to do anything other than stick to your tenancy agreement even if your relationship breaks down its pretty damn easy to get shot of a joint tenant (lots of people are going to jump in and say ohhhhhh you can't get rid of a joint tenant but yes you can if they don't agree to remove themselves it costs £70 and takes half an hour and your need to be greater)

Your dh/p also does not want to do this and he's the one that will be paying for it.

The likelyhood of you obtaining another social tenancy if things go tits up with the house you buy are slim to none.

thanks for all the replies and good advice :)

to the lady who was shocked at me still getting TCs - well i only get a tiny amount :o and it is based on dh earnings and my (very) pt wage. plus i have 2 dcs. i think you said you only have the one? also, we do not get any HB at all.

i would honestly double check your entitlement. does not sound right that you and dp get no tcs at all.

I'm a SAHM I have a joint mortgage with my DH, it would never have been any other way, why isn't this an option? I'm confused!

With reference to the point that the state doesn't pay people's mortgages. All that housing benefit going to private landlords is paying off lots of but-to-let mortgages, millions of pounds every month. Tax payers are effectively paying for private landlords to pay their properties.

..to pay for their properties.

My chief concern for you is that your major problem with buying a house with this guy is what will happen if you split up, and you are planning to conceive another child with him?

i get why you would think that expat

but i am someone who always thinks of the worst case scenarios. and while we are really happy at the moment the future is never ever set in stone is it, many husbands walk out on "really happy marriages" have been on mn too long i think

I'd carefully look at what your mortgage repayments would be and compare them to what you currently pay in rent.
Work out what the payments are at current interest rates,then think about how much the payments will rise if interest rates rise( they were into double figures in late1980/90s )
Also factor in buildings insurance and some form of life insurance to cover the mortgage if something happened to either one of you, also look at cost of servicing boilers and home maintenance.
Then think hard about how long you see yourself living with your DP

Why Hello DirtyFace

The way I see it, if one or both of you isn't 100% comfortable that you'll stay together then you should stay precisely where you are. But it seems you're worried about that and DH just doesn't fancy buying? (If I'm reading that right).

However, if you get to a position where you're both happy, the sad fact is the country needs as much social housing as we can free up. It's not ideal but it's certainly the truth! And when the mortgage is paid off, you'd have a property to leave behind for your children when you meet your maker...can't do that with a council house

Hi

I think I would either keep renting or do right to buy only you can decide. Only thing I'd say is that you can only have 6k of savings before it affects your tax credits

Many people do have lifetime tenancies and I understand why people think that these tenancies cannot ever be revoked because new rules can only apply to new tenants but contracts change all the time. What happens if the council sell all of their housing stock to a private housing association? Technically the contract you previously had is no longer valid because that 'trader' is no longer trading. If you don't own the house then the council can change the contract. It doesn't take much for the concil to say that they are evoking the tenancy because you have breached the contact terms- not keeping up with your garden, making too much noise, neighbours lodging complaints etc.
Some councils have already topped giving lifetime tenancies to new tenants as the following article shows:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20949602

How long before that same thinking is applied to existing tenants? No doubt there will be a test case and it will be interesting to see what happens. Personally, I would like to see an end to lifetime tenancies and instead see them reviewed on a biannual basis to determine the extension of the current lease and the amount of rent payable based on the household income. That would help to free up some homes for people that actually need them rather than some people that just enjoy the cheap rent despite having above average income.

Sorry about all the typos in my post above - phone typing is not my thing.

Are you out of your mind?

You worry about the effect on your living situation if you and your dh split, but you are considering having a third child???

And you have the luxury of not working.

I honestly envy you your lack of foresight and privilege.

I'm surprised a few people have suggested staying where you are as opposed to buying somewhere if you have the option.

I would 100% always chose to buy over rent. If you buy then your monthly payments go towards a solid asset, what do you have to show for each rental payment? A huge advantage with owning your own place is once your mortgage is repaid you have no housing costs, unlike renting. I don't think you can convey in words thedifference between owning your own home and renting someone else's. Home ownership offers huge comfort and security.

Lastly, I wouldn't bank on any kind of security with regards to social housing especially under the current government. They can and do change the rules to suit their own agendas.

I cannot believe someone on this thread is boasting about not buying their own home so they can have a holiday and are running two cars.

What a kick in the face for those who desperately need a home or are working very hard and living private housing yet couldn't afford the same.

Feeling you definitely are entitled to child tax credits but not working possibly even a small amount of hb too.

Running as sock said social housing is not and never was intended for "poor people" . When social housing was introduced there was great pride in having a council house. I suspect you are a little jealous.