dr_octagon
Registered User
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- 18
About a year and a half ago I bought a new house and kept my existing house on as a rental property. I've had the same tenants - a couple and their son - since then but on Friday last they announced that they intend to move out because she's not working and the rent is too high. I can't afford to reduce the rent any further because it just about pays the mortgage on the property and I'm already in the poxy situation of having to make up the shortfall in respect of tax on the rental income using my regular salary.
I'm thinking about selling but my feeling is that in the current market I need every advantage I can give myself and selling while there's no one occupying the house would be easier than trying to sell while it's being let. The problem is that I can't afford to pay two mortgages so I sort of need someone to rent the house while I try to sell it.
One thing I've thought of doing though, is ringing the bank, telling them that I intend to sell and asking if there's any chance that they could give me a payment holiday or put me on interest-only for a couple of months while I try to sell the house off. My hope is that since they will be realising the mortgage in a couple of months (hopefully!) and we're on a tracker mortgage on the house in question, they might be inclined to give me some leeway.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Good idea? Bad idea?
Note that I'm not in negative equity on this property (we owe about half of what we originally borrowed and we'd get a little bit more than we originally paid).
Oh, another thing I've thought of doing is offering to drop the rent to match what the tenant is expecting to pay in his new house and asking him to stay on until the house is sold. I think this presents too much of an uphill struggle with regard to selling.
Er... I should also mention that despite several phone calls the bank in question never sent the appropriate paperwork for switching the property from a family home to a rental concern so they may not be aware that it's currently being let. I'm probably going to lose the tracker either way so I don't know if that's a concern but it may affect what I tell them if/when I ring.
I'm thinking about selling but my feeling is that in the current market I need every advantage I can give myself and selling while there's no one occupying the house would be easier than trying to sell while it's being let. The problem is that I can't afford to pay two mortgages so I sort of need someone to rent the house while I try to sell it.
One thing I've thought of doing though, is ringing the bank, telling them that I intend to sell and asking if there's any chance that they could give me a payment holiday or put me on interest-only for a couple of months while I try to sell the house off. My hope is that since they will be realising the mortgage in a couple of months (hopefully!) and we're on a tracker mortgage on the house in question, they might be inclined to give me some leeway.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Good idea? Bad idea?
Note that I'm not in negative equity on this property (we owe about half of what we originally borrowed and we'd get a little bit more than we originally paid).
Oh, another thing I've thought of doing is offering to drop the rent to match what the tenant is expecting to pay in his new house and asking him to stay on until the house is sold. I think this presents too much of an uphill struggle with regard to selling.
Er... I should also mention that despite several phone calls the bank in question never sent the appropriate paperwork for switching the property from a family home to a rental concern so they may not be aware that it's currently being let. I'm probably going to lose the tracker either way so I don't know if that's a concern but it may affect what I tell them if/when I ring.