Do We Stay Or Do We Go?

Hollysan

Hello everyone,

I am hoping for some advise from you wise people out there.... I wasn't sure where to post this, but since selling the house is the main issue, I have opted for this Forum.

For the last two and a half years OH and I have been trying to cut down spending and get rid of our debts. We have been quite successful, but the rising cost of living is making it increasingly difficult. We live in the country but both work in nearby towns and OH travels a fair bit,so cars are a necessity. Also, we are on oil, so our overheads have jumped up in recent months.

Last year we decided to sell our house and downsize. We are in the lucky position of having a fair bit of equity in our house, so this is an option. But we chickened out last year and decided to stay put. Now regretting this decision as the housing market round here is a bit slow, to say the least, and as I've already said, things have got even tighter in that time.

So, I think we should put the house back on the market. It was on at around £400k last year, but I am nervous that we won't get that, and of course given the cost of moving, we need to get every penny we can. OH is very reluctant to sell it for less, but I am wondering how realistic this is, and perhaps it would be better to reduce the price, sell quickly (hopefully!) and reduce our overheads asap.

We also have the option of renting if we can't find what we want. Haven't rented for 15 years though, so not sure how expensive this would be.

Does anyone have any ideas? Should we stay and tough it out, or sell up as quickly as we can? Or should we put it on the market and be patient, wait until a buyer comes along and just keep pootling along in the meantime. It's an old house and I think won't suit everyone, so could take a while to find a buyer. If there are any agents out there, I would welcome tips on selling a house like this in the current market.

If anyone has any general tips on how to proceed we would be grateful.

Hollysan

merlinthehappypig

It's difficult to offer any advice because it's such a personal decision. It depends on how badly in debt you are, to be honest.

It is a hard time to sell in many parts of the country and you probably won't get as much as you would have done last year. That said, if you are buying again you should be able to get the new house for less as well.

If your debt is manageable and you like your current house then you might consider staying put and keeping a close eye on your spending. I can see this must have started by your signature.

If your debt is unmanageable and you can't see any other way out of it then selling and renting is an option.

We did this last year and I don't regret it for a moment. We have no debts and money in the bank - in fact we have more money than we did when we sold because we have managed to refrain from spending the interest (on the whole!). For us renting is way cheaper than buying, but this will depend on how much equity you have left when you have sold and cleared your debts.

Having said all that, my wife doesn't like renting and problems with her parents mean that we are buying again. I think it's mad as we will owe more then than we did when we owned before - it will just be on a mortgage instead of loans and credit cards etc.

If it was up to me I'd rent for a couple of years and see how house prices go. They aren't going to go up, that's for sure and could drop a lot. You might be in the situation where you can buy back a similar house to the one you have now, for less money, having cleared all your debts. If you shop around you can easily get 6.5% gross interest, or more, on the money you have from the house. It's surprising how quickly that adds up if you have a decent sum.

Of course, all the 'experts' might be wrong and house prices might go back up. You have to balance everything up and decide whether or not it's worth the risk.

Good luck.

Hollysan

Thanks, Merlinthehappypig, for your reply. We visited some friends who have done what you did. They are now also buying, but they said that splitting the buying and the selling has made the whole process so much less stressful, it was worth it just for that (although they only ended up renting because they got gazumped). The interest must have nearly paid for their rental, and they are of course in a strong position as buyers. Plenty to think about.

We don't have a lot of debt, just a few thousand on credit cards which is now down to under a thousand. As you noted, we have been cutting back for quite a while. It's more to do with the fact that with energy prices set to continue rising, things are going to get harder, and we do not anticipate earning any more. Unfortunately.

It's also more to do with what we arent' doing eg our mortgage is interest only at the moment, and has been since last Spring. I don't want that to continue. Also, we are not saving enough for the future.

All in all, I think we have more or less decided to move, it's just that we are a bit apprehensive about doing it now with the market as it is. But you made a good point about any property we buy being cheaper as well. So, we'll see.

Good luck with your own move.

Hollysan.

Stevie1

I am making some assumptions here, but if you don't need to live in a big house and cannot afford to repay the mortgage, it's almost a no brainer for me.

Don't see the point in making yourself financially worse off (because bigger house means more £££ to heat, higher council tax etc) just to live in a fancy place...

Sounds like now is as good a time as any

Hollysan

Stevie1,

No, we don't need to live in a big house - there's only four of us! I think the dilemma is more to do with the timing than anything else. It does make sense to sell. But should we do it now? The picture is so confused at the moment, it's hard to know. However, we have decided over the weekend that we will put the house on the market later in the Spring and see how it goes. Thanks for your reply.

Hollysan