Quit everything , and start again over 50?

another_casualty

Update : took my shirt and tie in , but never wore them.
A few comments / glares by staff but nothing to worry about .
Facilities manager came in to see me , and I should be getting a tower fan for my side of the' office '.
Day went quite well , apart from my boss.
The arrangement , was that I collect last ppost etc at 3.30.
When I asked her if there was any more , ' at 3.30 ' she said .
There was an internal envelope I the out tray for my attention .
It was the holiday form returned with a post it note that said
'For obvious reasons!'
I thought that when you end a sentance with ! , it means you are angry etc.
Still , sneaked out at 345 and got home at 5pm.
Sat in first class compartment for 1 stop . Air con not working anywhere else . Swt care not ,and would fine me if I never moved .

Just had cold shower, so all's good for now

anna_1977

Hi,
Thanks for the comments about renting. It would cost me at least £1k a month to rent somewhere here and my mortgage is only £250 so I'm struggling to get my head round the sense of that.

My buyer is well aware that I have not found anything yet and when I accepted the offer it was on the condition that I had found somewhere to go to - the EA did tell him last week that I'm still looking so he's not being totally in the dark. He's currently living with his sister and it sounds like he's willing to wait until the end of September to give me a chance.

I looked at a house 9 miles away yesterday, it was nice and I'm going back for a second viewing today. My concerns are that I can't see anywhere I can walk the dog off the lead within walking distance, I've asked the EA to contact the seller and ask them whether they know of a field/park I can walk to. Other concern is that there's no shop to just walk to for milk etc, I'll have to get in the car to go anywhere. I need to compromise on something and I just need to decide whether location is it.

another_casualty

Hope things work out for you Anna . Best not to be too far away from shops etc. With me not being able to drive , I make sure I'm not too at from anything really

harz99

anna_1977 wrote: »

Hi,
Thanks for the comments about renting. It would cost me at least £1k a month to rent somewhere here and my mortgage is only £250 so I'm struggling to get my head round the sense of that.

My buyer is well aware that I have not found anything yet and when I accepted the offer it was on the condition that I had found somewhere to go to - the EA did tell him last week that I'm still looking so he's not being totally in the dark. He's currently living with his sister and it sounds like he's willing to wait until the end of September to give me a chance.

I looked at a house 9 miles away yesterday, it was nice and I'm going back for a second viewing today. My concerns are that I can't see anywhere I can walk the dog off the lead within walking distance, I've asked the EA to contact the seller and ask them whether they know of a field/park I can walk to. Other concern is that there's no shop to just walk to for milk etc, I'll have to get in the car to go anywhere. I need to compromise on something and I just need to decide whether location is it.

It's not the rental cost versus mortgage cost you should look at.


Your concern should be how soon and where a future buyer might come from if you drop out now, and at what price you would be able to achieve a sale at some point in the future.


Unless I'm wrong you currently have a buyer who is willing and able to go ahead, and also is not encumbered by a property to sell, and is giving you a good price - such people are like gold dust and most sellers would give their proverbial right arm to be in that position.


Of course if you really cannot find anything that ticks your boxes, maybe you should just stay put and make the most of your current property?

lessonlearned

Anna. Harz makes some very valuable comments. The deciscion on whether to go into rented for a limited time has to encompass much more than a simple rent versus mortgage cost analysis.

There is such a thing as "missed opportunity costs" to factor in to your calculations. How much is it likely to cost you if you let this deal slip through your fingers......

You really need to sit down and work out what you actually want IN THE LONG TERM and not be swayed by any short term gains or losses.

You are talking about the rest of your life here, so an investment of six months in rent might be worth it in the longer term. It certainly worked in my favour when I did that, even though I ended up paying more in rent than my mortgage payments.

It meant I could put plans into action to help my sons get on the property ladder, it improved my own financial situation, both short term and long term, and it meant I could move nearer to my husband's nursing home for the final few months of his life and spend More time with him.

Only you can know what you actually want and how you want to live in the future. For what it's worth I think you are in an extremely fortunate position with a buyer who is able to proceed and who is prepared to pay a price you are happy with.

You might not get so lucky next time.

Plus of course you should remember that you will be a cash buyer Unencumberd by a dependent sale. This makes you a very attractive purchaser and puts you in a very strong negotiating position. You could easily claw back the additional money you have laid out in rent by using the strength of your position to negotiate yourself a good deal.

However, it is of course your decision therefore I shall say no more on the subject. I don't want you to think I'm badgering you.

Well I went to Physio, she found a bit of nerve damage in my neck but hopefully it will be short lived and will sort itself out all In good time. I need to pop back tomorrow to get the results of some tests and we will take it from there with a treatment plan

More money......:o. I Need to ring the insurance company and see if they will pay for treatment. If not I'll just fund it myself but there is no harm in asking.

I still have new bruising appearing each day so it looks like my injuries were not quite as superficial as I had originally Thought.

I have to say AC I don't envy you having to work in this heat - it's wiping me out and I don't have to do anything. Hope you are coping ok.

Any more viewings booked.

lessonlearned

Well I just rang the insurer.......I am covered for medical costs and a courtesy car....

So there we go.

another_casualty

Thanks l l
What's a buyer ? No news on the viewing from last Friday , where the potential person was gonna have a chat wth her other half and inform chase Buchanan of their decision on Monday .
No more viewings booked .

On the heat/ work situation : surprisingly slept more last night than most other over the last few days . Even had a dream.
Yesterday , the facilities. Chap promised me a tower fan at some stage . So , I put on my collar and tie for about half an hour , the. Went back to my black crew neck t shirt .

Boss not too impressed and asked me to revert back to my proper attire tomorrow . I of course agreed , telling her it was only for yesterday and today only .
My colleague , who has the brownest tongue of the company was trying to stir things as usual. The 'air' that does go into the office , fire on his side only and he puts his !!!! jacket on .
He moans and crawls about everything , while I only moan or take action when really necessary .

Anyway , my bottom line on everything is this : I want to just pack everything in ...now!
When you see some of these people who change their lives similar to my position , I ask ' did they take a huge cut on their asking price and still succeed?' Should I do that ? I can't afford to , but feel like is a matter of time before I do something 'stupid', like quitting now anyway . Anna , I want a buyer and you have one . I know that our circumstances are slightly different . I don't care about the new home I want just yet . I just want to be outta here , then see what happens .
You may strike lucky as a cash buyer . Hope so . Best of luck

another_casualty

lessonlearned wrote: »

Well I just rang the insurer.......I am covered for medical costs and a courtesy car....

So there we go.

Glad that's worked out .
Although in no doctor , I assume the more bruising y that is visable - the better . You'll be fine

lessonlearned

There's a saying........

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

Anna has her bird........

AC - your dilemma is slightly different. How to "just pack everything in and kickstart your new life".

I would say "just bite the bullet". Be Gung Ho and just go for it.

When selling both my flat in Spain and my house in the UK I did accept below asking price offers because in both cases the purchasers were good bets. No dependent sales, no chains, finances in place and raring to go. Both "birds in the hand"......

I spent roughly a year in rented, six months in a property shared with youngest son, the rent was higher than my previous mortgage. Then six months in a small bungalow in the grounds of my husband's nursing home. On good days I could wheel him down to the bungalow so he could just relax in a more normal home environment. The rent for this was less than my mortgage.

So overall the rents paid more or less balanced each other out.

However, even if I had been financially worse off what really counted for us was our quality of life, not just pounds, shillings and pence.

Selling our properties meant I could clear debts, meet my living expenses with ease, free capital to gift deposits to my sons and, most importantly of all, spend those last few precious months with my husband.

There are some things you cannot put a monetary value on. For me peace of mind, freedom from debt, helping my kids and being able to devote more time to my husband were far more important considerations than fretting over "dead money on rent".

Thinking about it, the money saved on debt interest probably helped mitigate roughly half the money "wasted" on rent.

AC you are moving from an area where housing costs are very high and you have said you have enough equity to be able to buy and be mortgage free. This is a great position to be in when you are only in your 50s. You seem to have plenty of wriggle room.

Ok you may not find work paying the same salary you currently achieve but your living costs are going to be so much lower so you won't need to half kill yourself just to keep afloat. You will be able to work fewer hours and/or take a less stressful job. Further there won't be that time consuming and expensive commute.

I know several people who have done what you are doing and without exception, it has worked out well. To my knowledge not one of them has had any regrets.

One of them kept her flat in London because she couldn't quite make the final leap. She let it out whilst renting here. After a while she gave up her job here and went back to London. She now regrets going back to London and misses the life she had here. She is currently in the process of job hunting here and selling up her London flat. This time she says she will move for good and put down roots here.

What I'm saying is sometimes you just have to be decisive and grasp the nettle. You need to decide exactly what you want and then stay focussed until you get it.

You want to quit your job and start your new life. To do that you need to sell your flat.

Maybe it's time to just "Carpe that diem" and do what is necessary.

lessonlearned

You asked if people in your position took financial hits in order to change their lives. YEs most of the ones I know did make financial sacrifices in order to make their dreams come true. Usually though they recouped any losses over time.

The point being is that when you opt for a simpler life you just don't need as much money. Your living costs reduce so although you might be earning less, you will also be spending less. So it's all relative.

A few more examples of friends who have "opted out" - first a couple of people who lived in London. Both were in their 40s and had careers in banking. Like you both were single males who had never married.

The first sold his London flat and went to Spain, bought a run down farmhouse with a bit of land, kept a few goats and chickens but essentially grew most of his food because he was a vegetarian. He worked when he felt like it as an odd job man.

The second one also sold his London flat and moved up to Derbyshire, bought a little house outright, lived off his assets, with a bit of day trading and indulged his passion for photography.

A female colleague of my husband's worked long hours at a senior level in IT management. When she got pregnant she decided she wanted to be a stay at home mum to enjoy her child. She downsized and started a couple of online businesses.

AC people downsize their lives all the time. They leave stressful jobs and city life behind and opt for a simpler life. Often they take pay cuts and a financial hit but they usually end up far happier and healthier as a result and although they may be earning less money than before they are often actually better off because they find their money goes further.

You just need to have the courage of your convictions. If you do reduce your price to ensure a sale and you take a hit of £20k now I very much doubt that it will seriously impact your future financial health over the long term. You will probably recoup most of that when you buy your next property.

When I sold my properties I could possibly have held out out for more but it would have taken me a lot longer to sell. I might have made another £10k to £20k However my debts would have increased and would have eaten into any profits.

Some of the capital I released was passed on to my boys who bought houses requiring renovation. Not only have they increased the value of their properties by around £25k to £30k each but they have also saved money by having mortgages instead of renting.

I estimate the value of those savings and equity increases to be at least around £50k to £55k in three years. So if I assume I made a loss of £20k that is still a net profit of around £30k.

And that is without my own capital which is steadily increasing (Living with my son and sharing costs I am currently saving between 50 to 60 per cent of my net monthly income). I have enough capital to enable me to buy me a property which will be mortgage free.

I tell you all this not to brag but to show you how you need to look at the bigger picture. If you want To realise your dreams of quitting a job you have come to hate and of living a more satisfying lifestyle then you need to take action. That means offloading your flat and clearing your debts.

Procrastinating and prevaricating is not going to get you where you want to be. Wasting time and energy getting cross at work and having petty battles with your boss and disputes with your colleagues isnt going to make your dreams a reality.