House Move Or Not

[andz95]

Hello,
Im after some advice.
We (me ,husband and 3 kids) live in a very small 2 bed house.
The house really is just to small for us all and we woulod like to move .
The problem we have is although we have a mortgage on this house which we have always paid we do have allot of unseacured debt which i manage through a debt management repayment plan. We understand that if we sell we wont get another mortage and proberly will struggle to rent due to credit checks (we havent got any ccjs just lots of defaults through missed payments on loans and credit cards).The plus side with selling is we can pay the debt off as we do have equity in the house but we are still left with the uncertainess of being able to rent?.Does anyone know how long it takes for your credit to rebuild after you pay your debt off as we would ike to buy again one day ??.
Im so confused and have been thinking this over for 2 years and still cant decide.
In one way i know we are lucky to be living in a house even if it is to small but we feel so stuck and unable to move forward. Our debt is a result of the recession as my husband is self employed and the work hasnt been consistant.

[sherrardk]

We rent and I hate it - the feeling of not being secure, not being able to do anything to make the house your own (putting pictures up, someone else's taste in wall paper, etc). Our landlords let us get on with it (private rent, they were very trusting to let us have the house, no credit checks, didn't know us, etc). I personally would say to try and hold on to your home (it's yours, ou can do wht you like in it). I know it's too small, but so is ours, good luck, x

[ZedBloke]

I'd say you'll find it very difficult to move, either buying or renting will need what they consider to be an acceptable credit record. 4-6 years of no default or late payments. It may be considered a plus if you can sell and pay off debt but in reality you are not going to be able to find anywhere to rent (due to credit checks etc) so that won't happen. Is there anyway you could extend your current house? I assume you are happy with the location.

[Baldric]

Is this the same 2 bed house you said you'd coverted to 3 beds back in Jan 2010?

[andz95]

Yes it only had a partition wall put up in the 2nd bedroom which was also taken back down in 2010 as it was to small (nothing ventured).

Thanks to the rest of you for taking the time to give great adivce : )

[boxtops]

If you have a mortgage, would it not be worth considering whether you could extend the mortgage in order to pay off the unsecured debt? I know that many people (including me) have found it more cost effective to pay a low rate mortgage over a longer period, than higher interest on e.g. credit cards. If you find your debt management plan works then you might not want to consider that option - but it would mean that all your debt's in one place, and gets the other creditors off your back.
This won't help your wish to move, as I don't think you rebuild good credit until about 6 years have passed, but it might be worth considering.

[DTCwordfan]

^ mark that as a bloody good answer, andz

[ladybirder]

IF you could extend your mortgage that would be the way to go but in view of your debts/missed payments I doubt you will be able to do it, especially in this financial climate. I would hang on to your little house if I were you. You might never get another. Good Luck.

[andz95]

We didnt go down the remortage road as i didnt think they would do it as we now have bad credit and my husbands earnings arnt what they where (bloody recession! ). Looks like we will have to continue with how things are and try and stay in a positive mind set. But its great to hear other peoples advice .Thank you all.

[DTCwordfan]

If you don't ask, you don't get......certainly your default position is to hold one. The fact that you are demonstrating responsibility on debt management may convince the financiers if you have some reasonable space on your equity.

[chrissa1]

What happened to just moving your mortgage or can you not do that anymore?
What I mean is, if you have a good track record with your mortgage company, would they not stick with you for a larger more valuable property?

I haven't moved for 22 years, before my little world fell apart in 2011.