help with mortgage?

enimod

please help i am a qualified teacher who worked up until december when my contract finished- my boyfriend is schizophrenic- i am 4 months pregnant. we have just been told we can get income support at 122 a week which is great but our mortgage is 380 a month- how will we pay the bills? i am trying to do any supply teaching jobs that come my way but so far have only had 3 days this month and that will be taken off the income support. what other help are we entitiled to if any?
my partner does have an interview with a company called fern and possibly he'll be put on new deal for disabled people and given some training- hopefully then he'll be able to get a job!
any advise on what i could do? money saving tips!
how come if i was paying rent i'd get my rent paid too! apparaently you need to be on income support for 9 months to get help wiht your mortgage- is that true

jobbingmusician

Yes, the 9 months before mortgage interest payments kick in is correct and is a national scandal, IMHO. But don't despair - contact your mortgage company and talk to them. The 9 month rule is the same for everyone (with a mortgage taken out since a distant date which I can't remember) so you can be sure that companies are not repossessing all the houses where the 'owners' are on benefits. The important thing is to let them know you are having problems. The first thing they will do is offer you interest only payments (which you will probably still find it difficult to afford). Doubtless they will have some other suggestions, but I've been lucky enough not to get to that position.

I'd have a look on debtfreewannabe and oldstyle boards for tips on managing - people on both boards are very supportive and experienced in managing on a tight budget.

(And good luck with the job hunt for you and BF)

helen21_2

Hi enimod

There are exceptions where new borrowers can claim before this time, have you checked out these exceptions/ dont want to type it all out if you have checked this

christabell

HELLO,I have been on Benefits for over three years and I have to live very very frugally. Here's what I do...
Ensure you are on the best possible rates for the following using as many Direct Debit monthly payment plans, the do work out cheaper
1.Electricity & Gas see Martins moneysaving tips regarding switching (I use powergen energy online and use the tesco points)
2.Rent your phone line from BT, and use the cheapest phone provider. I use 18866 for calls during the day, & just dial saver lite for free calls evening and weekend.
3.Although you have to wait 39 weeks for mortgage relief, you are entitled to Council Tax Benefit NOW. Countact your local council ASAP The mortgage is the Interest paid on your mortgage and the rate is so much better (around 6.?%) this is excellent if on an Interest only mortgage
4.Use the cheapest broadband provider....
5. Snowball your credit cards, and use them wisely
6. If in need on ANY help, use your CAB,they should have a benefits advisor at their office, make an appointment and IF the DWP give you any grief, I have written to my MP, and boy does that work. I have been told at my DWP office that ignorance is no excuse.........they will not tell me what I should apply for, so if I don't claim what I am entitled to that's my fault!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a good idea to go early in the morning to your local DWP office to speak to one of the advisors there, and pick up any relevant forms.
If you have no money, you could get a Crisis Load.

7. Ensure your boyfriend is getting his medications free (Income Support will ensure this)
8. Have you signed on for JSA??????? it is so important not to let your NI contributions lapse.
9. I found at the beginning an overdraft facility was vital, as benefits are paid every two weeks......works out at 26 payments pa.
Shop at Tesco/Asda/Aldi/Lidl some of the Aldi Lidl stuff is excellent.
10. Take care of yourself.
Good luck

Spendless

Is your boyfriend on DLA? I have a very good friend with mental health problems and she was able to get DLA not sure on which rate but she can also have a carer. DIAL (Disability Information Advise Line) filled out her forms. DLA doesn't normallya ffect other benefits but I'm not sure about IS. Worth looking into anyway.

Good Luck

enimod

thank you to everyone who has replied to my plea! i think we are doing everything we can. someone mentioned that i should be on JSA rather than IS - is that true? should i? might ring up my mortgage people tomorrow and see if they can help- but will this blacken my name?

jobbingmusician

When we were in this situation recently, we had to choose between JSA and IS. JSA is more in the short term - and it does sound as if your situation might be more short term??? The important thing if you think you might be on benefits for a while is that they don't start counting the time for the 9 months before mortgage interest payments kick in until you start on IS :mad:

The decision was easy for us as we had too much in savings to make IS worthwhile. If I hadn't found a job, we would have changed from JSA to IS when the savings ran out....... :rolleyes:

Have a look at https://www.entitledto.com - might help you work things out (can't remember if they show you what the rates are)

helen21_2

enimod wrote:

thank you to everyone who has replied to my plea! i think we are doing everything we can. someone mentioned that i should be on JSA rather than IS - is that true? should i? might ring up my mortgage people tomorrow and see if they can help- but will this blacken my name?

enimod have you read up on the exceptions, that will allow you to claim help before the 39 week qualifying period?

jobbingmusician

I'd love to know what the exceptions are, pretty please???

helen21_2

Exceptions

Customers who are new borrowers (after 1/10/1995) and in one of the following groups are treated the same as existing borrowers (before2/10/1995)

Customers who are treated as Carersfor the purpose of their income support or income based jobseekers allowance claim

Prisoners on remand for income support purposes only

Customers whose mortgage payment protection policy will not pay because the claim has been made as a result of a pre-existing medical condition.

Customers whose claim on a mortgage payment protection policy has been refused because of a condition related to HIV or AIDS.

People who claim as a consequence of the death of their partner or because they have been abondoned (and abondoned not left ) by their partner, and they have one or more children under the age of 16

christabell

I believe you can get Income Support to top up your JSA, do check with your CAB Benefits Advisor.
Once again Good Luck to you.