I'm fed up with my budget - advice needed

Strapped

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

Thought has reoccured to me about 'downsizing' seeing as i dont fancy having a lodger and like my own space. Why dont i go back to a 1 bed/studio, which i've seen on the market for about £95k. my 2 bed is worth anything between £130-150k so would reduce my mortgage and make things a lot more manageable. plus no hassle of renting out/lodgers/finding a room myself. what do you reckon, and does anyone know the answer to my question about selling and buying a cheaper property, is it straightforward seeing as i dont want to borrow any more?

Waste of money. Don't do it. Rent yours out and rent a studio if you must but for pity's sake don't buy one.

cattie

Agree with Strapped. don't do it, studio's are hard to get rid of & there's always a glut of 1 bed properties on the market.

Two bedrooms are much more desirable & many single people decide they want a 2 bed place for the simple reason they can rent a room out to help with the mortgage. It gives you options that you don't get with a smaller property.

Once you've downsized it can be quite difficult to upsize again, especially if you don't have a high income & you wouldn't want to be living in a studio/1 bed forever.

Remember the hidden costs with selling & buying another property; legals + vat (which a lot of people forget to add when doing calculations),survey, paying for the move, perhaps new curtains/carpets/flooring & then any service/maintenance charges that another property may levy on leaseholders.

want2bmortgage3

Its been about 6 weeks now since I instructed a local estate agent to let my property for me. There have been 2 viewings, the first offered £25 less than asking price which I accepted and I thought it was going through (and sold some furniture) only to find they failed a credit check (2 days before supposed to move in??). Havent heard anything since the 2nd viewing a few days ago. My property is not on right move and only on the agents website (without full details-just one photo even though agent did take several when here).

I have also advertised online (3 different sites) for a lodger and had one person look and seem impressed but never heard back from him. I keep renewing the ads but very little interest. It looks like everybody wants somewhere near town centre/uni which I'm not.

So still in the same position with the same tight budget and becoming frustrated with it!

ILW

alexlyne wrote: »

Did you get a mortgage on your current income.. blimey!

I guess that's why the economy is in the dire straits that it is!

Looks like about 7-8 times income!!!!

want2bmortgage3

it's actually not quite 7 or 8 times, it's around 6 times my income. so what should i do then, sell up and go back to square one? what does it matter to my current situation other than i'm a little stretched budget-wise and trying to work out how to improve things?

Pee

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

I must also add I have the option of moving back to the parents, in the bigger spare bedroom, for very little rent (probably £100 a month!). As much as I like my own space I am considering this because it would mean I'd be so much better off and could really hammer down the mortgage with overpayments. Also if I lived there I'd probably wanna be out more so may encourage me to get a 2nd job and earn even more. What do you think??

Brilliant idea, IF you can stick it and be happy doing it.

Pee

Have you looked are there any part time jobs about?

If it isn't central, can you check out bus routes walking distance etc to show potential lodgers?

Doozergirl

Find an agent that's on rightmove. You can be really lazy these days as a tenant.

If you're still not getting any viewings then your price is too high.

Rent seems to be quite similar in most areas except London which is much higher. Have you looked on rightmove to see what the going rate is? £700 sounds quite high - that would get you a modest three bed house round here.

What about your mortgage? Is that a fixed rate? When is it due to finish?

I don't really understand the logic of moving out to save for a deposit on another house when you can't afford this one Did I read that wrong? Presumably you could use it to overpay the mortgage instead.

Ask around at work if anyone is looking for a room or knows anyone that might be? Put some signs up on noticeboards.

want2bmortgage3

Going to keep an eye out for part time jobs. I applied for a supermarket delivery job but got rejected before speaking to anyone. God knows why I already do a similar job in the day and know all about customer service so cant believe I was rejected.

Might try another agent then, the price was set by them and they assured me they would be able to get a tenant quite quickly. I need the rent to cover the mortgage, after fees and vat.

I work 10 miles away and nobody there would be interested due to the travelling.

Mortgage has another couple of years left its a fixed rate (unfortunately). If it was a tracker I'd probably being paying half what I am now.

byrneand

Have you thought about trying to invest in improving your skills to try and improve your base income. Getting a lodger or getting a bar job will solve your problems in the short term but your ahving to sacrifice either living space or time. Whilst studying or spending time applying for higher paid jobs may take a commitment, the long term increase to earnings (potentially without having to work longer hours) will be more profitable and rewarding.

Best of luck with everything!