Is this it for us now?!!

cookie28_2

Im new to this forum so im just hopping you dont judge too quickly as in my situation it is definatley hard not to.

Between 2005 and 2006 we got into a lot of debt when me and my husband were younger we both went crazy on credit andonly when we got our first mortgage together realised how much debt we had and fell into trouble.

we have since began to settle back down now we have no credit at all and have cut back on everything we possibly could but because of the past we have defaulted, my husband has 2 CCJ's and we have a charging order on the house of 13,000.

Our mortgage is with mortgage express and is £823.00 pmth plus we are still paying arrears off and that is an extra £100 pmth (which is taking forever as they keep adding a £35 charge every mth) so in total we pay £923 a mth which is a bit of a struggle but were just about managing.

we were begining to panic as our 3 yr fixed rate is ending sept we thought it was end of sept but they have told us its from the 1st and have told us they we will be put onto a rate of 9.430% :eek: taking our monthly payment to £1023 plus arrears so £1123 a month there is absolutley no way at all we can pay this per mth.

we spoke to mortgage express who have said they cant help us with any different rate because of the arrears and passed us on to a mortgage broker which was useless as we knew no other mortgage company weould have us and we were right. mortgage express have said they can help us if we clear the arrears which are £1300 but we have no where to get that money from i already borrowed money from my family and my husband isnt close to his.

We are going to ring the mortgage again and ask if we can have interest only for a while or extend our mortgage term but think they will also say no to this because of the arrears.

we thought about selling and renting somewhere for £800.00 there is a lot of nice properties in my area going for that rent. we cant sell though as our mortgage is £121,000 and the charging order is £13,00 so £134,000 and our house will only sell for £128,00-£130,000 so we cant even go and rent as we will still own the money.

im a key worker so am eligable for new build part buy part rent but when i rang them they told me im not eligable as i currently own my own house and if i was renting in would be eigable so that was pretty useless.

i just dont know what else to do. i work full time and my husband works full time and has a part time job in the evenings so were doing our best we also have 2 children under the age of 3 so its difficult.

we really cant see anyway out and are wondering if any of you have any advice for us at all

hethmar

Do I understand the arrears are £1300?

Go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau with all this information. They will have a debt counsellor there who can negotiate on your behalf with the company to perhaps stop these charges you are having added on to your payments. Also perhaps work out a way of paying off those arrears. If you are a key worker - I take it you have a union - can they help at all with an interest free or low interest loan for the arrears?

Good luck.

Conrad

Get the email for Mortgage Express's chief compliance officer.

Write to them (keep a print off) citing TCF (Treating Customers Fairly - this is at the very core of FSA regulation). Say you feel you are not being treated fairly and that the lender is not disharging it's duty to be sympathetic and understanding.

Quote this: TCF OUTCOME 1 = "Customers can be confident that they are dealing with firms where the fair treatment of consumers is CENTRAL TO THE CORPORATE CULTURE"

List your aims;

1) To be put onto interest only
2) To be offered an affordable new deal
3) If possible to have the mounting charges waived

Then state you expect an answer within 7 days and that you plan to complain to the FOS if M Express cannot bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

Good luck.

PS - I would write using special deliver post - keep a copy of the letter and the envelope and the slip the post office give you.

KimYeovil

Even on a minimum wage you should have more than £1400 net to live on. So why can't you pay £1100 per month? Why have you not sorted out the debts while you were on the fixed rate?

keeno

KimYeovil wrote: »

Even on a minimum wage you should have more than £1400 net to live on. So why can't you pay £1100 per month? Why have you not sorted out the debts while you were on the fixed rate?

Are you serious? The poster is asking for help not silly comments like this, it pretty obvious they cannot afford that payment.

KimYeovil

keeno wrote: »

Are you serious? The poster is asking for help not silly comments like this, it pretty obvious they cannot afford that payment.

No it is not at all obvious. (Two and one third net salaries plus childcare vouchers plus child benefit) minus (the cost of childcare) is more than £1100. I genuinely do not understand why they can not pay £1100 for their home. That is not a lot of money even for a couple on low wages (and most key workers are paid a darn site more than the minimum wage.)

It is up to you, OP, whether you like your home or not. If it is a home you love and not just a roof over your heads I see no reason to give it up for the sake of saving £200 per month. Whilst others suggestion of renegotiating over longer terms may be a helpful possibility I would suggest that before you jump in you should consider whether you truly can not sort things out over the short term. I concede my advice may be more useful for a couple one year into a three year arrangement rather then two years and eleven months into it. But it is important to stress that people should not be taking the risk of arrears with their mortgages. And if they do slip, they should pay it back immediately over a month or two, not just sit on it.

Mandog

KimYeovil wrote: »

No it is not at all obvious. (Two and one third net salaries plus childcare vouchers plus child benefit) minus (the cost of childcare) is more than £1100. I genuinely do not understand why they can not pay £1100 for their home. That is not a lot of money even for a couple on low wages (and most key workers are paid a darn site more than the minimum wage.)

It is up to you, OP, whether you like your home or not. If it is a home you love and not just a roof over your heads I see no reason to give it up for the sake of saving £200 per month. Whilst others suggestion of renegotiating over longer terms may be a helpful possibility I would suggest that before you jump in you should consider whether you truly can not sort things out over the short term. I concede my advice may be more useful for a couple one year into a three year arrangement rather then two years and eleven months into it. But it is important to stress that people should not be taking the risk of arrears with their mortgages. And if they do slip, they should pay it back immediately over a month or two, not just sit on it.

Yes, obviously cookie28 and partner are doing entirely unnecessary things with their money - like feeding and clothing their children and heating their home.

The OP posted very openly on here asking for help. From the sounds of it the family is working tremendously hard to get back on track. 'Advice' from someone who thinks it's possible to pay 75% of a low income in mortgage isn't going to help very much.

Gangstabird

I am thinking that if you just give up and go BR it might be the best way. It's only for 6 years and you will be a lot happier knowing you don't owe all of that money with two little ones. This isn't much help, but I do care as I have 2 under 5 myself and I worry about this all of the time.

mademistakes

Hiya, We're in a very similar situation to you.
We went to citizens advice, and they agreed with our opinion that we cannot afford the house anymore, and talked us through the repossession route. We too have slight negative equity, which the mortgage company will chase us for, so at the point we will probably go down the bankruptcy route - but will get further advice then.
For us, we're not attached to the house we're in, each month is more and more of a struggle, and we have cut back absolutely everywhere, so to be honest it will be a relief when we're out of here and in a rented property.
I can sympathise with how you're feeling and hope you get the help you need to get it all sorted out.
Let me know how you get on.
:cheesy:

geoffky

most bankrupts are discharged after 12 months nowdays.

Andy_Hamilton

How much arrears have you still got ongoing? Perhaps getting an overdraft will be cheaper, £35 charges for £100 is terrible.

Can you change your mortgage to interest only until your in a better place?