Should I stay or should I go?

paddyland

I have an apartment and a mortgage. I am struggling to keep up the mortgage payments. I can move out and let the apartment, and if I stretch myself as tight as possible, I can maintain the apartment, although I will not have a shilling left for anything else. It will be a very tight stretch, and will leave no cash for any unforeseen event. I have done the figures. I will live on bread and peas for the next few years. That's no life.

Alternatively, I can put my apartment on the market. Now I may not be able to find a buyer, but I can put a realistic price on it, given the current situation, and take a considerable loss, and still bank some money after I clear the mortgage.

I am afraid of the future. What if my income deteriorates further over the next five years? What if this country slides much deeper into recession? What if my apartment devalues another 20% or more over the next year or two? What if Brian Lenihan brings in a property tax next year? What if my annual management fee keeps going up and up? What if some unforeseen incident happens and I need a sudden cash bailout?

All of these are good reasons for me to sell now, out of fear of the future. I cannot find anything like as many reasons not to sell, except for the very large reason that I strangled myself over the last few years to get this home, I really over stretched myself, and if I sell, then all those years of work and effort are wasted. And of course it is my home. Also, is it still feasible that my apartment is an investment towards my eventual retirement, an opportunity I will never get again at 40 years of age, or will I never realise it's worth in the next twenty years?

All I wanted was a bit of stability in my life, the stability my own home would give me. I never wanted to make profits on it. I don't care if it goes up or down, I don't care if I lose money on it, but I am very afraid of ending up in debt for the rest of my life, in very peculiar and unstable economic circumstances.

I am afraid, but if I sell, it has to be NOW, before the market deteriorates further. Should I hang on in there? I don't know what to do. What are the pros and cons of either decision, to help me make up my mind? What would you do?

jimmycrackcorm

Can you rent a room?

Otherwise you saimply cannot afford this and should get rid of it if you can avoid makinga loss.

sweetie

paddyland wrote: »

Alternatively, I can put my apartment on the market. Now I may not be able to find a buyer, but I can put a realistic price on it, given the current situation, and take a considerable loss, and still bank some money after I clear the mortgage.

my sympathies for your situation but if you can clear the mortgage and make some money I don't think things are as bad as they seem. How would you be making a loss unless you are going on what the apartment was 'worth' during the height of the property bubble?

ionapaul

sweetie wrote: »

my sympathies for your situation but if you can clear the mortgage and make some money I don't think things are as bad as they seem. How would you be making a loss unless you are going on what the apartment was 'worth' during the height of the property bubble?

He may have purchased with a substantial deposit, for example:

- Paid €350k for apartment
- €50k cash deposit, €300k mortgage
- Apt now worth €300k and €5k paid off mortgage

If he could sell at for €300k, he would 'bank' €5k but be down significantly!