Buying a flat for commuting?

spock007

So I moved into a 4 bed house last year, the house my wife always wanted. She passed from cancer and I live with my two step-daughters now. The thing that is really getting me down now is the commute. An hour in and 45 mins back (it's steadily gotten worse over the last year due to increased house-building but no work on the roads).

Options would be to sell (but there's emotional attachment, the effort [time + money] which I don't know I have the energy for, the girls' lives are here [but I have to think of myself, too)....

Or to get a mortgage on a flat closer to the town centre. Either a 1-bed or 2-bed (in which case I might like to let the room out to help with bills).

Neither option is perfect, really. Any advice? Has anybody done this?

da_rule

You would also have to consider that the flat would be subject to the higher rate of stamp duty.

Is the current property mortgage free?

chunkytfg

Dont take this the wrong way but a 1hour in and 45min home commute really isn't that bad! The norm for most people would be an hour each way these days IMO

iammumtoone

Can you find a new job closer to home? or ask to work from home a couple of days a week?

xylophone

Dont take this the wrong way but a 1hour in and 45min home commute really isn't that bad!

Indeed it isn't - I am wondering whether the lassitude the OP describes is rather more due to the sadness resulting from what is still a recent bereavement than to the commuting.

AnotherJoe

Rather than jump right into buying a place, why not rent a place for a while and see how it goes. Could either be a full blown flat rental or just rent a room in a house for say 3 or 4 nights a week (can you work from home some days?)

You can leave stuff there so theres little to shuttle back and forth and no packing/unpacking.

That at least would let you see if it really is better before you spend a shed load of money and realise it wasn't the real issue.

Red-Squirrel_2

How old are the step daughters? Assuming they are old enough to be safely left alone during the week but still young enough to be living at home, I would have thought it would be better to be together more rather than less to support them and comfort each other through this really really hard time.

How flexible are your working hours? 9-5 is the worst, but 10-6 or 7-3 can be much better for traffic.

chunkytfg

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Rather than jump right into buying a place, why not rent a place for a while and see how it goes. Could either be a full blown flat rental or just rent a room in a house for say 3 or 4 nights a week (can you work from home some days?)

You can leave stuff there so theres little to shuttle back and forth and no packing/unpacking.

That at least would let you see if it really is better before you spend a shed load of money and realise it wasn't the real issue.

I did this for nearly 6 years. Worked in west london renting a room in various flats near work and lived in Norfolk(100 mile drive) the rest of the time. I'm a shift worker though so it meant I rarely did full weeks at work and would more often than not commute out of normal hours and it was a rare occurrence I slept 5 nights at the london flat.

spock007

House is mortgage-free and done exactly the way my wife and I wanted it. A LOT of effort went in and I know it is in good shape. The only thing I'm not so hot about is a telephone mast 50m away but it is what it is.

I used to live just a 20 mins drive from work and that made such a huge difference. I think commuting long distances can cause a bad mood, tiredness, sore back and cost money.

The commute used to be 40mins in and 35 mins back but it's stedaily gotten worse. First thing I do in the morning is open gmaps to see a big red line into work with 1hr+ often quoted. It really gets me down.

Renting first might be an idea.. I'm also aware that the dynamics with my step-daughters would change if I lived away from home but they're early 20s (one is autistic but can take of herself) and wont be here forever so that shouldn't factor too much into it.

I have to be in for 10am latest and can't leave before 4pm. I shift my hours so I go in for 10 and leave 6pm+.

Long-term I think I'm going to have to do something. I think it's rubbish that an hour each way is normal. I don't know if I can live with it - I swear the commute is actually making me physically ill. I'm still hurting after my wife's death but this is definitely a separate issue.

spock007

It's scary, being a moneysaving stalwart... to think of spending £400++ on rent a month when I could be saving that (early retirement!) by just putting up with the commute. Which leads me to thinking of either biting the bullet and moving... or getting a flat with a lodger to cover costs.

WOWEE - so up to £250k 2nd home stamp duty is 5%!? So £7.5k on a £150k flat? That is a lot of money and almost immediately puts me off...

Red-Squirrel_2

spock007 wrote: »

Renting first might be an idea.. I'm also aware that the dynamics with my step-daughters would change if I lived away from home but they're early 20s (one is autistic but can take of herself) and wont be here forever so that shouldn't factor too much into it.

They won’t live with you foreve, but you’ll be family and a big part of each other’s lives forever, so do consider this carefully.