SOA - Gemspan - bleak!!!!

tyllwyd

You said you wanted a remortgage of £135,000 if possible - from your SOA, your income is £450+£400 from two part-time jobs (I'm assuming that the dog-walking and ebay don't count as official income?). That adds up to £850 per month, so I'm guessing an annual income of something in the region of £12,000 gross? Is there any chance at all of borrowing that much money at a decent rate on your current income?

BTW if you are making a regular £300+ per month for the dogwalking/selling, are you registered as self-employed for that income? If not, you need to have a good think about the best way forward because you don't want to be in trouble with HMRC.

gemspan

Hi there

I did try to respond earlier with quite a long reply but I have been having problems with my computer and it threw me out, so here goes again!!!

I am committed to moving. I am happy to downsize to a smaller house and free up enough money to pay off the secured loan and the £2000+ debt to Link Financial. If I could get rid of my car as well (a gas guzzling 4x4) then I would be delighted. I would then buy a small van or an estate car. I needed my 4WD when I had my business because I was working off road at shows in muddy fields etc., and I take my dogs working!!!! When my business was doing well I was earning £3000 a month from it so that was no problem. At the moment I am probably earning about £500 from it as it stands. I can still do shows etc., but can't do as many because I will be working etc, etc., I have a business account and am registered with HMRC so I have no worries on that score. All my taxes are up to date and everything I earn that is not PAYE goes into my business account. I don't want to get into trouble in any way. Any money I make from selling business stuff goes into the business account and any money I make from selling my own personal stuff goes into my personal account. I wouldn't have thought I would have to declare the selling of curtains and things like that. After all I have already paid for them. Any advice would be appreciated on that score. Ebay etc., is just short term to bring in more money.

I am currently looking at jobs earning aroung £28-35,000. Its been a long time since I looked at the papers and was pleasantly surprised as to what type of salaries I am qualified to earn!!!! That's the first good bit of news I have had in a while. Don't know what that would bring me in a month though and I would have to get a dogsitter/walker if I was working full time but I would be happy to do that - no problem!

If I sold my house and paid off the secured and LF and got rid of my car I am freeing up over £500 per month. My mortgage would go up from £575 (which is interest only at the mo!) to £700 capital and interest. I would be increasing my mortgage by £2000 but getting rid of £22,000. Does this make sense? I hope so!!!!

I am hoping to be back into the world of employment very soon as I have very employable skills and used to have quite a high profile job in the Scottish Executive so here's hoping people want me. I have had my own business now for 4 years though so it may be harder than I think!!! Hope not.

I think the food, dogs and toiletries can come down and these figures are perhaps a bit high. The student loan is actually a loan the bos gave me when I was a student so that has to be paid back straight away. I have paid back student od's loans etc.,

I have had a look at a property that is up for rent at the moment in quite a rural place near me. It is £500 per month+. I feel that is wasted money in a way because if I bought something else then that would be going up in value and also costing me not that much more in mortgage. Am I missing something about renting? If I use all the money I get from my house to pay off debts it will still leave me with debts to pay. Surely it is more sensible to use some money to invest a new smaller house which will go up in value over the years and pay off the unsecured slowly while not taking anything else on debtwise. If I have got the renting thing wrong then I am happy to look at it again but I see this as losing any security that I have!!!! May be stupid but thats just how I feel. I have always owned my own home. I am 45 now and have owned my own home since I was 23. I am normally very very good with money and very sensible. This situation has come about through illness, worry and a lot of other situations that have combined. However, I suppose that is how it always happens isn;t it? I see it as a fight that will be fought over the longer term and have no problem with that. I am not a spendthrift and will be happy to work away at becoming debt free over a period of a few years.

Hope this helps. thank you for all your replies. I really appreciate the help. Sometimes you just feel so alone and when you are in the situation you cant always see clearly.

Thanks
Annie

PS: Anniestar, my dogs are gundogs - working cocker and 2 hpr pointers. I love them to bits. Sometimes when things are really bad I can take them out and come back an hour later feeling much better and more at peace with the world - then I get a phone call!!!!!!! and its back to square one again.

tyllwyd

gemspan wrote:

All my taxes are up to date and everything I earn that is not PAYE goes into my business account. I don't want to get into trouble in any way. Any money I make from selling business stuff goes into the business account and any money I make from selling my own personal stuff goes into my personal account. I wouldn't have thought I would have to declare the selling of curtains and things like that. After all I have already paid for them. Any advice would be appreciated on that score. Ebay etc., is just short term to bring in more money.

Oh, right, that makes more sense to me now! I'm not an accountant, but what you are saying about business/personal stuff sounds sensible. My understanding was that it can be a bit of a grey area when selling turns into trading, but if you are selling your own second-hand things like your own curtains, I don't see why it would be trading. As you say, you if you paid full price for them in the first place, you aren't making a profit anyway.

lisaflower1980

I've got to be honest, I totally agree about the renting/buying thing. Even though the majority of my debt has arisen from renovating a property (completely underestimated the cost of everything!) I feel much more in control as I know that I'm working to pay off my own mortgage, not somebody elses! Especially as my outgoings as a home owner are not much greater than those as a tenant.
When myself and the OH worked out how much we had spent on rent in London before we bought it totalled just over £25k. :mad: And that wasn't even living in lavish flats!
As it is seems to be getting harder to get onto the property ladder I would cling onto it for dear life!!!

lynzpower

lisa flower i feel completely the opposite to you.
We have worked out we can rent a flat for about 300 a motnh less than a mortgage, and we dont have to pay repairs.

So we are selling up and banking the equity :beer:

beverleyhills

I did try to respond earlier with quite a long reply but I have been having problems with my computer and it threw me out, so here goes again!!!

Write message in a word document, then copy and paste on here. Saves losing all your work

gemspan

Hi there

I know it is just down to personal situation but I actually cant see the sense in renting if you can buy a property.

I bought my house 2 years ago for £110,500 and I am now selling it at £160,000 - that is almost a 50% return on my original investment. If I was to rent and bank money I made from this house I am lucky to be getting 5%. It just doesn't seem a very good financial decision.

Even if I bought a smaller house, all the money I pay on mortgage is going to reducing the debt if it is capital and interest plus the house is increasing in value at a greater rate than if I were to put money in the bank, or even pay off debts that I have!!! If I wanted to sell again in 2 years time, I would have paid off a large chunk of my existing debt and would have made money on the house. I could then repay the rest and buy somewhere else - or even remortgage.

Renting, to me, is wasting your money. If I had to rent I would buy a small flat in town and rent it out so that at least I still had some investment and a better return on my money.

I do appreciate however that I live just outside Edinburgh and this area has a very bouyant housing market with prices rising at 20%+ per annum. I know its not like that everywhere so obviously if I lived somewhere else I may feel different.

What do other people think about buying v renting? I'd be interested to hear views.

Thanks again
Annie