So sorry to ask advice again but does anyone know?

tickled_pink

Hi all,

Oh I am sorry I keep coming back, these questions are probably stupid or meaningless but as no-one knows me and hubby are going to go bankrupt in a few months I have no-one else to ask and I need to know everything (or most things) in advance, Stupid ocd I have lol

Ok here goes again.... today hubby had his review at the docs and he is sending him for a consultation appt with regards to his back and shoulder. In the meantime he has said he wants to sign hubby off work for 6 weeks but hubby has said no (for now)

He checked with his HR dept today and they said when the doc signs him off work the company will pay him sick pay at 9 hrs a day for 8 weeks which works out at about £1250 pm after his child maint deductions, tax and NI. Once the 8 weeks are up the company will then pay him ssp at whatever the rate is. Once the 28 weeks are up if he can no longer return to work or pass an occopational medical at anytime from the day he is off sick they can terminate his employment as he can no longer fufill his contract.

I phoned the council and asked them if we would qualify for any help with housing and council tax and told them about the above, the first 8 weeks at company's sick pay then onto ssp but that could end at anytime if they terminate his empoyment. Obviously we need to make sure we can afford the rental before we sign a contract etc.

They have said it all depends on what tax credits we get, but we don't know what we will get until the 6th april as they can't tell us until they have the new rates for this year.

The only thing keeping us here where we live is hubby's job, its the reason we moved and we have no family and if he's not going to go back to work there's no reason to stay so were taking a huge leap of faith and moving back to where my family are.

I was honest with the guy on the phone from the council (but didn't tell him about the bankruptcy part) and he said we may not be entitled to help as we are voluntary handing the house back for repossesion.

is this right?

Sorry my head is so messed up I know there was another reason I gave a full story but its gone now.

Pink

HOLIDAYMAD_2

You are entitled to housing and council tax benefit if you meet the means tested criteria, ie they assess your level of income.
On hubbies first 8 weeks i would say no your are not entitled as a couple as your income would appear to be above the theshold

Eg full HB is around a couple receiving 120 pound per week as full income.

Go onto direct.gov and see if there is a way you can do a dummy assessment - i think there is and there def was for tax credits.

After 8 weeks and you go onto SSP which is really low prob around 80- pound per week, you should get help

Housing benefit changed the rules approx 3 years ago and its now called the local housing allowance and new changes are coming in in April reducing help.
But basically you can now only claim the equivelant of what you need, ie a couple = one bed local housing allowance, in my area which is shropshire that is around 129 pound per week, but for new claims from april this will reduce.
All areas have different amounts of LhA dependenat on what part of the country you live in, ie london is higher.
So if you rented a 3 bed as a couple only you would only be eligible for a one bed rate and the shortfall would have to be made by yourself .

your council on a calculation of SSP should be able to tell you what housing and council tax benefits you would be entitled to based on the local housing allowance.

Tax credits is also means tested so what you get from them , will all most def reduce HB and CTB help, ie what they give with one hand they take from the other.

Going for voluntary repossession does not exclude you from getting Housing Benefit, you just cannot rent back the same property - special rules apply - up to 5 years.
They could argue if your not living in it and it has not been repossesd then you still have it and cannot get HB or CTax but CAB will give assistance on that.

tickled_pink

Thanks, sorry should have said we have 4 children aged 8,6,3 and almost 2 (3 girls 1 boy) would that make a difference?

HOLIDAYMAD_2

4 children aged 8,6,3 and almost 2 (3 girls 1 boy

Room sizes for lha

couple = 1 bedroom
2 girls = 2nd bedroom for sharing - can share till age of 18
female and male it is accepted to share till the age of 10 , if above the age of 10 male can have seperate bedroom

so i make it a 3 bed house under LHA rules .

You should be having that homeless appt and seeing if you get preference for a 3 bed room property on your councils housing register , they will award the full duty if you have not contributed to mortage failure. However theya re liley to have a landlord list where they can assist with rent and deposit payments in advance.
never rule the council out.

tickled_pink

Thank you again,

Will speak to the cab tomorow. We will be moving 180+ miles away from where we are now (the mortgaged property)
We figured if were going to go down the bankruptcy route we might as well make a clean freah start away from the area most of the debt occured.

sizzler

Good Luck let us know how you get on sizz:)

Ineedaname

If you remain in the mortgaged home you may not be entitled to any Housing Benefit, although it's still worthwhile applying alongside the Council Tax Benefit just in case you can get help with the interest on the mortgage.

I presume you won't move until your husband loses his job? So you'll be assessed on your finances at that time. Be careful of moving even while your husband is on SSP, as long as he has a contract he should be able to get to work if fit to do so, moving 180 miles away may make his employers nervous.

Are you already on the housing list in the 'new' area you're returning to?

This is a really difficult time for you, so many things to factor in your lives. I know back problems and empathise with what your husband is going through on that score, as well as the BR issues you are both facing. HUGS

HOLIDAYMAD_2

You can make any amount of applications to go on a housing list, most call themselves choice based lettings.

However:

You can only make one application to a local authority or trust as homeless under pt 7 of the housing actg 1996 and to have a duty to secure you housing you must have a local connection and that is as follows.

6/12 months residency
3/5 years residence
perm employlement not interim or contract.
5 years immediate family residence ie mom, dad , brother , sister not uncle , aunt , cousin etc
or special cirs such as violence.

But Remember you can only have the fully duty to a LA and thaqt is the only one you approach if you meet the above, so you can not say go to sheffied then think i will go to derby instead, the 2nd would have to agree a referral and they never do.

Why have you not contacted your housing team re mortage rescue ie staying in your home and becoming a tenant of a local housing association- takes time but can be worthy an get in knwo before this gov takes away the funding which it will.

Also the Derby CAB /Housing Aid Team on here are very very good - look at there website

You need to move out to give HB on another property,for example someone will be elible for rent on two props but it is only the one you are living in that you can get benefit on, you have to be looking to return to the first to get benefit ie rent on two, not applicable to a mortaged property, if you have had no claims for any benefits and acquire a private rented accom and are not on benefits at the point you o need benefit you can get the full rent only for 12 weeks - but strict rules apply.

Angiepange

HOLIDAYMAD wrote: »

Why have you not contacted your housing team re mortage rescue ie staying in your home and becoming a tenant of a local housing association- takes time but can be worthy an get in knwo before this gov takes away the funding which it will.

.

If you are considering the Mortgage Rescue Scheme, have a look at this thread, its a long read but lots of info on there and there are a few of us who have successfully completed Mortgage Rescue.


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1930931=

You will need specialist advice and as another poster said, best to contact your local housing team and CAB too.

Good luck x

tickled_pink

Morning all,

Thanks so much for your input and advce ....I must admit now that half of this makes no sense at all and I have no idea what some of the things your saying mean, Its not me being rude or anything please don't think that, its just so much to take in on top of everything else, but I'm being honest in letting you know that.

At the minute my hubby is still burying his head in the sand and is making me deal with everything, He now doesn't know if he wants to go bankrupt! so on top of looking after 4 kids whilst he's at work I'm trying to sort out the bankruptcy part, deal with the debt collectors at the door, letters etc, deal with looking for somewhere to live and try and remain poitive.

If I repeat any of my questions I appologise, I'm not being rude I'm just trying to take it all in .... I hope all that makes sense.

At the minute we live in Northamptonshire our Mortgage is part repayment part interest as we couldn't re-mortgage and we have just got back on our feet after paying back arrears from christmas. Infact this month is the first month the mortgage payment is the normal one. £700.

The interest on that is £300, I have contacted the local council here and asked for help with the interest payments on the mortgage but they said we have to wait 13 weeks from when hubby goes on ssp, but by that time we won't be able to meet the monthly payments and the mortgage company will take us back to court for possession.

We have spoken to them about our situation and hubbys work and they let us split dec wage over jan and feb but then said they refuse to do anymore to help, if we miss another payment thats it.

Which is why hubby has been refusing to go on sick when the DR has recomended it as we can't afford to pay the bills etc.
We are in arrears with everything, this month is our final payment of the council tax arrears before it drops for next months new rate - any arrears but that only saves us £64. We are already living on £200 food for 6 for a month so couldn't cut back there any more.

I have family and originally come from Blackpool so we are thinking (althoug the more we think of it the worse the idea is becoming) of moving back there. The ony reasons are, we have huge amount of debt that occured here, if were making a fresh start by bankruptcy why not make a fresh start away from it all. The rent is cheaper up there, for a 3 bed we could pay £600 - £650 in a good area, down here for a 3 bed we could pay £700 - £725 in a ok area.

I have contacted the British legion yesterday and they said they can only help with removal costs if we do decided to move, they can't help with any deposits for rent, mortgage or bankruptcy as their funding is limited.

We understand hubby's employer may get the hump if we move so far away esp as there is no 'office' where he works close to blackpool but he can't fufuill his contract so may end up giving his notcie in anyway, or they will terminate it.

We have contacted the council here and they said the waiting list for council houses are 7 years and for housing association is 4 years here. Our military service and having 4 kids will move us up the list but we still need to wait 3 years for council and 2 years for housing associaition.

In balckpool the waiting list inc our military service and 4 kids is 4 years for council and 3-4 years for housing association.

They both have said if we voluntary hand back the keys then we won't jump any further up the list but if we are made homless by means of repossesion then they will place us in 1 bedroom in a hostal but that we can still expect to wait around 2-3 years for a house to become available in both areas (we can't get a two bedroom hostal as the kids arn't old enough to have a room at the other end of the corridor from us)

So you see my dilema, Its just so hard to know what to do.

Here in Northampton, although the estate agents all know us as a family its still very hard to get a tennancy agreement here, (almost impossible if hubby has no job) but in Blackpool its alot easier.

Maybe bankruptcy isn't a good idea, at the moment in time I don't know what the best thing is anymore, its all too confusing and stressfull.

To top it all off I feel like we are being passed form pillar to post so to speak, the cab are only willing to give us info based on Northants and the blackpool cab won't speak to me because I'm not in the area.
Guess we just need to hold off on everything till 6th April when the new tax credit figures come out and we know what we will be entitled too.

P.s Our little hoilday next week is in Blackpool visiting my grandad where we will also view houses etc, he had kindly booked us a cheap caravan hoilday so he could see the kids as he's missing them since my nan passed away

does any of that make any sence?

HOLIDAYMAD_2

It does and your terribly stressed. my heart goes out to you

CAB in general should be able to give you advice specific to your debts and mortage . But they can negoiate with your lender and the secure stuff is the most important if you want to keep it or buy time . CAB will be able to do that and also discuss with you mortage rescue.
The mortage company will have to act appropriately and will have more pressure on them to do that with CAB involvement, who is the mortage company,

From what i can see your main concern is meeting the mortage payments and having enough to live off at the end of the month.

Maybe you should break everything down on here inc arrears and see if posters can help sorting what needs to be paid against what can wait.

ie
Total income and what it is made up of ie employment, cb and tax credits.
mortage
secure loans
is there a suspeneded possession order on the proeprty.
what arrears do you have to pay each month on the mortage and what is the arrears for the mortage
utility bills ie gas, elec, water, phone, net .
housekeeping
insurance
car costs etc
child care costs
unsecure debts and amounts your paying


The areas that you have stated for rehousing will be hard as Northants prob does have a long list as does blackpool, there is no reason why you cannot let privately with out a agent , many decent landlords out there, i will say the infor you have been given by the authority that said they would place a family of 6 in a one bedroom property or a hostel, is prob what is called gate keeping and not really helpful, you would not be placed in accom that was to small for your family but you could end up in a bed and breakfast to start with.

when things got really bad for me i just didnt pay the bills esp unsecure debts but kept at all cost the mortage and ctax , tv licence etc going i dint pay utilitys but id pay the phone etc

you have said you owe money locally is that door stop loans or just debt you have got into buy living in the house and what was it for, door stop loans if you any can be sorted.