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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To move out and leave this mess for poor DP

158 replies

Flumped · 11/04/2022 07:55

OK, bear with me. There's a huge problem currently with lots of flats. If they were built with certain types of material they can't be sold until the material has been replaced (because of Grenfell). In most cases, affected flats can't be rented out either due to mortage/insurance restrictions. This has trapped thousands of people in their flats they scrimped and saved to buy, unable to move for the past few years.

DP is currently one of those affected. I've been living in his very small 1 bed flat with him now for two years. It's in the London commuter belt, in a concrete town with nothing to do, right next to a busy main road - I get woken up by lorries every single morning around 5/6am, and it's made my asthma worse. Since the pandemic we work remotely, but I have to work in our bedroom. So I spend 20 odd hours a day in my room, sleeping and working, Mon-Fri. It now looks like his block of flats won't be fixed for another 2 years. I'm absolutely crawling the walls and can't stay here any more. I'm 35, I've lived and travelled all over the world. I love hiking and cycling but I can't do either of those things here, I'm completely trapped and I can't believe this is my life. He's had to fork out thousands for this flat problem and doesn't want to go on holiday or spend any money in case more bills come. It's an awful situation for him, it's not his fault, and he's a brilliant man and partner, but I can't live like this anymore. I'm not bound by the flat. I'm thinking of just leaving. Is that awful?

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 11/04/2022 09:37

If I left it would probably be the end of the relationship, yes. DP would be pretty upset. It's not his fault at all, he's so stressed about the whole situation. Me leaving would be terrible. His family would be very unimpressed with me too. As I've already explained, we can't rent the flat out and move - and we can't afford to run two properties! There are lots of fees and things that come with this flat too. It's also taken my decision whether to have a family or not out of my hands, which is pretty gutting, it's too late now.

If you weren’t WFH then you’d probably be able to deal with living in the flat.

It’s not too late to have DC.

Look for a new job.

MySecretHistory · 11/04/2022 09:39

rent a shared workspace- very cheap at the moment even in central London

gingerhills · 11/04/2022 09:41

Did you write a similar post a few weeks ago?

If so, nothing has changed. You seem to want strangers online to give you their blessing to do something you feel morally guilty about: leaving him, so you can have a better life.

Honestly, my advice is move out. You don't have to split up with him but you do need a better quality of life. The life you're living now is absolutely wrong for you. Find a place near green space, and near libraries or cafes where you can work and get a change of scene. See him as often as you can and invite him to stay over so he gets a break from it too.

Moving out doesn't have to mean breaking up. There are lots of options.

BarbaraofSeville · 11/04/2022 09:41

So in this link:

www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-new-plan-to-protect-leaseholders-and-make-industry-pay-for-the-cladding-crisis

it talks about:

'Changes to grant funding guidance will help those in shared ownership homes who want to sublet their properties and encourage landlords and lenders to approve requests, in recognition of the hardship shared owners are facing'

So things may have changed since your DP last asked for permission to sublet.

Surely he must be able to rent the property out to at least cover his mortgage?

So you give him an ultimatum. Either he fights to be allowed to let the property out and he does so. Then you rent a 2 bed place somewhere else so you both have room to work. Plus you actually go out and do things as a couple (in your previous threads you said he was happy staying in all the time). Where are you with being able to go back to the office? Surely now, just about everyone can go back if they want to.

Or you move out on your own and live your life how you want to without him and his flat dragging you down.

fedup078 · 11/04/2022 09:42

Do you love him?
Genuine question

ClemDanFango · 11/04/2022 09:44

What is it you want people to say? You sound like one of those infuriating people who ask for advice and always find some excuse as to why this or that won’t work whilst ringing your hands and trying nothing.

Lovemusic33 · 11/04/2022 09:44

I hike alone, I prefer it tbh.

I remember seeing your other threads. If your not happy then just leave and house share somewhere else.

Goldfishjones · 11/04/2022 09:46

So if you left, you would presumably get your own place. Why can't you do this now and both of you live in your new place? Or share both properties?
If you want the relationship to work this is what you'd do.

If you want to end the relationship then end it but don't pretend it's about the flat. Surely no-one would be shitty enough to abandon someone they love in your DP's situation. Don't stay with someone you don't love, neither of you deserve that.

Can't believe the cladding crisis by the way, what an absolutely abominable situation for people living in those flats. Surely if they are not fit for sale, they are not fit for the current inhabitants. Just awful.

lapasion · 11/04/2022 09:46

You can break up with anyone for any reason. Doesn’t have to be moral or whatever. If you’re not happy, then do it. Why do you care what his family thinks? It doesn’t sound like you’re very compatible and I think your mind is already made up.

bunfighters · 11/04/2022 09:46

You posted before about this didn't you? I don't think you will get different answers this time.

WonderfulYou · 11/04/2022 09:49

I would look into you moving out into your own place and him coming to stay with you.

You say you both work remotely so you could move to a cheaper area and if close enough he could even travel back to his flat to work and have his own office space so you wouldn’t need to rent a very big place of your own.

Is it literally just the flat why you want to end the relationship or are you using the flat as more of an excuse to leave?

DrSbaitso · 11/04/2022 09:51

@Flumped

I would probably have to go back to a houseshare, away from London.

If I left it would probably be the end of the relationship, yes. DP would be pretty upset. It's not his fault at all, he's so stressed about the whole situation. Me leaving would be terrible. His family would be very unimpressed with me too. As I've already explained, we can't rent the flat out and move - and we can't afford to run two properties! There are lots of fees and things that come with this flat too. It's also taken my decision whether to have a family or not out of my hands, which is pretty gutting, it's too late now.

You can't sacrifice your entire life for his parents' approval! You shouldn't do it even for him if you don't love him enough for that. It's no recipe for anyone's happiness.

Look into selling to this developer that bought your neighbours' flat. I know you won't get much but it's a lot for an unsellable albatross around your neck and it'll let you move on with your life.

RaspberryChouxBuns · 11/04/2022 09:55

You've posted this before OP

WeAreTheHeroes · 11/04/2022 09:56

If you love him and want the relationship to continue them you need to find a way to fix things as a team. Can you get a bank loan to pay whatever the costs are to resolve the cladding issues? Interest rates are currently pretty low. Have these cladding issues even been resolved for the building and do you know what the costs are for your boyfriend? Has he spoken to the mortgage company about possible solutions?

You've posted about this before. Either you find a solution together or you leave if you cannot bear it any longer.

BitOutOfPractice · 11/04/2022 09:57

@BarbaraofSeville

So in this link:

www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-new-plan-to-protect-leaseholders-and-make-industry-pay-for-the-cladding-crisis

it talks about:

'Changes to grant funding guidance will help those in shared ownership homes who want to sublet their properties and encourage landlords and lenders to approve requests, in recognition of the hardship shared owners are facing'

So things may have changed since your DP last asked for permission to sublet.

Surely he must be able to rent the property out to at least cover his mortgage?

So you give him an ultimatum. Either he fights to be allowed to let the property out and he does so. Then you rent a 2 bed place somewhere else so you both have room to work. Plus you actually go out and do things as a couple (in your previous threads you said he was happy staying in all the time). Where are you with being able to go back to the office? Surely now, just about everyone can go back if they want to.

Or you move out on your own and live your life how you want to without him and his flat dragging you down.

Yeah, the government has "set out" lots of different "plans" over the years that this has been going on. I wouldn't hold my breath!

But it IS possible to get a BTL mortgage now, even on flats over 18m and with Grenfell-style cladding. The OP hasn't even tried though.

MRex · 11/04/2022 10:01

I think you've had a previous thread, where it was clear you're past the limits of what you can endure. I advised on that thread that you should move, and still think it's the right decision. Your DP can still choose to sell for way under asking price and start again fresh, worth suggesting to him.

Findingneeemo · 11/04/2022 10:04

Will his existing lender give consent to let? Which bank is he with? Yes the rate may go up a little or he will have to pay an annual fee but if he explains it is affecting your health they may allow it.

Findingneeemo · 11/04/2022 10:06

Halifax consent to let information: www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/existing-customers/can-i-rent-out-my-home.html

GoFishandChips · 11/04/2022 10:08

It's also taken my decision whether to have a family or not out of my hands, which is pretty gutting, it's too late now.

But you're only 35? All being well you have several years of fertility left to you. I personally wouldn't advise having a baby in the current situation, yes people do and they cope but you said yourself you're struggling mentally with the environment at the moment, adding a baby to that wouldn't improve things. Personally I'd go, you have one life, live apart for some time for your sanity, if the relationship breaks down that doesn't mean you won't meet someone else and doesn't mean children aren't part of you future.

Kennykenkencat · 11/04/2022 10:10

If you take the flats problems out of the equation the question is do you see yourself long term with your Dp?

If you don’t then move on. Find someone else.

If you do then you need to approach this as a team and your Dp needs to cut his losses and sell. He is just throwing good money after bad.
It is a brave decision to do this but ultimately it’s a choice between living a not so great life hoping one day you can make good the losses or walk away and sell and get on with your life and probably end up 5 years from now in a much better financial position having had a better 5 years than if you and he remained in the flat.

Have a look at what people are getting for places like this flat at auctions, will this cover the mortgage. These type of flats do come up in auctions or even approach the estate agents that have sold in the same block.

If it does cover the mortgage then great, if it doesn’t then he needs to ask the mortgage company to make the negative equity bit an unsecured loan. I would show the amount it is costing now to if you both went into rented how much money could be saved and how the negative equity loan could be repaid.
Mortgage companies if they are sensible will realise that if you defaulted then getting paid back would be a pipe dream.

The amount this flat is costing each month in the rent, the mortgage and the service charge and ground rent as well as the amount needed to pay for the fire marshalls and ultimately the repairs to put it all right could rent you both a nice detached house in a nice area of the country and you would as a team be able to save so much money that even a couple of years from now with your income and his you could be owning a much better place together.

Even if you both stayed and paid all the charges, the rent, the mortgage the repairs. The flat itself isn’t going to change. It will still be a 1 bed flat by a main road which is too small for you both to wfh in.

You have to have a talk with him about your future and part of that is writing down a 1, 3 and 5 year plan. How much this flat is taking just to keep up with the payments and charges and ultimately what it would be worth minus the mortgage and what it has cost to get to that stage when everything is fixed. Then as you can live anywhere what you could rent and save and ultimately with your income as well as his, what you could ultimately buy. Probably a house without any shared ownership schemes with the extra rent as well as the mortgage and no fire Marshall’s to be paid for or ever increasing service charges.

You can if memory serves me right live anywhere in the U.K. Even the world. Why then choose a small flat by a main road in one of the world most expensive cities which is costing an extortionate amount each month and even more for an unknown repair bill that needs saving for. One thing if it was Monte Carlo and your view was of blue sea and palm trees. Quite another if your view is of lorries and chicken shops.

Even if you decide to move out and on with your life I would have a word with your Dp for his own sake to think about selling and starting again. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what is happening with these flats.
The number of years lost waiting and saving and paying out for a tiny space in the hope things will improve and the amount realised at the end will somehow be worth it when not living there will mean you end up with more without the stress.

TabithaHazel · 11/04/2022 10:17

You've posted about this before haven't you and got lots of good advice. You don't need to break up with him to move out though, plenty of couples live apart. If the situation is affecting your mental health you would be foolhardy to stay.

Dancer47 · 11/04/2022 10:20

You posted exactly the same before.
Just do what you want.
If I was your boyfriend, I would hand the keys over to the bank and walk away from that flat forever, and start again. So what if he loses a lot of money? Money isn't everything. Life is way too short for this.

crabbitmaw · 11/04/2022 10:32

You've posted about this exact situation before and got a lot of useful answers on that post, that people spent time on. Why not just look back on that thread instead of wasting peoples time all over again?

WonderfulYou · 11/04/2022 10:34

I didn’t realise you had posted before.

It sounds like you don’t want to be in this relationship anymore and you’re trying to use the flat as an excuse.

If you want to break up then that’s fine.
But if you say it’s for the flat reason then posters are just going to keep giving you advice about that which it sounds like you don’t want.

Mummyoflittledragon · 11/04/2022 10:37

Yes, just leave.

He isn’t invested in going out for these walks in the countryside or indeed going anywhere with you.

He doesn’t want to look into renting his house out.

He doesn’t want to talk to the co-owner of the shared ownership about selling.

He doesn’t sound that great in all honesty.