to consider selling up and renting?

[PavlovtheWitchesCat]

Oh i know i wont but just ranting really.

DH just can't get a job. He is too qualified/not qualified enough for everything. He has registered with agencies, nothing available there either.

I am on mat leave in a week. In 3 months my salary which we can just about survive on, will reduce to a salary we cannot survive on. we can take a mortgage break, which costs us in interest, then i will have to go back to work full time. It breaks my heart.

If we just sold up, we would not make any money, not really, perhaps enough to clear all debt (not much) but would not owe any money either.

Then, while DH continued to be blown out for jobs he can do with his eyes shut, as well as for the perfect job, we could maybe get some help with our rent and I can be a mother as well as a worker.

Or else i can continue to slog my guts out to keep our head above water, in order to live in a flat, just so we can 'own' it.

Starting to think owning is over-rated. Starting to think working hard to make something of ourselves is over-rated. It all goes nowhere.

AIBU to feel this way?

Ok, rant over.

YANBU.. it's all about the balance of life and happiness..

if it's going to make you happy / improve your life... then do it.

take into account the whole getting back on the ladder issue if/ when you want to.. and remember the downsides of renting too.

I sold up and now rent ( then onto self build project.. but that's another story lol).

I am a lot happier

Oh did you? That is DHs dream - to self build. How was it? how long did it take? I am a bit building project shy after a recent bad experience but we will do it one day. Just not yet!

Property just seems to be a money pit, we spend money to keep it going, to increase our space costs a fortune, whether we expand or move (just spend our life savings on a loft conversion which went wrong thanks to a cowboy builder), and when we get in a rut due to no fault of our own ie loss of employment, we have nowhere to turn for financial support.

We have invested so much time, heartache and effort, money, sweat and our souls into becoming home owners. But we could probably have had a much better quality of life if we rented, including a garden which we do not currently have, maybe some holidays each year...

but then, i feel like i am giving up if I plan to go on benefits, or rely on them in a way that makes it impossible to get out of again.

ahh the self build is gonna happen as soon as I get my planning through lol... so can't comment on that yet

well.. I reckon planning to go on to benefits isn't so great... but.. your on maternity leave and your DH will get another job. bear in mind that landlords can be very picky about DSS/ children/ pets etc... but there are great ones out there

Not really that I am planning on benefits, just all seems so hard at the moment. If i work less hours, and we rented, i would get some support financially, rather than us having to do it all ourselves. DH will of course find a job, but its taking a lot longer than planned, and his confidence is ebbing away as we speak.

If we rent, and are both working, we will be great financially, and if one of us loses our jobs, we have some help in the short term.

If you really don't like your home then why not? As long as you accept that you may not become home owners again in the future and you accept that by renting you live with the risk that you can be asked to move on with only 2 months notice after the initial 6 month period......

Tis a hard choice.

Pavlov .. exactly.. seriously if it will improve your life just do it ... if not... don't ..

it's just bricks and mortar... home is what you and your family make.

cargirl - i will enjoy my home again I am sure. Its not that I don't like the place itself. The loft conversion has jaded me considerably, but that, along with DHs lack of employment just makes me feel so dispondent about it all. It just feels like we tread water for not very much at the moment, heartache for something we can get if we pay monthly rent without the hassle. Of course there are downsides, but feeling more and more that those downsides are not as bad as the downsides to owning.

in that position wouldn't it be a worry though about affording the rent? you may be better to at least keep the security of your place?
but if you're sure it would be financially easier and better for you then yanbu

firawla - i will be earning so little on maternity leave that i would likely qualify for housing support, some at least.

I guess i just don't see the point in trying anymore. We seem to be getting nowhere.

I am sure I will feel differently tomorrow after a good nights sleep.