Moving in with partner to rent, should I sell my flat or not?

jeanraffio

Originally posted this elsewhere - realised it was the wrong forum, not a x-post

Hi. I own a decent new build flat (10 years old) that I have on a mortgage that I can happily afford. My circumstances are changing and may need to move to another part of the county (West Midlands) to move in with my girlfriend.

The flat is probably worth around £85,000 and my remaining mortgage is around £60,000. The only issue is that my girlfriend has a poor credit history and debt (though it's manageable), so getting a joint mortgage wouldn't be possible - and where we need to move to wouldn't get you anything for ~£85k for two.

We both have fairly well-paying jobs for the area (but nothing too over the top) so it looks like we may have to rent. The situation also means that I don't think I can commit to letting my flat out either and still making the move.

I bet this situation happens a lot, but I'm just wondering how out of pocket overall I could end up by doing it this way? Any extra money I 'earn' from selling my flat (though I expect I won't profit from it in any way) would go back into my savings / emergencies.

Anyone else been in similar circumstances? How did it work out? Thanks guys.

phill99

What is stopping you letting the flat out?

Pixie5740

What do you count as out of pocket expenses?

I moved from one city to another a few years ago. I sold my property in the first city then rented for a while in the second city for two reasons, 1) I wasn't sure if I would like the new city so didn't want to commit to buying anywhere straightaway, 2) When I moved I became a self-employed contractor so nobody would give my a mortgage anyway.

I was lucky in that I broke even when I sold and I rented for 3 years whilst I saved up a bigger deposit (since I was living in a more expensive city) and got a feel for the city.

I don't think that I was ever out of pocket and I didn't want to keep hold of the property in the first city and let it out because I didn't want to be a landlord and the first property might have reduced my affordability for buying a home where I am.

jeanraffio

phill99 wrote: »

What is stopping you letting the flat out?

The basic answer is that I don't want to be a landlord!

jeanraffio

Pixie5740 wrote: »

What do you count as out of pocket expenses?

I was lucky in that I broke even when I sold and I rented for 3 years whilst I saved up a bigger deposit (since I was living in a more expensive city) and got a feel for the city.

I guess this is what I'm on about. I'm guesssing you sold your original property for more than you paid for it, as you were able to break even as that profit covered the expenses of selling and mortgage early repayment. Sadly I don't think I'll be in that situation, so will have to factor in the loss I'll make on that. Then again with a flat it's offset against the annual service charge and ground rent I pay to a certain extent.

Pixie5740

Maybe broke even was being a bit generous. I more or less got what I paid for it so once you take into account the solicitors' fees and estate agent fees I was maybe a couple of thousand down overall but that was less than what I would have paid out if I had rented for all the time I owned the property. The fixed term on my mortgage had ended so I didn't have any ERC to pay and the property was below the SDLT threshold at the time. I could have held out for more money but I figured that a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush.

I had an overlap of about 10 months where I was paying both rent and a mortgage as well as two lots of council tax, two lots of gas and electricity (granted this was low for the first property) and factor fees so I suppose I was out of pocket. I never really dwelled on that because moving was a great opportunity for me and has worked out really well. Money is only money, I can always make more of it.