I hate my life, I'm stuck in a rut and need opinions.?

Question

My house needs loads of work doing. I bought it mortgage free after my divorce. Trouble is I've got no money. I'm in my 50's, should I get a loan or mortgage and hang on to the house until I retire or should I sell it and buy a flat? (depressed about doing that) I've lived here for 6 years and my attempts at DIY have only made it worse, but the thoughts of having to pay off a loan means I have to carry on doing a job I hate.(Badly need a change of career, but the pay is good). If I sell it in the state its in now I will have to sell at a much lower price. Has anyone got any idea's? It's a small 2 bedroom house worth about 250K. I haven't got space for lodgers as my daughter lives with me.

Answer 1

I think you should take out a small mortgage and get in some professionals to do up your house. Stick with your job which you hate for a little longer, and when your house is all nice again, put it on the market for whatever it's worth, and find a flat, pay off the mortgage on the house and you'll still be well ahead ... or perhaps with the money you've got from that house, you could consider relocating and possibly even finding a different job or starting your own business?

Answer 2

First of all (and this may sound harsh) you need to get a grip - because wallowing around like this won't get you anywhere.

Divide the situation into pieces.

First the house - I can tell you that bad DIY is bad for the resale value of your house so don't even bother if you are not good at it. Get a reliable builder and work out what

a) you would like to do
b) needs to be done (eg most people don't see insulating the roof as something they want to do because it's not visible but it often needs to be done).

Cost it all out and divide the work into manageable pieces - any decent builder will be able to tell you what should be done at the same time

. You are fortunate enough not to have a mortgage and a good job (even if you hate it and I'll get to that later). I would suggest taking out a small mortgage to cover the work that needs to be done. I doubt whether any bank will give you trouble over this because you own the house outright so shop around.

Next your domestic arrangements. You don't give too much detail about your daughter but if she is fit and working then charge rent. It doesn't even need to be market rate but it will help towards the refurbishment costs. If there is a pressing reason (eg disability) why she has to live with you rent free then you will have to live with it but otherwise charge rent.

The job thing is probably the hardest - I'm guessing you want to retire at 60 so the best thing is probably to live with it for a few years and use the time and money earnt to address your house and put yourself in a position to do what you want when you retire. A career change at this age will almost certainly make paying the costs of doing up your house far more difficult

Answer 3

You do'nt say which area of the county you live in or what your job is. In my part of the country,£250k would buy you a huge detached with en suites etc and you could still have money left over!(I am in Lincolnshire).There is work here,not top salaries but working tax credit makes up iff neccessary and youcould rent a room out for extra income.People are friendly and crime is low.Is your daughter of working age? Would she consider moving to another area? Or would she want to move out to stay there and would this be something of a relief to you? You sound depressed so give all these options some thought,maybe you need a new challenge to make life more interesting.

Answer 4

I don't know what your house needs, is it something that maybe you and your daughter can fix? Could you do a few things at a time,and hire it done or barter for work. I used to babysit and clean house in exchange for someone doing small things for us. If you are mortgage free you are way ahead of the game. How much would it take to fix it up? Could you do a little thing year and then more next year. For instance if the roof needs fixed, call your insurance to see if they will pay any, if you have had hail, wind or any damaging storms you may qualify for insurance help. You can paint yourself and do a lot of small things on weekends..............good luck

Answer 5

You say 250,000 at the moment, thats a lot of money to me, if I was in dire straits, I'd be happy to sell for 200,000, walk away and look for other property for about say, 150,000 leave you with 50.000 in the bank.
Maybe your problem is that you are used to this standard of life at that level, and maybe you feel it's a come down, believe me, be thankful for what you have and shift/move down a level and feel more comfortable. At the end of the day it is only materialistic possessions and sorry to say, you won't be be here forever, so better live within your means and feel very, very comfortable. good luck, wish you all the best.

Answer 6

relax ... you are going through a depression phase ... it happens in everyones life at one point of time or other....

take things one at a time....

you got a well paying job ... thats something you are lucky about ... many ppl are not happy with their pay.

as i see your only problem is renovating your house ... thats it.

save some money every month ... and repair each room .. one at a time ... and im sure .. within a years time .. your home would be brand new ....

so then you got a good home .. a good job .. good family .. what more could you ask for ... there are loads of ppl who are not as lucky as you are.

remember .. life has no essence without difficulties... and moreover in your case its only a house renovation .. it can be sorted out ... isnt it ?? there are ppl who have terminal sickness and still smile ...your life is pretty ... enjoy it.

Answer 7

If you house needs a lot of work then you need to hire someone to do it.

If you don't fix your house then their value will drop in the future.

If you don't have money to pay for all the job required then you need to do it yourself if you have the skills or get a job for a while to pay for all the repairs.

Houses cost money in repairs and taxes. Also after you are dead you can give the house to your daughter and she won't have to pay any rent in the future.

Right now is not a good time to sell your house.

If you don't smoke and you are not overweight and you are healthy then you may live for another 30 years.

With the advances in technologies and medicine it is likely you will live up to 100 in the future.

This means you can still go back to school and get a College Degree.

You can get a $125,000.00 loan for your house and go to Harvard and then you will get a $125,000.00 job and you will pay the bank after a year and then you will make a lot of money.

Also, Harvard lends you the money if you are accepted.

Many Colleges in the United States of America will lend you the money if you are accepted and you don't have to pay anything until after Graduation.

I am talking about the best schools in the World.
There are cheaper schools too.
There are community colleges too.

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
YOU ARE STILL YOUNG.

You could also get a $125,000.00 loan for your house and you could hire me as your Portfolio Manager and I would make enough money to pay the bank and enough money for the repairs.

I will help you for FREE because you are in a jam until your house is fully repaired and you flip it for $300,000.00 and then you can buy 2 houses $100,000.00 houses and flip them for $125,000.00

Asuming you keep $25,000.00 for mortgage payments and you invest $100,000.00 in the stock market then you could easily make $25,000.00 each year.

That should be more than enough to make all the repairs your house may need.

I have over a decade of experience in the Stock Markets.

Answer 8

Get a loan.. a small one..not something thats going to take 10 yrs to pay off. Figure out what you need and double it for fallback.
Had the same problem when I needed a new well.
No cash but a free and clear property..made life easier.

Answer 9

If I was in your position, which in a lot of ways I am. I would try to find another property in better condition that I wouldn't have to get a loan on and sell the one you're living in.

Answer 10

Being that you bought it mortgage free, it seems like you're already ahead of most people. Don't get discouraged. Your situation seems much more hopeful than several others that I've seen remedied so hang in there and make wise choices!