Housing & debt advice

Singlemum2704

Hi everyone. 

I’m hoping maybe to get some opinions on what people would do in my situation. 

So I am a single parent on UC, I currently own my home through a shared ownership scheme. 

I have a large loan that I’m trying to pay off also. 

I am struggling to make ends meet each month and while I would love to stay in my apartment I am starting to think the best thing to do would be to sell, use the money I would make on the sale to pay off my debt and get housing help through UC so that I can reduce my monthly outgoings and then hopefully I’ll be able to save over the next few years with the view to buy again when I am in a better position. 

I am worried if I try and stay here for as long as possible that I am just going to end up building more debt and putting myself and my daughter in a worse position. 

What would you do in my situation? Would you sell or is there another solution that I haven’t thought of?

I would really appreciate any advice that anyone is able to give me because I am really struggling right now 

Pixie5740

Singlemum2704 said:

Hi everyone. 

I’m hoping maybe to get some opinions on what people would do in my situation. 

So I am a single parent on UC, I currently own my home through a shared ownership scheme. 

I have a large loan that I’m trying to pay off also. 

I am struggling to make ends meet each month and while I would love to stay in my apartment I am starting to think the best thing to do would be to sell, use the money I would make on the sale to pay off my debt and get housing help through UC so that I can reduce my monthly outgoings and then hopefully I’ll be able to save over the next few years with the view to buy again when I am in a better position. 

I am worried if I try and stay here for as long as possible that I am just going to end up building more debt and putting myself and my daughter in a worse position. 

What would you do in my situation? Would you sell or is there another solution that I haven’t thought of?

I would really appreciate any advice that anyone is able to give me because I am really struggling right now 

I wouldn't want to give up a home, even if it is SO, to go back into the private rental sector to face Section 21 notices and trying to find a landlord who will accept you as a tenant when in receipt of UC.

Contact one of the debt charities such as Step Change or National Debtline to find out your options.  Alternatively you could manage your own Debt Management Plan and pay a token amount to your creditors.  There's plenty of people on the Debt Free Wannabe board of doing just that.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/debt-free-wannabe

AFF8879

Agree with @Pixie5740 - it sounds like your debt problem is something you need to tackle separately to your housing costs. And with a child, owning (even in part) your own home is a piece of security I wouldn’t want to give up, unless you’re massively overpaying (which doesn’t sound like the case). 

Private rented sector for those on UC can be an absolute minefield 

Singlemum2704

I just can’t see another option atm. If I remortgage & borrow more to clear the loan that puts me in negative equity, I’m in a 2 bedroom apartment right now and I’m struggling for space with me & a toddler. So if I do that then I’m stuck for the foreseeable future. My mortgage, rent & management fees would be more than rent would be if I got housing through UC. 

I obviously wouldn’t sell before making sure I could secure housing elsewhere, I just want to do what’s best for my daughter and not being able to afford food & having to keep borrowing money off my parents isn’t something I can keep doing. I honestly dont know what to do

AFF8879

Singlemum2704 said:

I just can’t see another option atm. If I remortgage & borrow more to clear the loan that puts me in negative equity, I’m in a 2 bedroom apartment right now and I’m struggling for space with me & a toddler. So if I do that then I’m stuck for the foreseeable future. My mortgage, rent & management fees would be more than rent would be if I got housing through UC. 

I obviously wouldn’t sell before making sure I could secure housing elsewhere, I just want to do what’s best for my daughter and not being able to afford food & having to keep borrowing money off my parents isn’t something I can keep doing. I honestly dont know what to do

Being a single person with a child, you’d be lucky to even get a 2 bed apartment on UC - you definitely wouldn’t be getting a house / anything bigger…

another_casualty

My take on this ..
If you sold your home , you would have more than £15k in your bank . That would send alarm bells to DWP/ UC meaning that you would lose out and you would be in a potentially worse situation . I don't know the limits regarding single parents with children .

Never remortgage . Your home is worse less in terms of equity . Plus , you'd probably end up doing the same thing in the future . Been there . Not good .

The 2 things that will help your anxiety and need to be done ;
1) list down all of your debts , expenditure etc . Then go onto the debt free wannabe board as mentioned earlier . There is a sheet to download called statement of affairs . The posters there will help you . 

2) As mentioned above , there are various ways to tackle the debt and you need to contact stepchange , payplan etc . One of those will help you in not much time at all , advising you of your options . It could be a debt management plan , it could be something else . 

The hardest part I'd say in your situation , is to do the fist step by listing everyhing and contacting one of the debt companies . However, once you have spoken to one of the advisors , you should feel a weight off of your shoulders . Do it this week!

At least you have acknowledged a problem , and with Christmas not far away it's best to have reassurance and a plan..
@pixie5740 has given sound advice ..

SavingPennies_2

Id head over to the Debt Free Wannabe board for advice. I can't see how you would get something bigger than a 2 bed on UC, 2 beds seems like plenty for just you and a toddler tbh. If you can somehow get on top of the debt keeping your home would be better in the long run, even is some extreme debt paying is necessary for the next few months/ years. There's a real risk you might not get back on the property ladder further down the line if you are unable to pay off the debt and save another deposit again, realistically how much can you save on UC for a deposit? Not asking for an answer it just seems like it would be difficult to do, plus there's the rise in house prices..

Singlemum2704

another_casualty said:

My take on this ..
If you sold your home , you would have more than £15k in your bank . That would send alarm bells to DWP/ UC meaning that you would lose out and you would be in a potentially worse situation . I don't know the limits regarding single parents with children .

Never remortgage . Your home is worse less in terms of equity . Plus , you'd probably end up doing the same thing in the future . Been there . Not good .

The 2 things that will help your anxiety and need to be done ;
1) list down all of your debts , expenditure etc . Then go onto the debt free wannabe board as mentioned earlier . There is a sheet to download called statement of affairs . The posters there will help you . 

2) As mentioned above , there are various ways to tackle the debt and you need to contact stepchange , payplan etc . One of those will help you in not much time at all , advising you of your options . It could be a debt management plan , it could be something else . 

The hardest part I'd say in your situation , is to do the fist step by listing everyhing and contacting one of the debt companies . However, once you have spoken to one of the advisors , you should feel a weight off of your shoulders . Do it this week!

At least you have acknowledged a problem , and with Christmas not far away it's best to have reassurance and a plan..
@pixie5740 has given sound advice ..

I have contacted someone for advice. 

If I was to sell, as long as I contacted UC first to tell them the money would be used to pay debt and proved that’s what I had done I would be ok. 

I wouldn’t be able to get a housing association house as I already know there are none available in my area, I would need to go down the road of finding a private rental that would accept UC and if I was to get a small 3 bedroom, I know there would be a bedroom tax that I would need to account for but I would still be significantly better off moneywise than I am now. 

I would make a move without doing as much research as possible on housing choices and speaking to UC, housing advice and whoever I need to speak to. 

With my outgoings the way they currently are I am genuinely worried that I’ll just end up losing my home coz I can’t pay for it. I have already consolidated my debts into 1 loan but the repayments each month, while smaller than they were previously, are still too much and I just feeling like I’m drowning

Pixie5740

Singlemum2704 said:

I just can’t see another option atm. If I remortgage & borrow more to clear the loan that puts me in negative equity, I’m in a 2 bedroom apartment right now and I’m struggling for space with me & a toddler. So if I do that then I’m stuck for the foreseeable future. My mortgage, rent & management fees would be more than rent would be if I got housing through UC. 

I obviously wouldn’t sell before making sure I could secure housing elsewhere, I just want to do what’s best for my daughter and not being able to afford food & having to keep borrowing money off my parents isn’t something I can keep doing. I honestly dont know what to do

You shouldn’t be prioritising non-priority debts over essential bills like food and your mortgage. If your debts are unsecured then it is madness to sell your home and go back into the private rental market. 

Who have you contacted to discuss your debt options? Was it a debt charity? 

AFF8879

@Singlemum2704, as others have suggested- head over to the Debt Free Wannabe board and post your SOA ASAP. The folk over there are extremely helpful/knowledgeable, and to be honest nobody here can give you a good answer on the housing question until we can see the context of your income/outgoings

sammyjammy

Singlemum2704 said:

With my outgoings the way they currently are I am genuinely worried that I’ll just end up losing my home coz I can’t pay for it. I have already consolidated my debts into 1 loan but the repayments each month, while smaller than they were previously, are still too much and I just feeling like I’m drowning

There is no reason why you should lose your home, secured debt/council tax should always take priority,  If you can't afford your debts you really do need to look at less drastic measures.  I really think you should post an SOA on debt free wannabe boards, you'll only get help and advice and then its up to you what you do without when you're a bit more informed of the options.