Redundant, should I pay off my mortgage?

wageslave

I have recently found out I am being made redundant. I have a relatively small mortgage (about 30k left I think, I have been overpaying by a small amount since I took it out 7yrs ago).
I am a single parent with one child.
My company is paying me the rock bottom redundancy payment of around 4k.
I have mortgage protection.
I live in a rural area and finding a decent job isnt going to be easy. I dont want to move.
I own some land which I let out to for a peppercorn rent to a friend who keeps her horses there. She would like to buy it. The money would allow me to pay off my mortgage and thus relieve me of a great deal of worry at this time.
Should I?
I'd be grateful for your views

chuckles1066

wageslave wrote: »

I have recently found out I am being made redundant. I have a relatively small mortgage (about 30k left I think, I have been overpaying by a small amount since I took it out 7yrs ago).
I am a single parent with one child.
My company is paying me the rock bottom redundancy payment of around 4k.
I have mortgage protection.
I live in a rural area and finding a decent job isnt going to be easy. I dont want to move.
I own some land which I let out to for a peppercorn rent to a friend who keeps her horses there. She would like to buy it. The money would allow me to pay off my mortgage and thus relieve me of a great deal of worry at this time.
Should I?
I'd be grateful for your views

Yes, a roof over your head is (should be anyway!) your number one priority.

MortgageMamma

Claim your mortgage protection for as long as you can first, then sell it if you really have to

wageslave

I am reluctant to sell something that will increase in value. I always saw the land and the house as my childs future security but that was an easy position to take when I was in what I regarded as a job for life.
To be frank, life as a single parent with a mortgage etc hasnt been an easy road;though its been a worthwhile one. Money has always been extremely tight.
I dont know if I am up to the struggle anymore.

Gambler

could your land gain planning permission to build a house on? This would increase the value ten fold.

wageslave

It wouldnt come to repossession, I could sell the house and buy a smaller one mortgage free.
I very much want financial security for my child. I dont want her to have to struggle as I have.
However, she and I lost one home when I left her father, I dont think I could bear to go through that again.
The land I own has the potential for planning permission but in the longer term not the short term. That too would be expensive though, money I cant see myself having now or ever.

Gambler

wageslave wrote: »

It wouldnt come to repossession, I could sell the house and buy a smaller one mortgage free.
I very much want financial security for my child. I dont want her to have to struggle as I have.
However, she and I lost one home when I left her father, I dont think I could bear to go through that again.
The land I own has the potential for planning permission but in the longer term not the short term. That too would be expensive though, money I cant see myself having now or ever.

I was thinking more from the point of view of selling the land. Somebody nearby who lives in a large fromer farmhouse with large grounds recently sold off some of their land for £400K, somebody has paid this for the land alone and is currently building a house on it.

MortgageMamma

You are talkign like you will never get another job? dont be so defeatist, if you have been in a job a long time and have good references you should easily find another one. there is no reason why you can't keep what you have now. Claim on your mortgage protection and take stock of the situation

wageslave

The land is 4 acres. It will be built on eventually but an architect has informed me I couldnt get permission for 2 houses as it doesnt meet the criteria. He has however advised me to go for planning permission for 20 houses in a couple of years. He said it may take as long as 10 yrs and will be costly.
This doesnt make a lick of sense to me but he is the professional.

wageslave

I wont get as good or as well paying job as I have unless I move. I know I will find work but am realistic enough to know it will be poorly paid and probably part-time to begin with. The area where I live has virtually no work opportunities.

MortgageMamma

What area are you in and what do you do for a living? I'm in a semi rural town in lancashire and originally from city centre manchester so it was a culture shock when I moved here and couldnt get anything over 18k 3 years ago. thats why I startedmy own business, I thought if there's no opportunities for me I better make my own. Now I am considering getting staff in myself. Remember as a single parent if your income goes down your tax credits could go up - have you checked out the online tax credit calculator on www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits