How do you cope when you can't move?

moneyistooshorttomention

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

Lesson learned - thank you for your comments.

In answer to your question my area is not a horrendous ghetto but because I moved from a decent area to here I really see the areas problems and I am not hopeful the area will improve. There is a lot of terraced housing which are slowly but surely being bought by landlords. On my street I am one of five houses that are owned, the other 12 are rented. The streets around me are the same. All the rental properties house stereotypes, young unemployed single mothers, living in their PJs, generally inconsiderate with noise. The area does have a problem with drugs - most areas do now but because its a small densely populated area I have seen drug dealing and I don't like that at all.

The local council pretend to be 'regenerating' the area but keep adding more and more homes in the area for alcoholics, drug addicts and people leaving prison. Putting so many of those type of occupants/homes so close together does not encourage home buyers, it just adds to the decline of the area.

The school my child attends is a good one so there are no problems there. There are some lovely people who live in the area and they have no plans to leave but they are in the nicer streets and maybe more importantly they have always lived here so I think they are used to the area's problems whereas I am not.

I have looked into all options and I believe I am doing the right thing plan wise but it takes time. I do have to work at keeping motivated and am guilty of having the odd cry when I see how other people are OK and I am watching the pennies.

When I bought this house I looked at the area day and night, knocked on neighbours and spoke to them, looked into crime, and it is great for amenities (we still have local swimming pool, library, butchers, etc). I knew it wasn't a rich area but had no idea of the areas problems, there was no indication when I was buying. It was much later on when I found out a house had been fire bombed, or i found out about the house that used to used to be used as a brothel by the tennant, or the drug addicts that were being put up in a house close by!

All working class areas have their problems but because I live in the pocket close to the problems I think it has really really affected how I feel. Its hard to forget the problems when you have seen them first hand.

I have also been made aware that the council have plans for the area, it is going to be used as a dumping ground for all the 'problem people' and 'problem families' for the surounding areas over the next few years.

This does sum up what is happening to a noticeable number of "working class areas" (ie the typical small Victorian terrace house predominating for instance). I bought one (many years back) as my starter house and one of the reasons why I chose the area was because I knew a fair number of people like myself lived there - so it would be okay for me then.

But - things have changed in some areas like this - and I do blame the fact that this type of house has proved very susceptible to being bought over recent years as a buy-to-let (ie rather than by a home-owner). I understand why people would buy 1 or 2 BTL's in an era where its impossible to make "real" income on your savings - or even have high enough interest rates to keep pace with inflation. So these "letters" are often searching for somewhere safe to keep their savings.

But - there are those who are in it as a business and both they and the 1/2 houses "keep savings safe somehow" people have the same effect on the poor home-owners in these areas and the area has changed (for the worse) and there comes a point when some of the remaining home-owners feel they have no option but to move if they possibly can.

I bet that particular knock-on side effect of low interest rates wasn't thought about when Bank of England et al decided interest rates should be unrealistically low....

Fingers crossed you find a way to move on soon.

going_nowhere_fast

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

This does sum up what is happening to a noticeable number of "working class areas" (ie the typical small Victorian terrace house predominating for instance). I bought one (many years back) as my starter house and one of the reasons why I chose the area was because I knew a fair number of people like myself lived there - so it would be okay for me then.

But - things have changed in some areas like this - and I do blame the fact that this type of house has proved very susceptible to being bought over recent years as a buy-to-let (ie rather than by a home-owner). I understand why people would buy 1 or 2 BTL's in an era where its impossible to make "real" income on your savings - or even have high enough interest rates to keep pace with inflation. So these "letters" are often searching for somewhere safe to keep their savings.

But - there are those who are in it as a business and both they and the 1/2 houses "keep savings safe somehow" people have the same effect on the poor home-owners in these areas and the area has changed (for the worse) and there comes a point when some of the remaining home-owners feel they have no option but to move if they possibly can.

I bet that particular knock-on side effect of low interest rates wasn't thought about when Bank of England et al decided interest rates should be unrealistically low....

Fingers crossed you find a way to move on soon.

All the retired people are stuck they are the only people who own round here apart from me and one or two other young uns. Its just not an area you buy in anymore.

I am ashamed to say I have three defaults totalling £10,000 dating back to start of 2013. Please do not judge me. I am hoping to have cleared the balance of the debt within the next 12 months then start saving. I know I will need a broker but is there any chance I could get a mortgage in 18 months / 2 years time? I hope so.

littlemissbossy

I really feel for you, I lived in a house I hated, we were burgled by our neighbours son, he had a drug problem, he went to prison. His parents said they wouldn't take him back in when he got out, but they did.

It was all really horrible, it was our first married home and we were quite happy there. We were in our early twenties and couldn't really afford to be moving again after only four years but I valued my sanity much more than money. Luckily we were both working so off we went to the bank, borrowed more money and moved.

Is there no way you can get a mortgage, maybe a specialist lender.

going_nowhere_fast

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

This does sum up what is happening to a noticeable number of "working class areas"

This scares me.

How on earth do I pick somewhere to move to. I have a couple of areas in mind but I made such a bad choice last time I don't trust my own judgment.

going_nowhere_fast

littlemissbossy wrote: »

Is there no way you can get a mortgage, maybe a specialist lender.

No. I need to clear the balance of my debts first. Every time I want to buy something I remind myself, I want to move more and make a little PAD to my debt.

dandan6666

Sorry to hear of your situation GNF. But good news that you are starting to get some of those debts cleared now.


One of the first things that came into my head whilst reading through this is how long have you been on your own? Could you potentially start to look at finding another relationship? If you then met someone else that could potentially speed things up for you moving out of where you are.
I know you said about a violent ex partner so maybe that has had an impact on you and so aren't looking for a new partner and because you have a little boy you are thinking that no one maybe interested.

moneyistooshorttomention

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

This scares me.

How on earth do I pick somewhere to move to. I have a couple of areas in mind but I made such a bad choice last time I don't trust my own judgment.

I solved it personally by moving across country to a cheaper area - but its a middle class area of the town that I'm living in and they all seem to be home-owners in this particular bit I live in. But I was able to do that because I'd recently retired and I would have bought a house in a middle-class area in my own area if I could have....but it is what it is...

I doubt its down to whether you can or cant "trust your own judgement" personally - so at least don't worry yourself about that aspect and don't blame yourself for "having made a mistake". I don't think you did - you just got unlucky by virtue of that knock-on effect of all these btl houses.

lessonlearned

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

Lesson learned, I forgot to say I'm glad things worked well for you.

Thank you - that's very kind.

The thing to remember is that - good or bad - nothing last forever.

If ive learned one thing through life it's the mantra "persistence pays off".

The people who go on to successfully overcome life's difficulties and hurdles are not necessarily the cleverest or the most accomplished or expensively educated, the people who survive and thrive are the ones wih staying power.

Sometimes all you have to do is hold on tight and ride it out.

You are clearing debts, that's the first step, get them off your back and then you will have more options.

You say you've got a year to go, that will pass in no time.

lessonlearned

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

This scares me.

How on earth do I pick somewhere to move to. I have a couple of areas in mind but I made such a bad choice last time I don't trust my own judgment.

Don't panic, bide your time. Keep an eye on a number of different areas. Watch and learn. The signs can be subtle but with time you can spot an area changing.

I first began selling houses in the 1970s. Ive come to,the conclusion that areas wax and wane in popularity over time.

Ive seen good areas go into sharp decline and bad areas imorove.

Ive seen one area that was bad, went to good, and then to uber fashionable and white hot, now it's on the slide again. All in the space of 40 years.

I bought when it was good and sold when it became über fashionable. I viewed several properties there recently but decided not to buy.

Not everyone can spot it's on the slide but the signs are there if you care to look, they always are. Subtle to be sure but it's the little things that add up.

The area next to it which rode on its coat tails and benefitted from the "ripple effect" is still very popular but I wouldn't buy there either. It's over valued, the schools are under pressure and it can only go one way.

Sometimes an area can become a victim of its own success.

lisa110rry

Dear GNF,

I haven't read all of this thread, but a good deal of it. I'd like to highlight the comment about changing your user name for a new, more positive one! (You could always put "the member formerly known as..." in your signature.)

It seems to me you have a great attitude toward moving forward, maybe "moving forward" would be a good username? Of course you're going to have down times, but you know you have lots of people out there whom you've never even met who are willing you and your child to win!!!