Stuck in a 1 bedroom flat - is there anything we can do?

Spendless

Deleted_User wrote: »

I just wanted to say good luck...I bought a 1 bed flat for myself and my daughter, when we split from my ex in 2004. DD was 3 then...and is 7 now. I'd planned to be able to move up the property chain when we got out of the tied period (last oct) - not great time for selling! maybe good time for buying!

At the moment we are still here. DD has the bedroom - she has far more stuff than me, and I needed to be able to put the toy clutter away in the evening for my own sanity! She now has a cabin bed, and I've made a reading den underneath it, with bookcases, cushions, soft toys and spot lights. We share the built in wardrobe and chest of drawers...and I have a high shelf that she knows is mine for all the other grown up girly stuff (make up etc). In the lounge I've worked hard to make every bit of furniture work for us...have a folding table, with chairs under it, built shelves in the alcoves, tv on the wall, and a futon for me, bedding goes in a blanket box that we use as a coffee table. I make sure the bed gets folded up every day...and that the lounge is just that - a lounge, most of the time. I've treated myself to a new mattress a couple of times since we've been here...no point making it miserable with lumpy sofa bed! The kitchen and bathroom also have to be multi-functional at times, but I've made the bathroom a really relaxing space - it can feel like the only private place I have to chill out sometimes! I've had to massively de-clutter (their stuff does get smaller, I promise...and every bit of ebaying helps) and it helps a lot that I'm working, so we're not here all day...but it can be done! Top tip: ask your friends / family who have bigger places if you can store some stuff (xmas decs/excess toys/out of season clothes/anything you don't use often) in their lofts...nearly everyone has some extra space somewhere, and it will instantly make you feel better to have less stuff around. Also useful if trying to sell! Just keep track of whats where....speaking from bitter experience of the missing xmas decs 2007!

Its much harder for you I know, with an OH to squeeze in aswell...but if you end up staying put for a little longer - good luck. Oh, and the other thing I've learnt..is not to worry about what others think. My daughters mates love coming for sleepovers, and indoor camping at our house! She isn't bothered by the lack of space yet...but at 28, I'd really love a bedroom of my own

Essexgirl- I've been in a very similar position to yourself, negative equity on a house that we'd out-grown due to a baby, though we were fortunate enough to have a 2nd bedroom. We stayed put with me working an evening/w'end job to help with finances, eventually we were able to rent out.

Couldn't think of any suggestion for you that hadn't been done already, but was going to post some space saving ideas but crazy-lady beat me to it, with far better ideas than mine. She's also shamed me into tidying my place up.;)

unclefester666

With regards to moving to your Mums - unless your husband is changing jobs his commute would go from 35 miles a day to 60 miles a day approx. Thats a lot of fuel cost eating into any money saved not to mention car maintenance. The M25 is a pig of a journey compared to the A12 and as you've only valued your car at £1000 your not best equipped for 20,000 miles a year

poppy10_2

Oh dear, you've been posted on HPC
Get your hard hat on...

GirlyGirl_2

We had our first daughter in a 1 bed flat and when we eventually moved and she got her own room the terror still wanted to sleep with us anyway.
If you can keep treading water I would, also with regards to you going to work, yes it might only pay your childcare now but it'll mean there isn't a huge gap on your CV when she goes to school and it might mean you get a promotion or a pay rise in the meantime too, bigger picture to consider.

northlondongirl

Hi, gosh you are in a hard place right now and have little choices.

It seems that prices are falling as so if you are not in negative equity yet then you will be soon. Unless you reduce the price significantly then you will not sell especially as your neighbour is undercutting you. But its very expensive to stay...

The sad fact is that you couldn't afford the flat in the first place especially with a minimal deposit, outstanding debt and as you planned to have children - and hence it will turn out to be a very expensive mistake. That being said not worth throwing bad money after good and it could take 10 years + for the flat to earn its way out of negative equity so you don't really want to be living there still with a 11 year old then. That being said you need to find a way to sell as soon as possible even if you are left with negative equity as if you stay with your mum and work really hard you might be able to earn your way out of it. The sooner you sell, the better the price will hence the smaller the negative equity will be and the sooner you can start earning out of it (by working as much as you can etc).

Essexgirl81

unclefester666 wrote: »

With regards to moving to your Mums - unless your husband is changing jobs his commute would go from 35 miles a day to 60 miles a day approx. Thats a lot of fuel cost eating into any money saved not to mention car maintenance. The M25 is a pig of a journey compared to the A12 and as you've only valued your car at £1000 your not best equipped for 20,000 miles a year

Sorry to split hairs here but there's actually not much difference in the mileage actually.

Round trip from Braintree to Romford via A12 is 48 miles. (Approx. 11,520 miles a year to work)

Round trip from St Albans to Romford via M25 is 56 miles. (Approx. 13,440 miles a year to work)

Sorry again for being so pedantic about this but we know exactly how far it is in both cases because we've zeroed the 'clock' in the car to measure the distances in the past

Turnbull2000

poppy10 wrote: »

Oh dear, you've been posted on HPC
Get your hard hat on...

I posted that. And they're all sympathetic. Maybe you should frown at the people who encouraged the likes of the OP to buy into the "one-way-bet"?

drhewitt

Essexgirl81 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1440.88
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 119
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1559.88

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 751.45
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 100
Council tax............................. 109
Electricity............................. 42
Gas..................................... 26
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 28
Mobile phone............................ 5
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 201
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 28
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 12
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1660.45


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 104000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 105000


Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 108000...(751.45)...7.69
Total secured debts........... 108000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,559.88
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 1,660.45
Available for debt repayments........... -100.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -100.57

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 105,000
Total Secured debt...................... -108,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -3,000

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

My husband showed me his latest wage slip before going to bed so I could put in the correct figure and it works out that he's actually still getting £22,439 per year instead of £23,500 as promised by his boss last September. It's only a difference of £61 after Tax each month so he didn't really notice until tonight!!! Just goes to show eh?? I think he'll have something to say to his boss tomorrow morning!!!

The company he works for was taken over by a larger American firm so they do things (incl. pay rises, bonuses etc) in September instead of April as in the UK.

The £119 per month is my income that includes £80 Child Benefit and £39 Child Tax Credit which I use to buy nappies, toiletries, clothes etc for the baby.

Oh yes, and we're currently only paying about £700 a year off of the capital of our flat. So far we've paid out about £34,500 as a repayment mortgage to the lender and only about £2700 has been paid off of the capital. Is this a 'normal' ratio??

EssexGirl,

This is a doomsday budget to borrow a phrase from the MTA - You have cut yourself incredibly short. I'm much the same right now as we are planning to move to the UK and live in Essex (my sister lives in Ilford)

I know you live in a one bedder but would you be able to offer childcare? It would earn you extra $$$ without having to go out. Just an idea. I don't know what the rules are in the UK for childminders.

As for the lack of social life, my wife has met up with local mums in her area and organises playdates for our kids online. It's worked out pretty well and she has made friends as a result.

Times are incredibly tough and we all have to pull together.

Now is a good time to get to know your neighbours.

Walter_J

There is a way out, but it takes balls to do it;

Stop paying the mortgage for a couple of months.
Find a nice little house to rent with 2/3 bedrooms for under £700 pm
Move into it using the money saved from the mortgage as a deposit/first months rent.
Post the keys of your flat back to your lender.

The lender will sell the flat for whatever they can get, and you will be liable for the shortfall between that amount and the outstanding mortgage. Either come to an arrangement to pay it off, or if need be go bankrupt.

This may sound like a desperate strategy, but with house prices likely to carry on falling for a few years yet, you could very well be trapped in this tiny flat until your child is a teenager. Any opportunity of having another baby would be denied you.

My way, you can be living in a nice house for the same money, your bankruptcy ends after a year, and six years after that it is wiped from your records.

Save up a decent deposit and plan on buying a proper home then; my bet is that prices in real terms will still be a lot lower than they are now.


PS reading your post on HPC it is clear that you are actually thinking of leaving your husband. Given the mess that he and his family have got you into I can understand this.

Kind of makes my advice above redundant, though!

Walter_J

poppy10 wrote: »

Oh dear, you've been posted on HPC
Get your hard hat on...

She's a classy girl. Read her post on HPC.