If the house is big enough for a lodger then it's bigger than your needs so why work your **** off for something impractical.
Sell it and get a smaller place that you can afford. You have not said where you are but here in the West Country 100K would give a choice of properties in decent locations.
Get more than one lodger in (sleep in a cupboard if you have to) and come off the benefits, look for a job as well....work out a five year plan...i.e. in 5 years you'll be solvent and free of lodgers, it can be done !
Get a lodger. This can actually be a positive experience because you might make good friends with them. It also gives you some secure payments incase you can't find a job.
If you really and truly want to keep your house, you will have to earn the money to pay for it. Get a lodger. They don't have to live there forever. If you live in a city, you could advertise for a Monday to Friday lodger so you have weekends to yourself. If you do nothing, you will lose the house and any equity in it.
If you are not working it doesn't matter where you live. Try north of Manchester. It is possible to buy a 2 bed terraced house for less than ￡100k. So no mortgage.
Take any job and get a lodger who works full time.
Last year my mortgage fell into arrears and I was nearly repossessed. I managed to land a job and saved my home. I have recently lost that job and my home is under threat once more.
I have managed to find a buyer for my home and the sale is progressing but the truth is that I do not want to lose my home and if I do sell, I'll never be able to get a mortgage again because of my credit history and age (48).
Here are my options, listed in my current order of preference...
1: Find a job.
Pros: I get to keep my house.
Cons: I'll be working just to pay the bills and will have no life. I have been actively job hunting for 2 months now and the pay is either too low or the job requires cold-calling which I despise with a passion.
2: Get a lodger.
Pros: I get to keep the house.
Cons: I will feel like a guest in my own home and I'll be breaking the law regarding Job Seeker's Allowance which pays ￡230 in mortgage assistance towards my ￡600 mortgage payment.
3: Sell the house.
Pros: I'll walk away with ￡100K equity and can re-invent myself.
Cons: I lose the house and will never be able to get another mortgage. The money won't last forever and I'll be paying rent to a greedy landlord.
So, what would you do?
I know a lot of you will just say 'Take the money and run' because of its obvious short-term benefits but I love my home, I've lived here for 30 years and with a lick of paint it would be worth a lot more than the current selling price.
