potential england move

rjh090384

this is just an idea but like all my ideas i have to research them. i am stuck in a dead end job customer service job that although with decent wages i fell really stuck in a rut. my oh is an assistant manager and gets paid less than i do.

i went to university for a couple of months to do nursing but had to leave when i became ill and couldnt afford to go back to it. oh did engineerign for ayear but dropped out as he was offered a ft assistant manager position which at the time he wanted the money. he now regrets this.

he is talking about goign back to uni but as we have a rather large mortgage (in northern ireland)we wouldnt be able to afford this. sorry this is so long!

so what my idea is that we sell the house after our fixed rate mortgage is up (april 2008)and the new academic year starts and buy a cheaper house somewhere in england and use the profit from the house to pay for uni for both of us thus enabling us to develp proper careers rather than being stuck in dead end jobs forever!! Our mortgage on the house is £113000 and the house opposite us (without garage which ours has) currently has an offer on it of 190000. so bear in mind we would be moving a year from this valuation.

so what i want to know is a) is this a feasible idea in your opinion and b) where would be the cheapest place to buy in england that would offer a good return after 4 or 5 years. not fussed about any particular region

thanks in advance for your opinion and advice.

ps i know some of u may say well why dont one of u go to uni and the other work but this is not possible with the large mortgage payments and low wage!

DavidHM

a. Yes, it's feasible although you've "only" got £77k of equity - plenty to be living off for three years if you're renting, not enough to buy a place outright. I can't see you getting much, anywhere, for less than £120k.

If you had that kind of deposit you would need a joint income of about £17k to get a mortgage to top up the rest - which might be achievable with one of you working and supporting the other.

b. Anywhere but the south-east would be cheaper. To be honest I'd choose the uni first and then find a place nearby. Manchester springs to mind: it's relatively easy to get back to NI, the universities are quite good and house prices are quite reasonable in relation to salaries.

Generali

If you put the £7k in the bank you should get about £4k pa - that should be enough to make the rent pretty affordable on a small flat even if it doesn't cover it entirely.

My advice is to get yourself a decent degree in something you're interested in (and which can earn you a living like nursing or engineering!) and then worry about buying a new house.

rjh090384

we would still like to own our own house to stay on the property ladder. nursing brings a bursary of £500 a month approx which would be enough to cover the mortgage if we bought a house for £100000 and had a £40000 deposit on it.