Advice please on whether I should try to sell my house.....

[MooseD]

I have relocated to the other side of the country to be a bit nearer my mum (bereaved 2 yrs ago).

I was very lucky to get a job, but was unable to sell my house in time.

So, I'm renting it out, and that covers my rent where I am now.

I have considerable divorce debt (mainly from buying out my EH); I'm just about managing to hang on in there by doing extra work which is impinging on the time I have with DD & my mum.

According to the rental contract terms, the earliest I can sell is July, which is a tricky time of the year to be selling. My tenants have indicated that they do not want to renew their contract in Sept.

If I can sell, I will be debt free as I have enough equity. But I'm worried about then shelling out for rent and shelling even more out to buy again....I don't know what to do!

Any advice would be very gratefully received. Thank you.

In your shoes I would sell. You might have to save for a deposit but you're not going to continue having to work yourself into an early grave to pay mortgage/rent/debt/maintenance of btl.

I would sell but start the process earlier than July. Get your buyers interested and lined up on the understanding that the earliest they can take possession is September or whatever. If you think you'll need extra borrowings like a bridging loan to manage the transition, talk to your bank.

I agree with Cognito starting the process sooner. Just one thing you say your rental income covers your new rent - you have factored in the tax you will need to pay on the rental income haven't you? Just mentioning so it doesn't come as a nasty shock at a later point and you can factor it into your selling calculations.

are you sure that your rental contract doesn't allow you to sell? Normally the property can be sold but it doesn't affect the tenants, who simply continue on the same contract with a new landlord.

but it is difficult to sell with tenants in situ as you can't expect them to be showing lots of people round. Best thing is to get them on your side - as they want to leave anyway, ask if they can help you by allowing viewings within certain time periods. They don't HAVE to but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Hi again and thanks for advice so far.

I have had advice about the tax bill so I have £800 put aside.

What I meant to say was that the earliest I can put the property on the market will be beg. of July. I think I will try to sell it and if I don't have any joy I will let it out again for 6/12 and then try again next Spring.

I'm on Nights now, but will talk to the Agents next week.

Have you thought about auction? I sold my tenanted property this way last summer. You might loose a little off the total you make, but it meant I could sell as seen (no need to spend ages cleaning up after tenants), you get a date to work towards, a lot of buyers are after tenanted properties as investments, and the sale has to complete within a set length of time after the auction. If the buyer pulls out they loose their deposit. I found it was a lot easier to plan finances this way as I knew how long I would be without rent and set the reserve so that all my debts were paid off as a minimum.

I've never given auctioning a thought.....but I will now, thank you!

I can't believe how fast the time is going.....it will soon be July.