Can't afford the mortgage payments anymore help!!

[fedupwithmuppets]

Can anyone tell me whether or not mortgage companies will reduce your normal payments when you can no longer afford them whilst you put your house on the market? We are going to sell the house as we are emigrating to Canada but as my husband will be out there on his own for a while whilst i sort the house out, i was wondering if anyone else had come across this before. We are in arrears with the mortgage and was paying it off at £200 extra a month, however, my husbands new job in Canada pays significantly less and we can't afford to pay the mortgage in full anymore and as the market is so slow at the moment it may be a while before the house is sold. Any advice would be welcome as i am at a loss as to what to do as he needs to have some money to live over there also. I have reduced many other debts that we can pay whilst over there but the mortgage is like a noose around our necks at the moment....please advise

[tonycee]

May i ask if you have much equity in the house.

 

Your best option might revolve around a juggling act.

[fedupwithmuppets]

unfortunately not we are currently in negative equity and will therefore have to ask them to put the remaining amount into some kind of loan. We would probably have boken even if our next door neighbours hadn't dropped the price of their house by £15k so they could get a quick sale, which didn't work as its still up for sale 7 months later. Any other ideas?

[tonycee]

As the expense of repo can be horrendous, you would be wise to concentrate all your resources to paying the mortgage.

 

Send all your creditors letter N HERE

 

This could buy you a couple of months, some of your agreements might not even be enforceable.

 

If you are in arrears, you will almost certainly have paid recoverable charges.

 

Send your Mortgage provider a SAR HERE i would delete the bit that says alternatively a complete set of statements will do, because it wont.

 

Have you asked your Mortgage provider if they will help in any way ?.

[gizmo111]

You could ask about dropping to interest only payments until you sell.

[fedupwithmuppets]

haven't spoken to them yet as i wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions that i could go to them with. The interest only payments sounds like a good idea so i may try that. Thanks for the advice any help greatly appreciated.

[PriorityOne]

Some years ago, I asked for a "payment holiday" and was given a period of 3 months during which no payments were collected. These payments were added to the outstanding balance though, so you need to make sure this would be the right option for you.... if they do agree to it.

 

[Kai-Boshed]

Ask them to switch you on to an interest only mortgage this should reduce your mortgage payments to about 70%

[fedupwithmuppets]

Hi, i had a letter finally from the mortgage company saying they will accept reduced payments but only through a suspended order for possession, which i think is a little bit harsh would it be wise to agree to this or not?

[fedupwithmuppets]

Hi can someone explain what a suspended possession order is please and whether this will mean that they will take us to court for the arrears? They also said that they can't put me change the mortgage to an interest only one as i'm in arrears once they are cleared then they will consider it!!! yeah course they will! Help please as i need to respond to them this week.

[SHELBELLE]

FUWM

 

Sorry to hear of your problems. I unfortunately cannot help you but I am sure someone will be along to help you soon.

 

Good luck

 

 

 

S.B.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, a suspended possession order is made by the court when the lender agrees not to take immediate possession of the property as they have come to an arrangement with the debtor. This means that the mortgage company will issue court papers for possession, to which you will need to reply with your side of the story, and then attend the possession hearing. At the hearing the judge will listen to both parties and then issue whatever order he deems fit.

 

Has the mortgage company confirmed in writing that they will accept reduced payments under this order?

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[fedupwithmuppets]

Yes they said they would accept £30 a month off the arrears on this order, problem my husband lives in Canada now and wouldn't be able to attend the court hearing and the kids and i are going out there in 4 weeks also. I don't really want it to go that far by going to court...isn't there anything else i can do. We are thinking of renting the house rather than putting it up for sale due to the climate currently but we have to get permission from the mortgage company and i'm guessing they'll say no as we are in arrears...any ideas. I just think they are being a little harsh especially with the economic climate as it stands. They won't even help whilst we try and sell the house and surely its in their best interest if we sold it as they would get all their money back when its sold. Shame really as i love this house and it feels like a ball and chain around my kneck at the moment. When i write to them it takes them weeks to respond and i only have 4 weeks left to sort this out....anyone got any ideas on where we stand legally? Cheers for listening as this is getting me down at the moment. Sorry for rambling!!!!

[archieL]

Hi There,

I too am in the same position with my mortgage and it feels like I'm banging my head against a brick wall - which I probably am. I have spoken with the lender a few times and tried to reach an arrangement but they just don't seem to want to listen nor facilitate an agreement. Currently 1 mth in arrears and about to get to 2. I have written and asked for a payment holiday - NO. I have written and asked to do reduced payments - NO BECAUSE THE ACCOUNT IS IN ARREARS!

 

I know it isn't rocket science - but if I had the money to pay the arrears right now - I wouldn't be asking for reduced payments! I have written again and asked for the arrears to be spread over the duration of the mortgage so that I can begin to pay the mortgage in full as of payday. I fully expect another NO and a default notice.

 

Along with everyone else I'm being hit with late payment fees and returned DD charges and it's just getting ridiculous. I guess we just need to keep plugging away at it. Hopefully one day soon someone will be able to post a positive outcome from a mortgage lender being empathetic to their financial difficulties.

 

Cheers

[fedupwithmuppets]

Hi Archiel, i know what you mean its so frustrating and i dont' know which way to turn and i haven't really had much in the way of advice back as yet, surely there must be something these mortgage companies can do. There are thousands of people in the same boat at the moment and they say if you get into difficulty ring us to help and what do we get...'no', 'no', 'no' to everything. I've just written back as asked if they would put the arrears on to the end of the mortgage then we wouldn't be in arrears and we could look at going onto an interst only mortgage...rocket science....no i don't think so! I think they'll say no and as it took them 2 months to reply to my first letter (i had written 2 more since that one) i'm not expecting to get it resolved anytime soon as as i leave the country in 4 weeks god knows what will happen! Has anyone else got any ideas or any legal argument we could put forward...are they breaking their code of practice or anything like that??? Anything would be helpful!!! Good luck Archiel, keep me posted how you go on!

[archieL]

Hi Fedupwithmuppets!

 

I don't think I can help you much I'm new to all this and probably on as steep a learning curve as you. But there are lots of people here who can help.

 

In terms of 'code of practice' etc. I think this comes down to when you took your mortgage out. Mine is Sub-prime and taken out Jan/2007.

 

I'm going to cut and paste here from Sequenci's thread (hope this isn't naughty it's the first thread at the top of this if you want to read the whole post.

 

Dealing with Mortgage / Secured Loan arrears

 

If you fall into arrears it is important to be realistic, please consider the affordability of the mortgage and whether you can actually afford to remain in your property. It could be worth completing a financial statement to see exactly how things stand for you. Mortgage arrears are a priority debt, this means you should make arrangements to repay them prior to dealing with any of your non-priority credit debts. As soon as you realise you are having difficulties with your mortgage it is important to contact your lender, they may have a code of practice which outlines how they help people, ask for a copy! Mortgages taken out pre 31st Oct 2004 may have the protection of The Mortgage Code, find out if the lender subscribed. If your mortgage was taken out after the 31st Oct 2004 find out if the lender registered with The Financial Services Authority (FSA) You might be able to see if the lender has breached the rules, it may help with your negotiations.

 

You can always check my thread in this forum - HELP Swift Arrears and Default Notice 2nd Mortgage

 

The FOS may ba able to help you or not - but maybe it's worth a shot.

 

I couldn't really find any definative guidelines on the FSA site regarding mortgages or sub-prime mortgages - I think this is the problem

 

Good Luck.

[fedupwithmuppets]

Hi cheers for that Archiel, i have just read your thread and am following it with interest!

Our mortgage was taken out in June 2000 with Cheltenham & Gloucester but i seem to be writing to TSB as C & G ignored my letters, i know there all part of the same company i think but surely if your mortgage is with C & G why should you have to write to TSB (The **** Bank!).

Can i ask what a subprime mortgage is...i keep reading it on here and don't know what it means?

Where will i check if they have signed up to the 'mortgage code?

cheers

[Bona]

Subprime mortgage is not a company on the High Street they tend to lend to people that have had problems that the banks and Building sociertys and the terms are usually more onerouse who is your lender I assume your house is on the market do you have any equity in it how mucch are your payments and what can you afford

[midge61]

Hi

HAve just checked the Council of Mortgage Lenders site and Lloyds TSB Mortgages are members but not C&G.

[midge61]

Think that C&G are having problems

Cheltenham

[jansus]

Hi

 

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/hb-releases/rel64/rel64mcob.pdf

 

I thik since 2004 the FSA are responsible for guidance on how BS should act in arrears situations. Section 13 of the above explains.

 

before this you need to look at "the mortgage code" if you google you will find it

 

Also if you go to FSA there are pdf downloads that will help you with contacts that can help you

 

also see post 163 on Tillys thread which refers to a case which does seem to set a precedent on allowing you to stay the house whilst you sell it.

 

Keep meticulous records of all your offers to the BS

Dont make agreements you can not keep to

Keep in contact with your lender you are doing the rght thing

Try to get them to reason with you about letting the property - it makes sense for them as well

Do everthing in writing

Do everything to avoid possession as you wil loose control of the charges and the sale price of your house

 

Remember only the judge can make you leave and as long as you pay what ever you can afford Most of the time the will see the effort you have been making and should support you.

 

If you dont understand what the BS are offering make them explain - IN WRITING ( you can guess this is my golden rule ) This could be by email or fax as well as letter .

[fedupwithmuppets]

hi all thanks for the support, firstly my mortgage is with C & G and it is currently just short of £900 a month, we also have a home owner loan with First Plus that is round about £850 a month. I think we are just short of 3 months behind which we have been paying off as much as we can. The house isn't up for sale at the moment as i still need to get it at a saleable state so i am just waiting for a few more jobs to be done then it should go up within the next 3 weeks. I would rather rent it though for a year at least to see if the market settles down any and to make sure we get residency in Canada and if not we have something to come back to...hopefully!!!

What does this mean for us that C & G are not members of the mortgage council?

thanks again all i'll keep you posted as to what their response is to my last letter.

[Bona]

so you are paying £1750 a month are you behind on both what is the equity you are unlikley to get anything like that in rent so how would you propose to pay the rest

[fedupwithmuppets]

No we are only behind with C & G so if we rented the house it would mean we would have £575 less to find a month leaving us the ability to pay off more of the arrears which makes more sense to me as they will get cleared quicker.

We won't have any equity in the house and will probably owe £15k when its sold as the prices have been falling in our area like sinking lead the last few months...my next door neighbours have lowered their house price by £20k in 6 months!

 

cheers again, its helpful to know someones listening as i'm having to deal with this on my own, husband already in canada!

[Bona]

Note that you are going out to Canada soon is this for a holiday or for good