A rock and a hard place

nana2four

My husband and i are self employed and we are in a dmp with stepchange and everything was going fine until our income dropped again, we have decided the only thing we can do is sell our home its a heartbreaking decision but we see no other way round it ,we will have 50k ish equity my worry is we need to try and set up some kind of business to provide us with an income as we will have to rent privately .If we pay all our debt we will have no money to set up a business or pay rent i feel sick with worry i want to pay all my debt back but with no income we cant, all debts are unsecured any advice appreciated

Pixie5740

Have you spoken with Step Change about your drop in income? Selling your home is quite an extreme measure and there might be a better option out there for you. I know it's easier said than done but try not to panic. Contact Step Change, find out what your options are and then make a decision.

I don't understand why you would need to set up a business to provide you with an income. Would it not be easier to get a job working for someone else?

nana2four

Hi Pixie and thank you for your reply ,we look after our grandchildren we get paid for this but it not a massive wage so we were looking at renting a shop or something where we could still look after them and give us a living if you see what i mean if we dont do something like this we will only be existing if you see what i mean ,

sourcrates

nana2four wrote: »

Hi Pixie and thank you for your reply ,we look after our grandchildren we get paid for this but it not a massive wage so we were looking at renting a shop or something where we could still look after them and give us a living if you see what i mean if we dont do something like this we will only be existing if you see what i mean ,

Hi,
How much do you owe, and to whom ?

What sort of accounts were they, cards, loans ?

Have you checked enforceability of all relevant debts ?

Are they with original creditors of debt collectors ?

Selling house seems extreme, there may be other options, depending on the answers to my questions.

andyfromotley

Hi Nana, Whoa, slow down a bit and deep breath. Your plan doesn't seem to be that well thought out tbh.

One of the benefits of unsecured loans is that you don't have to sell your house iff you don't want to.

Speak to stepchange. It may be possible to pause the payments or perhaps reduce them to token payments until you get yourself sorted out.

Once you have done this consider your options, is business really for you? Do you want to take on a lease that could potentially bankrupt you? Can you afford to look after your grandchildren?
Would employment be a much better and more secure option, perhaps even part time for each of you to fit in the grandkids?

Lots to think about for you. Don't rush.

LJB290

Don't forget - (unfortunately / fortunately) grandchildren grow up and don't always need to be looked after so this is only a short-term and temporary "job".

Selling your home is very extreme so definitely worth talking it through with a professional before any decisions are made.

If you want to look after children in your own home, it may be worth looking into becoming a child-minder. This does come with a raft of policies and procedures and also OFSTED inspections but at least you could take other kids in legally and get a little paid better for it.
Another option is for one of you to find a job so all eggs aren't in one basket. You would then have two incomes - and that has to be better than one!

DorisTrousers

What are you paying each month, and how much can you realistically afford are really important questions here. The others are right, generally selling should be seen pretty much as the last resort if at all possible.

nana2four

Thanks everyone for your input ,I feel like im drowning in debt, if we stay as we are we will only ever exist, die and all the Equity in our home will go to our children , even going out to work both of us ,we will only ever get minimum wage still exist. I just feel selling is our only option releasing some cash maybe we can make a go of another business and get our debts paid back and have a chance at a life

nana2four

“
Hi Pixie and thank you for your reply ,we look after our grandchildren we get paid for this but it not a massive wage so we were looking at renting a shop or something where we could still look after them and give us a living if you see what i mean if we dont do something like this we will only be existing if you see what i mean ,
Originally posted by nana2four
”Hi,
How much do you owe, and to whom ?

What sort of accounts were they, cards, loans ?

Have you checked enforceability of all relevant debts ?

Are they with original creditors of debt collectors ?

Selling house seems extreme, there may be other options, depending on the answers to my questions.


Hi Sourcrates we owe about 50 k on cc and bank loans all unsecured all with the original banks

National_Debtline

Hi

As well as discussing your options with Stepchange I think you should contact my colleagues at Business Debtline for advice on your current self-employment and other business options.

www.businessdebtline.org

James
@natdebtline

asparagus1968

hello,
do your children know you are thinking of selling your home because of debt and being tied to looking after their children? Surely they would want to help find other options /solutions to this? Couldn't the grandchildren go to a nursery/childminder part of the time and you can both get jobs? could your children look into adapting their working hours? or one of them stop work to look after their children? could one of you work full time and the other do the childcare?
Even if you sell up to pay off the debt so lessen the worry of that, these are all options to look after. really think you ought to speak to your children ASAP.
good luck,take care.