help!!!!!

joandwayne

due to my ex reducing his maintenance by half, my self and my partner were going to struggle with the mortgage payments.....however, my partner suffered a heart attack a couple of weeks ago and can no longer work for the next few months, this means we will not be able to afford the repayments. The mortage is in mine and my ex's name(as he wanted it to stay that way), but the house deeds are in my sole name. Please advise on what i can do.....and if you think the "mortage" company will be helpful iin the event that this is only goin to be a short term problem, myself and my partner have never missed a payment in 3 years:mad:

holly_hobby

Best thing to do is work out what you will be able to manage, and a plan on how you will repay the arrears that will be accumilated.

Then ring your Lender and discuss the matter, your figs, anticipated return of work date for your partner, and plans on how you will re-address the reduced payments when your partner returns to his position. (This will evidence to the lender that you have given the matter suitable consideration and have a responsible attitude & plan re the arrears situation that will occur)

Legally, it is yourself and your ex-husband who are both jointly and severally (singularly) responsible for the mge repayments i.e if you don't pay they will pursue him.

Hope this helps, good luck with your lender & best wishes for your partners speedy recovery.

Holly x

opinions4u

Only one way to find out. Contact them.

Some questions that may help others offer an opinion:

1) How much is the house worth?
2) How much is owing on the mortgage?
3) What is the required monthly payment?
4) What can you afford?
5) Who is the lender?

Defining the answer to (4) is also important. If you go to www.makesenseofcards.co.uk you will find a document called a "Statement of Affairs". Complete one accurately. Account for everything. Then consider posting it on the Debt-free Wannabe part of this forum. You will get loads of help there identifying potential savings.

You also need to be quite honest about what are priority bills and what are non-essential. By that, I mean that things like mortgage, essential food, water and heating are absolute priority. Paying the unsecured loans, credit cards etc, maintaining the Sky and mobile phone contracts fall down the list, even if it means wrecking your credit file.

A mortgage lender would be acting quite reasonably to insist that you pay their debt before meeting unsecured commitments.

In the mean time, can any kids get a paper round, can you get any overtime at work, can your other half register with every survey site under the sun and earn some income at a couple of quid an hour?

What about an economy drive? Jumpers on. Heating down 2 degrees. Swift showers instead of full baths. Lights off. Telly off standby. No biscuits, crisps. cakes, fizzy drinks (we saved £100pm on the Tesco shop cutting these out and I have a new sleek look, well, sleekish). Walk instead of drive. Car share. While it may be trimming around the edges and doesn't always solve the whole problem, it can help.

Review your supermarket shop beyond this too. Dishes built around rice and pasta can often be much cheaper than other meals. The discount rack can often feed a family with fresh food for a couple of days for nothing. Review how much food is currently thrown away and reduce portions served accordingly. Should you shop elsewhere? Should you shop with a friend and split any BOGOF offers. Now's the time to eat what's in the freezer and use up all those two year old tins in the cupboard. Store brand toilet paper can often be cheaper than luxury triple ply super dooper Aloe Vera.

What about the loyalty points? Boots. Tesco. Nectar etc. Is it time to cash these in?

What about tax credits and sick pay? Is there an eligibility?

Parents can sometimes be remarkable support at such times. Not always financial, but practical. Lifts to hospitals for check ups, cans out of their cupboard that were never going to be used etc.

The mortage is in mine and my ex's name

In which case it would be fair to let your ex know that a commitment he is legally liable for is potentially going to go in to arrears - which would damage his credit file too. If he has another half, slip it in to the conversation - it may (or may not) mean you see more support.

my partner suffered a heart attack a couple of weeks ago

I don't suppose he's got a critical illness policy has he? Or other sorts of illness insurance (e.g. hospital plan or asu insurance)? Holdiay insurance that would allow you to cancel a holiday and receive money back?

Not easy. But cutting back big time can ensure your other half gets as long as possible off work for recovery. No point going back to work too soon and having another.

this is only goin to be a short term problem

Is it? I've just noticed your post from June worrying about the mortgage. What was the outcome there? One option not to rule out is selling up and renting (or downsizing).

Best of luck.

joandwayne

hi, in june my ex told me he was takin me to court to get the maintenance reduced......it went down from £1000 to £553 per month, my partner and i compremised then and reduced what we could to enable us to pay the repayments. This has been a strain and i never even contacted the mortgage company as i felt that if we could pay, we should! MY ex, has a partner and she has two children, they live in a rented rather swanky 6 bed house, have a foreign holiday every year and both drive top notch lexus cars.......

My two childen are 9 and 16, the 16 year old is disabled so we have a motability car.........we havent had a holiday in the 2 years.....things are gonna get serious if we cant sort this out soon lol

purplelila-2007

If I were in your situation I would switch on an interest only mortgage for a while, until your partner is able to go back to work .

If you have equity in the house , I would put it for sale and downsize to something more affordable .

You need to tell your Ex if you cant afford to pay the mortgage as his name is on it too. It wouldnt be fair on him if you had payment difficulties and he had issues because of that .

You mentioned that you work , and also used to get around £1k in CM from your ex,but thats halved - Is there no way you could make up the shortfall from your earnings?