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Property/DIY

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Original poster

landlord selling property, feeling trapped and Fxxked......

43 replies

feathers21 · 02/10/2015 23:33

(Please excuse my English as I am not a native speaker.)

We moved up from London to the Midlands two month ago.

The plan was to rent for a couple of years while we save for deposit to buy our own.

After hundreds of miles of driving up and down and battling with other perspective tenants, we finally secured a house that suits everyone. (short walk to school and space for hubby to work at home etc.)

The pervious tenants lived here for 4 years so we thought we could stay for at least one or two to start with.

In order to get this house, we paid double rent ( here and London) for a month, get rid off our lovely sofa ( it is a sofa here) , getting new wardrobes for all 3 bedrooms, ( there is no wardrobes at all) did lots of DIY.

After we moved in, we painted all the walls ( pervious didn't paint) , fixed lots of small things and made it really homely. I was relived that is the last time I'll ever rent.

we so happy here we even got a kitten.....

and two month in, this happens......

We only got our new wardrobe for two weeks......

Got it from the agent today that the Landlord is having trouble financially, he needs to sell his house within 3 month.

Yes we understand his difficulties.

But what gonna happen to us?

I just looked online, there is not many properties around this time of the year, they are either too small or too far away.

Don't know where will we spend our Christmas?

DS 's birthday is coming soon, I promised him to do a party this year (he never had one, poor thing) but it is not going to happen now as we will be busy packing or unpacking.

And the cost.....removal company, agent fees, deposit......

We want to buy but we are not ready, We have used up our savings to move here, credit cards are full too.

Feeling lost.

OP posts:

WhatsGoingOnEh · 03/10/2015 11:56

Your agent is really your landlord's agent, as he's the one who pays their wages, not you. So don't expect them to give you good advice.

Can you speak to the landlord directly and find out what's going on? Get him to come round and talk to you both face to face.

RitaConnors · 03/10/2015 12:03

Yes, you must continue to pay your rent of you will have broken the contract and you won't have a leg to stand on. I know you must be feeling upset and you sound like you want to get out of there as soon as you can, but it doesn't sound like the best thing to do.

You are going to end up in a better situation if you take more time. Either to find somewhere you want to rent or to get a mortgage yourself.

When we were evicted it felt like the end of the world. We were 12 thousand miles away from all our friends and family and we had nowhere to go. We had 120 days and we did end up finding somewhere better and we have lived in this house for six years.

Sallyhasleftthebuilding · 03/10/2015 12:10

Also, not paying may effect your morgage application.

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 13:34

thanks for all the replies! I am really grateful you are here to support.

Yes we are going to pay the rent if the agency requires it on Monday.

specialsubject :
what kind of deal do you mean? do a deal with buying price or get the landlord to give us some compensation for us to move out quicker?

I am afraid Landlord's got no money, not paying rent is the only way we can something from him.

OP posts:

Chippednailvarnish · 03/10/2015 13:40

You're not listening, if you don't pay the rent he can evict you for non-payment. If you do pay he has to abide by the terms of the lease.

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 13:51

I know we stand a slim chance of buying this property. we might be able to bargain the price down quite a bit.

But for the mortgage, we are self-employed, hubby's credit report is fair and mine is good, he is the main earner.

Parents can give us 10% deposit + fees. but we are thinking about HELP TO BUY (don't want to depends on parents)

we can afford the mortgage for this house as it won't be much more than what we pay for rent . We used to pay much higher rent down in London.

But we also have high outgoings, a couple of credit cards, (two pays off each month, new one took out for moving is on minimum payment)
one car loan ( been over paying but still got 8-9k left)
gym memberships.
oh, two sets of indi school fees. (hubby say these won't be a problem as he pays most of it though company)

I don't know if we can pass the affordability test spending like this.

OP posts:

specialsubject · 03/10/2015 14:08

I wondered about a deal to be released from the contract earlier - IF, and only if that suits you. Although if you do want to buy it and possibly could, never hurts to ask.

not paying the rent puts you in the wrong, you have a contract. Same as he has a contract to house you until January.

You will be moving and tenants with a record of not paying are not going to be first on the list of the right kind of landlord.

but...you don't have enough for a deposit, but you took out a car loan and have gym memberships, plus credit card debts? I think you need some serious lessons in financial management. Please look into this. And yes, with financial choices like that you will find it difficult to get a mortgage.

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 14:30

the plan was to move away from London, then save and buy in time, not straightway.

I always thought as long as we can afford it easily we can get mortgage, now I know it is not the case!

we can pay off car loan and credit card in a year no problem. start saving after that.

we've not had a holiday this year, looks like we are not going to have one until we can buy a house.

Thanks for alarm me !

OP posts:

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 14:33

oh, got the figure wrong.
We will pay off credit card this year, car until next year.
our work is doing a bit better now, hope we can make and save more.

OP posts:

WhatsGoingOnEh · 03/10/2015 14:43

Do NOT ask the agency if you "need" to pay rent on Monday.
The agency works for your landlord, not you.

If you ask whether or not you should pay, the agency (if they had any sense) would almost definitely tell you NOT to pay, so you'd be breaking the terms of the contract and could be kicked out. That would end all the landlord's problems quickly. Can't you see that?

WhatsGoingOnEh · 03/10/2015 14:46

Have you made an appt to see a broker? They could tell you exactly how much you could borrow and how likely you'd be to qualify for different mortgages.

Self-employed people need to get a form from HMRC an SA302 for every one of their past 3 years' accounts. It can take a while to get, so order that now.

tribpot · 03/10/2015 14:47

Yes please listen OP. The agency has a vested interest in serving their client, the landlord. If he wants to evict you, you are handing it to him on a plate if you fail to pay rent on time. So the agency may advise you not to pay.

You pay the rent and you sit tight. It is not your problem that the landlord wants to sell. He has rented the house to you for a six month term. End of.

rosieliveson1 · 03/10/2015 14:56

You NEED to pay your rent. If you don't, you have broken your contract. You NEED your contract. It may take the three months you have left to find another place and move.

You cannot be forced by Landlord or agency to move early. You have a contract. Only a repossession can force you out. That hasn't happened yet and is your landlord's issue.

If you want, ask that landlord pays removal fees IF you find a home and move early Asia show of good will. However, this may be difficult to trust or secure if landlord is having financial difficulty.

Good luck and remember, pay your rent on time and in full.

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 15:03

i get it now, not paying is not going to do us good.

OP posts:

RB68 · 03/10/2015 15:06

I haven't read absolutely everything but would say been there done that - we had a house for around 10 mths and were given notice as Ll wanted to sell the place. I was pg and it was a difficult pregnancy. we sorted new place, agreed move date then all hell let loose and I ended up in hospital 6 weeks before move date, roll forward hubby working away and ended up delivering 9 weeks prem ON THE DAY WE MOVED HOUSE some 100 miles away due to SCBU bed situation. We survived not sure how but we did. I went home to the new house - couldn't find anything anywhere, no prep for baby as had spent whole time packing, ended up with c section and gallbladder removal within two weeks of each other but it was OK as we had a roof and the bed was set up - you just deal with it. If you have enough money to buy a house you can double deposit for a while.

BUT make sure your deposit is safe, pay your rentals, deposit should be held in sep account by agency so check out that situation, get looking for a short term house and view it just as that - there are plenty of properties in Midlands for rent and its prob a good time to buy as they are only ever increasing. I would try and negotiate Ll paying for a removals company to come and pack and shift for you to remove some of the pressure and get you out. In return you empty the property asap. Just focus - if I did it you can - I could barely lift my head from the pillow!!!

PS am in Warwickshire now so I do know the local market quite well

RB68 · 03/10/2015 15:24

Just thought have you thought about buying the property?

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 15:35

Hi Rb68,
Thanks for sharing your story.
I am really sorry you've gone though that, just by reading it made me tearful.
I know we will pull it though eventually,just need to focus on the future and carry on.
you are not far from me lol.
there are definitely less properties compare to the summer time when we were looking, but there are houses available, we just need to find somewhere that accept our kitten.

OP posts:

Original poster

feathers21 · 03/10/2015 15:37

Rb68:
we want to buy but we are not in the position. maybe give another two years we can. hope house price will not increase that fast.

OP posts:

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