Buying a flat for commuting?

ognum

OP, firstly it is early days since the death of your wife and I would suggest not making any impulsive decisions at this time.

I wonder if you believe that moving close to work will help you move forward with your life and actually you are craving a new space where you don’t have so many memories. Is the drive to and from home the part of the day when you actually have time to think and you have a need to not do that at the moment.

Like others have said I if you feel you want to do this then rent a studio or small flat at first just to see if it works for you. It may be that you crave to be back in your marital home it may be that the escape helps, it’s too soon to say.

Bereavement is always a challenging time, there are no normals, everyone’s normal is different. Don’t make any irreversible decisions.

Herbalus

I sympathise.

I echo the comments on the commute - I think it's horrendous that commutes of an hour each way are considered normal.

Renting is not a bad idea, but not a long term solution. I lodged Mon-Thurs in London whilst living in Norwich, and the weekday evenings are really dead time when a) you're in somebody else's house, and b) have nothing really to do.

BTW I think you've miscalculated stamp duty - on a £150k flat it would be £5k not £7.5k. For the "standard" parts of the rate, it's zero up to £125k and then the 2% is on the amount in excess of £125k (i.e. on £25k if the flat is £150k). Then as it's a second home, you add 3% of the entire £150k.

So you have 3% of £150k which is £4.5k, and then 2% of the £25k (£150k minus £125k zero rate band), which is £500.

GaleSF63

ognum wrote: »

OP, firstly it is early days since the death of your wife and I would suggest not making any impulsive decisions at this time.

Bereavement is always a challenging time, there are no normals, everyone’s normal is different. Don’t make any irreversible decisions.

I second this. i didn't realise at the time - it was only with hindsight that I knew that it was at least two years after my husband died, that I could have safely made important decisions.

Alan2020

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Reading in between the lines are you worried of the effect s of the phone mast regarding cancer?

In this case sell the house and move, your step daughter s will also worry if you do. Pointless staying in if this is the worry.
This is my view anyway.

lisyloo

Sorry for your loss.
Your commute doesn’t sound too long but I understand that cumulatively it’s a lot of wasted time.
Shifting your hours can work wonders if that’s possible. I’m in London and that’s very common.
Working at home 1 or 2 days a week might help if possible.

We rent a bolt hole in London as the 2.5 hour commute each way (when there are no delays) is too long.
When we initially moved up we stayed in a travelodge first.
It was ok but expensive and calorific to eat out.
We then tried serviced apartments 4 days a week. Some in London are a masterclass in miniaturisation with sinks the size of shoe boxes but it did allow up to try different areas and we weren’t committed.
Eventually we took a rental (it’s justified if you have a well paid job in London) and it’s great for us.
So I would concur with not making any compulsive permanent decisions.
There’s a lot of options you can try without making a bit commitment.

Could you ask about working from home 2 days a week at least for a trial?
Or just try commuting at different times of the day.
We have people in my team who start early and people who start late and it’s a bonus for the business.

tlc678910

Hi,
I agree that you should not rush into any decisions but another option to consider is looking for a job close to home.

You say the house is all done how you like it and you live with your family who have their lives there. If you rent or house share in the week will you be going too far in the direction of living to work?

I think you said your house is mortgage free. Perhaps this is recent through insurance. Being mortgage free might give you the option to consider a job close to home even if it pays less. Your step daughters are also old enough to pay some board if they work and this will help them prepare for independence too.

You are looking to reduce your commute and improve your quality of life but while living near work reduces the commute I'm not sure it will improve your quality of life. If you think it is the solution then I agree you should test the water by renting/lodging. You might be able to send an email at work asking if anyone that lives close to work would like a mon-fri lodger and if you are lucky you may find lodgings that make the weekdays comfortable.

Tlc

zagubov

tlc678910 wrote: »

Hi,
I agree that you should not rush into any decisions but another option to consider is looking for a job close to home.

You say the house is all done how you like it and you live with your family who have their lives there. If you rent or house share in the week will you be going too far in the direction of living to work?

I think you said your house is mortgage free. Perhaps this is recent through insurance. Being mortgage free might give you the option to consider a job close to home even if it pays less. Your step daughters are also old enough to pay some board if they work and this will help them prepare for independence too.

You are looking to reduce your commute and improve your quality of life but while living near work reduces the commute I'm not sure it will improve your quality of life. If you think it is the solution then I agree you should test the water by renting/lodging. You might be able to send an email at work asking if anyone that lives close to work would like a mon-fri lodger and if you are lucky you may find lodgings that make the weekdays comfortable.

Tlc

I agree that this is definitely not the time to make a major life decision (which is what buying and selling a house would be).

But I'd go along with the idea of becoming a part-time lodger. Your work may have a staff notice-board where you can stick a note on asking for lodgings. Take minutes to do and surprisingly often pays off.

spock007

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for all your condolences.

Leaving earlier is better for traffic coming in but worse for coming back. Just can't win. I can't do a 4-day week, either.

House is now solely in my name.

Yep - issue now is that the commute is pretty bad. Probably what I will do is give it another 6 months (until the summer) and see how I'm feeling. I was thinking about paying to do the garden up a bit but will hold off if I may be selling. Definitely don't want to sell and then regret. At the same time, a house is just a house (or is it... this is the first place I've ever bought).

Thanks for the correction on stamp duty!

Re the phone mast. Wife had cancer prior to moving here but yes, I'm not 100% keen on it being relatively close. I know the fears are unproven but it's a little niggle at the back of my mind.

Step daughters do pay a little toward "digs" and it's a massive help that the house is paid off. This is due to insurance payout - it's more because my wife and I saved a lot. We'd be in the same situation if she were here now.

There are no jobs any nearer to me and I can see that it may not be the best idea to move closer to work if that workplace then ever closes down and puts me in the same situation again. Best bet would be to move somewhere more central. Our house was 253k out of town. Same one in town is more like 340k+. Not undoable.


Sorry for short reply - always seem to be so busy these days!

spock007

Have been thinking about this lightly over the break. I wont be making any big decisions within the year timeframe, which will give me enough money to save if I do go for this. FYI I leave for work 9am to get in for 10am and the traffic will only get worse. Finishing 6:30pm means 35-40mins back which is better but that's the better part of two hours a day. Leaving earlier means an epic commute at night so I can only shift the hours later like I'm doing.






House is paid off and worth maybe £270-280k (tempted to say 300 but home additions don't always retain value or get reflected in selling price).


£35k is in investments with financial advisor.


Further £35k is sitting in Santander 123.


Saving £1.5k on average per month.


Pension (workplace) just under £90k and I pay in enough to push me down into 20% bracket. I pay quite a lot into that - £2k all-in a month from me and employer, combined.








I understand the deposit required for a 2nd home is rather large (~25%) and there's the stamp duty surcharge, as has been noted, plus other fees. Stamp duty really is a killer so IF I went for it, it'd have to be THE place to buy, not too expensive and easy-maintenance. Also, I read that mortgage interest can't be offset vs tax so it's less efficient than it used to be. I haven't put numbers to any of this so don't know how if it would be worth it vs moving main residence closer to town and investing the cash. I'm only 34 and if I can pay down the mortgage within 10 years, that'd be a second place for life with the potential to rent out.


I don't know about the practicalities and realities of renting out a room, though you'd think it would return more than cash investment? Further, I read that a second home acting as a holiday let is much more attractive, but I don't think I'd be able to live there.


I do think it would be very versatile to have a place in/near the city centre where there are more jobs. Initial plan would be to stay there and let out a room.


However maybe in a year or two, my step-daughters' living situation might change and I could just move (no point keeping a 4-bed home for 1-2 people). Then it'd be a case of what the hell do I do with my savings, which could build significantly..


Several people at work let out a room in their primary (and only) residence and it really works out for them (I don't think I'd do this... especially if one of the girls was still at home). The £400-500 extra a month massively boosts their income. Disregarding fees and mortgage interest, if the place is owned outright, that's ~£500 in your hand a month. If I had £50k savings, I'd need 10% return on invested cash.


Am I looking at this all wrong?
In any case, £35k sitting in my own account isn't really enough for ~£150-200k flat so I need to sit and save for a while while I think it through more and try to put numbers to it.


FYI I've traditionally been rather good with money and saving but the last year (for obvious reasons) it's taken a back seat. I need to get "back in the know."

p00hsticks

spock007 wrote: »

FYI I've traditionally been rather good with money and saving but the last year (for obvious reasons) it's taken a back seat. I need to get "back in the know."

It's understandable in the circumstances.

A quick win would be to find a better home for at least £15k of the money in that Santander 123 account, since it only pays interest on the first £20k.