MSE News: Support for mortgage interest benefit cut by thousands

mbeast

I know the feeling but then according to some on here it sounds like we shouldn't buy a house unless we can guarantee being in full time work and earning at least the same per year for every year the mortgage is over unless we have the cash in the bank saved just in case we need to pay the mortgage for X amount of months untill we're back and able to repay yet people who have never worked a day in there life are entitled to having most if not all there rents paid that can and does cost the tax payers more

dhep1

The dss has decided that I have too much income? My income has not changed but they say it is the budget that changed how much we can have, but I checked and cannot find any changes they say it is only for people with motgages.
I have a appointment my our MP he is a (liberal) on friday not sure what he can do though, then will have to go to citizens advice.

sparkycat2

As a carer I receive this benefit to the tune of £100 a month, now £60.
Why is the government willing to pay a landlord £823.16 a month rent and unwilling to pay the interest on my original mortgage taken out to buy my home. I could accept a drop so it only covers the interest on the original mortgage loan, so I have to make all capital payments, afterall I get to keep the house, but dropping it below my interest payments makes no sense to me.

The unemployed are only eligible for support for two years, most people receiving the benefit are elderly, disabled or carers. So saying they should all get a job to make up the shortfall is stupid.

As a carer I get Income support with careers premium £65.45 +£30.05 but carers allowance is deducted pound for pound, so £95.50 a week income, plus on my behalf pays income support mortgage interest support to my lender, and 100% council tax benefit to the council. Carers unlike those with children are not eligible for tax credits.
Remember the benefit does not cover capital repayments or additional debts secured on the home, so I already use a lot of my direct benefits to pay the mortgage. Also private insurance does not cover someone being a carer which is why they have always been exempt from the wait period for mortgage interest support.

If I get a job, the person I look after ends up in residential care or long stay hospital at what cost to the tax payer?
If I do not get a job and carry on being a carer I am forced to lose my home and after all my savings are gone the government will happily pay £823.16 a month rent on my behalf.

Being fair, protecting the vulnerable and valuing carers = forcing them out of their own homes, forcing them to spend liquidity they had in their home, so they can live in rented accommodation at tax payers expense?

Why is it fairer and progressive to pay a private landlord £823.16 a month or a private residential care home god knows what, rather than pay me on means tested benefits an extra £20 a month to cover the interest payments on my mortgage?

biggles200

Probably in the short term the Government will make the savings they forecast, but the effect will to put up home repossesions, depress the house market further, and finding themselves having to rehouse a great number of people. Time will tell if these savings become actual losses.

podster7

I am disabled at the moment due to to rubbish knees and am waiting for replacement knees to allow me to be mobile again,i also have rheumatoid arthritis and suffer from frequent panic attacks and depression .I have an autistic teenager and bought a bungalow in the same neighbourhood we have lived in for 7yrs.My dad gave us half the value of the house as a deposit rather than leaving it in his will he realised our need for a home which would allow us to continue to live independently in our community.
I took out the mortgage in December 2009.
From all the info i read my mortgage would be supported by the government to the equivilant value of the housing benefit i previously received in the rented accomodation i had to leave due to the deterioration of my condition resulting in my inhability to safely manage the stairs.
I secured a furthur loan in order to adapt the property in line with our needs to maintain as independent a life as possible.Nothing fancy just the bare essentials such as levelling the pathway to make access more safe etc.
In a million years i cannot afford this mortgage now it has been reduced to a fraction of the housing benefit i previously received !
My alternative is limited to one....Loose my Dads £90,000 deposit he and my mum worked all their life for when they repossess our home as i cannot pay the difference to my mortgage each month under these cuts.I will have to look for another property to rent which undoubtedly will cost more than my mortgage per month..But i will then be allowed housing benefit to pay my rent ???
The property will more than likely be unsuitable and require adapting at a cost of god knows what via a disability facilities grant etc plus furthur demands of social services intervention in the mean time to allow myself and daughter to independently remain in the community ??
All of this extra drain of resources is due to a not very clever cutback on mortgage interest support !
We have finally found a home that is safe and allows me to care for my daughter independent of social services.I have regained so much confidence and self esteem only to face the uncertainty of rented accomodation once again!
My doctors prescription has been reduced to 4 items rather than 7 each month.The 3 items i felt i no longer need were for depression and anxiety..So add that to the the housing benefit i will soon need yet again as i guarantee i will be neededing my anxiety and depression medication very soon !
Could someone please advise me of where or how this makes any sense ??
Please help as i cant find any solutions only discussions !
Many,many thanks

mbeast

in the end we had to rent a room to help pay the mortgage interest and swap to interest only payments which has brought us a year until it will revert back to full payments.
now i just hope to god i'm fit for work by this time next year or i'll have to sell or get repossessed depending on the value of the house compared to amount needed to clear the debt.

I hear though that soon there will be a cap on rent allowance which means renting a house might be a very difficult option as well as there's very few houses to let around the amount that's going to be allowed towards rent even, i guess we've got thatcher for right to buy and the council selling most properties to housing associations for that

ILW

podster7 wrote: »

I took out the mortgage in December 2009.
From all the info i read my mortgage would be supported by the government to the equivilant value of the housing benefit i previously received in the rented accomodation

Where did you get that from, as far as I know it has never been the case.

MissMoneypenny

For all those with a mortgage rate of less than 6.08%, why don't your ask your lenders where all the benefit overpayments of your mortgage interest have been going? If they have this in an account, you can use it to help you if your mortgage rate is over the benefit rate of 3.63%.

If your lender has used the benefit overpayments to pay off your capital, won't that mean that you will be getting an overpayment on your interest anyway, as the capital has reduced? Or don't you have to tell benefits when your capital reduces?

kazza-72

sophievenusdoom wrote: »

It is a tough situation, but it is what it is. If they are not offering it, then you might be forced to move into a rented place.

We could all come on here and complain about our lot in life, but we have to get on with it. I am by no means flush, but am fortunate to have a job (albeit not a well paid one - and my other half is only on minumum wage). And when we do decide to have a baby, we won't be asking for any state handouts (well, apart from the working tax credits that we are entitled to)!




As I said in a subsequent post, my local Sainsbury's employs young and old, but as another poster commented, if you genuinely believe that she was refused the job because of her age, there are avenues you can go with that as well. However, I would say your immediate predicament should gain all of your attention

I think its disgusting what you are saying, I myself get "help" or "state handouts" as you so nicely call it, I have 3 young children and due to my Husband leaving us had NO CHOICE but to get help as Im not prepared to put my kids through the hell of being homeless after all that we have been through. My mortgage payments are £691.88 a month due to the fact that the deal I was on (which meant my payments were only £405 per month) came to an end but due to my situation I missed some payments on things like credit cards (debts which he kindly left me) so my credit rating went down and bank of scotland refuse to put me on a better rate mortgage so im stuck on mine with its disgusting high rate of over 7%!!! I was having to pay £224.16 myself but now have to somehow find £412.64 a month there is no way I can put aside over £100 a week out of what I get. Would I like to work...yes of course I would but the minute I start working then any help I get towards my mortgage stops so I therefore need to find part time employment (due to having 3 young children 2 of which are twins before you ask why I had 3 kids plus i didnt know my Husband was going to leave us) that pays enough for me to pay the near on £700 mortgage a month plus council tax plus all usual household bills and to feed myself & kids & a job that will be willing for me to take of all the school holidays & never ending inset days. Now Im not asking for anyones pitty but please get in the real world and realise that people like myself do not want to be in this awful situation, & no I get no financial help from him due to lots of violence problems so have no contact which is safest for myself & my children.

mbeast

If you have room then you can rent a room for the difference between what you get help per month in benefits and the total amount of your mortgage without it effecting any benefits you get or can claim.
Its far from idea to have to rent a room but its better than having to move yourselves.

HTH