I Need Some Sensible Advice Please

I know I must seem crazy to you but I'm trying to think of any ways possible to get moved to Northampton yet still keep as many of the dogs as possible.

I don't have any mortgage outstanding on my current property, I paid £120k for it just over a year ago and although a friend who works at an estate agents said to market it for around £150k, I'm not sure its worth as much as that in the current economic climate. (It was advertised at £134k when I bought it).

I wondered how I would fare if I took out a mortgage on this in order to buy something in Northampton, and then tried renting this out in order to pay the mortgage. I would be more than happy to rent it to someone with dogs and I understand not many people will do so, so I'm hoping it would be quite a popular property to rent.

I just thought that whilst I am still employed it would be the right time to get a mortgage, I obviously can't get one when I move if I'm not working properly, I will be working for Clive but it won't be for megabucks, just pin money really as he will be supporting me financially if I do move in with him, I'm assuming he will still want me to work for him if I have my own place.

There are bound to be some really important things I'm missing here...can someone please bring me back down to earth with the bump I obviously need...i.e. how much does a £100k mortgage cost per month, would rent cover it? If anyone has any better ideas I would love to hear them. My house isn't on the market yet as I can't have the estate agents round whilst I still have 7 dogs in the house, they are all in the kitchen diner when I have visitors and I could never show anyone around the place whilst they are here.

Sorry for being really thick about this but, understandably, I'm not thinking very clearly lately.

Well I would not presume to give you advice as such, but these would be my own thoughts on the situation.
Renting out can be dodgy. You may be responsible for repairs, the tenants could leave you with a wrecked house, you will have to declare the rent to the Inland Revenue and be smart enough to know what expenses you could offset. If you use a management service they will charge a monthly fee and may be slow in passing the rent on. If your tenant disappears or serves notice, you could be left with a problem when you are not exactly down the road.
Taking out a mortgage when you are working is obviously a possibility, but again I would consolidate in your new location and keep as much debt free as possible, just in case. Personally, I would sell the place and sit on the cash, let it earn some interest for you. You should be able to chat to a proper financial adviser but again, beware, there are good and bad. "Independent" ones may try and flog you the product or plan that makes them the most money. It's all a minefield!
Have you explored every possibility of adapting where you are going so you can take the dogs? Maybe a small investment there with a means of protecting it so you don't find yourself in a position where you want to move on but money is tied up there without any means to release it.
Best of luck - there may be a way you haven't thought of. As my late mother used to say "if you have a choice between two options and can't decide, go for the third"

Thanks for that Gill...Clive thinks I should sell up, when I can, and move into his and sit on the money..he thinks there are going to be an awful lot of repossessions coming up next year and I will get a bargain...which sounds great for me, (unlike the poor souls that lose their homes), but it doesn't help me with the dogs. It really is pushing things with me taking one, he has a smallish garden and lives on a nice, but built up estate.

I suppose I'm just clutching at straws and I need someone sensible like you to point out the possible pitfalls..I didn't even think about having agents to work for me, or that someone could trash my house...back to the drawing board methinks

I would also advise to sell up and have a nest egg for when you need it. I would defo not rent, my father in law did this a few years ago and he had the tenants from hell, they didn't pay rent and the house was trashed. If you do sell you could be waiting a while!!! Father in law has his house now on the market and thinks it will be for a while as ppl just aren't buying due to the credit crunch, so if you do sell, be prepared to wait for it to be sold

Thanks Leanne,thats what I'm worried about really, I need to move as my job is gong to have its hours cut anytime now and I'm struggling financially as it is...having to wait to sell is a problem..I have contacted various places re house swaps but it only seems to be housing associations properties that are covered.

Don't rule it out completely though - yes you can get naff tenants, but many people do rent out property successfully.

Probably your biggest difficulty at the moment is the credit crunch...until recently you wouldn't have had any problems getting a buy to let mortgage, but these days they're going to be a lot more choosey.

Most of the bank websites have on-line mortgage calculators so you can see how much a £100k mortgage would cost you (will also depend what period you take it out over).

Then you'd have to find out what rent you could achieve. Knock 12-15% off for agents fees (it really isn't worth the risk of doing it yourself) and allow at least 2 or 3 months rent a year to cover repairs, void periods (i.e. between tenants if you can't let it quickly) etc. If the annual rent still covers the mortgage, it might be worth seriously thinking about.

As for waiting, there are already quite a few repossessions going on, so you stand a chance of getting a bargain now...and next year there may be more people in a better position (though of course it could get worse...if only we had a crystal ball.).

Do a lot of research - phone a few building societies and find out how they sell repossessions - whether they use an agent (if so which ones); market themselves or possibly auction them...then you'll know the best places to look.

Thanks Fiona , Clive gets to know about a fair few repossesions as they use him to change the locks etc., he has a friend that works for BE estate agents who would also tip him off. Perhaps I need to discuss it more fully with him this weekend and see what he thinks..well I know what he thinks, but maybe he will see my point this time, he's just scared that I'm going to jump into something without thinking it through properly.

I'm currently in the process of selling my house, so it is possible in the current climate.
What you have to be is realistic about the price.
We have one very good estate agent advise us - but I did ask them to be completely honest and not sugar coat anything. They have been just that.
My neighbour has also put hers up for sale. She only wants to hear the top price, so hers is on for £20k more than she will ever get in this climate.
Go talk to an agent who doesn't know you, and ask for honesty. The majority don't want to tell you la-la figures, because if they do and you don't sell - they still have to lay out for marketing.

Is it possible to use whatever you get as a sizeable deposit for a place near your boyfriend? That way with your own house you might be able to have more of your dogs - or am I missing the point?

Thanks for the advice..no you're not missing the point..if I had sold already then I would be buying something of my own in Northampton to be near him and to keep the dogs. Its purely my financial and health problems that have needed things to be speeded up and thats why he asked me to move in with him, but the problem has been what to do with the dogs in the meantime.

On that point I can't resist mentioning an American I once met who rented his house. As you know a lot of houses are timber clad over there. Anyway the tennants made a mess of the place, were always late paying the rent, and finally managed to burn the place down to the ground

But that wasn't the end, they then proceeded to take him to court for having an 'unsafe' house and clamed $100K in damages

Makes you wonder doesn't

Oh BTW Clive is right about the repossesions, the next 12 months are going to be hard for the housing market.