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??

you say you can work while your daughter is with her dad ? She is 15 that is old enough to be home alone while you are at work.

I’d really try to keep the house, if I were you.

Yes she is but her mental health isn't good as I said earlier so leaving her alone much isn't really an option as I'm very worried about her.

I know someone who did this in the early 2000's - they regretted it.

What about online tutoring? A colleague does that from home. Freelance editing work?

Can your daughter also get a part time job to help you out a bit, I know you mentioned about her mental health, I also have mental health problems, however sometimes working can improve mental health too which takes your mind off things

As per other pp, don't sell your house. It's your only asset.
get another job, anywhere doing anything, you have loads of transferable skills.
is your divorce finalised? You mentioned being in bad credit because of it?

I have been in a similar situation a couple of times. First after splitting up with DH. Second time when Covid hit and mine and DP's contracts weren't renewed as planned and wecouldn't only get more junior versions of our jobs, paying £30k less between us.

Both times, I got a second job, evening call centre first time and myself and DP did Deliveroo during Covid and lockdowns. I'm not going to lie, I was absolutely exhausted both times. But second jobs kept head above water, it was a meams to an end and I was able to make mortgage payments and kept my home.

When does the loan finish? Will it make a big impact to finances and change the situation? Is there light at the end of the tunnel if you keep hold of house until loan paid?

I'd always fight tooth and nail for my house. Renting would be madness.

You say you have a 2 bed house. It may be small, but a small room could be perfect as a base for a Monday to Friday lodger. I took one in after my marriage breakdown as well as the second job.

What is your line of work? In mine, this year I could command £20k-£30k more than my usual FTC annual salary when I started day rate contracting. I worked through a very good recruitment agency who got me contract after contract. Although I applied for and got permanent role on my last contract. I figured I needed stability and certainty in the current economic climate.

No op. As hard as it is no.

Putting yourself into rent means you loose life security..

Ok you have plumbing issues..... what if the house you rent has....and you end up having a shit landlord!

Don't do it.. I'd rather learn my own plumbing than sell.
Use a bucket loo....use something else..

Re negotiate the loan.

Don't sell your house. Things sound hard right now, but you will find a way through

With a child with mh issue, destabilising them into somelme else's hand's would be very risky.

You find a good rental...LL horrid etc.

Agree, don’t sell your house. Madness

Yes working definitely helps mental health- I think that's part of the reason I'm panicking so much about losing my job. The routine keeps me just about sane and I literally love my job... teaching is hard but so rewarding. I love my pupils and I'm so sad that I have to leave them.

She has been looking for a part time job but places are reluctant to employ a 14 year old as strict rules on how many hours they can work. We live in a tourist area so lots of things close up in winter.

It sounds like the end of a shit spiral of events and I completely understand your train of thought. But, think about in 10 years when you havn't been able to get back on the 'property ladder' and you've used nearly all your profit on rent? How will you live when you retire?

I'd sell and buy outright. Even with a poor credit history it's not impossible to get a mortgage if the LTV is high enough, then you could pay your mum's £50k back (ring fence it into an account that pays directly onto her account, both in her name) and if necessary, take out a small mortgage.

Could you (without giving too much info/outing yourself) give us a rough idea of your house value, total of debts, rough area that you'd be prepared to live. Mumsnet love a good 'sort out my finances/find me a house' thread.

I think your current situation is salvageable and there's hope for a good future but don't sell your house and rent. It would be like stepping off of an escalator onto a footpath that was crumbling away. The escalator will keep moving (it might stop/slow down) but it's pretty much guaranteed to keep going (that's your equity) the footpath isn't secure and there's no guarantee it'll always be there. You can swap big escalator to small escalator but it's hard to get back on the escalator from the dodgy footpath.

Sorry - that was a really shit analogy and a much longer post than was needed.

I used to own a house now rent. I regret it. Was out of my hands tbh. I would go for the cheaper area to buy option. Daughter could still see her dad if you arranged a half way point. Rent is still expensive.

You won’t pass a landlords financial checks so will struggle to rent.

I see you're a teacher but your annual income is pretty grim really. Are there no jobs in other areas you could take on for a few months to tied you over? Why do you assume you will be unemployed ?

Debt on energy is low like about three hundred quid down from £2000 after they swapped my supplier when they went bust and then said a had debt from them which hadn't been mentioned previously.

Well that just sounds like you've been conned - unless you hadn't read your meters for a year or two and had been relying on low estimates?

If you had been reading meters fairly regularly, personally I'd challenge that. It would make a massive difference to you.

Renting is dead money I am sure property prices will crash soon. Landlords are now wanting to sell because of the increase in interest rates they have to obviously increase the rent and a lot of tenants can't afford it.

Ok, how much equity will you be left with after paying back mortgage and repaying your Mum. Then look where you might be able to buy another cheaper house. Your dd can get on a train to visit her Dad if she is 16. It would be almost 6 months if you sold before you moved anyway. Your dd would only have to train to her Dad for a bit over a year. I am in West Midlands, where I live you can still buy a 3 bedroom terraced house for about £160k - £180k.

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127941572

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127833455

Trains go to London every 20-30 mins and take about 1 hour and 20 mins.

Don't know your occupation but loads of jobs available here. Also Birmingham only 16 miles away. Trains to Brum every 15 mins.

I went from teaching to bank hca, took home relatively similar to be honest
hosputals are crying out for hcas
dont sell your house

You are stuck in a negative cycle. You hate your situation but not one of the options available to you suits. You are stuck. You need to do something but the idea you've hit on is financially ruinous and will just make life worse. You are putting up barriers to any other solution.

I really think you need to get an evening /extra job. How about marking? Or exam envigilating online if you really won't leave dd alone. Or TEFL online tuition. Or 11 plus online tuition. I think your dd could be left so you can keep the roof over your heads .

I think the sharing a room with your dd and getting a lodger is the best short term solution. My friends have a family of 5 in a 3 bed house and have got a student lodger to keep on top of bills. They have 3 dc (1 teen, one pre teen, 1 primary aged, all the same sex) in bunk / pull out beds in one room. The kids see a counsellor due to awful situation in the past so it's not like they have good mental health either but they are making it work so life is better financially.

Can you reduce your pension contributions or anything at all that would give you spare cash? Can you take money out of your pension itself? what are your total monthly outgoings? You bring home about £25k, so that’s £2k per month. You need £6k to last 3 months. Can you sell anything? Such as your car? Anything in the house that was expensive and you can live without? Can you arrange a payment plan with the loan for your ex’s equipment? Can your mum add £6k to the total amount you’re paying back?

It’s either that or try to earn more. Tutoring sounds perfect for you - £6k is 120 hours across 3 months if you can charge £50 per hour. Start now and save everything you make. You’ve essentially got 3 months to get the first £2k, and once you’re no longer at work you can do a minimum wage job plus the tutoring, or any job you can get plus tutoring, which should add up quickly. Would your ex pay for any of DD’s costs that aren’t paid directly to you? Hobbies etc?

You could work in fe college... private.... supply

You’d regret it. You’d never get back on the property ladder and your money will disappear far quicker than you think. Then what will you do?

Renting is really difficult at the moment. In my area there are loads of people going for the same house and some people are applying without even viewing and throwing extra money at the landlord. You’d be ok while you have the money from the house sale but they’d expect a year’s rent in advance so you’d be panicking about your money dwindling straight away. People don’t understand the insecurity of renting unless they’ve rented. Every six months you’ll be wondering whether the tenancy will be renewed. That won’t be good for your DD or you.

Rental in area for 3 bedroom house is between £800-900 pcm.