Obscene mortgage?? Stay or go?

[tigger8]

We live in a lovely (bloom in' well should be) house but are paying a £2000 mortgage, per month. This was fine when I was working and bringing in a sizeable professional salary. However, life has changed dramatically and very unexpectedly. After 15 yrs of infertility and 1 adopted daughter later, I find myself pregnant for the second time. We have limped along, constantly talking and worrying about money since my first birth child's birth. With another on the way, it all seems 'too much' financially. Not in debt....just have to watch every penny with literally nothing left over for stuff cropping up. Hubby covers the mortgage alone. I can go back to work, but with child care costs, we will still struggle.

We have an offer on our house after trying to sell for years. This would mean moving into rented. There is no way we could afford a big enough house for us to buy......we could, however, buy a small house and rent it for income.

Question is: stay or go? We have to decide by 9am. We could muddle on but life would be an existence, if you see what I mean. Our brains are so confused by it all and stressed. Thoughts, please. Would be so grateful. Thank you.

It would be risky to rely on a rental income for anything but any sort of downsizing to pay less would have to be good. Have you looked at extending your mortgage term to cut payments?

Don't forget to budget for all the costs associated with selling/moving!

Good luck, and congratulations on having the DC (albeit unexpected by the sound of it!)

Are you sure you can't downsize? Presumably the house is quite big, a smaller house in a different area could be worth it for peace of mind?

I can go back to work, but with child care costs, we will still struggle.

I think it is very important for you to decide if and when you are going to go back to work.
You haven't given us more details such as ages of your kids, when is the next time you can remortgage and perhaps negotiate better rates, where do you live.

If it was me and I AM IN London I wouldn't move.
I went to work when my kids were 1 and 3, after paying childcare costs there was nothing left of my salary, that was for 6 years.
My kids are 14 and 16, I have separated with my ex husband and am able to support myself doing fairly interesting job.

Please reconsider, try to make 1, and 3 year long plans - it will get better!
Hang on there!

What about remortgaging over a longer period to reduce the amount you have o pay out? I would avoid selling if possible. At one point after child care we only got an extra £200 but it was £200 that we could spend and kept me in work long term. Good luck.

A mortgage will get paid off and give you security and a place to live for free in your old age.

If you rent then you'll always rent. You may struggle if your DH reaches retirent age and wants to retire as you'll still have big monthly rental payments to find.

I'd stay. The next three years will be tough, but after that the childcare costs will be easier to manage if you plan to go back to your professional career. Once you get off the housing ladder it'll be very difficult to get a deposit together because you're renting.

If you have space, perhaps having an au pair later on might make a difference? Just a thought.

I think you should look carefully at the different finance possibilities for staying in your house. For example, can you get an offset mortgage where you are legally obliged to pay only the interest. My mortgage is offset, and while it is £1250 per month, I only actually have to pay £600. I have always paid the full repayment total, but it gives me a feeling of reassurance that if anything happened I would be ok. There are also ways of reducing payments- ie lengthening the period of the mortgage depending on your ages.

Rented houses are very expensive! Before I moved here I was looking at renting a comparable house- it would have cost me around £1800 a month, which I could not afford.

The way I see it, even if I can't afford to pay this house off, them if I live here for 10 years, get the children through school (they're 10 and 12 now), and then sell up and downsize, it will have been worth it.

What is the interest rate on your mortgage at the moment? It may be worth talking to a mortgage broker.

I would stay. £2000 gets you nothing renting in London.

Work out where else you might be able to save money. Can you reduce food bills, shop around for best utility bills, can you extend mortgage by 5 years?

Are you in London though? I would go

You can rent a home in London for 2000! Not central but it can

interest rates will go up. how will that affect you?

a mortgage to let will cost more than a regular mortgage - can you afford that?