To consider selling my house and renting instead

[90sfilmsforever]

I've had a rough few years and I'm struggling to stay afloat financially as a single parent. Today I found out that my megalomanic boss isn't making my fixed term contract permanent, even though this was promised previously and I have worked my arse off to prove myself and had nothing but glowing feedback from my line manager.

I own my house with no mortgage but a small family loan on it that I pay back monthly. I've had a catalogue of disasters with plumbing and other house stuff in recent months that means I can't even afford to replace my only work shoes that fell apart two months ago. Since then I've been wearing a pair borrowed from my eldest that are too big for me. With necessary house repairs, a car disaster as well and the cost of living sky rocketing I've been in my overdraft for a good week before getting paid for the last few months, despite being in a professional salaried job. And now I find I'm going to be unemployed in less than 3 months.

I have no buffer or savings anymore due to afore mentioned disasters. There are no jobs in my field at the moment as due to the nature of my work they mainly come up at certain points in a year. I've been looking - just in case- since September and there have been two jobs. One I applied for and they withdrew due to covering the vacancy in house in the end. The other I applied for and heard nothing despite me always usually gaining an interview as my application is strong and I have lots of experience.

Would I be mad to sell up and rent to give me some breathing space, better job prospects than a small dead end town? I'd happily sell and relocate somewhere cheaper to buy but my daughter has to be within commuting distance of her dad and everywhere around here (south east) is so expensive to buy. Plus I'd have to pay back the family loan if I sold so that's already £50k I'm down. I have no real friends or ties where I am and we are both miserable. I love my little house but hate the town and the lack of prospects. Is it such a mad idea? In a few years my daughter will be at uni or old enough to decide where she lives irrespective of where her dad lives, so I/we could potentially relocate to a cheaper area then and still buy mortgage free with what's left, or with a better job I could get a mortgage in this area in the future. Am I mad??

Rent your house out and rent somewhere with better prospects?

No, I don’t think you are mad. It sounds like selling would be a good option for you.

Will you be able to rent without the income from a job?

I'd be very nervous of selling up and then being unable to get back onto the ladder, and moving into potentially more expensive and insecure housing in the current rental market to be honest.

Are you able to speak to the relative with the family loan to ask for breathing space?

Renting is shit. Complete waste of money and I don’t know why you’d want to do it if you didn’t have too.

Buy somewhere cheaper.

Renting is very expensive right now

Could you take out a small loan against your house? I would avoid selling if at all possible.

So you'd sell an asset that's increasing in price to rent? That is a stupid decision - if you don't have mortgage you could take some of the value out of the house and use that while keeping your asset - which you'd be unlikely to afford again as mortgages are rocketing

I wouldn’t rent. Either sell & buy somewhere cheaper or speak to the relative to see if they could accept less monthly over a longer time.

I will be able to rent as I'll have a lot of equity from my house sale - like nearly ten times my net annual salary. I should be able to get another job within 6 months no issue it's just the timing of the end of this contract and the slog of being skint always due to the upkeep of a house that's killing me.

YABU.

There was a thread similar recently.
The people renting the house next door to us are paying double what we pay for our mortgage.
Sell and buy somewhere cheape maybe?

Yes you are mad, what if you did this and found a great house but then in three years time your landlord who is decent has to sell. Don’t do it.

I’d be very reluctant to sell right now. Rental costs are crazy right now, and it’s very insecure - your rent can be increased or you can be turfed out.
Despite all the issues with your house, it’s your house.
I’d try and explore all other options before selling and going into rental.

I can't change the loan as it's from my mum- she now has advanced dementia and the income from it contributes to her full time care. She can't make financial decisions anymore but the loan is secured against my house so I have to pay back if I sell or keep paying the monthly amount.

I just can’t imagine where you live that rent would be so cheap compared to a very small loan in place of a mortgage and some house repairs.
Have you actually done the maths on this?

No. You need to do everything you can to keep the house. Renting is throwing money away. Buying is security for when you are old.

Dont.you will regret it.do anything you can to hold into your house.It will increase in value,you will eventually own it and will have that stability .
renting is basically paying someone else's mortgage off,you'll have zero security.
this is a really difficult time for you,for everyone,but keep hold of your home op.🌈

I can't get a loan - poor credit history linked to the relationship with my ex husband. I can't even get a credit card. Tried to get a secured loan for house repairs- the only one that would accept me had an apr of 68%!

firstly, I’d be concerned about ever getting back on the property market if you spend the equity from your house on rent (surely rent is more than maintenance on your current property??) and secondly, you’ll still need to find the funds to rent once you retire. Also, a lot of landlords aren’t great at maintenance themselves! I would look at selling and moving to something more manageable rather than renting.

If you can get another job in 6 months and are being made redundant in 3 months that's only 3 months salary you need to find, plus a bit for the existing overdraft. Can't you borrow 20k against your house?

Selling to rent is silly, you would spend the money very quickly on somewhere over priced, insecure and probably not that nice. Then when you want to buy prices will have gone up and you won't have much deposit. Depending how old you are by then you may not be able to get a 25 year mortgage either.

I do understand this but without employment I won't even have enough to cover essential utility bills within the first month.

Take in a lodger? It’s tax free cash.

Or rent out your driveway if you’re in an area that people find difficult to find a free or convenient parking spot?

Can't borrow anything - I've tried for the repairs

I would not sell and rent unless you were actually renting somewhere with really good job prospects.

I never usually say lodger- but lodger?
if you have no mortgage how are you struggling so much, have you looked your outgoings? Have you looked at other jobs?

No driveway or spare room- it's a tiny two up two down terrace. Nothing cheaper in the area- I had it valued a few months ago just to see what it was worth and I couldn't even buy a two bedroom flat once the loan was paid off.