In a mess! Help to Buy / renting out house

lyra87

Hi all. Hoping you can help me to mentally untangle this mess I'm in with regards to my home and Help to Buy.

I bought my first home in 2016 using a 20% HTB equity loan. I then went through a nasty divorce and was offered an amazing job in another city. Knowing the job was a bit of a gamble but wanting the fresh start, I got consent to lease from the HCA and my lender for a year and moved. The house is now rented out.

My year of consent to lease is almost up, and it falls in line with my mortgage deal expiring. Here's where I begin to get REALLY confused.
- I've now been advised that it's quite possible the HCA will not renew my consent to lease as it's only viewed as a very temporary measure
- I can't remortgage with other lenders because of the consent to lease, so am having to move to the SVR with my current lender
- I can't change over to a Buy to Let mortgage because of the HTB equity loan

It seems my options are to either hope that the HCA grant me one more year of consent to lease, to get myself organised, OR sell the house. Is this correct? Do I have any other options in terms of paying off the equity loan to enable a Buy to Let mortgage?

Sorry if this is a bit confusing, I'm trying to make sense of everything but can't help feeling I have made a big mess of things when I should have just stretched myself to avoid using HTB I'm grateful for it, please don't get me wrong, but it feels like a weight around my neck at this point.

Comms69

- firstly you're not an accidental landlord, so please don't start that nonsense.


Secondly - have you actually asked them? Surely that's step one.


Finally - is your divorce finalised?

lyra87

Is that terminology not acceptable on the forum? I bought the home to live in and, due to a combo of some very very unpleasant personal circumstances and an out-of-the-blue job offer ended up moving within a month. I definitely never planned to be renting it out!

I have asked HCA and they advised that they would consider an extension but there's a good chance it'll be a "no". In this instance, I'm trying to understand if my only option is to sell.

Yes, thankfully, my divorce is finalised and due to legal circs I do not have to face contact. He made no contribution to the house so there was no legal wrangling on that at least.

fairy_lights

Seeing as you're an 'accidental' landlord, have you protected the deposit, provided a gas safety certificate etc?

lyra87

Yes I have; I also have landlord's insurance. Apparently I've made a huge faux pas using that term although it's yet to be explained why.

Pixie5740

lyra87 wrote: »

Yes I have; I also have landlord's insurance. Apparently I've made a huge faux pas using that term although it's yet to be explained why.

accident

noun
1.
an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
"he had an accident at the factory"
synonyms: mishap, misfortune, misadventure, mischance, unfortunate incident, injury, disaster, tragedy, catastrophe, contretemps, calamity, blow, trouble, problem, difficulty; technicalcasualty
"he was involved in an accident at work"
2.
an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.
"the pregnancy was an accident"
synonyms: chance, mere chance, coincidence, twist of fate, freak, hazard;

Becoming a landlord was not an accident but a conscious choice on your part. You chose to apply for consent to let, you chose to find a tenant, you chose to accept rent, none of it was accidental.

gingercordial

lyra87 wrote: »

Yes I have; I also have landlord's insurance. Apparently I've made a huge faux pas using that term although it's yet to be explained why.

People don't like the term because nobody ever ends up as a landlord by accident. You didn't wake up one morning and find a tenant in your property.

You may have decided to become a landlord without having originally planned to, you may have felt that your other choices weren't acceptable to you, but there was still a point where you made a decision to sign a tenancy agreement. Hence not an "accident".

The issue is people tend to come on here and call themselves that when they've become a landlord without following any of the rules and hence are doing things that will end badly for them and/or their tenants, so it doesn't have a great history as well as being technically incorrect.

kingstreet

Presumably when you say "HCA" you mean Target, the post-sales HTB Agent?

https://www.myfirsthome.org.uk/

It is very unusual to be granted consent to let. I've never heard of it apart from forces personnel being posted. I suspect having had it once, it won't be granted again.

Selling the property appears your only option.

Pixie5740

I'm surprised that HTB granted you consent to let for 12 months. Usually that's only given in exceptional circumstances, for example members of the armed forces whose tour of duty requires them to serve away from the area in which they live for a fixed period. Are you in the armed forces? If not then I think the chances of your consent to let being granted for another year are slim to none.

What options does that leave you with?

1) Moving back into the property and using it as your main residence.

2) Selling the property.

3) Find the money to clear the HTB equity loan and change to a BTL mortgage.

4) Continue to let without consent and hope you don't get caught.

Pixie5740

Now this is an accident....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE5WPAfTA40

lyra87

Thanks for clarifying the issue with "accidental" terminology - fair challenge.

I clearly have a lot of work to do to get this sorted out. I definitely won't be able to find the money to clear it, other than remortgaging (which didn't seem to be an option as I fall short of the BTL requirements somehow). Sounds like I may have to bite the bullet and sell the house.

Appreciate your time, thanks again.