Before I start I am not hinting for foodparcels, loans or any charity as I am a proud woman but I think my family is about to go under. I can't take much more and have been crying with stress for an hour now.

[twinsetandpearls]

As you know we have just moved and coud not sel our house.

We made plans to move before the credit crunch and we were desperate to move.

We agreed to rent the house to my sister and her friend for just under the mortgage, as they agreed to move out if we got a sale and we knew the house would stay nice for any viewings.

a fortnight after siging agreements the other tenant buggered off owing us lots of money ( and my family) My sister could not afford the full rent ( which was subsidised by us so we agreed that she could pay her third ( her house mate had a son so they used two rooms and she used one) This meant we were subisidising her by almost £500 a month. She knew we coud not sustain this and oromised to look for a flatmate, she has not and four months later we are £500 a month down. Our savings have gone on a deposit for our rental house down here and moving costs. We are now sinking.

We should take this girl to court for the money she owes us but we don;t have the momney to pay for a solicitor.

Then to top it all I have had some money taken from my bank and the bank are investigating but seem to be dragging their feet. I have given them a crime number which will speed it up, hopefully.

To top it all our car died and we needed to replace it as once a month my dp has to go back up to Lancashire. So spent his money just before my bank was drained.

Dp gets paid on Friday and until then we have no money. We just about have food. A friend drives me into work and I owe her petrol money, she is now skint so we may not even be able to get into work from Wednesday. We are now one month behind with the council tax as well. My anti depressants ran out last week and I can't afford my new prescription which is probably making things feel much worse than they are.

We are going to have to completely cancel Christmas this year, we were going to visit family and now dd is heartbroken as she can't see her dad, extended family or the friends she left behind over Christmas.

I have phoned the estate agents who are selling the house and they will rent it out but they have said because the rental market is saturated the rent will not cover the mortgage. But we will be subsidising at £100 rather than £500 a month. I know this is going to cause a huge family row when I have to ask my sister to leave the house and I am dreading it.

I know everyone is going to pile in and say you shouldn;t have moved but when we made plans the credit crunch was not big news so we thought, and so did the estate agent ( although they would say that that we would sell). When it became clear that we could not sell I even tried staying in my old job but as my school wa bankrupt they would not give me my job back once my notice had gone in.

I don't even know why I am posting this, I guess I just need to offload.

Twinset,

It's awful being in this position.

With regards to the council tax... phone them and ask if you can pay an extra month at the end, rather than trying to find two payments. We missed a payment, and the council actually offered this to us.

Not much help I know, but worth a go.

TSAP designer stuff does sell well on ebay, look for closed or ended items the same as yours for prices. Also they will sell (usually) in 7 days so you have the money in Paypal or cheques, not sure whether you have to wait for your money in a dress agency or whether they buy them from you?

Just when I thought things may get better, spoke to my sister yesterday and said the situation could not go on and we were enquiring about letting the house through an agency.

She has just called back and said she is moving home this week as she feel as if her home is insecure.

The letting agent told us there was a real glut of houses like ours to rent with no tenants and we would be inlikely to find a tenant quick and it would be at a loss.

So now we have no rent coming in on the house at all.

TSAP - get onto local HA tomorrow ASAP, with things like they are you should get a tenant very quickly.

Or tell her to get her arse into gear and find a flatmate as that is the reason why you are having to find other tenants. HEr home is only insecure because SHE hasn't done anythign about it.

Twins where is your house, I thought there was anational shortage of houses?

I do know that people on Housing Benefit have real trouble getting private accomadation, would you consider this?

What about contacting the local Woman Aid, i know girls on here who have been in Hostels from DV, have to wait forever to get somewhere.

TSAP - have only just seen this. Can't think of anything helpful that hasn't already been said, just wanted to wish you all the best and send you lots of unMN hugs to get through this awful time.

{{{{{hugs}}}}

I know 5 go mad, I have emailed you by the way. I am furious with her.

Dp has a list of people to phone tomorrow. He is also going to clarify with the bank if we can take in people on housing benefit. I have no problem in principle as I was on housing benefit and can remember how difficult it was to find somewhere nice to live.

Shoshe when we were looking for somewhere to rent here it was really competitive, we had to take this and pay a deposit without even seeing it. I assumed it would be the same up there. But the letting agent was very negative, but maybe that is because they want us to keep trying to sell.

hasn't arrived yet.

House is in Blackpool.

I told sister we were approaching a housing association and she snapped " so you would rather rent your house to druggies than me"

I did it as a CAT 5gomad

Ok, also try me on sophweld1 at aol dot com

have emailed you normally, cross posts

sorry if i missed a post, but why dont you move back to your house and save on the rent money and mortgage?

Custardo because the house that I own is in Blackpool and I have just started a new job in Dorset.

I am on a teachers contract so can;t just give few weeks notice and go home. When I realised how hard it was going to be to move I did ask the school to whom I had given my notice if they could give me my job back but as the school was bankrupt they were not replacing me. All of the schools in Blackpool have financial problems so I would struggle getting a secure teaching post there.

Trust me to make a life changing decision at the onset of a credit crunch.#

We will get through this, it is just going to be hard.

But on a positive it has really bought dp and I together and I have realised that the man I am always moaning about is actually my rock and I need him. I also have some fabulous friends and have been touched in particular by emails etc from mumsnetters.

only read op, but can you bite back pride and ask family? These are hard times for you and you should let family know

gosh t'other end of the country! all makes sense.

bloody hell what bad luck.

so have you got a tenant for your house? is your sister moved in and signed a tenancy agreement?

If your sister has signed a tenancy agreement then she can't just up and leave she has to give you notice.

pointy I don;t really have a lot of family.

My sisters are not in any position to help, my grandad is not well and I do not want to worry him. My mum was an only child so no extended family, she has just taken a huge paycut due to ill health so she has cannot help.

I am the one in the family who helps everyone else.

Dp family are all either dead or detained at her majesty's pleasure or useless.

I know custardo, I do know that for my family the right decision was to move. I have got a job in a wonderful school and we love our new life. We were at breaking point in Blackpool. It is just going to be hard.

I know fivegomad but my sister knows as does everyone else that if push comes to shove I am not going to sue her or pursue it.

If I get different tenants I would also be breaking the agreement so it works both ways.

Don't mix family and money, lesson learnt.

Did you say you're renting now? Is there any way you could move to a small rented place in Dorset to reduce your outgoings?

We are renting now, tbh although the house we are in is lovely I don;t think we would save very much by moving as it is a bargain. We are also tied into a contract until at least the end of feb.

i'd be tempted to look into a management company - they will charge more rent but take a percentage - so you may actually be better off than you are now.

that way things are out of your hands and riends and family who know youhave this house that they want to rent would have to o tthrough the management agency and pay the managmement agency and get letters for non paymnyment and automated "we are sending you to court" letters from the managment agency - you can tell family - that you signed a contact ( this is prob not true) and that if you break the contract employing them as your managinf agent within 12 months you are liable for 10% PA of expected rental in one lump sum.

this means that those near and not so dear will not count on you and shaft you over -and not transfer funds - and lie that they have when they really havent - becuase according to the story above - you can't do anything for a year - which means they have to sort themselves out.

--

i am considering ( if my mums house sells) buying another closer to here and renting it out, i will use a managing agent. i will not rent to family or friends. this will be business if it happens

I agree custardo dp spoke to a management agency today. I am so soft and tbh would not want to be any other way.

I clearly have no future as
1- landlord
2- bailiff

But I am still a complete ballbreaker if your kid does not hand in their essay on Jesus