Please please help and advise

asparagus1968

if it was me I'd :
move to a room in a shared house until house was sold/rented.
borrow family money asap to do the repairs and get house sorted. (how much do you think it will cost?)
do a new SOA and budget from there on.
good luck

BlueSkyProspero

Thanks so much for all your ideas. Rockm87 I think your idea of boosting income is a really good one and I have actually just found out I have some freelance hours marking university papers. I won't get paid for this until November but it should equate to £600-800. I was thinking of just setting this money aside for things like the inevitable Christmas expenses, emergencies etc and not paying it to my creditors?? What do people advise on this?

I am also applying elsewhere for things like 1-1 tutoring so fingers crossed.

Crucially, I have also just today found out that a family member will very kindly be lending me the the cost of my mortgage on a monthly basis. This is obviously a huge weight off my shoulders. They said they will lend it to me for 12 months to give me time to fix the flat. They don't expect me to repay it until I can - hopefully by selling the property.

To be clear about the flat I own - it is only in negative equity if sold in it's current state but if in normal condition I ought to make a profit of approx £20K (and hopefully more according to Zoopla). The family member is not in a position to buy it from me sadly but thanks for the suggestion HappyMJ.

A Frayed Knot - I have sought free legal advice and have written to the freeholder who manages the property and to whom i pay my share of buildings insurance to ask him to deal with this. I am advised that it is in fact his responsibility to remedy things as it is damp and leaking through the the building and possibly caused by ineffective guttering, drainage and maintenance of these areas. I am waiting to hear back. In an ideal world these repairs would now be covered through insurance and that's the advice I've received - but I have no experience in this and no idea how likely that is.

Thanks Willowpop - London prices really do suck! And although the suggestions about cheaper rent sound reasonable in any other part of the country and are kindly meant, there's simply no way I could find anywhere remotely safe for £700pm! My travel is so low because I walk everywhere and live in Zone 2/3 border, and at the age of 40 and with a flat full of furniture etc I am trying everything I can not to have to lodge somewhere. I don't mean that in a snobby way and of course I know that sacrifices have to be made, but for me this would be the very last resort. I have experienced some poor mental health over the years and I know that living alone (or with a loving partner) is a priority for me. Believe me I don't live in Chelsea or anything and my flat could not be any smaller without being a broom cupboard!

My bf and I have been discussing living together in a very general way, but I am reluctant to move in for financial reasons as it feels like the wrong reason to move in with someone and ultimately I value the relationship (quite new) and don't want to put pressure on it. Also he wouldn't be able to move until at least 6 months due to his tenancy.

Thanks for the advice about doing a proper SOA - I will check that out. I don't have a TV license as I don't have a TV or watch TV live.

All your advice has been so helpful and supportive, thank you. I would be really interested to hear more given today's changes to my situation if you feel able.

Thanks again :-)

rockm87

Budget for christmas, and save an emergency fund. Then start paying off your creditors.

Make sure you put together a proper statement of affairs (budget) too.

BlueSkyProspero

Thanks Rockm87. I have looked at the SOA website but it doesn't seem to allow you to input the revised DMP payments? I.e. it automatically works out my payments based on the credit card debt but that's not what I am actually paying each month. Does anyone know about this?

The one I originally pasted was what Step Change worked out with me - do people normally stick to that one?