Facing living in my car. HELP

carlife

Right now my life is going to POT.

A few days ago I now found out the friend I'm staying with informally has to make way for his heavily pregnant cousin and her partner. So I'm out on Saturday. Completely unexpected, he didn't expect this situation either. I'll spare you the sob story!

Anyway, to complicate matters, I was made redundant a couple of weeks ago. Crushing.

So the first thing I did was run over to the council about housing, basically they told me to go away as I'm physically OK (mentally, so-so but that's another subject they can't help me) the only real suggestion was to seek private accommodation on the billboards of the local polish food store...

So I've looked into that, and spareroom and the overwhelming response I get is unless you're in work, GO away. As soon as I mention housing benefit I'm met with deaf ears. Nobody wants to know, it's as if I've shouted h**l hit*r. I'm so frustrated with that. Are these landlords perception of the unemployed and homeless as all druggies and alcoholics! My god..I'm a professional with no history of subsistence misuse.

So it seems like my only plan B is the car. I'm already preparing it, bought a sleeping back, going to tint the windows. But as someone who has never done this before, I'm freaking out thinking my god, am I actually going to live in my car (ahem, Vauxhall Corsa). I'm going mental. The only saving grace is I won't be stuck in a damp, overcrowded dorm and paying £300-400 per/month.

What options do I have, thanks...

God I wish I was making this all up..:(

Stevie_Palimo

A few nights in the car would not be the end of the world for you if you are fit and healthy, With winter around the corner I would aim for a short term thing of preferably a few days at most so keep on hunting for place either in the local papers and or shop windows.

Then keep on looking for work at the same time anything even part time if it gets you going for now and then look to expand on this.

Good luck and I hope things work out for you.

fairy_lights

Do you have money for a deposit and first months rent if you can find a room to rent? Could you possibly sell the car and use that money, rather than living in it?

Pixie5740

Contact Shelter without delay.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness

ap1985

Oh dear...I am really sad to hear about your situation....I am actually equally surprised that the council cannot help you....do you have any friends/family that may be able to assist?

What area/city are you from?

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm not that surprised - Councils/this friend/quite a few seem to put single childless people at the back of the queue.

How are the Housing Associations in your area?

What about other friends - besides the one that has just let you down? Do any of them have a spare bedroom and might be glad of a lodger (this time on a more formal basis - to make it that bit harder for kicking out in favour of the f*ckless).

Perhaps a few more details about your personal situation might help us come up with ideas? When you say "professional" do you mean solicitor/accountant/etc or "doing office jobs - rather than manual jobs"? What sort of agegroup are you? What sort of area do you live in? Have you got anyone prepared to be a guarantor for you?

carlife

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I'm not that surprised - Councils/this friend/quite a few seem to put single childless people at the back of the queue.

How are the Housing Associations in your area?

What about other friends - besides the one that has just let you down? Do any of them have a spare bedroom and might be glad of a lodger (this time on a more formal basis - to make it that bit harder for kicking out in favour of the f*ckless).

Perhaps a few more details about your personal situation might help us come up with ideas? When you say "professional" do you mean solicitor/accountant/etc or "doing office jobs - rather than manual jobs"? What sort of agegroup are you? What sort of area do you live in? Have you got anyone prepared to be a guarantor for you?

Nearly 30 - to be honest I hate to use the word professional as it makes me feel like I'm bragging, but my background is in technology, went to uni blah blah blah. I'm in the Gloucestershire region. Haven't thought of guarantors, do you mean for purchasing a home? Although I could put down a fairly sizable deposit with my savings (6k) butI doubt any mortgage lender would care less considering I don't have an income at present.

I'm just so utterly embarrassing about this situation, explaining the situation to friends for help would probably test whether they are actually friends. Big time. The only comfort I get is the relative anonymity here.

I'm hopeful that my friends cousin has her kid, and her and the partner are able to get out pronto (either the council option or some other way) as a single homeless man, the odds are totally against me it seems...Will try Shelter.

ap1985

I am not sure a mortgage would be an option at present. But surely if you have a fairly sizeable deposit you may be able to find private rented property with your savings as an guarantee or upfront payment?

moneyistooshorttomention

By guarantor I mean someone who will be willing to be a guarantor for rent. Students usually need a guarantor, for instance, that is willing and able to pay the rent if they can't or won't.

I'm afraid I can't see it would be possible to buy a place in your current situation and Gloucestershire is basically expensive Southern England.

Back onto topic of vehicle converting - if the worst comes to the worst I would be wondering about what possibility there might be for buying a van and doing a conversion of sorts on that and sell the van on once your life is on a more even keel. I had a workman friend that travels across the country and who astonished me once by telling me how he "kips down on" a mattress in the back of his van when he's working elsewhere in the country. I think my jaw had dropped open too wide at the time he said that to ask what he does about things like washing/cooking/etc....

I guess that would be your personal worst case analysis until back in work.

At a practical level - have you got suitable contact details to give to would-be employers when it comes to asking for jobs? I think that let-down friend owes you the chance to at least use his address still as somewhere you can receive post until you're settled.

gld73

With £6k savings, you have the option of paying e.g. 6 months rent up front - that might encourage landlords to have flexibility on their "no unemployed" rules.

Otherwise, as a previous poster pointed out, Shelter is the best source of info. There are a few homeless hostels around - I had some contact with Emmaus in Gloucester a while ago in a previous job and their place seemed good, but Shelter should be able to help point you in the right direction.

HouseBuyer77

I would have thought with £6k savings you shouldn't have too much trouble finding someone who would take you in as a lodger where you pay a decent whack of the rent in advance (for a lodger agreement I don't think you'd want to offer 6 months in advance, maybe you could go for 2?). Not everyone is obssessed with housing benefit and will judge you based on you as an individual. If you can demonstrate you have savings and your professional skills make long-term unemployment highly unlikely it shouldn't be too hard. You'll just need to do some ringing around.