Opinions please

jacksprat2

Hi
This is my first post although, I've been a lurker for a good while.
My O/H and me have lived in the same 4 bed house for 29 years. It's an (ex-council house.) We're both in our mid 50's with only one grown son left at home. :T
For the last 2 years, I've been a full time Carer for my O/H.
She's been poorly since her mid-20's but we didn't find out she could claim DLA till 2004.
She has tried working, on-and-off, but she's always had to give it up because she always ended up very poorly. So, we've only really had one regular wage coming in.
She suffers from Lupus, arthritis, and depression. She was also recently diagnosed with Fybromyalgia. The last couple of years, her in-ability to do things she previously found easy,( Housey things.)because of the none stop pain and fatigue, has been really getting her down.
Last year, we had to go on debt management because we were getting behind with our secured debt and mortgage ect... then we were struggling to make the payments. (They have just reassessed us and lowered our payment by a third, which should help.)
The last few years, we've had nothing but extreme stress, financial and emotional and it's worn us both down to the ground. We're mentally/phisically drained.
We really love our house, (Great view.) and the neighbourhood, but, we're finding it very hard managing the upkeep of it.
The kitchen, cloakroom and bathroom need replacing and the whole house needs re-decorating. All the little things like the fencing needing fixing, windows needing re - glazing ect... are piling up into a mountain. Not to mention keeping up with the largish gardens.
We've only ever had one proper holiday in 25 years and we need a car as O/H is finding walking too far increasingly painful.
We're not living - we're existing and we're not getting any younger/ healthier.
We owe approx £38,000 on our mortgage with 16 years still to go and about £8,000 in other debt. The house would possibly sell for £100,000
If we sold up and paid our debts off, we'd have about £55,000 left. So, this is what I'd like some advice on:
Should we: sell up, and try to downsize.
Sell up and take a coucil flat.
Stay put and struggle on. What would YOU do?
My partner says she's scared she will regret moving even though she knows a smaller place would be a lot easier to manage. Especially when I eventually find a part-time job,

Any thoughts would be gratefully recieved.
Sorry it was so long.:o

Hannah_10

I think you've covered all the important considerations yourself. You have to make this decision for what is best for you. It is not reallty a head deicision anymore, it's a heart decision. I would be doing you a diservice to have an opinion, only you can truly know. You wil know, deep in your bones, so listen to yourself.

DawnW

I think you need to establish whether you would be eligible for a council flat should you decide to sell up. You may be seen as low priority as you have intentionally made yourself homeless (I think that is the terminology) by selling. You may have to look for a private rental instead. Not necessarily a reason not to go ahead, but you really need to make sure you are fully informed before you make a decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do x

jacksprat2

I'm hoping this will bump my post back up. Thanks for the replies so far. Anyone else?

mrsb83_2

Would you even get a council flat with £55k in capital?

I think you should consider a private rental - much of the maintenance would be taken care of for you, so even if you have to pay a little bit more in rent, it'll be worth it.

I don't think I'd consider buying another home in your circumstances. Good luck.

dancingfairy

I'm just wondering whether you are entitled to any help from the council? Some council have 'odd job' men/women who assist people in difficulties with odd jobs etc and the rates are decent too. There are also schemes to help people keep their garden tidy if they can't manage them themselves.
Are you getting all the benefits you are entitled to?
Do you want to stay?
Can the place be adapted to make things easier?

It's a tough decision for you.
df

ilovecheese

So you brought your council house at a discount, you now want to sell for a profit, and then ask the council to re-house you again???? I hope the answer from the council is no.

jacksprat2

MrsB, we had an offer of one last year on a house that nobody seemed to want. It was not very nice. We're also are aware that there are people on the list with greater needs than ours. and we wouldn't feel right taking one that someone needed more than us.

We ask ourselves if we were better off financially and phyisically, would we be thinking of moving - and we probably wouldn't be until we were a fair bit older.
Today, the sun is shining and she's dithering again. It's the view we love most about our house. Also, we have large close knit family that all live around us. Which is great most of the time, but it can be tiring when O/H isn't well and they're in and out all day, making a mess. (Lot's of tea brewing, ect...) she has to go to bed to get a bit of peace. It is a difficult decision.
Thanks for your view points so far, they really do help, we have made so many mistakes financially over the years, we daren't decide anything without a bit of help. Better the devil you know kind of thing. thanks again.:T

eleanor73

You would struggle to get a council house - you will be making yourself intentionally homeless and the council would probably not put you on the list or if you did you would be very low banding (priority). With savings you also won't get some benefits.

Private rented may be the way forward. You will need a deposit. The best thing about renting privately is that your landlord will (well should) sort things that need to be fixed!!

Good luck!

jacksprat2

Ilovecheese.

To be honest, we sometimes wish we hadn't bought the house in the first place. It's caused us nothing but worry. We could have stayed council tenants and been getting it paid for. We'd also have been able to downsize and the council rehouse us to free up our 4 bedroomed house. But, like a lot of others on our estate in the days of Maggie Thatcher, we got carried away by the idea of actually being able to own our own home without really understand the pitfalls of owning a property.
We particularily did not expect my Oh to suffer such ill health she wouldn't be able to work, which resulted in having to re-mortgage or take small loans to survive.
We've never lived beyond our means, we,ve just plodded on whilst bringing up our own 2 children and three siblings for whom we were paid a princely sum of £10 each guardians allowance PW, because they were orphaned. They're all grown up now with families of their own and we find ourselves in this predicament.
By the way,whether someone lives in a privately owned house or an ex-council, I've yet to meet anyone who deliberately sells at a loss. Maybe I'm not as thick as I thought I was.:)
It is NOT about the profit. It is about about having a better standard of living.
We would be paying full rent and council tax if we sell as we would no longer be on benefits,until I get a job. How long do you think our profit will last paying these?
We can't undo our mistakes, but, we can try not to make any more by picking a few of the excellent brains that are abound on this forum. Unfortunately, yours isn't one of them.

the_cat

jacksprat2 wrote: »

Ilovecheese.

We would be paying full rent and council tax if we sell as we would no longer be on benefits,until I get a job. How long do you think our profit will last paying these?
We can't undo our mistakes, but, we can try not to make any more by picking a few of the excellent brains that are abound on this forum. Unfortunately, yours isn't one of them.

I love cheese makes (albeit in a very rude and abrasive manner:eek:) a valid point in some ways. I very much doubt you would qualify for another council place short/medium term due to the fact that you are 'intentionally homeless' (yeah I know, like anyone would ever do that 'intentionally!' but that is the rules) and you also have the capital from the house sale available...... making you low priority at the very best

If you rented and used up the money as you are currently worrying you would of course end up a higher priority later on and have accrued a few years on the waiting list for a council place which may be something to take into consideration

It sounds as if you have had your hands more than full over the years bringing up your kids and those that you kindly took on....... what help (not thinking financial necessarily but practical too) could you garner from them now? They may be very willing to 'give back' what they can now that you are struggling - do they know your difficulties?