how do I get help with my mortgage?

Caz3121

allotment_owner wrote: »

Right. It's in joint names.So this means that he would need to sign over the house to me?

that would be a different matter - to get the house signed over to you then you must be in a position to take the mortgage over in full....now is not be a good time to get a mortgage even if you were working but 0% if no income so you may have to accept that only part of the interest would be paid. Your OH may also want a share of the equity on the property which means that you would be looking for a mortgage for more than £60k

What agreements have you come to with your OH re finances - he will be due to pay CM but if he is a high earner you may get some maintenance for you for a limited time.
You may have to discuss whether the house would need to be sold or whether he would maybe accept his share of the equity at a later date

zappster1966

Re the joint mortgage, the DWP has the discretion to award full housing costs if he doesn't make his 50% contribution. So you don't have to take on the whole mortgage, change names etc ... if he doesn't pay his half the DWP will cover his share of the interest (subject to the usual limits etc). You just need to tell DWP he isn't making any contribution and apply for extra help.

allotment_owner

Thanks. I'm not sure what he intends to do, but he's !!!!ed off with england and me! lol. we will talk but I would like to know my options. he's not a total waster but has very little income (we get WFTC and CTC) and may want to go back to France. I doubt he'd leave us totally up the creek as he loves his kids but can't seem him being able to contribute much.
I want to work and get a wage to pay the mortgage, but it's just that before I find a job I will need help from benefits to get me on my feet and organised. I don't want to lose this house. The kids love it here and their friends.

SomeBozo

I don't want to lose this house. The kids love it here and their friends.

I think you need to think seriously about your priorities. Your daughter needs you and your love, not the house.

Bozo

allotment_owner

SomeBozo wrote: »

I think you need to think seriously about your priorities. Your daughter needs you and your love, not the house.

Bozo

well,yes that's obvious. but I came here for benefits advice, I have other support for emotional and parenting. Having some place to live is pretty high on the agenda though.

SomeBozo

well,yes that's obvious

I am glad it is. Some people see past the needs of dependants and look purely at their financial situation.

but I came here for benefits advice

And benefits advice is what you got. Its you that brought in emotive posts about your children ie

The kids love it here and their friends.

and hence I replied with a comment about them.

Having some place to live is pretty high on the agenda though.

Thats not a issue though is it? You reminded me that we are talking about benefits advice here. With a child on the higher DLA it means the council will home you if the need arises.

What I said, much to your disdain, is that your current house may not be the best option for you.

Bozo

allotment_owner

Oh sorry- , Bozo, I should have said thanks for the sanctimonious post!

SomeBozo

Oh sorry- , Bozo, I should have said thanks for the sanctimonious post!

No problems. Happy to help.

Bozo

cw18

We applied for mortgage assistance last year (for a short time) while I was off sick, and will be applying again next year (I'm being laid off, but am becoming DH's registered carer for at least a while - he's on highest DLA both components)

Due to the DLA we currently only have an 8 week waiting period -- although when they reduce the 39 weeks to 13 in April (reported on BBC) I don't know whether the reduced 8 weeks stays or goes...... and we can't claim until after then !!!

They only help with interest, and at a 'fixed' rate (Bank of England base rate + 1.38%). The base rate just dropped to 4.5%, so if your lender is charging you more than 5.88% then they don't pay all the interest (but if your lender is charging less, then you're quids in!) You'll have to monitor this regularly as not all lenders are good at passing on the cuts, so you may need to find more some months than others just to cover the interest.......

They pay once every 4 weeks -- so some months there are 2 payments reach your mortgage provider,and most months the single payment to get through isn't enough to cover the interest due in that month. You'd need to check with your lender how they handle this.

I was told they can take 3 months to make the initial payments, though I think ours was about 7 weeks (and that was straight after Christmas). During this time you need to keep up the payments or risk being fined by your lender for the money being late.

They won't help with the capital repayment -- that is still your responsibility

You mention you're on a fixed deal until 2011 -- this may stop you switching to interest only.

Our lender (not the same as yours) won't let us switch to Interest Only as the property doesn't value at £150k more than the mortgage despite us only having borrowed 75% of the purchase price and being totally up-to-date with payments! (Houses on the estate are going up at a mere £120-£130k more!!!!!)