Marriage ending, but no funds to move out

wibblebits

Hi,

My friend is in a tricky situation. Her marriage is broken, despite their best efforts. If one of them moves out, neither of them can afford to pay the mortgage as well as rent somewhere else (there will inevitably be several months overlap while they sell the house). Additionally, they have two children, and don't want them to suffer more than they have to through all this - and any house rented would have to be big enough for them.

This must occur a lot - is there any assistance or help she can get to cover the funds needed to move out? Or is the only choice to keep living together until the house is sold?

Pennysmakepounds

Tricky situation....Is there no option to move in with family???

browneyedbazzi

It is a tricky situation but I don't think it's one that taxpayers should be footing the bill for and I don't think there is a benefit available.

Either keep living together while the house is sorted out or seek help from friends/family. If she's really desperate and doesn't have any other options then she could consider getting a loan to cover the costs (and pay back when she gets her share from the sale of the house).

mummyroysof3

Is there any savings? Could a loan while the house sells from family be possible? IMO the person who the children won't live with should move out as a room for a single person is much cheaper. Getting the house up for sale ASAP seems to be the first step

19lottie82

Is there no way that your friend could afford to pay the mortgage if her husband left, bearing in mind that she is entitledto 20% of his income, and tax credits, if she alone, earns under 26k? Themortgage company may let them take a “payment holiday” for a month or so until she sorts out her finances.



If not, the best thing to do would be live together, but separately (i.e. one of them on the sofa), and try and maintain good relations until the house is sold. As quickly as possible would obviously be best in this situation, so price to sell, then split the proceeds.



Also, as a single parent your friend will receive benefits and child support which should enable her to fund a rental large enough for her and the kids.

SavingPennies_2

wibblebits wrote: »

Hi,

My friend is in a tricky situation. Her marriage is broken, despite their best efforts. If one of them moves out, neither of them can afford to pay the mortgage as well as rent somewhere else (there will inevitably be several months overlap while they sell the house). Additionally, they have two children, and don't want them to suffer more than they have to through all this - and any house rented would have to be big enough for them.

This must occur a lot - is there any assistance or help she can get to cover the funds needed to move out? Or is the only choice to keep living together until the house is sold?

I certainly hope not - sorry to be harsh. Anyway i'ts a tricky situation no doubt but they may just have to grin and bear it for a few months till the house is sold. Also they will have to sell it at a realistic price if they want a quick sale. As you say they have made efforts to save the marriage it sounds like they are still on okay terms so hopefully they can take a few monre months together. Otherwise if one of them has family nearby maybe they can move it temporarily.

Dunroamin

wibblebits wrote: »

Hi,

My friend is in a tricky situation. Her marriage is broken, despite their best efforts. If one of them moves out, neither of them can afford to pay the mortgage as well as rent somewhere else (there will inevitably be several months overlap while they sell the house). Additionally, they have two children, and don't want them to suffer more than they have to through all this - and any house rented would have to be big enough for them.

This must occur a lot - is there any assistance or help she can get to cover the funds needed to move out? Or is the only choice to keep living together until the house is sold?

If the parent with care remains in the marital home then there is no need for the non resident parent to have a house big enough for the children. The best thing would be for the NRP to move out and rent a room or small flat until the house is sold.

WestonDave

Its a bit hard to advise with little financial information to go on.

Firstly if there is a decent amount of equity in the house then part of that can be sacrificed for a very short period by underpaying the mortgage during a quick sale (house priced to shift v quickly rather than at "hope to get" prices). If its up to its value in mortgage then this isn't really an option as its adding to the debt and adding interest on top.

Secondly it depends how much the shortfall between income and covering costs is, and whether either party would get benefits if they moved out which would help bridge the gap.

If its a case that the both earn too much to get benefits if they moved out, then unfortunately that comes into the issue of lifestyle choices and its often the case that seperating means the same combined income but two households to run so lifestyle has to give - in which case biting that now is probably more realistic than pretending its going to get better when both parties are trying to rent/buy after the house is sold.

One short term solution is to rent a single room or one bed flat for 6 months to cover the sale period, and when its say the Dad's turn to be with the kids, Mum goes and stays in the flat whilst Dad moves back in. Its far from ideal but it might be a more tolerable option than being under the same roof provided certain ground rules and certain precautions are in place to ensure privacy when in the "wrong" home. Trying to rent a place big enough to have the kids to stay is going to be expensive so this avoids this issue.

Prothet_of_Doom

The normal course of events is one adult moves onto a mates sofa, then into a spare box room and money is very very tight.

DS4215

Dunroamin wrote: »

If the parent with care remains in the marital home then there is no need for the non resident parent to have a house big enough for the children. The best thing would be for the NRP to move out and rent a room or small flat until the house is sold.

Unless of course, the NRP actually wanted to spend time with their children and have them stay over occasionally.

j.e.j.

If he 'throws her out' she could apply to the council. As she has children she'd be more of a priority. However, the sort of housing available is often not very desirable, tbh.