Redundancy, mortgages and lots of stress

moneysaverwannabe2009

Hi,

It’s been a while since I last posted (hence forum name) and now I am in deep stress and don’t really know how to approach things for the best.
I will lay out my story and any advice that people can give would be very greatly appreciated...

I have worked for the last 4 years as a contractor (on a 12 month contract, renewed each year) for a well know pharma company. The site I work at is closing and this means that I will no longer be employed after the end of my contract in April. There is no prospect of redundancy pay or contract extension, so this basically leaves me in a situation where I can pay bills and mortgage right now whilst I am employed and then once my job stops I will be unable to pay anything as I am basically just managing to live within my means at the moment (with ~£100 spare at the end of the month, accounting for any ‘unforseen’ things).

I have my own 3 bed house which I am paying an excessive mortgage on due to the breakdown of a relationship in 2010 – I managed to get the house and mortgage in my own name. The house has an approximate loan to value rate of 91%, so things going well I would be able to sell the house and settle all bills and end up at £0.
I am debt free – no cards, loans etc excluding the mortgage so I suppose that is a slight positive.


As far as I can see I have only one option.
To sell up, return to my parents house (at close to 30 this is not a happy prospect) and look for a new job in the future. No relevant jobs in the local area so i can't really see any reason to stay here.

But...if I lose my job in April but haven’t sold the house, what can I do to help myself? I really would like the opportunity to sell on my own terms rather than foreclose and end up in greater debt because the bank sell at low price to recover quickly.


Lots of questions.....
Is there anything I can do to raise revenue now to help put towards the future?
Can I get a second job if I am already employed 37hrs/week?
Can I get any benefits/help as soon as I lose my job, or is there a period where i will have nothing?
Can I take a payment holiday on my mortgage with a view to selling quickly?
Are ‘buy back schemes/sell quick schemes’ a realistic opportunity?
Can i rent a room knowing that I am intending selling the house as quickly as possible?



If anyone can give my any advice to help me out I would greatly appreciate it.

thanks in advance.

suzybaby2001

I'm 99% sure I work at the same place as you...

Have you thought about renting your whole house out? Also, I would discuss some of your concerns about no redundancy etc with the colleague forum - they may be able to negotiate something.

Whatever you decide to do with your house I would do it quickly, there will be a lot of houses flooding the market round here.

moneysaverwannabe2009

Hi,

thanks for the reply and yes you probably so work in the same place as me....good luck with your situation too.
As a contractor I expect they will let our contracts run down which means we are not eligable for any redundacy.
As for renting I am not sure if this is OK as my loan to value is too high (or low - depending on which one i mean ) and the rental amount I could generate would be less than the mortgage payment, I am not sure if this is true, just based on idle googling.

suzybaby2001

Thanks.. yes it is all a little sudden isn't it!

My back up plan is to move home too, I'm also close to 30 I'm seeing it as a very temporary thing if I don't manage to secure a job by then.

Lots of luck. Definately take it up with the forum - they can only say no and no harm done in asking.

LittleVoice

moneysaverwannabe2009 wrote: »

Hi,

It’s been a while since I last posted (hence forum name) and now I am in deep stress and don’t really know how to approach things for the best.
I will lay out my story and any advice that people can give would be very greatly appreciated...

I have worked for the last 4 years as a contractor (on a rolling 12 month contract) for a well know pharma company. Are you self-employed or working through an umbrella company? By "rolling 12 month" I assume you mean that it has been an annual one which has been extended at the end of each year. If that is not the case, say what you mean by "rolling 12 month". The site I work at is closing and this means that I will no longer be employed after the end of my contract in April. There is no prospect of redundancy pay or contract extension, so this basically leaves me in a situation where I can pay bills and mortgage right now whilst I am employed and then once my job stops I will be unable to pay anything as I am basically just managing to live within my means at the moment (with ~£100 spare at the end of the month, accounting for any ‘unforseen’ things).

I have my own 3 bed house which I am paying an excessive mortgage on due to the breakdown of a relationship in 2010 – I managed to get the house and mortgage in my own name. The house has an approximate loan to value rate of 91%, so things going well I would be able to sell the house and settle all bills and end up at £0.
I am debt free – no cards, loans etc excluding the mortgage so I suppose that is a slight positive.


As far as I can see I have only one option.
To sell up, return to my parents house (at close to 30 this is not a happy prospect) and look for a new job in the future. No relevant jobs in the local area so i can't really see any reason to stay here.

But...if I lose my job in April but haven’t sold the house, what can I do to help myself? I really would like the opportunity to sell on my own terms rather than foreclose and end up in greater debt because the bank sell at low price to recover quickly.


Lots of questions.....
Is there anything I can do to raise revenue now to help put towards the future?
Can I get a second job if I am already employed 37hrs/week? Yes - but your contract(s) may require that you seek agreement to outside work and it would be doubtful that an employer would want to agree to your working many hours above the 37/week.
Can I get any benefits/help as soon as I lose my job, or is there a period where i will have nothing? If you were employed and therefore paying Class 1 NI in the previous two tax years you would be eligble for contribution-based JSA.
Can I take a payment holiday on my mortgage with a view to selling quickly?
Are ‘buy back schemes/sell quick schemes’ a realistic opportunity?
Can i rent a room knowing that I am intending selling the house as quickly as possible?

If anyone can give my any advice to help me out I would greatly appreciate it.

thanks in advance.

.............

moneysaverwannabe2009

thanks,
I have changed my original post - contracts are 12 months, renewed each year.
I am employed throgh an agency, not self employed.

getmore4less

If employed by the agency continualy then what are the contract terms with them?

What is it in these terms that preclude redundancy with over 2 years continuous service?

patman99

You should be entitled to jsa, also, they will pay the interest on your mortgage.