Home owner loan for debt consolidation??

SAMSONFIN13

I have about 30k debt, 10k loan 20k credit cards, most the credit cards are interest free at the moment apart fom 4k but the interest free periods will start to end later this year
My credit report is ok no late payments or anything bad but i doubt i could get any other cards to balance transfer to or unsecured loans due to my outstanding credit balance so i'm a bit stuck.

I'm self employed and my business is not doing as well as it was due to the obvious current circumstances so starting to get a bit worried about outstanding debts and affording all the payments once interest starts getting added

My house is mortgage free but i dont want to mortgage against it as i'd like to move from the area so am planing on putting it up for sale in the next month or so once i complete some renovations, however i know the housing market isnt great at the moment and i may not sell so need to look at other options to clear my debt

Was thinking a home owner loan? but i'd want one where i'm not trapped into a set time i have to keep the loan as ideally i'd rather sell the house and move so i dont want to trap myself in another way!

Any help or suggestions welcome
Thanks

MEM62

It is unlikely that any of the regular responders will recommend taking unsecured debt and securing it against your property.   

SAMSONFIN13

MEM62 said:

It is unlikely that any of the regular responders will recommend taking unsecured debt and securing it against your property.   

Isnt that what a mortgage is really?! although your trapped into a time period with financial penalties if you sell up and leave early!
As i said i'd like to sell up and move probably should of included i want to downsize and clear all debt as i'm currently living on my own in a 3 bedroom house (i know i could get lodgers but i'd rather not ive done that years ago and its a pain!) so would rather sell up downsize and be debt free but i may get to a point in the mean time that irun out off cash flow as such

CliveOfIndia

As highlighted by MEM62, turning unsecured debt into secured debt is a very bad idea.  If the worst comes to the worst and you default on your unsecured debt, your credit file will be trashed - a bit of a pain, but not the end of the world.  Default on a debt secured against your house, you could find yourself sleeping in a cardboard box by the side of the canal.

If you're planning on downsizing in the next few months, your best bet is to carry on paying off the loan & cards then clearing them with the proceeds of the sale.  If you only pay the minimum on the cards then yes you'll be charged interest - but if it's just for a few months, that's far better than taking out a secured loan.

Aside from that, it's worth popping over to the Debt-Free Wannabe board, post up an SOA and let the good folk there offer some suggestions.

born_again

Pop into the debt board & post a statement of affairs.

Transferring unsecured debt into a secured debt is crazy. As you then risk losing you home.

Herzlos

If you're  not paying interest on most of it until later in the year, you're probably better waiting until you sell the house and then you can hopefully clear some of it with cash instead of debt.

Have you got stuff you can sell off to raise money? It'll save you a lot of hassle come moving time too.