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Original poster

Job under threat... Is it over reacting to sell up and move to cheaper house?

27 replies

Yfront · 31/01/2023 12:20

I'm just musing really but would be grateful for anyone thoughts or experiences!

In brief, we have equity in our house of around £275k. We have savings of around £100k. Our current house is a Victorian semi in a smart part of town. Mortgage is £2200pcm,
council tax £350,
gas and electricity £770 pcm

On top of that we have the usual tv, phones etc, plus 3 children doing ballet and scouts etc. Lots of outlays to maintain our current standard of living. We are really lucky in that the past 10 years we've not had to worry about paying bills etc.

DH is the bigger earner, but his job is looking shaky to say the least. There are zero bonuses this year, and they make up around 50% of his income. His team is under threat and he is worried about the future of the company itself.

I earn £2100 a month so no way can I cover outgoings with my salary.

My question is whether we should be seriously looking at selling up and trying to buy a cheaper house. There are some available in our town between £3-400k which we could get either outright or with a small mortgage. The idea of moving feels massively stressful but should we working towards that? Or am I catastrophising?

What if his job turns out to be ok and we've moved... What if the company goes bust and he's jobless with no redundancy pay and we struggle to sell our house...

Any thoughts? I'm trying to be savvy but not over react.

OP posts:
cortisolqueen · 31/01/2023 12:30

Moving seems extreme. How much do you owe on the mortgage? Could you use some savings to reduce mortgage payments/term if the need arises?

There's no harm in looking ahead at options if your DH loses his job, but I wouldn't necessarily act yet.

Beachbabe1 · 31/01/2023 12:44

770 pcm on gas & electric!? Wowzers!! How big is your house?

Bucks67 · 31/01/2023 12:49

Look into income protection insurance

InterminableWaitForTrains · 31/01/2023 12:50

I'd look at ways to reduce bills as much as possible where you are now, before going through the upheaval of a house move. Your energy bills are eye watering!

Live below your means now, as much as possible.

Original poster
Yfront · 31/01/2023 12:51

It's very draughty... Even spending that I'm in an oodie and wooly hat in my kitchen because it's Baltic ☹️

I suppose that's the other part of it - with a cheaper/more modern house all of our utilities and maintenance should go down.

DH is in a state of perpetual stress so can't think about anything but the absolute last thing he would want to do is move.

Everything feels very uncertain at the moment. At least we have options and a roof over our heads.

OP posts:
LIZS · 31/01/2023 12:52

Agree, you should not move until your dh has a secure employment.

Lcb123 · 31/01/2023 12:56

Moving seems extreme -I’d look at income protection, and how you could reduce outgoings if necessary. But the job market is pretty good, depending on his expertise

TiredandLate · 31/01/2023 12:57

That size of mortgage and the outgoings that go with it, with uncertain job security would scare me too.

If you can downsize and keep enough space for all 5 of you and save over £2000 pm in outgoings then it is worth seriously considering. Your DH must also feel under huge pressure. Could he easily find work at a similar salary or is he likely to take a drop if he loses this job?

FriedasCarLoad · 31/01/2023 13:02

Moving will be temporarily more stressful. But it sounds like it will then remove a great deal of stress and put you in far more secure financial position.

CatOnTheChair · 31/01/2023 13:05

If redundancies have already been announced at DHs place, income protecting won't pay out.

Selling takes time, and is expensive.

I would get DH to be looking for a new job, and start cutting back a bit to have more savings behind you should the worst happen. 100k savings should get you through a year?? I don't think it's worth catastrophising over.

Overgrowngrasslady · 31/01/2023 13:06

you habe enough money behind you and he can start trying to another job. Just stay calm and do not move just in case.

Original poster
Yfront · 31/01/2023 13:06

His job is very niche, particularly in Scotland. A new job with similar salary would likely be London based. Another Scottish job would probably be lower status and lower paid (although obviously that's a bridge he'd just have to cross if he had to). He is occasionally approached by head hunters but they have been from London, Singapore etc.

Outgoings-wise I'll have a think about how to reduce them although I'm not sure where to begin. I'm frugal with clothing etc already, most of the outlays are housing/utilities and groceries/petrol. We probably are too used to certain luxuries though without even realising it.

OP posts:
Ilovechintz · 31/01/2023 13:07

Can you use some of your savings to improve your current house? Windows, new floors? Why is it so draughty?

If you want to sell would you have to spend to get it to a good condition?

Original poster
Yfront · 31/01/2023 13:08

I could also try to increase my salary slightly but we are still very much at the expensive childcare stage so it doesn't feel worth it unless he was at home. That is an option if it all goes tits up.

OP posts:
Pashazade · 31/01/2023 13:09

Thing is you can only really plan for something you could buy outright because if you started the process and your DH gets made redundant you won't get another mortgage......I'd maybe sit tight/try for another job. But you run the risk of getting stuck in the middle.

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 31/01/2023 13:16

If you’re in Edinburgh, you could move out to Mid or East Lothian and buy a 4 bed detached new build for £400k outright. Or something a bit nicer for £550k and still halve your mortgage. But I wouldn’t start moving when you don’t know the job situation. Maybe one to bear in mind once you know if he’s going to lose his job and/or whether his new job is still in Scotland or at a pay cut or whatever.

Whyareblokesonhere · 31/01/2023 18:11

So essential.bills.each month are what exactly, £4k? So worst case scenario is you both lose your jobs but even then you have 25 months worth of living- assuming you bring in zero wages but even one on min wage could earn around £1500 so in the worst worst case scenario you would have 30months to sell your house. I'm sure there is more you could do before that stage though, sell cars, cancel kids clubs etc etc.

I think you are a long way from having to sell, unless it is purely for mental health, which is worth more than all the money

MrsFrugal · 31/01/2023 19:31

OP your gas & electric can be reduced I live in a really old detached 4 bed and me and DH work from from home our bill is 350 per month. You have a decent chunk in savings but try and add to this whilst DH is working, look at potentially increasing mortgage years, downsizing cars cutting back on social activities if moving is not an option

SharkVega · 31/01/2023 19:40

What if the company goes bust and he's jobless with no redundancy pay

Whilst it probably wouldn't pay his full salary if he's a high earner, if the company goes bust he would get capped redundancy pay, owed holiday pay, pay in lieu of notice etc. from the insolvency service.

SaltnPeppaPig · 31/01/2023 19:56

I think you'd be crazy to do it just in case he loses his job when you have £100k in savings! That's an incredibly high amount.

Bunnycat101 · 02/02/2023 07:42

What is your interest rate, term and how much is remaining? Those figures are just as important as how much equity especially if you’re going to be coming off a low fix. I’d try and ride it out given the savings you have and potential redundancy payments but would look at sums carefully re what is affordable if your husband had to get a lower paying role.

Original poster
Yfront · 03/02/2023 09:00

Hi

Thanks for the further replies. It's really useful to have some thoughts on it. Mortgage is unfortunately on a variable rate and has gone up from £1600 last year to £2200 and is still going up.

Mortgage sum is £300k, giving us equity of probably £275k but in a good market we could probably get more than £575k, I just don't want to rely on that. The market at that end has slowed significantly lately.

I spoke to DH properly about it last night, he seems a bit calmer than he has done lately. He said he'll think about it...
I'm not all that wedded to this house emotionally but he is. That might be a stumbling block for us.

In the meantime we'll start being more frugal I think, and keep adding to our savings. Reading some of the threads on here I think we massively overspend in certain areas (groceries, sundries). We've thought about every way to reduce the utilities but it never seems to happen. I hate a draughty house and dream of a small, efficient, cosy new build with solar panels...

Thanks again everyone. Feeling less panicked today. We'll deal with whatever comes.

OP posts:
Notsurenotquiteright · 03/02/2023 09:25

Speak to a mortgage advisor and see how much you could reduce your monthly payments by paying a lump sum from your savings.
if it won’t work out much less use the money to update the insulation on the property, new windows etc.

are you in credit on the utilities- is 750 their estimated and your just paying it by direct debit? Have you submitted meter readings?

Original poster
Yfront · 03/02/2023 09:30

We have a smart meter and it is coming out at about £800 per month at the moment. Before the energy price rises it was about £450 so still high but it's now just eyewatering. I find it really depressing to think about as it's so much money.

OP posts:
Cottagecheeseisnotcheese · 03/02/2023 11:53

if you have 100K in savings surely you can improve draught situation, we live in old victorian house with single glazing and our energy bills are about half that and I work from home and I'm not freezing.
you should be able to get supermarket bill down to approx £600 a month without deprivation £400 would be possible but there would be sacrifices
try not to spend anything on extras for next month or two unless absolutely essential no new clothes unless something is lost or broken , do free fun
check you are not subscribed to anything you don't use definitely change to SIM only deal on phones when contract is finished
add up how much exactly you need to live each month as I can see mortgage food council tax, utilities add up to £3920 allowing food at 600,
work out how much more transport, car tv phones insurance children's sports etc is surely not more than £1000
so you need £5000 you earn 2100 so shortfall is £2900 this means your savings would last 34 months or 3 years, if your DH got a full time minimum wage job your shortfall would be £1600 so your savings would last 62 months or 5 yearsplenty of time to readjust living costs
if necessary you might short term have to tighten belts no eating out or cinema no holiday this year but you will not starve or be homeless, being frugal short term will enable you to keep house if that is what is important or it maybe more important to keep up your activities and extra cirricular activities in a smaller house you and DH need to decide but don't bury your heads in the sand good luck!