First steps into renting

smileytiger

Hi guys - any advice would be welcome.

We've been in our house 16 years, last year my husband was diagnosed with a severe spinal condition ( he has since had major surgery etc) and cannot work & likely will never work again, he has mobility and nerve damage. Youngest son is off to Uni next week, and we're thinking about selling our house and downsizing into something smaller for the two of us, maybe a bungalow so no stairs etc.

we will have a reasonable amount of equity from the house, although certainly not enough to be able to afford to buy again based on just my income, and to be honest i don't want to tie myself into another mortgage in case i need to give up work altogether if hubby needs more care etc later down the line.

It's been a long time since i've rented a property, and it seems a bit of a minefield...i've been mooching about on the forums here and the more i read, the less i think i know!

At what point do i seriously start looking to get somewhere lined up.?
When i put our house on market ? - as it might take ages to sell - i keep worrying that ours will sell and we'll have nowhere to go

Maybe i'm being a bit paranoid, but it's quite stressful, and i'll need to do most of the sorting/organising etc.

Any tips on how to minimise the upheaval would be great -

thanks .x

Yorkie1

I wouldn't start looking for rented accommodation until you've received an offer on your house at the very very earliest. Most rentals are ready fairly imminently (within the next month or so); it's unusual for the sale paperwork to take less than 2 months to go through (could be longer). You need to time it carefully so that neither the rental property nor your house are stood empty for too long - could invalidate insurance.

Werdnal

As an introduction into renting see the "sticky" thread at the top of this forum - A tenant's guide, which will give you some info on the do's and don'ts.

I would agree with Yorkie1 - There is no harm in looking around your area to see whats available, but it is probably better to wait until you atleast have a formal offer, before you start seriously looking for a rental place. The market is still slow, unless you are willing to set your price low for a quick sale, and you should still have plenty of time to find a rental before you complete your sale.

carefullycautious

Talk to you local housing authority first as you may be entitled to go on their housing waiting list for ground floor or bungalow.

I personally would not like to be at the mercy of a private landlord as you could be moved every 6 months.

Find out as much information as possible before making a decision

Do you have critical illness cover on your mortgage

smileytiger

carefullycautious wrote: »

Talk to you local housing authority first as you may be entitled to go on their housing waiting list for ground floor or bungalow.

I personally would not like to be at the mercy of a private landlord as you could be moved every 6 months.

Find out as much information as possible before making a decision

Do you have critical illness cover on your mortgage

LHA isn't really an option to be honest - unless you are disabled and an OAP (hubby is 50 and i'm only 43) - we could get some help with adapting current house at the time he can longer manage stairs.

We had always planned to move once kids had gone - his medical probs just make things a bit more complicated.

The house/mortgage is in my name as i had it before i was married so any critical illness etc only applies to me as i pay the bills etc. I've always been the major wage earner - whereas hubby worked less hours and looked after kids and house. There is no problem at all with us affording to stay here - my salary covers all the bills - it just wouldn't be enough to start again on a new mortgage ( i only owe about 15K on current one)

It did occur to me that having a disabled other half might put off some landlords from renting to us - not sure if that would be the case?

thanks for your reply .x

J_i_m

Personally I'd strick with ownership, if you can't afford a mortgage then you're not going to be able to keep up with rent either which is usually a higher monthly cost than a mortgage anyway, plus you could talk to an advisor or broker about mortgage protection insurance.

smileytiger

J_i_m wrote: »

Personally I'd strick with ownership, if you can't afford a mortgage then you're not going to be able to keep up with rent either which is usually a higher monthly cost than a mortgage anyway, plus you could talk to an advisor or broker about mortgage protection insurance.

I see what you're saying & i know renting is 'dead' money - it's not affording mortgage repayments - it's getting a lender to lend & even if could find a way to get a lender to lend based on my salary alone, what would be silly money to buy another house where i live (prices are stupidly high - always) - i'd only have more problems if i had to give up work to be hubbys carer (which will happen at some point), as then i definately couldn't afford mortgage payments if i wasn't working.
I'd rather use the equity from the house sale to enjoy the next few years doing stuff we want to do while he is still able.

If we knew what was around the corner we'd be much more prepared - hey ho maybe we'll win the lottery tonight

dancingfairy

What sort of protection have you got? Does it cover you having to give up work to be a carer? If not it might be a bit late to take it out now as you already now about husbands condition although it might still be worth having a look into it.
Is your husband getting all the benefits he is entitled to?
I'm assuming you won't get much more help in terms of benefits when you sell up as you will have released a chunk of money?
Hmm - it's a difficult one.
Are there are disabled charities you can chat to about things? Does the hospital have a support work who deals with these types of issues and relevant benefits?
It sounds like it will be a trade off between wanting to release the equity and enjoy yourselves vs the uncertainty of renting (as has been said you have no certainty you will stay in the same property - hopefully you will but it's not guaranteed) vs applying for council housing.
Perhaps it's worth having a chat with the council about getting on the housing list?
df

smileytiger

dancingfairy wrote: »

What sort of protection have you got? Does it cover you having to give up work to be a carer? If not it might be a bit late to take it out now as you already now about husbands condition although it might still be worth having a look into it.
Is your husband getting all the benefits he is entitled to?
I'm assuming you won't get much more help in terms of benefits when you sell up as you will have released a chunk of money?
Hmm - it's a difficult one.
Are there are disabled charities you can chat to about things? Does the hospital have a support work who deals with these types of issues and relevant benefits?
It sounds like it will be a trade off between wanting to release the equity and enjoy yourselves vs the uncertainty of renting (as has been said you have no certainty you will stay in the same property - hopefully you will but it's not guaranteed) vs applying for council housing.
Perhaps it's worth having a chat with the council about getting on the housing list?
df

Mortgage insurance doesn't cover me not wokring to be a carer, just the usual they will pay for fixed term if i lose my job etc & there is no way i could get a new policy without committing fraud.

Hubby gets ESA (NI based - not means tested) which will eventually run out as i understand it when he has 'used up' his allotment of NI contributions - he's not entitled to any means tested benefits as i work and he gets DLA to aid him with the mobililty issues (these added together are less than he was earning before - we are not 'rolling' in disability benefits - ironically we could get loads more if i gave up work - but then i'd lose my home anyway - society is crazy)

When i last spoke to LHA they have a huge waiting list, including many families in 'temporary' B&B's and they had to admit as we actually have a house we wouldn't be in any way a priority even with Hubbys health issues - average wait time 3-5 years!!!

Think we might just put house on market and see if we get any interest - if not then guess we'll have to stay put at least for a while.


Thanks for all the replies .xx