How are single mothers in this situation meant to live.

[pinkbubbleandcandyfloss]

I work full time and earn £40k
I am very lucky and have a tiny flat that I rent out (I have tried to sell but it won't move), because of this I am entitled to zero help from the government. This brings in £1100 but most of it is eaten up with paying the mortgage on it.

My rent alone for a two bedroom place is £1300, gas and elec £250 a month, council tax £140 + mortgage on flat around £700 a month. (This is buy to let interest only)! I then have to pay over £1k on nursery, which I can only do because my parents help me!
In all honesty I feel in such a helpless situation. I try and work freelance in the evening to bring in a little extra money and my ex pays what he has to £350. I work bloody hard and have nothing to show for it.

Sorry not sure of the point of this post, but why are our electricity bills allowed to go up again? It's actually hard to live a modest but nice life in the south east unless you're with a partner and earn mega bucks!

It feels if you live in the South East, as a single, working parent you need to be on at least £80k to live.

Have you looked at a childminder instead? We would have had to pay about 1k on top for my DD at a nursery, but with the childminder it worked out about £300 for exactly the same hours as there was much more flexibility and she didn’t charge for a hundred extras like the nursery did.
We then moved her to a preschool with wrap around care which worked out even cheaper.

It’s hard when you have another property that won’t sell. People think you’re lucky having a rental property but it can make your life 100 times harder.

How old are you?

Could you raise the rent of the flat you’re renting out?

@pinkbubbleandcandyfloss you can request a financial review from octopus, they will look at your account and see if they can help. Also they do a warm home review. I got free electric blankets from them. Your fuel bill seems very high to me. Two bed old semi detached house and I pay £120 a month for gas and electric. Currently in credit. It will go when winter gets here though

You can claim Married Couple’s Allowance if all the following apply:

you’re married or in a civil partnership
you’re living with your spouse or civil partner
one of you was born before 6 April
1935

Not many people are eligible for this allowance anymore! And you don't pay tax on your mortgage repayments. You will pay it on your rental income as it is classed as income. Have you considered PXing the flat for a brand new property? Or auction?

It should get better OP as your DD gets older. Nursery years are tough.

@Chewbecca ah my mistake!! Seems bloody weird again one for the boomers to benefit from!

Fair enough! Would have helped to lose the nursery fees...

@Chewbecca I technically do pay tax on mortgage repayments as you can only claim a certain % of it back xxx

@shellyleppard this is great advice thank you

@pinkbubbleandcandyfloss welcome x they helped me a lot x

Is it not selling for a safety reason like cladding? Or is not mortgageable?

If not then if you drop the price it will sell.

Otherwise, switch back to repayment mortgage and then there will be less income to pay tax on/invalidate your UC claim?

Or move back into the 1 bed flat?

It is v hard as a single parent

Modern matched of Auction can be a good way of selling quickly.

You could also consider putting the flat up for sale with the tenant in situ - I have seen flats for sale like this. Obviously only another landlord would take it on.

In your shoes I would prioritise getting rid of the flat as it will change your situation substantially.

Legislation and tax has been moving to impose greater tax and responsibilities on landlords and it's not something that's worth stating in especially as it will impact your overall financial situation.

If she's 4 you haven't got long until the childcare costs go down.

Just hang in there, the first few years are always going to be the most tricky, cost wise, but it gets much easier after that

It’s utterly wrong that your ex is not paying more. Personally I’d be looking to stop contact for someone that wouldn’t split the costs 50/50 of a child. And I think as a society we should be vilifying those men and holding them to account.

it’s also tough when you have an October birthday. Hopefully things get easier for you in sept 25. Hang on if you can! Moneysavingexoert is a great site for advice and solidarity

Def seems a lot for a 2 bed flat tho guess have electric radiators

How much is flat up for ? Can you drop
Price to sell it

One more year left of costly childcare and will get better

Dads should have to pay towards childcare as if mum didn't have them they wouldn't be able to work

@pinkbubbleandcandyfloss
'Boomers' were born 1945-1964, not before 1935, so can't claim the Married Couple's Allowance.
Those who can claim it will be 89+ years old.

This is why 50/50 unless there's a damn good reason not to. that way, both parents pay half the child's costs including childcare

@Flopsythebunny due to his job my ex cannot look after out daughter 50:50

Op.

Most single mothers don't have a spare flat hanging around in the background growing equity every month. I'd be very interested to hear how much your equity has grown say, in the last 12 months (even with interest only mortgage), or the last 2 or 5 years?

A couple more things I've read in your posts-

Your dd will be spending more hours at school soon, your childcare costs will be reducing

Your gas and electric will be decreasing soon as your debt is repaid

Your flat WILL sell if marketed at the right price. How and why should the state support you with such an asset? If you're in the SE the chances are that its value will be increasing. Sell it and buy a place for you and dd - you've already acknowledged that your mortgage will be lower than your rent.

Boomers do not get that allowance! It is for couple over 89 , so not that many. But your patronising remark about boomers has lost you some sympathy

Your DD will be starting school soon, at which point you’ll be £1k a month better off!
Also, if you sell your property portfolio you’ll get a tidy deposit for a new home, and will be paying less in rent/mortgage.

In a year’s time you’ll be in a considerably better off position than me (F/T lone parent, 2 DC’s, NHS).

I acknowledge it's a very privileged position to be in. But I have also tried to sell it twice. It's not on for too much money, the market has been dead for the past couple of years where I'm selling it. I will try and sell again next year.

I have one small one bedroom flat, and will be able to buy similar but with two beds where I live. I am very fortunate to have this.

Sorry to hear your situation and I know im lucky to have the flat. Are you able to get housing/childcare benefits? I have a friend who is NHS single mother, and she gets a decent housing allowance and 85% of her childcare costs paid for. Might be worth looking into.

One bedroom flats are usually harder to sell than two or three bedroom ones. For now I would give your tenant a rent increase if it’s been a year since the last increase, or kick them out and find someone who’ll pay the new rent.