mortgage payment holiday

chatterboxchris

Hi my daughter and her fiance are struggling to save for their wedding and pay their mortgage. Their mortgage is with Natwest. Do you think they would let them have a mortgage holiday for 4 months until after the wedding. They have had their mortgage since last June.

Thanks

dib-dab

I think it really depends on the mortgage terms. Our mortgage allows payment holidays although when we applied for one before our wedding we were not allowed as did not have enough equity in the property due to the fall in house prices.
I am sure that if they call Natwest they will be able to let them know straight away whether their mortgage allows payment holidays and if so, how to apply.

Lois_and_CK

chatterboxchris wrote: »

Hi my daughter and her fiance are struggling to save for their wedding and pay their mortgage. Their mortgage is with Natwest. Do you think they would let them have a mortgage holiday for 4 months until after the wedding. They have had their mortgage since last June.

Thanks

As Dib Dab says, this really depends on their terms and conditions of the mortgage. They should contact their lender to find out if a payment holiday is an option. With my mortgage, I can a one-month holiday every 12 months I think. (I'm not totally sure because the thought of the extra interest I'd have to pay by delaying paying my mortgage off horrifies me, and I'm in enough debt as it is!)

Something they ought to consider though is whether the mortgage is really affordable for them if they can't afford savings alongside it? Or maybe they ought to consider a cheaper wedding? I hope you don't think this is judgemental, but it is interesting that you approached the Debt-free Wannabe forum with this question instead of the Mortgages forum, and a lot of us on here have spiralled into debt because of things like expensive weddings, honeymoons, etc.

TattooedWarrior

All perfectly correct, it will really depend on the terms that they took the mortgage out under. It may normally depend on whether they have made any overpayments in the past as well as their payment history.

Oneday77

A solid break of 4 months will probably be rejected and should be thought really hard about anyway. Mortgage holidays efectively increase the amount of your holiday as the interest still accrues and gets added to the outstanding balance, just with no missed payment complications.
Remember that the then increased mortgage balance is used to calculate the monthly payements on.
Remember the festivities last a day, the Wedding Certificate and their house lasts a lifetime

markjo

Hi All, ive just contacted Nationwide concerning a payment holiday. They have stated that they have changed the criteria and are not prepared to divulge what the requirements(needs for the payment holiday) are for acceptance? I stated that i require the payment holiday for home improvements and a holiday, they stated that this does not meet the criteria?
Does anyone know what are the specifics with nationwide.

NB. Nationwide have recently changed their criteria to reduce applications for payment holidays.
Also, 'A new car is not acceptable under the new criteria'???

bargainbetty

I hate to say it, but I agree with the poster who points out that they can't afford both. We had a lovely wedding on a shoe-string budget, and were none the worse for it. Maybe it's a useful lesson in budgeting for them.

Markjo, I don't think any bank would give you a payment holiday from your mortgage to go on a personal holiday..... unless you have breaks written into the contract, they tend to reserve them for critical illness or redundancy. Buying a new car is a choice - why should they let you off the loan for a bit because you want to spend the money elsewhere? It's more about helping you when you don't have enough coming in.

markjo

Betty, what about home improvements, surely that's of benefit to their mortgaged property?

If not, for what reasons would they give a payment holiday then??

bertman

We took a 3 month payment holiday with our Halifax mortgage, but it has added more to our monthly payemnts, we felt we had to - we had a huge tax bill which we couldn't delay.

I would think VERY carefully before doing this, it costs a lot of money in the long run for what you save....

planning_ahead_2

If they have only had the mortgage since last June then they have only made 7 (possibly 9) payments. I can't believe any lender will consider a payment break so soon.

They really need to look at their priorities. Can they 'downsize' their wedding plans? If they really don't want to do this, then they really need to consider postponing the big day until they can afford it.

One thing from your post is that you save 'they are struggling to save' but that gives the impression that they are able to save something each month towards the wedding - no matter how small the saving. This shows that they can afford their home - but at this time they clearly cannot afford the wedding.

At the end of the day they are together, they have a home they can afford. Do they really need a lavish day to prove it? I would see if you can talk them into delaying or at least scaling down the plans.

DarkConvict

I dont have a mortgage, but I agree to the above. We are told those few extra payments can knock years of a mortgage, and that involves fighting interest. If you miss a few payments you will be adding years onto a mortgage.

Taking mortgage payments for anything other than urgent priority debts (remember mortgage is a priority debt too) is a bad idea. It will only show they are living beyond their means and cannot afford the mortgage they have. I honestly do not see a mortgage holiday as a viable option in any respect.

Downscale the wedding, and have a late honeymoon in a few years time. Or just postpone it altogether.