WIBU to ask DP to move in to a shared house

[FakePlantsOnly]

DP and I currently rent a 1 bed flat for £775 a month plus bills; we're both on reasonable money but haven't always been and as such we also owe a decent amount of money-pushing £30k that we are paying back in monthly instalments off of loans and credit cards.

I've been trying to find ways to save more money to clear the debts faster and then start saving for a place of our own.

The place I've found gives us a room in a house where the only other person in the house will be the owner- the room rents for £475 a month leaving us-after travel costs, phone bills and food and such with just over £1000 between us which is more than I've ever had to play with. I would use this to clear my debts faster and start saving for a house.

This would be for-at most-3 years. My question is, would you find any of this unreasonable?

Sorry for the long post-I'm trying not to drip feed.

I lived in a house share until age 29, and that was with no debt other than student loan. I say go for it, and talk your DP round

Glad to hear you're planning on paying off your debt first - because of the way mortgages are now being calculated by affordability, its likely that even if you saved up a 10% deposit you'd still not manage to get a mortgage with unsecured credit as they work out your repayments as percentage of unallocated money.

I definitely think it's worth proposing this plan to your husband as you should be able to be debt free in 3 years based on your figures and it seems like you've not got that option if you stay where you are.

I think it’s a good idea but definitely pay down your debts before saving.

If you want to get an idea of what impact your debts have, find a cheap house on rightmove, and plug your details into a mortgage calculator based on your calculations. Your debts will probably make it unaffordable to a lender even if you have a substantial deposit.

Good luck! I got myself into a similar situation when I was your age and have never got out of it - difference is, my house is worth buttons.

If you have student loans debt, that is the one exception to the advice above - do not increase your repayments, just stick at the standard level.

Good plan.
Move
Pay debt
Save

You would find it hard to get a mortgage with debt. Your outgoings on debt payments would reduce the amount offered considerably.

Look at a mortgage calculator. Put in joint income without debt outgoings.

Then put in joint income with debt outgoings. I bet it reduces the amount offeredby about £80,000.

It sounds very sensible but as others have already said pay of the debts first.

The Money Saving Expert Debt free wannabe section gets recommended on here often. That might help too

What did you spend the money on? Is there any chance you could rack up debts of that size again? You both seem to be a bit in denial of the whole thing - you've only mentioned half of the debt so far and don't know what he has. Sharing will be the first step on your journey but you both sound like you need a massive overhaul in your lifestyle. Check out MSE's debt free wannabe boards for a good place to start

The debts have come from having to move out at 18 on part time hours and needing to live. Unfortunately we had no other choice. I will be the first to hold my hands up and admit that I've made silly decisions in terms of the money that have been spent, but an overhall is exactly what I'm trying to do...

It might be easier to live as equals in a flat share where everyone rents, rather than with the owner who may be more demanding.

I think it's a great idea to move but as PP have said I would be using every £ extra that you will have to pay off the debts. You really need to be debt free before applying for a mortgage, you might find you won't get a big enough mortgage at all with that amount of debt.

Good plan. Loads of couples I know live in shared houses. It's often two couples in a two-bed place and the only communal space is the kitchen and bathroom. I'm in London, so it's really very common.