Why was I refused Home Owner Mortgage Support..

mroakley

I read all about the government's Home Owner Support scheme and was sure I qualified - I experienced a recent drop in income that has set me back and left me in arrears mortgage-wise, but the situation is temporary; mine is an interest only mortgage; though I'm behind I've been keeping up some level of payment; etc, etc. As far as I can make out, I tick all the boxes. However when I spoke to one of my mortgage provider's reps (I'm with Mortgage Express which is a subsidiary of Bradford & Bingley) she told me I didn't qualify - because I have an interest only mortgage...?!!
Have I missed/misunderstood something within MSE's recent email article on this subject, or is this woman's income performance related (she persuaded me to sign up to paying an extra £100 per month on top of my usual mortgage payments until the arrears are paid off. It's going to cripple us but I felt I had little choice)?
Can anyone shed a bit more light on this matter for me?
Thank you

maninthestreet

According to this link, you have to switch to interest-only mortgage, if you haven't already:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Keepingyourhomeevictionsandhomelessness/Mortgagesandrepossessions/DG_177639

What is this £100 per month that you are paying, and to whom are you paying it to?

mroakley

maninthestreet wrote: »

According to this link, you have to switch to interest-only mortgage, if you haven't already ...

What is this £100 per month that you are paying, and to whom are you paying it to?

Yes, I read that too, as well as Martin's email on the subject. Now, since I already have an interest only mortgage I would assume I qualify for help...?
The £100 extra per month is paid to my mortgage company in order to make up the arrears I've fallen into. As I say, it's going to be extremely hard to make these extra payments on top of my regular monthly mortgage payments but the "Collections Officer" from Mortgage Express left me in no doubt that the arrears must be dealt with now or they may act to reposess my home. She told me I did not qualify for the Mortgage Support scheme - but I think she's wrong. What to do?

vix2000

I would be interested to know this as I am trying to help my friend in this situation, and I had advised her to ask for a mortgage holiday to tide her over until she can sort things out, and she was told that hers 'wasn't that kind of mortgage'? I wasn't aware that it depended on the type of mortgage you had?

ILW

I believe the scheme requires a substantial drop in income ( i have heard at least 30%). The OP did not say how much income had decreased.

TEDDYRUKSPIN

To qualify, borrowers will:

• have suffered a loss of income from employment or self-employment of a scale which now makes full mortgage payments difficult, but which is not expected to be a permanent loss of income;
• have been in dialogue with their lender, including over the use of existing forbearance policies, and have been making some level of regular payment;
• have taken out a mortgage of up to £400k;
• have savings below £16,000, (which is the same as for the existing Support for Mortgage Interest scheme (SMI));
• apply for assistance as owner-occupier – the programme will not apply to people with second homes or buy-to-let properties;
• not be in receipt of SMI or mortgage rescue assistance;
• have been assessed as being able to pay a certain monthly amount on an ongoing basis;
• have received financial advice from a party other than their lender to determine their eligibility for the scheme, including testing the long-term sustainability of their financial position, and their ability to resume full payments once their income increases; and
• have fallen into arrears for a number of months during which the lender has exercised forbearance.

mroakley

Thanks for all replies so far:
Vix; I could be wrong, but it seems to me like maybe those people one deals with who work for our mortgage lenders don't benefit from takeup of these government schemes. I've now written to my lender asking whether or not I qualify - as I was only told over the phone last time. If they have to put it in writing I'm assuming they'd need to be spot on with their facts. Good luck to you and your friend, anyway. Let's hear about it if you finally get a result.
Oh - he/she will need to change to an interest only mortgage if they don't have that kind already.
ILW; I was out of work for over 6 weeks (I'm in the building trade) and though I'm back in work now I'm not on nearly as much on a regular basis as I was before. It certainly feels like a substantial drop to me!
Teddy; The only box I can't tick yet is the one about getting an independent asessment. However that shouldn't be too difficult to put right. Would the CAB or similar agency be able to help with this, do you think?
Once again, thanks for the replies. All and any advice on this matter is greatly appreciated. I'll let you all know what kind of written response I get from my lender when it finally arrives - though postal strikes may hold things up a bit.
Cheers

PS: Not sure why certain words are showing up bright red here in my post - I didn't intend them to be high-lighted in this way...? Ah, well.