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really worried, haven't a clue what to do!

11 replies

pearshape · 14/02/2012 07:49

We own our lovely home in an area where unemployment is high. DH has always been self employed and has always had enough work to keep us going although we are in a fair amount of unsecured debt due to him having an accident a few years ago and not being able to work.

Thing is now work has dried up for him. Over the last few months he's earnt hardly anything and we've had to sell stuff to get by. I work but don't earn much at all, I am looking for something else but jobs here are hard to come by. We are really starting to panic. We haven't missed a payment on our mortgage yet and have about £50k equity in our home. DH wants to try and sell and move somewhere where employment prospects for him will be better and he can get a regular job instead of self employment. He's a qualified HGV driver but work for that profession where we are is non existent. We would clear our debt, have money left and hopefully be somewhere where we could earn again but would have to rent as credit rating means we wouldn't get a mortgage. Problem is my dcs love their home, school and friends. I know a house is only bricks and mortar but they are so settled and happy and have lived here all their lives. We couldn't keep this place and rent it as we wouldn't have enough funds to move. I really don't know how much longer we can go on living week by week without enough work. The house also needs some minor repairs which we can't afford. We have nothing left to sell.....except the house Sad

OP posts:
googlenut · 14/02/2012 08:23

Could your husband work away during the week? It's not ideal but we have to do that. Then if he gets a secure job you could think about uprooting everyone.

pearshape · 14/02/2012 08:38

that is an idea, googlenut. I would definately consider that as an option but then if he works away he'll need to pay for board, food for himself and he won't be on a very high wage as a lorry driver. Not sure he'd earn enough to make that viable.

OP posts:
LittlePandaBear · 14/02/2012 08:58

Is there an option to sell up and rent somewhere to ease the pressure? Although that wouldn't help with the job situation.

How old are the DC's? My parents moved me and my sis to the other side of the country when we were 12 and 14 as he was relocated with work. Obviously at the time we hated the idea of moving, everything and everyone we knew were where we grew up. But in the end we all loved the move - we had a much bigger house, made new friends and probably had a better quality of life in our teenage years.

Remember that as the parents it's for you to understand why you need to move, it's for the benefit of the whole family, you're not being selfish if you need to move for financial reasons. They will be able to be happy in more than one place, it will just require a little adjusting.

Good luck whatever you decide!

googlenut · 14/02/2012 09:58

You cd investigate local hotels that might give a good rate if you had set nights midweek that dh was staying. A friend did this with Travelodge and got a really good deal.

oreocrumbs · 14/02/2012 10:03

Have you been to see about any benefits that you/your DH can claim now his income has dropped? Also you can contact your mortgage company
and ask about payment holidays. If you need to do this do it now before you have to miss or pay late, so that you still have good standing with them.

I think googlenut's suggestion of working away may be your best option. You have 50k equity - is that now with the current house prices? I had 45k equity in mine 3 years ago and now im in about 30k neg equity. You may not be able to achieve that 50k in the present market, so staying put in the home might be your best bet.

oreocrumbs · 14/02/2012 10:10

Also might be worth going to see CAB about your debts, to see if they can help you draw up a repayment plan with the companies and reduce/streamline your payments.

I just read your op again, if you have bad credit you may struggle to get a good rental - a lot do credit checks now. If at all possible I would try to stay in your own home.

Have you and your DH looked into other lines of work - cleaning, gardening, handyman that you could pick up untill more steady work comes in?

My DM says that a part time cleaning job she took when my DF's business got into trouble in the last recession is the sole reason we had a roof over our heads.

mewantcookiesmenocanwait · 14/02/2012 11:33

Have you given the tax credits an updated estimate for this year's income? You might be entitled to a few quid more a week if you're going to earn less than last year.

mewantcookiesmenocanwait · 14/02/2012 12:29

It's also worth bearing in mind that you might really struggle to sell your house with the "minor repairs" outstanding. Certainly where we are the houses that are selling are either perfect showhomes or complete renovation projects at bargain prices - the ones in the middle seem to stay on the market for ages.

I'd definitely put the time and effort you would have put into moving into trying to earn a bit extra instead if you possibly can.

Sinkingfeeling · 14/02/2012 12:31

Do you have space to rent out a room to a lodger?

MrsCog · 14/02/2012 12:38

Without knowing the area this might be a ridiculous suggestion (so if so I'm sorry), but is there any chance of similar but different work nearby - I'm thinking of farm work - if you can drive an HGV you can drive a tractor etc. no problem, and people can often pick up a few days self employed work on farms in busy periods etc.... just a thought based on experience but might be totally inappropriate if you're in the centre of Manchester or somthing!

MAYBELATERNOWIMBUSY · 25/02/2012 02:04

as a female lgv driver,(me) has he tried the truck websites? eg "TRUCKNET, also, yougov j s plus for any area , i see lots on them for european and s/e drivers, it is tough having kids i know ,i"m (single) live in my camper van mostly, due to the hotspot work areas locations, tipper co"s usually need a streem of drivers due to it being a hell on earth job thou i expect your dh prob knows that! soz can"t be off any great help, good luck

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