From homeowner to tenant - are we doing the thing?

devilot

Myself and OH have been living together for nearly 10 years now, in 1999 we bought a house for around £28,000, it is estimated that it is now worth around £70,000 (ish, we havent had it valued, just going by other homes in the area). The problems are, it is only a 2 bedroomed terraced and since buying the house, we have now got 2 children (of opposite sexes!). There is quite a big age gap (7 years) and it is not really suitable for my little girl to share with my young lad.

Anyway, inevitably, we need a bigger house, which is where the problem starts. We are on a low(ish) income anyway, I have a good job but work part time (can't work full time as have the kids to sort out, plus I have health problems), and hubby can work full time but gets a rubbish wage. Because of this I fear a further, larger mortgage would not be very forthcoming.

We also have a lot of debt from over the years - most of it mine from when I had a period of being a single parent a few years ago, between us we probably owe close to £25,000.

I have thought and thought about how to get ourselves out of this situation, and we have decided to sell the house and rent a bigger place elsewhere. We are already on the council housing list but are way down the list as far as priority goes, fair enough as we have a roof over our head at least.

To me it solves all our problems but DH is more cautious and sees it as a step backwards. I have told him we just have to work with our circumstances at the time, and we will both feel so much better once we do not have the chains of debt around our neck, not to mention being in a bigger, better home with more room and a better area for the children.

So, if you were in my position, would you do the same? Is renting really so bad? I worry that with private rents, they will want the house back and we would end up homeless. I think DH had a dream that we would be mortgage free in our mid-40's but I think being a home owner is not all its cracked up to be, the government only makes you sell it when you need to go in a home in your old age anyway!

I would be interested to hear peoples opinions on this and whether we are making the right choice.:)

rae1202

could you not extend

Gorgeous_George

When I was a kid there was a particularly attractive girl who lived in a 2 bed terrace with her parents and elder brother. The second bedroom had a stud wall down the middle and her half was at the far end. Maybe not ideal but they both turned out alright. The room wasn't very big IIRC.

I wouldn't choose to rent but there is nothing wrong with it. I guess you need to know what will happen to house prices. My guess is that they will fall.

GG

Confused_landord

i definatly wouldnt rent but thats just my opinion..Can you not re-zone ur rooms to make 2 rooms in to 3 smaller rooms,,,,,,,

devilot

No, the rooms are tiny, very very small, my sons room is barely even a box room and while ours is larger, its not suitable to split into two. We can't extend either as we have a communal backyard, for which the other occupiers need access.

We also need to move areas as we are too close to town centre and there is nowhere for the kids to play.

Doozergirl

You'll benefit from renting really. A garden and an extra bedroom will be lovely for the kids.

It's not as bad as people make out. Try to find yourselves a newish build if you can as they will have less problems and will be relatively warm.

I spent the last 16 months renting and it was fine! You're not a second class citizen for renting. The first landlady was an obsessive and did treat us like peasants but I really should have seen that coming. We chose to leave. Our second house and second landlord were ideal. When I walked in to the house I knew it was owned by a professional landlord.

dad-of-4

ive rented from the council for the last 7 years, 3 bed for 280ish a month, i wouldnt have it any other way, i never want to own my own home unless i can make the purchase for cash (and thts not gona happen, LOL). Most people i know who have bought there houses have all the associated debt that goes with it, cards, cars on finance, furniture on finance, christmas on finance holidays on finance, and bug!!!!!!all cash in there pocket.

my family has no debt, and i wouldnt change that for the world, each to there own i say, but for me the debts just dont make any of that worth while, if it does for you then more power to ya.

i would rather live in rented house that was more suitable for the family, zero debt and 10-15 thousand pounds in my pocket to play with.

debsy42

My neighbours had a similar problem so they opted to have the loft converted into a bedroom, has turned out lovely and the kids are happy they have their own rooms

sarahlouise210

I think you are doing the right thing. You will not get these years back and you do not have enough space - by renting you can get a bigger place, have some money behind you and move relatively easily if you find you dont really like the place (unlike when you have bought a house !!) You can choose where you live if you want a particular school. I say go for it.

devilot

thanks for the replies everyone, just going too see if we can sell the house now.:cool:

chriz1000

Can you afford to rent a bigger place though?
Your mortgage can’t be much, if anything after 10 years. If you took it over 25 years repayments would be around the £165 per month! You say you have £25k worth of debt, so it sounds as if you’re struggling on the budget you have at the moment.

I don’t know what area of the country your living in, but I would imagine even in the cheapest areas a 3 bedroom is going to set you back £600 upwards a month.
Personally if I was you, I would head over to DFW (Debt Free Wannabe) forum and post your “statement of affairs” before doing anything else. I would then look to see if a loft conversion was an option.