Trapped in flat wwyd?

[Trappedinflatandskint]

Feeling trapped.

Currently live in a two bed shared ownership property in London. I bought 40% four years ago on my own. Market value for 100% was £395k. Recently valued at £385k. Could be worse. I put down around £25k (15% deposit on the bit I bought).

DP has moved in and we want to move. We don't have enough space and are hoping to have kids soon via IVF (so a load more money and we're old so time is of the essence). We both WFH.

We can't afford to sell this and make a loss - we don't have savings to put down a decent deposit anywhere else. We'd considered buying the remaining 60% of this place and renting it out, which we also can't afford to do currently (DP is recently self employed and needs to wait 18 months before applying for a mortgage, we'd also need a chunky deposit). We could ask for permission to let out without buying rest of flat but I'm nervous about being a landlord for all of the obvious reasons.

We've even considered letting out the largest bedroom and ensuite and keeping a room as a London base while we rent a house elsewhere.

I don't really know what I'm asking. We're desperate to get on with our lives but have v little savings.

What would you do? Let/sublet? Just sell and bank the money while we rent elsewhere and save while also paying for IVF?! I love this flat, and it's the only secure (ish) thing I've ever had financially, and it's mine, not DPs I don't want to lose it without getting something better in place.

Shared ownership and Help to Buy are the biggest cons going.

Where did you get the valuation from and why? Was it an estate agent? And do you think it's accurate?

@Hungry675tf he pays more than his fair share, more than half. He also pays to store much of his stuff somewhere else. Also I don't want his desk in our bedroom. We have five rooms in this flat - he gets majority use of one.

Sorry to disappoint cause I know Mumsnet loves them, but he's not a cocklodger.

@Leftbutcameback

Where did you get the valuation from and why? Was it an estate agent? And do you think it's accurate?

Independent surveyor - wanted a proper valuation that would be agreeable with the housing association rather than local estate agent

And what were the comparables like? We had a terrible valuation when we needed to remortgage. It was wrong by £50,000 or so. Biggest issue was just nothing on the market at the time.

@nosquirrels yes, all of my concerns, exactly. Thank you for your reply. Fwiw I'm not bothered about marriage right now. Been there done that.
Secure with DP (hence the IVF) but mindful of my own interests/home security.

Will look at the option of renting office space, just seems like another expense. His current contact is one where he can't be discussing business in a coffee shop or whatever.

I'm not being pressured or in a rush.

We have a one bed flat, and I’m pregnant. Our living room is both of our offices, and the babies nursery too, when they arrive.

I have friends who have four bedroomed houses and have a study each and they’re still going stir crazy…

The only sensible choice here is to tackle the stir craziness, and save to either buy more of the flat or buy somewhere new and add to the deposit.

I completely appreciate why you want to move, don’t get me wrong, but the other options are insane. You’d burn through the money renting, and lose stability.

@smallgoon

Shared ownership and Help to Buy are the biggest cons going.

I was fed up of insecure renting and being made homeless everytime a landlord decided to cash in and sell up. This was a great option on my salary as a single woman living alone exactly where she wanted to. But things change, and I also know people who have made £100k+ from shared ownership. Did what was right at the time

We won’t all be working from gone forever. Most offices are starting to open back up over the next few months so you can have a change of scene. That, plus DP using co-work spaces occasionally, should make it feel less like you’re on top of each other and buy you some time. Agree with others that you have at least 9-18 months to save, qualify for mortgage, etc.

what is your long term plan? do your jobs require you to stay in London for ever, or do you have scope to move somewhere cheaper? If your DH is permanent WFH, you could have more flexibility.

I'd recommend staying put for now to do the IVF and (if you can afford it) buy more equity while it is cheap. And plan to move in 4/5 years time maybe to somewhere further from London.

As someone who has done IVF concentrate on that. It is very stressful and the sooner the better you start.

Good luck.

I feel for you OP! It’s a tough market right now and as PP have said, most of us are going stir crazy because we’ve all spent far more time in our properties than anyone could have ever anticipated.

I’d stay where you are for the moment - take advantage of the lower market to buy the rest of your shared ownership, focus on your IVF, and see if your DP can rent a private desk in a coworking space for a few days a week.

Then I’d ruthlessly declutter, look at Kon Mari Method and The Minimalists Podcast for inspiration. Make sure your furniture and storage are all multifunctional / clever and optimised for the space - the “tiny house living” trend might give some ideas?