Pregnant & suicidal needs more advice,Northern Rock refusing to extend interest only?

vicxzy

Hi Moneysavers,

Can anyone help please?
I am going through a divorce & ex Husband living in the marital home.
We are currently trying to sell it & since we split up it has been on interest only with Northern Rock for 12 months now however they are refusing to extend the interest only period?
He is struggling to pay it on his own, there is no way I can contribute, I am 8 months pregnant & have been unable to work since October last year due to pregnancy related illness & constant hospitalisation.
I am now back in hospital yet again with heart/ Blood pressure problems & this is adding to my stress, Northern rock refuse to let me email them to correspond saying I have to call them, my Doctor says I shouldnt speak to them on the phone due to it making me more stressed.
Northern rock say that as ex husbands income/exp is only minus £140 per month he can afford to pay the full installments on his own of £700 per month (interest only is £350).
I've seen his inc/exp & he doesnt even have enough money for food etc after ground rent, council tax & creditors etc.
My income is minus £1467 per month! I am on a DMP at the minute & only have statutory maternity pay coming in.
Please help, I think they are being unreasonable we have never missed a payment & are doing our best to pay it off by selling the house, we even struggled through paying the full repayments a few years ago when I was made redundant & didnt miss one.
Is there anyone we can contact to check if they are behaving unreasonably?

Thank you.

DannyboyMidlands

You've had 12 months grace to sell the house so I don't think that they're being unreasonable. They probably think that you're dragging your feet and just need to hurry up and get it sold. Considering the effect it is having on your health I am inclined to agree.

Thrugelmir

Do you have sufficient equity in the property to clear the mortgage debt?

beecher2

Why doesn't your ex phone them up to save you from the stress? I don't really see how they're being unreasonable - a year is surely long enough to sell the house? Cut the price if it isn't selling. Or can your ex take in a lodger/lodgers?

KarenBB

An option would be to extend the term of the mortgage while on a repayment basis if NR would agree to that, it would bring the payments down, not as much as interest only but it would reduce outgoings while the house is still on the market.

I know you said doc says not to call as your stressed but maybe you could call them and ask if it's possible or not and what the payments would be if they agreed to it and what the longest term would be. The worst they can say is no and at that point just say thanks and bye rather than get into anything heated that would increase your stress. At least you'd know if it's an option.

Good luck

WestonDave

Although it may be hard, look at it from their perspective. They have a borrower who has significant other debts, is pregnant presumably with no partner to contribute so has no income, and who has had 12 months grace already. They will be looking at what equity remains in the property and considering what they'd recover if they had to repossess - and on that basis it makes a lot of sense for them to be applying some pressure so that the process of selling doesn't go on forever. Whilst they are taking interest only, they risk the equity diminishing whilst you wait for a buyer to offer a presumably optimistic price.

The crucial information you've left out is how much the mortgage is for and what the house is on the market for?

vicxzy

Thanks for your answers.
The house price has been cut by £60k, this is only just enough to repay the mortgage, it has been valued by a surveyor not just estate agents & even the surveyor valued it 20k higher than the current asking price. We have not had any viewers so its not like Im turning down offers.I have recently changed estate agents.
My ex has called them but they wont accept my inc/exp from him they say they will only speak to me & only on the phone.
Surely interest only to them would be preferable to nothing? Or to repossession?

holly_hobby

Why won't they let you/have you asked - to covert from C&I to an interest only mge on a permanent basis?

Converting or partly converting an existing C&I mge to I/O, is one solution lenders often use when managing borrowers who have fallen into arrears.

FYI - They may insist upon evidence of a repayment vehicle i.e ISA etc, if they allow you to convert.

Perhaps in your condition, it would also be a good idea to get your local CAB on board, who will usually be happy to mediate with the lender on your behalf to try & come to a mutually agreeable solution.

Hope this helps ... good luck

Holly

DannyboyMidlands

If you've had no viewings in 12 months then the price is too high.

whitewing

Is there somebody who could call with you eg a friend or a nurse? If you are there and go through the security questions so you are correctly identified, then you should be able to give permission for somebody to talk with them. They could then ask your questions and find out the answers and discuss it with you, whilst putting the mortgage company on hold. That should reduce stress all round, because they will feel that you are working to a solution and you won't feel that they are being personally horrible to you.

Thrugelmir

When you say your ex husbands creditors. Is he on a DMP as well?