Stay on the property ladder or not?

Question

my mum has been having a really bad time with my dad, and when is financially possible she wants to leave him.

my parents have a mortage, 4 kids-aged 16-20 inc. me.

the house needs to be decorated etc. so needs money to invest in the house but also wants to get away and sell asap.

would it be best to sell now and loose a bit of money and then rent privatley, or do the house up- make more cash then sell and rent. or somehow stay on the property ladder.

she doesnt want to leave the ladder but wants rid of my dad.

Answer 1

I hate to give advice without knowing the full story. But if she really is the victim she should seek legal advice. That way she may be able to keep the house with the 'kids' in it. Selling up and renting is not normally the best way. You are at the mercy of a landlord if he/she so chooses.

Answer 2

stay on the ladder the housing market will come back it has to the housing shortage is going to get worse driving up house prices again

Answer 3

You never quite know what property prices are going to do.

They'rs going down at the moment but that could change. I'd suggest she'd be best to sell up and rent somwhere for the next 6 months and see what happens.

Answer 4

If you or any of your siblings are under 18 and/or still in full time education then your mum will be legally entitled to the house.  The court will turn it over to her in the event of a divorce unless it's deemed too big ie has 8 bedrooms and it could reasonably be sold and she bought a smaller suitable house.  Assuming that's not the case, the house will be hers, to be divided at a later date when you've all left home/stopped being at uni.

If your mum can't wait for that to happen and needs to get out now, then I wouldn't bother with the decorating as it won't add much in the way of value. Unless it's falling down, things like new bathrooms and kitchens don't add the same value to the selling price as the price to spend doing up.  It'll just increase saleability - not profit for your mum.

Sorry to hear of your woes.  Hope it all works out.

Answer 5

If mom divorces dad, he will have to pay child support for some of the kids, unless mom make more money than dad in her job, or the kids decide to move out with dad. She keeps the house while the kids are minors, and then sells with the proceeds divided by decision of the court. If you kids all agree with mom, why don't all of you kids part time jobs, help mom decorate, and move on with your lives,