It's all falling apart

Disturbing news today.  A friend who is also my landlady has texted to say she wants to meet to talk about the flat.  I wanted to cut to the chase and texted back to ask if she is selling it.  She said she's not made a decision yet, but has booked for an estate agent to come round and value it in a couple of weekend's time.

I am a landlady myself, and rent mine out to someone I met through my letting agency that I was using initially to set the tenancy up.  If I was to get the property valued I would let my tenant know before I even booked the appointment, and she isn't a friend.  I am quite hurt that my friend has done this without even consulting me, even though I know full well she has a right to do whatever she wants when it comes to the property.

You may ask why I own somewhere and then rent somewhere else.  I bought mine when property prices were higher and then decided to relocate back to my home town after a couple of years.  I tried to sell it just as the recession started, and the offers I got were a lot lower than I paid and I would have lost a lot of money that I'd put into the property.  I decided therefore it made the best sense to rent it out for the time being.  I ended up renting out my friend's flat as she moved in with her boyfriend, and she was in the same position as me - would lose money to sell hers.

Nothing is definite yet, but I'm already dreading potentially becoming 'homeless'.  My first port of call was to ring my dad and ask if I can move back in if necessary.  Poor dad had to put up with me sobbing down the phone, but he made me feel a bit more sane, telling me that I am 'having a rough time of it at the moment', and that he felt bad for me, and was happy to be a shoulder to cry on.  Anyway, moving back in with them is always a possibility, although there isn't room for most of my stuff, so I would have to pay for a storage unit.  And my commute would go from 5 minutes to 45mins/1 hour every day.  It's also obviously a step backwards.

I explained to my dad that the problem is I don't have the cash spare to put down a deposit to rent anywhere else (unless I use a credit card, which defeats the point of everything I'm trying to achieve), and that I am going to struggle to find anywhere anyway that will let me keep my cat with me.  The advantage of renting from my friend was no deposit to find and letting me have the cat here.

I am facing redundancy later this year, as my sector is disappearing, being wiped out by government cuts...  My dad suggested to me I look at jobs further afield, and maybe have a fresh start somewhere, as he has picked up on how unhappy/stuck in a rut I am at the moment.  He thinks it would do me good to start somewhere new and perhaps he is right.  However, I will still have the same problems of finding a rental deposit and being able to take kitty with me.

Perhaps I should look into selling my flat, even though I'll make a loss on it.  I could use the profit to pay off my debts and then I could start again.  I have always been loathe to do this, as it won't leave me with enough to buy another property, and makes the whole getting on the property ladder a total waste.

Why does life have to be so hard?  2011 was bad and this year is turning out no better.  I've always been very independent, but suddenly the idea of having my parents around me feels quite nice.  I feel I need the love and support at the moment.