Help overcrowding in mortgaged property stuck in market crash

Jennylanchester

Hello,
I bought my one bedroom gFloor flat in 2007. When I was a single 19 yr old. I worked in a good job at the time and the only mortgage I could get was a 35 yr interest only mortgage with rbs. The housing market then crashed and my property is valued at £10k less than I paid for it so I can't sell and move without being left in loads of debt. However since that time, I've lost my job, got married and had two children - one is 30 months and one is six months. We are all currently sleeping in one bedroom which is 16ft by 12ft. Sitting room is 14ft square and bathroom and kitchen are about 8ft by 6ft ish.
Obviously not ideal and the rooms feel like they are shrinking every day. My husband has been told he is eligible for a first buy scheme property (as this place is all in my name) were going to view a 2 and three bed place this weekend. If we can't get a tenant in here ASAP we will be paying two mortgages and struggling massively. Do we have any other options in terms of getting out of this place? I hope someone can help. I want better for my kids xx

Jennylanchester

I think my mortgage is actually a tracker mortgage and follows the base rate? I was young and naive when I took it our and I didn't really understand...

runninglea

If it is a tracker mortgage then what rate do you pay plus the current base rate at 0.5%?

Check your mortgage to see what it actually is

Will the rent you get cover the mortgage payments on your flat?

You will need to tell your mortgage company about change and they might charge you a higher %

Also are you ready for all the hassle of being a landlord?

Jennylanchester

The rent would cover mortgage and estate agent fees.
What other option do we have though, can't stay in a one bed flat with two kids forever? (Kids are also different sexes which I know is a legal issue once they reach their teens)
Suggestions welcome.
My mum thinks I ought to look down the route of walking away from the flat as everything will be in my name, then if we can get somewhere else in my husbands name and I would declare bankruptcy as I'm a stay home mum obviously I have no income... But I don't know what the repercussions of this would be. I need advice and help. We need out of here

ViolaLass

Jennylanchester wrote: »

The rent would cover mortgage and estate agent fees.
What other option do we have though, can't stay in a one bed flat with two kids forever? (Kids are also different sexes which I know is a legal issue once they reach their teens)
Suggestions welcome.
My mum thinks I ought to look down the route of walking away from the flat as everything will be in my name, then if we can get somewhere else in my husbands name and I would declare bankruptcy as I'm a stay home mum obviously I have no income... But I don't know what the repercussions of this would be. I need advice and help. We need out of here

I don't think it is a legal issue, it's just something that is considered if the council are housing you.

What will you do if the tenant does a runner? Or trashes the place?

Jennylanchester

I'm after helpful suggestions not 'your stuck their get on with it' sort of replies...
Can I st paying the mortgage and get rid that way (aware it won't be fun pleasant or easy) can I sell to housing associations can I rent??
I would leave the tenants down to the estate agent, that's what I'd be paying their fees for as we would be hopefully living in a different county.

PasturesNew

A 16'x12' bedroom is as huge as many 2 bed house room sizes. It's not like you're all in one 7'x9' room. Can you look at sub-dividing it using curtains/furniture? Save hard for the next 5 years and plan to move out then.

PasturesNew

Jennylanchester wrote: »

I would leave the tenants down to the estate agent, that's what I'd be paying their fees for as we would be hopefully living in a different county.

Agents are just people for the tenants to contact, they're middlemen. Ultimately you're the one that gets the headaches, picks up the bills and has to pay during any voids.... all the agent does is call you.

Jennylanchester

We can just about walk around our bed with the kids beds our bed and other nessesaties furniture wise. (That size was into a bay window where we have two dressing units for clothes)
And even if we saved for five years we wouldn't really have touched the mortgage because of the rates so any money we had saved would go into that leaving us then homeless and penniless.

opinions4u

16 by 12 is a very large room.

Going back 20 years my older kids were stuck in a room that was 8 ft x 5 ft. Bunk beds and some rather smart IKEA furniture saw us through.

Is there any way of splitting the room?

Raising the adult sleeping area can free up space.

http://www.furnishyourhome.co.uk/Beds/Bunk-Beds/High-Loft-4ft-Double-Bed-Bunk-By-Hyder.htm?of_tid=CuQcZGU6JjcUxwzVjDFmHc_Dlg-BFYad-GPFA8SgqHAo5qXn_1JsgxM8PHcrQW11

Jennylanchester

We don't want make do solutions we want how to get out suggestions.