No house, no job, single mum. Help.

[Forgotthat]

I need help and advice but really have no idea where to turn.

I’m going to try and bullet point to make it as simple as possible.

Going through a divorce
There has been physical abuse
(courts don’t care)
Offer has been put on marital home
STBEXH made himself bankrupt during divorce
I’m looking for a full time job
5 year old girl at school
Ex doesn’t help with DD
(So no after school care or pick ups or drop offs to school)
I have no money as ex took it all before he left (courts don’t care)
With the house sale I’ll have around 20k
Rent for 2 bed flat/house is £1.2k-1.4K a month where I live
I’d need to earn around £35k a year (haven’t been in work as I was a SAHM) to live and pay all bills
Finding a 35k job feels impossible.
One that’s remote (I need that or hybrid or extremely flexible hours) as even with after school clubs and care, the latest I can collect my DD is 5:30pm, so I’d need to leave work by 5pm - where finishes at 5 nowadays??

I feel like I haven’t got a hope.

Once the house is sold, we have no where to go, I’ll have to use the 20k for rent until I get a job, then what?

I’m terrified and I don’t know how I can better my situation. I know there’s lot of people worse off but I can’t see how I can get a place and a job that fits all the above criteria.

I feel so unbelievably down and can’t fathom how I’m going to do this all. The entitled to website doesn’t really help me because I have no idea what my circumstances will be.

https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/login.cgi

Apply to the civil service.

Find out what benefits you're entitled to. There's a calculator at Turn2Us I think. Good luck.

Have a look at jobs that are term time, you'd possibly be eligible for benefit top ups of some kind (UC maybe?). Also is STBEXH working? Get that CMS against him sorted ASAP.

Work part time for now, definitely apply for civil service, you could hopefully get a job sharing role. Apply to ALL benefits.

As a short term measure (and to look good when you apply to rent a property) have a look at the M&S jobs website. There are masses of jobs, and they usually specify the hours/times of day you’d need to work.

Friend recently applied, had interview and offer the next day, started a few days later and left after a few months for a permanent and f/t job (no refs required, just proof she was who she said she was!).

Don’t despair, half the problem here is a massive amount of uncertainty

Could you move in with family until you are sorted?

Relocate somewhere with better job prospects? (if ex is useless it hardly matters if you move away).

is your dc in a school with wrap around? How expensive is the wrap around? Most primary schools have wrap around from 8am to 6pm, that should give you an hour commute time (especially if you move near a primary school).

what kind of work did you do before dc?

what about ex’s family - would they help with pickup from school or care in the holiday?

You’ve took the biggest step OP and that’s getting you and your DC out of a toxic situation.

Get on the benefits calculator- and assuming once the house has sold (excuse naivity, I’ve only ever rented) you will be homeless and classed as priority for council housing. It may mean temporary accommodation that may not be the best but it will be a roof over your head. And mostly definitely get a claim in with CMS, although I don’t know if bankruptcy will have an impact on this?

Do you have citizens advice nearby? That would be a great first port of call.

Get yourself onto universal credit. I appreciate it isn’t ideal, and I’m unsure of the savings rules now a days but at least you have some money coming in to keep you afloat. Sure it would be great to save it for a rainy day but sadly you don’t have that luxury at the moment.

Sending you masses of love OP. You’ll get through this

Can you apply for social housing?

I would do all you can to keep as much of the 20k as a deposit for a house as you don’t want to be in a rental trap that you can never afford to get out of.

Do you have any qualifications? If not then I agree finding a job that pays £35k off the bat might be a challenge. I don’t even earn that and I hold a professional qualification. Is retaining an option?

Also, you may well get universal credit to top up your income. Even if it's just a tiny amount you'll also get 85% off wraparound childcare.

Would she be eligible for a lot of this with 20k in the bank though?

Could you look at moving area could make your money last longer while house job hunting. You state offer was made on home have you accepted?

Look in social work training.
That will pay well.

You can claim UC until you get the £20k, then once that drops below £16k you can claim again. Obviously you’ll need to work too but you won’t need to earn £35k.

https://thinkahead.org/

There are a couple of good Facebook groups that might be worth joining as they post details of vacancies (sometimes prior to being publicly advertised), and you can ask advice about all sorts - training etc, and possibly make some connections. I joined some free online workshops from these - one was how to use Canva. So possible to pick up new skills as well.

The work from home hub - UK
Flexible Working People (advice & jobs) UK

Hope you find something soon.

Are you still in the home at the moment? Is your ex there to ? You could possibly apply for social housing under the domestic violence route.

This BUT you won’t even need to close your claim OP- you’ll just have to report monthly how much ££ you have in the bank, and once it goes below the 16k the payments will automatically kick in again.

When you find somewhere to rent pay 6 months or more in advance to reduce your savings, and then save it in a seperate rent account. Could do the same with CT as well. Also gives you some breathing space to find work and childcare whilst you work out your budget going forward.

This is correct. Although OP, until the money you have in your accounts is less than £6k, you do get some deductions made from your UC as they will expect you to use some of your own money to live.

Also get yourself on housing list pronto - if you can get a rental pay 6 months in advance-by the way you can still claim that upfront money on UC as rent paid and get it back effectively.

Chances are your rent will be more than your allowance, so you may have to eat in to your money anyway until you find a job- there are jobs out there but you will need to use an after school club/ holiday clubs/ breakfast club if you have no other help - even I would say if you can get a working from home role, it's almost impossible to do a great job at wfh not using at least 'some' extra paid care. I would concentrate first on getting a place to live.

You can get housing benefit once your savings dip below the threshold ( no idea what this is ) but your options are to rent until that runs low enough then claim UC with housing benefit

Funds from the sale of a house are disregarded on UC for 6 months. Make a claim now for you and your child (you can claim as a single person without your husband if you can evidence that you're living separate lives despite being under the same roof, but make sure UC are aware he is also in the property). Also claim CMS. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-money-savings-and-investments

I'd use that £20k to move and as a deposit for a house. In the North eg Hull you can buy a 2/3 bed terraced house for £100. If exh was abusive you have every right to move far away from him. Whatever job you get even part time you will get UC top ups. Just have a quick look on Rightmove for houses in Hull.

you dont say where you are? if your in a more afforable town

get a job asap - UC will top you up - entitledto.co.uk

shared ownership - put your 20k down as a deposit, small mortgage and the rent is paid by UC (within reason!)

or pay upfront a years rent (less than idea!)

deep breath! you can do it