Random hypothetical:
If I paid £312,500 for a house and a bank lent me £282,000 for the mortgage (at roughly 10% deposit from me) with no down valuation after a physical inspection by an L&G RICS surveyor for the bank - what are the odds that the house is actually worth less than the mortgage and the bank just decided to ruin my equity for a laugh?
Anything stopping me sleeping in a tent in the garden while taking on two lodgers in each of my double rooms, using the kitchen and bathroom when I need to? They would have full access to two double bedrooms, living room, dining room, loft office and front door. I’d just shower, cook and use back pathway to exit through the back. Technically I’d be a live in landlord but out of their hair for all intents and purposes. Is this legal if I declare it / pay tax?
Seems easier than trying to rent somewhere else myself / allows me to keep tabs on them while giving the lodgers way more space than if I were living inside the building.
Small rant:
Earlier this year my wife and I made a huge decision:
We left London and bought a house in Kent.
Took all our savings and turns out we hate the area. The house itself isn’t a catastrophic disaster. It’s an old house with plenty of imperfections, just not right for us.
I’ve become obsessed with working out exactly how much money we’ve lost, how difficult it will be to sell, whether we can get back to London, whether I’ve damaged our finances, and every possible thing that could go wrong.
Given our £1.75 savings I’m assuming we are stuck for at least 10 years lol.
Rationally, I know that a bad financial decision is not the same thing as ruining your life.
Emotionally, I genuinely think I’ve ruined our lives.
So - what huge life decisions did you make that turned out to be incorrect and insurmountable, and did it eventually get better?
I’m looking for peace of mind and solidarity here.
Small rant:
Earlier this year my wife and I made a huge decision:
We left London and bought a house in Kent.
Took all our savings and turns out we hate the area. The house itself isn’t a catastrophic disaster. It’s an old house with plenty of imperfections, just not right for us.
I’ve become obsessed with working out exactly how much money we’ve lost, how difficult it will be to sell, whether we can get back to London, whether I’ve damaged our finances, and every possible thing that could go wrong.
Given our £1.75 savings I’m assuming we are stuck for at least 10 years lol.
Rationally, I know that a bad financial decision is not the same thing as ruining your life.
Emotionally, I genuinely think I’ve ruined our lives.
So - what huge life decisions did you make that turned out to be incorrect and insurmountable, and did it eventually get better?
I’m looking for peace of mind and solidarity here.
Hi folks,
Following on from my previous posts:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/s/XgQ24m2gCS
and:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/s/5BF6UdvE04
It’s been about 8 months now and the feeling that we need to leave is just getting stronger, so this is becoming real and I am preparing the exit by tarting the place up as much as possible.
The problem is that I don’t really trust myself to navigate another major property transaction alone after how badly I feel I handled the first one. Absolutely stupid, naive, dangerously reckless (you can see the self pity in my previous posts lol).
I feel like last time I had:
- an estate agent focused on selling me the house
-a mortgage broker focused on arranging the mortgage
- solicitor focused on the legal work while explaining jack shit to me about the process
- and nobody whose job was actually to stand back independently and say “these are all the risks you’re walking into. You’re not being as clever as you think. Get a survey you idiot. Don’t move if your LTV is so low” etc etc
So do these angels exist? I’m prepared to pay for genuinely independent advice if it means having someone competent in my corner to make up for my total lack of brain cells and apparent oodles of brain rot.
I also want to thank everyone who replied to my previous posts in those threads personally as I was in a super dark place then. I’m still in a super dark place but subsequently highly medicated lol and now no longer feel as alone when I re read your replies to those threads. Thank you.
Hi folks,
Hope everyone is well. Bit of a complex one I’m hoping someone has had success in previously. It’s a wild ass plan but I’m hoping it just might work 😅
I’m looking for some advice on whether my situation is likely to be accepted by HSBC, specifically around porting a mortgage where there may be a shortfall after selling my current property (basically terrified I’ve overpaid massively on my property and therefore won’t get the equity I need to get out).
For reference: I will be porting to a property around £280k in value, reducing my current mortgage by around £20k. This forms part of my yearly allowance so would avoid ERC charge. I can do this for free essentially. The potential shortfall is the only issue…
My current situation:
HSBC mortgage balance: approximately £281,000 on a property we paid £312,500 for
Fixed rate: 4.19% until February 2031
Household income: £95,000 (£63k me, £32k my wife)
Mortgage has always been paid on time - no missed payments or arrears
Other unsecured debt: around £9,000, all up to date
Cash savings available: around £18,000
I want to move to a cheaper property and port the mortgage to avoid the ERC. This is allowed with HSBC.
I’ll be putting all solicitor/EA fees on existing credit cards. Mad I know but I need to get out and my broker has confirmed this won’t be an affordability issue and HSBC is aware.
The property is currently valued/marketed around £300k, but realistically I am concerned it may sell lower. Worst-case scenarios I am considering are:
Sale at £280k: can probably cover the £1k myself
Sale at £270k: definite shortfall after fees
Sale at £260k: absolutely cooked probably
I have spoken to a HSBC mortgage adviser, who confirmed:
I can potentially port to an eligible freehold house.
HSBC can lend up to 95% LTV on this qualifying freehold house. I have the 5% deposit for this secured as my last remaining liquid cash.
An unsecured loan cannot form part of the deposit.
I have no savings outside of the savings I’m guarding with my life for the 5% deposit.
If the sale proceeds are insufficient, HSBC said their Financial Support Team would review the situation individually and may be able to arrange a repayment plan for any shortfall - though no promises here.
The adviser could not confirm whether HSBC would allow a new ported mortgage at the same time as a shortfall repayment arrangement, as that would need to be assessed by the relevant team.
My intention is to get out by any means necessary - I can continue making the mortgage payments while selling, and I would be willing to repay any shortfall monthly once I’m in the new place, my affordability for this is more than enough.
My question is:
Has anyone successfully ported a mortgage where the sale of the old property created a shortfall?
Hoping HSBC would cut a guy some slack considering:
Perfect payment history,
strong household income,
moving to a cheaper property,
willingness to repay the shortfall monthly
ClearScore rating of 880
I appreciate nobody can guarantee anything - just wondering if anybody has successfully pulled off something similar without paying the short up front from savings before?
In the words of Han Solo: “never tell me the odds!” - srsly tho please tell me the odds lol 😆
PS
I wrote this. Not ChatGPT
Hi folks,
Hope everyone is well. Bit of a complex one I’m hoping someone has had success in previously. It’s a wild ass plan but I’m hoping it just might work 😅
I’m looking for some advice on whether my situation is likely to be accepted by HSBC, specifically around porting a mortgage where there may be a shortfall after selling my current property (basically terrified I’ve overpaid massively on my property and therefore won’t get the equity I need to get out).
My current situation:
HSBC mortgage balance: approximately £281,000 on a property we paid £312,500 for
Fixed rate: 4.19% until February 2031
Household income: £95,000 (£63k me, £32k my wife)
Mortgage has always been paid on time - no missed payments or arrears
Other unsecured debt: around £9,000, all up to date
Cash savings available: around £18,000
I want to move to a cheaper property and port the mortgage to avoid the ERC. This is allowed with HSBC.
I’ll be putting all solicitor/EA fees on existing credit cards. Mad I know but I need to get out and my broker has confirmed this won’t be an affordability issue and HSBC is aware.
The property is currently valued/marketed around £300k, but realistically I am concerned it may sell lower. Worst-case scenarios I am considering are:
Sale at £280k: can probably cover the £1k myself
Sale at £270k: definite shortfall after fees
Sale at £260k: absolutely cooked probably
I have spoken to a HSBC mortgage adviser, who confirmed:
I can potentially port to an eligible freehold house.
HSBC can lend up to 95% LTV on this qualifying freehold house. I have the 5% deposit for this secured as my last remaining liquid cash.
An unsecured loan cannot form part of the deposit.
I have no savings outside of the savings I’m guarding with my life for the 5% deposit.
If the sale proceeds are insufficient, HSBC said their Financial Support Team would review the situation individually and may be able to arrange a repayment plan for any shortfall - though no promises here.
The adviser could not confirm whether HSBC would allow a new ported mortgage at the same time as a shortfall repayment arrangement, as that would need to be assessed by the relevant team.
My intention is to get out by any means necessary - I can continue making the mortgage payments while selling, and I would be willing to repay any shortfall monthly once I’m in the new place, my affordability for this is more than enough.
My question is:
Has anyone successfully ported a mortgage where the sale of the old property created a shortfall?
Hoping HSBC would cut a guy some slack considering:
Perfect payment history,
strong household income,
moving to a cheaper property,
willingness to repay the shortfall monthly
I appreciate nobody can guarantee anything - just wondering if anybody has successfully pulled off something similar without paying the short up front from savings before?
In the words of Han Solo: “never tell me the odds!” - srsly tho please tell me the odds lol 😆
PS
I wrote this. Not ChatGPT.
Hi folks,
Hope everyone is well. Bit of a complex one I’m hoping someone has had success in previously. It’s a wild ass plan but I’m hoping it just might work 😅
I’m looking for some advice on whether my situation is likely to be accepted by HSBC, specifically around porting a mortgage where there may be a shortfall after selling my current property (basically terrified I’ve overpaid massively on my property and therefore won’t get the equity I need to get out).
My current situation:
HSBC mortgage balance: approximately £281,000 on a property we paid £312,500 for
Fixed rate: 4.19% until February 2031
Household income: £95,000 (£63k me, £32k my wife)
Mortgage has always been paid on time - no missed payments or arrears
Other unsecured debt: around £9,000, all up to date
Cash savings available: around £18,000
I want to move to a cheaper property and port the mortgage to avoid the ERC. This is allowed with HSBC.
I’ll be putting all solicitor/EA fees on existing credit cards. Mad I know but I need to get out and my broker has confirmed this won’t be an affordability issue and HSBC is aware.
The property is currently valued/marketed around £300k, but realistically I am concerned it may sell lower. Worst-case scenarios I am considering are:
Sale at £280k: can probably cover the £1k myself
Sale at £270k: definite shortfall after fees
Sale at £260k: absolutely cooked probably
I have spoken to a HSBC mortgage adviser, who confirmed:
I can potentially port to an eligible freehold house.
HSBC can lend up to 95% LTV on this qualifying freehold house. I have the 5% deposit for this secured as my last remaining liquid cash.
An unsecured loan cannot form part of the deposit.
I have no savings outside of the savings I’m guarding with my life for the 5% deposit.
If the sale proceeds are insufficient, HSBC said their Financial Support Team would review the situation individually and may be able to arrange a repayment plan for any shortfall - though no promises here.
The adviser could not confirm whether HSBC would allow a new ported mortgage at the same time as a shortfall repayment arrangement, as that would need to be assessed by the relevant team.
My intention is to get out by any means necessary - I can continue making the mortgage payments while selling, and I would be willing to repay any shortfall monthly once I’m in the new place, my affordability for this is more than enough.
My question is:
Has anyone successfully ported a mortgage where the sale of the old property created a shortfall?
Hoping HSBC would cut a guy some slack considering:
Perfect payment history,
strong household income,
moving to a cheaper property,
willingness to repay the shortfall monthly
I appreciate nobody can guarantee anything - just wondering if anybody has successfully pulled off something similar without paying the short up front from savings before?
In the words of Han Solo: “never tell me the odds!” - srsly tho please tell me the odds lol 😆
PS
I wrote this. Not ChatGPT.
Hi folks,
I hope we are well. Please see my original post here for context:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/comments/1uwbs5w/need_to_sell_quickly_after_purchase_practical/
Essentially, looking at street comps and based on advice in the replies of my post I requested that my EA lower the launch price of the house to £298,000 asking (instead of OIEO £300,000) - as advice in this sub was that OIEO always puts people off and that I overpaid initially for my house. Looking at the comps I believe it will never sell above £300k in this climate.
Weird thing is that my EA is pushing extremely hard to keep OIEO £300k despite not having the street comps to back it up. Has anybody encountered this before? I thought the EA would be pleased to not have a delusional seller and would want an easier job and ability to get it off her books asap.
Ultimately I know I'm the client in the end so they will need to listen to me but I'm just a bit surprised that she's pushing so hard to keep OIEO £300k.
Should I just message her back and say I understand her point but in the interest of securing a quick proceed-able buyer I would like to keep initial asking under £300k?
Hello, I hope everyone is well. I have just bought a property and for personal reasons need to leave the area. My gut instinct is to sell but a friend of mine suggested looking into renting it out.
I met with a specialist lettings agent who gave me some rough maths, and so think on balance I can make the numbers work at a £200 monthly loss to me while renting a flat in the area I need to get back to. This is manageable and seems like a fair trade for the utility of getting back to where I need to be.
This would be fully serviced and managed by the letting agent (for 12% plus VAT), taking out full rent and and landlord insurance as well. As I am admittedly clueless about the process and would ideally prefer to be as hands off as possible as and feel renters deserve a professional service that will take care of them properly.
Numbers wise I think this works - but I’d love the insight of anybody who made the choice to become a landlord out of pure necessity rather than as a chosen path? With regards to legislation, tax etc… the agent provided a lot of detail already. I’m more just interested in the lived experience of those who felt they had to become landlords to facilitate a big life change, rather than an active career choice.
Is this a non starter for someone as green as me or actually viable under the right circumstances? Thank you.
How do people get through it? I’ve made a separate post about a practical way to leave but having bought at asking price at the street ceiling with no survey I feel I’ve doomed my wife and I to live somewhere we hate for the next ten years.
I know this is all catastrophising which is why I kept the nuts and bolts exit plan to a separate thread but emotionally how do people cope with knowing in your heart you’ve messed up the biggest financial decision of your life and potentially trapped your spouse in it too?
Every day something new crops up with this house and I just can’t believe how much we overpaid - directly trapping us here until the mortgage can be paid down.
I understand it is my responsibility and I must learn to carry on but I can’t stop obsessing over how utterly utterly stupid I was during this buying process. It’s too much to take some days.
Anyway - please be gentle here I’m just asking for people who can relate to share their stories - I’ve scolded myself enough already for this mess.
I just need to find some kind of hope, anywhere, in the situation we are in.
Before it comes up: I am seeing a therapist and my GP and am medicated for my various mental health issues (all of which were stable before the move but this has just thrown me for a loop)
Not sure what I expect from this thread - I just need to get my thoughts down somewhere. Not alone. The weight of it all is just too much.
Thank you if you’ve read this far 🙏