To want to sell our home and have the freedom to rent

[zestyflavour]

I'm a single parent and have owned my house for about 14years and it's been nothing but financial hardship, nitemare neighbours, and debts up to my eyeballs..plus never having any money to spend on the actual property itself, let alone holidays or anything else, however It's a nice house in a nice area.
If I sell up I'll make a tidy profit which will enable me to pay off all the debt and get my children and I away from any impending nitemare neighbours (house next door is a rental) Plus is have money to lock away for a deposit in the future...if I don't spend it on a round the world trip!
The problem is...if I sell I won't get back on the property ladder for at least another 10 years (poor credit rating) but at least I'd have no money worries (although rental prices are pretty high ) and could enjoy life - sort of!what do I do??? Upset the kids by selling the family home but then actually being able to live a life, or stay here for their stability but be miserable, angry, and skint!
All comments welcome pleaseeee

[IsaSchmisa]

OP you may not need to change your mortgage to start paying off some of the capital. Lots of mortgages, even IO ones, allow people to make a certain amount of overpayments each year without penalty. Up to 10% is a common one. I don't know how much you owe or how much wiggle room you've got, but you'd be surprised what even £50 a month can do sometimes.

[reetgood]

Normally I’d say don’t sell, but interest only plus other debts change the picture a bit. I second the suggestion to post on a financially focused board like money saving expert.

Look at outgoings vs income. There may be a chance to lower outgoings so that you can start to save for end of mortgage term/ home maintenance. Am assuming remortgaging may not be an option. But you need to consider this with all facts and figures in front of you, rather than based on a knee jerk ‘must own’ or renting is easier. Both may have disadvantages, and I sympathise as it’s not an easy spot. However, I suspect your choices are make the house work or switch to renting completely. Without a big change in financial circs, getting a mortgage at 50 might be tricky.

[BarbaraofSevillle]

The OP says she has no money and lots of debts on an interest only mortgage so may not be able to afford captital repayment.

Has your income dropped since you got the mortgage OP? Has it always been interest only, or was it repayment in the past? How much equity do you have? What is your IO monthly payment and how much would rent be? What is the interest rate you are paying now? If you have always paid on time, your current lender may convert to repayment without doing a credit check at a better rate, so that might be an option.

Have you had proper advice on your debts and has interest been frozen?

For the best advice, you should complete a budget and either post on the debt free wannabe section of moneysavingexpert or seek advice from a charity (do not pay for advice or use a debt management company that takse a fee for contacting your creditors).

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan?_ga=2.95240217.462663158.1511172089-1760007378.1430132676

Selling your home to get out of debt could be a solution, but a very big step and you need to be sure it is the right one, before taking the plunge. And as others have said, you would be very fortunate to have a stable home in a nice area with a rent that is more affordable than an interest only mortgage.

[heron98]

YANBU.

I loved renting. Bought a house 2 years ago and have regretted it. I hate having to pay for repairs and maintenance and insurance. Renting was so much cheaper and easier.

[Motoko]

OP, please come back and answer some questions. We can give you more tailored answers then.

[ElsieMc]

I think this would be a serious mistake. I would explore downsizing and you need to get out to look at cheaper properties in good condition. It is all very well living in a good sized house in a good area, but you are clearly not happy financially or otherwise. You may be pleasantly surprised when you get looking. You could really reduce your mortgage and outgoings and enjoy life a bit more.

I rented short term and you can become comfortable doing so. I did, but I rented from a friend at a reasonable rate. However, when she split from her partner, we were placed in a very precarious position indeed and things became very unpleasant through no fault of ours.

However, my ndn are long term renters. They had a very bad experience with nightmare neighbours in their previous home and are very cautious now. She tells me it is great that she does not have to worry about maintenance of the property, breakdowns etc as her dh works away. Her landlord lives next door on the other side and he is keen to keep good tenants. She also knows that we will always help her out. She is happy but she has a lot of money in the bank that is a cushion from the usual ups and downs of renting.

[SmileAndNod]

@Sashkin I couldn't have put it better myself!

[iniquity]

When we moved from our last rental we had to pay for professional cleaning, oven cleaning and carpet cleaning. With a total cost of around £400 pounds. That was in the contract so even if you were there only 6 months you would still have to pay it. We had inspection too , but our letting agency even took pictures of all our belongings during them . It was such an intrusion.