Should I be wary of private sale?

homeworkgirl

Thank you all for your posts.

Yes, you are right. The debts have arisen because of losing my husband. I have struggled terribly for the past 2 yrs and am now at the end of my tether with it all. I have just posted on DFW to see if there is any way around it all as I am heartbroken at the thought of losing my family home.

I am beginning to become very disillusioned about the security of tenure with the Sell and REnt Back Companies after reading all your posts so maybe it would be best to go with the private investor after all. However, if there is any possible way I can avoid having to sell the house then that is what I really want. It sounds as if the peace of mind I thought I was going to have after selling and renting back could be short-lived. All I want is for my daughter and myself to be able to stay in our house for as long as we want to and be debt-free, but the debts are making me ill (see thread on DFW). I feel in a total panic and cannot handle the daily threatening calls and letters anymore.

securityman

Sorry i cannot help, but stay strong. You will get loads of help on here.

zzzLazyDaisy

I know this is not what you want to hear, but as security of tenure is so important to you, have you considered speaking to your local housing association? If you are having to sell up as a result of debts following your husband's death, that would not be viewed as intentional homelessness.

Yes it would mean moving, but you would release money from the house to sort out your debts, and you would be certain that the house you moved to would be a secure long term tenancy (you will not get that anwhere in the private rented sector)

I am so sorry for your loss and for the position you now find yourself in.

One other thought - and I am sure you will have thought of this - could you take a lodger and use the rent to pay installments to the creditors?

Nosht

Have you explored all alternatives such as taking in a lodger or sub-letting part of your house to give you an extra income?Regards,N.

homeworkgirl

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

I know this is not what you want to hear, but as security of tenure is so important to you, have you considered speaking to your local housing association? If you are having to sell up as a result of debts following your husband's death, that would not be viewed as intentional homelessness.

Yes it would mean moving, but you would release money from the house to sort out your debts, and you would be certain that the house you moved to would be a secure long term tenancy (you will not get that anwhere in the private rented sector)

I am so sorry for your loss and for the position you now find yourself in.

One other thought - and I am sure you will have thought of this - could you take a lodger and use the rent to pay installments to the creditors?

Thank you for your suggestion, however I have already approached the local council and housing association and they cannot buy the house back from me, I do not qualify for the new Government Rescue Scheme either! Regarding a lodger, that would affect my benefits and also the interior decoration is very bad and there is a damp problem in the spare room which I need to get sorted before I could even think about it.

Keep the ideas coming....please.

homeworkgirl

Forgot to mention......I did agree with the investor that if I went ahead I would pay 2 yrs rent up front out of the capital as I am out of work and he needs some kind of guarantee that the rent would be paid. Don't know if this would give me a bit more protection?

If the rent is paid through the estate agents, would this make any difference to my tenancy? i.e. would I have more rights than I would if I just paid direct to the landlord? I would also need to know that when I ran out of capital, if I were not able to work for some reason, would I be eligible to claim housing benefit? I read on another thread that in some cases you can't if it's a private landlord.

So many questions......so many things to consider here

Do I need a Solicitor or would it be an IFA? Would I qualify for a free interview with a Solicitor just to get an idea of my options does anyone know?

pawpurrs

I wouldnt pay two years upfront, what if he goes banckrupt, or something else happens? You can claim HB if eligable, and even immediately upon selling up to LA rates for the size house they deem you need, they will discount house sale procceds for six mths if you say your intention is to repurchase another house.
Sorry to hear about your situation, and hope it all sorts itself out for you.
Is their a particular reason for really wanting to stay in the house, perhaps a clean break, may be easier?

silvercar

......I did agree with the investor that if I went ahead I would pay 2 yrs rent up front out of the capital as I am out of work and he needs some kind of guarantee that the rent would be paid. Don't know if this would give me a bit more protection?

If you get this written into the contract then you are fine provided he pays the mortgage and/ or he or his company doesn't go bust.

If the rent is paid through the estate agents, would this make any difference to my tenancy? i.e. would I have more rights than I would if I just paid direct to the landlord?

No difference.

I would also need to know that when I ran out of capital, if I were not able to work for some reason, would I be eligible to claim housing benefit? I read on another thread that in some cases you can't if it's a private landlord.

The problem isn't that he is a private landlord, lots of people claim HB when in a private let. Your problem is that you would be renting a property that you used to own and that you sold cheap. There is something called "deprivation of assets" ie by selling cheap you have deliberately deprived yourself of the the 30k in order to remain in the home, that 30k could have beeen used to pay your rent for a long time.

Do I need a Solicitor or would it be an IFA? Would I qualify for a free interview with a Solicitor just to get an idea of my options does anyone know?

You need a solicitor to handle the house sale, the same one can advise on the rental contract. Don't use a solicitor found by this new landlord, go on recommendations from friends. DOn't use these conveyancing online cheapo's. They won't advise on rent and buy backs.

lincroft1710

Have just read opening para of your first post :

I have since received a verbal offer, subject to survey, from a private investor via an estate agent. It is a very good offer, very near the market value ....

I don't like being negative, always prefer to be thought of as careful and considered, but what if the post survey offer is considerably less. Survey will pick up on damp in bedroom.

I know you are "attached" to your home, but it would seem more sensible (if at all possible) to move to somewhere cheaper/smaller that you can afford.

homeworkgirl

Thank you for all your recent replies.

The main reason for wanting to remain in the family home is for emotional reasons, particularly for my daughter's sake, she begged me when her Dad died for us to stay living in the house and I promised her I would do everything in my power to ensure that....we have our memories here and it's really important to us both, that is why I would be willing to sacrifice a higher selling price for the satisfaction of knowing we could stay here.
I know that some people will find that hard to understand but that's how we feel. We also have extremely good neighbours and friends in the road and love the area, we have been here 17 yrs. Also there are the family pets to consider.

If I sold to this Investor I would not be selling "cheap" as he has offered very near the market value. It's the rent back companies that would entail me selling cheap, approx around 70% of the value. So this could affect my entitlement to HB?

So basically I have 3 options to consider:

1) See if it is at all possible to sort out my debt
situation and stay in the house (which would be my
first choice but do I realistically have any chance of doing this do you think?)

2) Sell to private investor with no previous landlord experience and hope that no problems arise and that we are allowed to rent indefinitely

3) Sell to rent back company in the hope that their guarantee of long term tenancy holds out. An advantage here is that I would have a "buy back" option which I would like to think I could do a few years down the line.

I really do badly need guidance on all 3 options but would a Solicitor be able to deal with all these things? Sorry if I sound a bit ignorant here but I have never had to approach a Solicitor before apart from when we bought the house.