Help on Our Situation

Tommy8

Hi All, 

Im looking for advice on our recent situation. 

About Us:
We live in Devon.
I am 33 on 40K a year.
My wife is 30 and has just had her final maternity pay packet. She is now un-employed.
We have a 10 month old son. 

We have recently been issued a section 21 and have 2 months to move out of our rented home. 

I don't know what the best thing is to do for my family. 

We have updated our profile on the local housing authority website to show we have a baby and have been given a section 21, however its still "in processing". Furthermore all we keep hearing from everyone we speak to, both staff of the local authority and friends, that there is a housing crisis and there are literally thousands of people on the waiting list for a house so the likelihood of us getting a good band, let alone a house, is small. 

The rental prices here are through the roof. We would be able to afford some houses but this would mean sacrificing literally everything that could be categorized as "having a life". 

The house prices here are also through the roof. So far it would seem we would be able to afford a rather tired house with little to no spare cash to do any work etc. 

The shared ownership scheme houses available are also on the high side and on the face of it, this scheme seems to not be as much of a good financial decision as its advertised as (paying rent on top of a mortgage, still being 100% liable for things going wrong rather than it being split 40/60 like the ownership of the house, etc, etc).

I hear from a few landlord friends / colleagues that more and more landlords are selling up because the "business" of owning homes is just not worth the small profits gained these days. This puts into question the stability of rental properties, plus does this mean the housing market is going to crash?

All i want is for my family to thrive and for me to make savvy financial decisions. We also want my wife to not have to work yet, as we want her to be at home with our son. 

We have worked hard to get out of debt and now have an "ok" amount in savings. 

Im feeling the strain and truth be told im angry at this situation. Ive worked hard to get where i am and all i want to do is provide for my family, yet it just seems like the basic essential of owning / having a home is out of reach. 

What would be the best option for us to take based apon your experience / expertise?

Best Regards

Tom

BarelySentientAI

Tommy8 said:

We have recently been issued a section 21 and have 2 months to move out of our rented home. 

You have recently been issued an S21 which says that after 2 months the landlord might start court proceedings to eventually (if they did all the documents correctly) get a court to say you need to move out.  Do not leap.

Tommy8 said:

I hear from a few landlord friends / colleagues that more and more landlords are selling up because the "business" of owning homes is just not worth the small profits gained these days. This puts into question the stability of rental properties, plus does this mean the housing market is going to crash?

No, it won't.  Despite what certain posters will soon turn up to say.

Tommy8 said:

All i want is for my family to thrive and for me to make savvy financial decisions. I also want my wife to not have to work yet, as i want her to be at home with our son. 

Sorry to be harsh, but is that a savvy financial decision?  Renting or buying a high-quality property on a single income is, as you have discovered, very difficult in your area.

One of those things might need to change, either it being a single income, being a high-quality property, or the area that you are looking.

Tommy8

BarelySentientAI said:

Tommy8 said:

We have recently been issued a section 21 and have 2 months to move out of our rented home. 

You have recently been issued an S21 which says that after 2 months the landlord might start court proceedings to eventually (if they did all the documents correctly) get a court to say you need to move out.  Do not leap.

Tommy8 said:

I hear from a few landlord friends / colleagues that more and more landlords are selling up because the "business" of owning homes is just not worth the small profits gained these days. This puts into question the stability of rental properties, plus does this mean the housing market is going to crash?

No, it won't.  Despite what certain posters will soon turn up to say.

Tommy8 said:

All i want is for my family to thrive and for me to make savvy financial decisions. I also want my wife to not have to work yet, as i want her to be at home with our son. 

Sorry to be harsh, but is that a savvy financial decision?  Renting or buying a high-quality property on a single income is, as you have discovered, very difficult in your area.

One of those things might need to change, either it being a single income, being a high-quality property, or the area that you are looking.

Thank you for your reply. 

The high rental prices aren't on high quality houses / flats. All less than basic houses on the market are £900+ a month. "Nice" houses are £1050+. This is just obscene for rental properties. 

I know the following rant doesnt help me but im angry its got to this. Why cant we live on one income for a short while to soak up the most of being new parents? Why have i worked this hard to get onto what i believe to be a respectable wage, only to feel like we are just surviving. We are not materialistic, we have streamlined our bills to as little as they can be, we have no debt / finance. Again, we've worked hard to get where we are, only to feel like peasants. 

With my rant aside i understand your skepticism towards our want for a single income. But this is want i want for my family and i feel it should be achievable. 

Where im struggling is my lack of awareness / knowledge of whats available to us and im just looking for some advice from people in the know / people who have been through the same thing. 

Cheers

Tom

BarelySentientAI

Tommy8 said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Tommy8 said:

We have recently been issued a section 21 and have 2 months to move out of our rented home. 

You have recently been issued an S21 which says that after 2 months the landlord might start court proceedings to eventually (if they did all the documents correctly) get a court to say you need to move out.  Do not leap.

Tommy8 said:

I hear from a few landlord friends / colleagues that more and more landlords are selling up because the "business" of owning homes is just not worth the small profits gained these days. This puts into question the stability of rental properties, plus does this mean the housing market is going to crash?

No, it won't.  Despite what certain posters will soon turn up to say.

Tommy8 said:

All i want is for my family to thrive and for me to make savvy financial decisions. I also want my wife to not have to work yet, as i want her to be at home with our son. 

Sorry to be harsh, but is that a savvy financial decision?  Renting or buying a high-quality property on a single income is, as you have discovered, very difficult in your area.

One of those things might need to change, either it being a single income, being a high-quality property, or the area that you are looking.

Thank you for your reply. 

The high rental prices aren't on high quality houses / flats. All less than basic houses on the market are £900+ a month. "Nice" houses are £1050+. This is just obscene for rental properties. 

I know the following rant doesnt help me but im angry its got to this. Why cant we live on one income for a short while to soak up the most of being new parents? Why have i worked this hard to get onto what i believe to be a respectable wage, only to feel like we are just surviving. We are not materialistic, we have streamlined our bills to as little as they can be, we have no debt / finance. Again, we've worked hard to get where we are, only to feel like peasants. 

With my rant aside i understand your skepticism towards our want for a single income. But this is want i want for my family and i feel it should be achievable. 

No, no scepticism about the desire.  I agree with your sentiment - we should be able to have single-income households, not just whilst there are young children but throughout people's lifetimes.

My scepticism is purely about the reality.  At the moment, should and can are further apart than they have been for a long time, and you can only deal with the situation you are in at the moment.  There's not really a quick fix.  You can't change house prices or the price of rent.  What you can change is location, income, or lifestyle - all of which come with undesirable compromises and only you know which you can and cannot make.

Tommy8

BarelySentientAI said:

Tommy8 said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Tommy8 said:

We have recently been issued a section 21 and have 2 months to move out of our rented home. 

You have recently been issued an S21 which says that after 2 months the landlord might start court proceedings to eventually (if they did all the documents correctly) get a court to say you need to move out.  Do not leap.

Tommy8 said:

I hear from a few landlord friends / colleagues that more and more landlords are selling up because the "business" of owning homes is just not worth the small profits gained these days. This puts into question the stability of rental properties, plus does this mean the housing market is going to crash?

No, it won't.  Despite what certain posters will soon turn up to say.

Tommy8 said:

All i want is for my family to thrive and for me to make savvy financial decisions. I also want my wife to not have to work yet, as i want her to be at home with our son. 

Sorry to be harsh, but is that a savvy financial decision?  Renting or buying a high-quality property on a single income is, as you have discovered, very difficult in your area.

One of those things might need to change, either it being a single income, being a high-quality property, or the area that you are looking.

Thank you for your reply. 

The high rental prices aren't on high quality houses / flats. All less than basic houses on the market are £900+ a month. "Nice" houses are £1050+. This is just obscene for rental properties. 

I know the following rant doesnt help me but im angry its got to this. Why cant we live on one income for a short while to soak up the most of being new parents? Why have i worked this hard to get onto what i believe to be a respectable wage, only to feel like we are just surviving. We are not materialistic, we have streamlined our bills to as little as they can be, we have no debt / finance. Again, we've worked hard to get where we are, only to feel like peasants. 

With my rant aside i understand your skepticism towards our want for a single income. But this is want i want for my family and i feel it should be achievable. 

No, no scepticism about the desire.  I agree with your sentiment - we should be able to have single-income households, not just whilst there are young children but throughout people's lifetimes.

My scepticism is purely about the reality.  At the moment, should and can are further apart than they have been for a long time, and you can only deal with the situation you are in at the moment.  There's not really a quick fix.  You can't change house prices or the price of rent.  What you can change is location, income, or lifestyle - all of which come with undesirable compromises and only you know which you can and cannot make.

Thank you for your understanding of my rant and also very well said: "at the moment, should and can are further apart than they have been for a long time". 

pmlindyloo

Do you currently claim any benefits other than child benefit?  eg  tax credits.

It might be worth putting your information into a benefits checker to see if you are entitled to any Universal Credit.

Try this one:  www.entitledto.co.uk

tooldle

Housing benefit might also be worth a look? 

When I was a kid, most ‘single income’ households i.e. those with women who were sacked on marriage or pregnancy, were really not single income at all. Lots of people / families had a side hustle to bring in extra money. Not much use for mortgage payments but might help to boost your deposit and get you overall into a more comfortable position. Something to consider.

pinkshoes

I guess it's time to have a reality check on what you want from life.

Why do you live in Devon? Do you want to stay in Devon? Do you have family there?

£900 for rent isn't that bad! I live in a "Cotswold" ish area and they want £1600 a month for a grotty 3 bed semi! 

Do you have family you can stay with to save a deposit to buy a house?

Could you move to a cheaper area/part of the UK? Would your job allow this?

Could you find a bedsit/studio or 1 bed flat to rent for a couple of years to save money?

What is your wife's earning potential?

The S21 doesn't mean you HAVE to move out. It's a request. Worst case scenario is you can't find anywhere to go, the Landlord takes it to court and you end up with a bailiff eviction. Your local council will then be obliged to house you, but as you've already mentioned the property shortage, this could end up being in a bedsit. 

housebuyer143

My sister lives in Devon on probably £30-35k and her only choice was shared ownership. She knows it's the best of a bad situation but when it was that or rent 2 bed house at £1100 a month, it was the only choice. 
Her landlord died and she saw the writing on the wall and the issue she faced was that even if she could afford the rent, the demand for houses is such that there were 30 people going for each one and they never could get a look in. 

She is incredibly happy owing a 30% share in her house because it's security - she can't be evicted just because. 
Although it's not ideal, it does give you a secure roof over your head. 

Realistically you don't earn enough for your wife to just not work because you want her to stay at home. If you lived somewhere other than Devon you might - but you can't have it all unfortunately.

Grizebeck

Could you relocate 
The north east has some great beaches some decent areas for work and above all it's vastly cheaper and a better supply of housing...

booksandbikes

There are some lower priced areas in Devon - parts of Torbay and Plymouth are possibly affordable on a household income of £40k. Of course other factors come into play (deposit, location to work/family etc). 

Sorry, I don't have much advice but completely understand your frustration.