On the horns of a dilemma??????????

csarina · 11 March 2007 at 8:10PM

We were doing well with the couple of debts we have but now due to an avaricious landlord (my stepson) we have to move which means I will have to use my overdraft facility. I looked hard at taking out a loan but decided against it as I think we can clear the overdraft within 12 months when we will be quite a bit better off and will maybe be able to overpay on our commitments and finish them early.

We were very lucky that we got the offer of an apartment in a sheltered community, but have to carpet it, pay movers and pay for various bits and bobs we will need. It also means we are moving from a 2 bed house to a one bed apartment. Shock horror, what happens to my sewing room?????

Laundry is included and also the apartment has a cooker built in, cannot get a dishwasher in so this week we have sold, 1)the cooker.2) dishwasher. 3) small freezer. 4) desk top computer and today we have done a boot sale to get rid of things left from our caravanning days and various unused things from the house. This will pay for the carpets, but this laptop has about had it so I have shelled out £400 for a new one. The desk top has had its hard disc cleaned ready to go to its new home. The washing machine will go in a couple of weeks when we get the keys to our new abode and I can use the washing facilities.

Our rent will be a little less than we pay now, but we do have security of tenancy for as long as we need it, and the rent will only ever go up with the cost of living........not by £125 a month as SS asked for. We are aware that when we move out the house will be gutted and the rent will then go up to £550 a month!!!!!!!!! £200 more than we pay now.

We will work as hard as we can to get the overdraft down as quick as possible, I am lucky that I have an account which has a big limit, we have never had to use it before, but really feel that we do not have a choice in this instance.

lixi · 11 March 2007 at 8:19PM

Hi Csarina

Have you thought about using your local freecycle group to help out with home furnishings etc? Some people give such great little items away - it can be a real liversaver.

How much do you envisage needing by way of a "loan"? If you are now disciplined with money you could consider getting a 0% credit card (something like M&S do 12 months at the moment). This would be a much cheaper form of borrowing than dipping into your overdraft? Just a thought.

Do you really need to pay movers? Can you get friends or family to help out? My hubby and I did this when we moved cities a couple of years ago and it saved us so much money.

Lixi x

csarina · 11 March 2007 at 8:25PM

Have no choice but to use movers....neither of us are able to move large items....and my daughter has back problems, I have accepted a quote of £500 the cheapest we could find........the OD will be around £1000, I have raised enough to pay for the carpet from the sales of various items. I have freecycled a lot of things, but fell foul of a nit picker when I last listed something, so I will not use them anymore, I have decided that what ever we have will go to age concern.....we are both in our third age ie 63 and 73.

joeblack066 · 11 March 2007 at 9:48PM

So your husband's son is forcing you out to enable him to make more money on his rent, and won't even help you move????? I am speechless with horror! If you live within 30 miles of Derby my sons and I will come and help you move!!

joeblack066 · 11 March 2007 at 9:50PM

Oh, and one more thing.........can Age Concern assist at all with the costs of moving as it is forced? And do you claim any benefits that you may be entitled to, ie pension credits etc?.

csarina · 12 March 2007 at 11:00AM

Joblack, We are above the thresh hold for pension credit as we both have pensions from the civil service and I also have a small personal pension that I paid into when I was self employed. We do get HB and CT benefit.......there is nothing else we are entitled to.

The property we are moving to is a council run one and when we go in to sign for the apartment they will see if we are able to claim anything else....i.e attendance allowence, my OH has several problems, arthritis in his feet, spondylosis and a condition called syncopy which means his BP drops suddenly and he can pass out, this is obviously not a good thing, he could swallow his tongue........he is still very active, but never the less it is a worry if he goes out on his own

My OH will not ask his son for help, he is very hurt and angry about the situation and has said he does not want SS to know where we are moving to. I should perhaps explain that SS was adopted as a baby ( in the hope of saving what was already a rocky marriage, never a good idea)and when OH's marriage broke down completely his wife left him in penury, he had only £10 a week to live on including paying rent, feeding himself and travel to work. Every time he had a rise she went back to court for more cash, so it is not difficult to see where SS gets his averice from. He owns approx a million pounds worth of property, we did not ask for or recieve any consideration for the fact that he was OH's son. When we first went into one of his properties SS said that OH would have a home for life!!!!!!!!!!!we do not mind paying a market rent but the hike in rent he was looking for was totally unacceptable and OH was worried that if anything happened to him I would be given notice to quit, which I know would have happened. This way we both have security.

We had to work hard to get what we have and it hurts having to sell a lot of it, but we have to..........once our two loans are paid we will be a lot better off and will not be worrying about how much the next rent hike will be.

Thanks for your offer to help us move, I appreciate it, we have accepted the removers estimate it was the cheapest we could get.......and they have been very good about putting the date back because of the time lapse with repairs.

beverleyhills · 12 March 2007 at 11:50AM

I hope that the door closing behind you will open a window of opportunity for you. It appears that you will get more support than you are getting from your current landlord.

It is always always difficult disposing of possessions, but you have been able to have control of what happens to them.

I hope that you and your DH will be very happy in your new home.

beanielou · 12 March 2007 at 12:41PM

Wishing you both every happiness in your new home.

joeblack066 · 12 March 2007 at 8:17PM

And so say all of us.........you have a wonderful fresh start in a property that nobody has a say in apart from yourselves, and you have each other, so once the move is over you can both begin to enjoy life again. Please let us know how you go on? Hugs.

csarina · 12 March 2007 at 8:51PM

Joe........I have twice written a long reply to your message and its just disappeared!!!!!GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...........thanks for your message. We are in reach of you and we did appreciate your kind offer....I will keep you up to date with whats going on, the electricians are in, so they have started work at last.........we look like getting the keys early in April and have booked the removers for the 11th......giving us time to get the carpets fitted and also move some of the lighter stuff ourselves, and make final decisions as to where various bits are to go........thank you for your support....we appreciate it............