To Sell or Not to Sell

[Shaun Roberts]

Hi,

Just after a little bit of impartial advice.

I sold my house a little over a month ago. Moved all my furniture out in preparation for completion and moved back in with my mum (Uck). We havent exchanged contracts yet. In fact its not even with solicitors.

Last week the company i work for made a lot of redundancies. Thankfully i wasnt included.

We've been told they have 3 months to turn it around or its close the doors.

Now i'm stuck with a dilema. Do i :

a) Sell and hope to God the place doesnt go under and i can get another mortgage and house

b) Pull the house off the market. Stay put and ride out the storm.

My very real fear is selling the house. Been made redundant and then having to stay put at my mums until i find another job, get another mortgage etc

I loved the house and the reason i wanted to move was to get somewhere bigger for me and the kids (They predominantly live with there mum). Its only a 2 bed terrace.

Cheers,

Shaun.

[Don Fry]

My very real fear is selling the house. Been made redundant and then having to stay put at my mums until i find another job, get another mortgage etc

As long as you think you can do the mortgage if redundant, you've worked out the best advice. Doesn't life just suck. Thinking of you.

[Nigel R]

Worst financial case I can see - buy another bigger house, with a big mortgage, work goes under, you can't get a job quickly.

I guess you got to weigh up how likely the place going under is, that seems to me to dominate the decision right now. Redundancies and the three month deadline doesn't sound good from the outside, so I think my call would be planning for that... If your existing mortgage is paid off it all becomes a bit simpler, as staying put until work situation resolves seems more viable, even if work go under and you have a slack period. If your existing mortgage isn't paid off, how expensive would a mortgage holiday be? How long a period of being out of work do you envisage?

Obviously kids factor into this as well, and that probably precludes staying with your parents for any amount of time.

Take all the above with pinch of salt.

Ultimately, best to figure out a the likely turns of events and plan out how you'd deal with each.

 

Best of luck.

Edited By Nigel R on 14/06/2019 09:09:15

[Denis Watkins]

We have experienced this all our lives Shaun

I personally, was made redundant 3 times in 50 years, without notice

Each time, we had no time to plan, just called to a meeting and finished.

No employer today knows that they will be in business in 3 months time

You have a lifeline with your mother

Take the lifeline

Time passes quickly for new plans and new home

[SR 71]

Keep what you have, you can always put it back on the market when things are looking better

Been there and got the tee shirt

[paul coleman 1]

I agree with sr71,better the devil you know.gone are the days when you had a job for life,insecure economy now,easy credit,hard to save!!

[kc]

Keep the house and only sell when you have another house to buy at the same time. If you get out of house ownership and house prices continue to rise you will be stuck.

However consider employment situation in your area- house prices are dependant on employment locally. At the moment house prices even here in the affluent South East seem precarious - they could go up or they could tumble. It's the worst time in many years to take chances.

Another possibility is to make some cash by renting out your house whilst living with your parents. But remember capital gains tax on selling a house you don't live in!

Edited By kc on 14/06/2019 11:10:35

[SIMON CRAGG]

I would keep the house. At least you will have your own base until the situation resolves itself and you are back on an even keel. Also consider all the on costs of selling, and the grass is not always greener on the other side. Good luck to you and your family. Sure your Mum will forgive you for not moving back in as well!.

[Piers Bowlan]

Three months to turn a company around - sounds implausible to me. One company I worked for made redundancies after losing a contract and a year later folded but I had left by then as the writing was on the wall. Another company I worked for was in trouble and eventually folded but it was taken over by a competitor; I had fallen on my feet! Very difficult to second guess what will happen in the future but I think you should do what leaves you least exposed financially. Following your gut instinct sometimes works too!

If your buyers haven't instructed solicitors yet, it sounds like there is a way to go before you exchange contracts, never mind complete. So many house sales fall through for so many reasons, especially at the present time of uncertainty. Fate may decide for you. Staying put sounds reasonable if you can weather the storm if your employer goes under. If it was me I would be looking for another job now - if there are other jobs to be had in the area? I would also have a chat with your mortgage lender and explain your situation, you will probably have to book a phone call with their advisor. They are are there to help and may be able to give you the heads up on a) transferring your mortgage to a new property b) getting a completely new mortgage for a new property having just started with a new employer. Their rules may require you to be with a new employer for six months before they will consider you for a mortgage.

Whatever you decide to do I wish you well and hope that your decision turns out to be the right one.

Good luck.

ps. I hope I haven't misunderstood your OP.

[Jonathan M]

Lots of good advice so far Shaun, and I'm sure you'll make the right decision for yourself after you've explored all possibilities and aspects of selling, renting-out, different job, etc.

One factor I'd consider is the kids. I don't know how long you've been separated, living in your current house, the ages of your children, etc, but - in general - kids normally really benefit from as much stability and familiarity as possible when they're young, including local social networks. (Also consider how having them at your mum's might work if the employment/housing uncertainty goes on for a bit.)

Unless you've got a really good reason to sell and buy somewhere bigger, just different, or in a better location for you and them, then with your job uncertainty (and other national uncertainties at present, which might be impacting your employer/sector?) it might be well worth staying put until things are more settled.

Edited By Jonathan M on 14/06/2019 12:11:49

[Shaun Roberts]

Hey,

Thank you all for all the advice.

I work in aviation which is notoriously fickle.

The reason for moving was its a 2 bed terrace and i have 2 kids (Girl and Boy) so will need seperate rooms very soon. I'm also on a very good wage right now so thoughts wanted to get a good mortgage and better house whilst i can.

Rang my solicitors today and they've completed the contract and sent it to the buyers solicitor.

I've been trying to sell this house for years as it has a lot of problems which i didn't want to pile money on. My thoughts right now are to run the risk. Sell it and get back on the ladder ASAP. No doubt my indecisive mind will change by tommorow!

Just praying i make the right decision! Property prices are low round here and seem stagnant so i'm hoping can find somewhere very soon.

Thanks again all

Cheers,

Shaun.

[kc]

I suppose if the only problem with the existing house is the lack of an extra room on some occasions then extending the house should be considered as possibly less expensive than moving. Many terrace houses are extended into the loft. But maybe something more ingenious like dividing a room to make 2 smaller rooms for occasional use should be considered. Dividing a room with a plasterboard partition is easy and cheap. Whether a bedroom without a window would be legal or add to the value of the house is a consideration, but making a 'dressing room' which could be used for sleeping occasionally might overcome that.

[kc]

You could minimise the risk by proceding with the sale but not completing until you have a house to buy which will naturally take a few months. By the time of Halloween we will all know whether Brexit is really the cause of slowdown in house sales and jobs or not. My view is the oversupply of new houses in the country has attracted first time buyers to new built and caused a slowdown in older property. The market will decide and any adjustments made automatically. Same with jobs. Unfortunately the government believes in market forces, so it's boom followed by bust......

One of the features of a boom is nice houses rocket in price whilst ordinary houses don't increase that much. But the reverse happens in a slump. If you can detect the end of the slump you may well be able to buy a really great house at not a lot more than an ordinary one. It happened in 1995. By looking at all the agents lists of unsold houses I suddenly noticed the end of the slump before the newspapers noticed it and we bought the best house we could! It was a bit of a risk but the time delay in completion allowed confirmation of the market improving. But then you have to fight off gazumping........

 

Edited By kc on 14/06/2019 12:53:56

[Piers Bowlan]

It sounds like a good plan Shaun. If you have been trying to sell for years, the house is too small and has 'issues', I agree that there is not much point in throwing good money after bad to fix it. Moving is always very stressful and it is not unusual to question whether one is doing the right thing - not helped when you are worried about your job. I am sure you will make the right decision and it sounds like you already have.

At least you can stay at your mums for now and if things do go pear shaped you can move out, get somewhere to rent until you are ready to buy again. The housing market has been stagnant for some time and Brexit or no Brexit, I can't see that changing any time soon, so time will be on your side. The important thing is that you have a buyer and they are like hens teeth at present.