mortgage help

Hard_up

First post please be gentle,I currently have an interest only mortgage of 190k,costing £750 p/m,I am 56 years old and self employed.I had to switch to interst only whem my work as a decorator slowed down to a virtual stop.Since then I have been finding it very hard to meet the payments but saying that I have never missed a payment.I am deeply concerned over two issues that are causing me to have the sleepless nights etc.number one is what would happen if I came out of work and had to sign the dole (never once in all my working life have I ever claimed a penny)my question is would I be able to claim a benefit for the mortgage or is it a simly lose my home.The next question is been 56 years old and if work picked up enough to carry on with the payments then in 9 years I retire same question what happens with my home,I have no pension to look forward to it would be just the state pension.Its all looking a bit scary,and very worrying.I would be gratefull for any advice thank you.:(

debbie_doo

hi there,

I'm no expert but I know that there is a government scheme whereby you can claim mortgage interest, this is capped at certain levels though so not sure if it would cover your whole mortgage, I'm assuming you live on your own? how many years do you have left on the mortgage? Have you equity in the property? I believe that you can sign-on if you have been self employed but I think you will have to close your business down completley and inform tax office blah blah, have a look on the direct.gov website, there's lots of info on there - hope this has helped a little try not to worry too much, I'm sure some ppl will be along on here tom to offer more advice for you, this website has been a blessing for me in the past with very well informed people giving advice x

karenx

Why do you have such a big mortgage? Would it not be better to sell and get somewhere alot cheaper

[Deleted User]

the max help you could get on a 190k mortgage IF you qualified for help would be approx £140 a week for 2 years after a 3 month wait(assuming the 190k was the original amount of the mortgage and you hadnt remortgaged for a world cruise)
if you envisage problems you should speak to your lender NOW
if you have an interest only mortgage and no private pension in place how do you plan to repay the capital anyhow?

Hard_up

Thank you,first question from Karen..why not sell and buy something smaller,I would love to but as were in a deep depression..sorry ression its not easy to sell a house,on to John how was I going to pay the capital,well an interest only mortgage was never done by design but of nessecity when my work trailed off.And on to the poster why such a big mortgage..the house is valued at around 450k pre ression and when I bought it I have spent a small fortune on it,so the 190k seems not so big when your busy at work....to conclude I was looking for financial advice so please dont be so judgemental....

robus

Hard_up wrote: »

Thank you,first question from Karen..why not sell and buy something smaller,I would love to but as were in a deep depression..sorry ression its not easy to sell a house,

Rubbish, any property will sell as long as the asking price is in line with current values. Round my way houses are selling at what were 2003 prices. You just have to forget about the 'profit' you hoped to get, and remember ALL houses have come down so it won't make any difference to sell and buy.

on to John how was I going to pay the capital,well an interest only mortgage was never done by design but of nessecity when my work trailed off.

But how are you intending to pay the mortgage off then, now that it is an interest only one?

And on to the poster why such a big mortgage..the house is valued at around 450k pre ression and when I bought it I have spent a small fortune on it,so the 190k seems not so big when your busy at work....to conclude I was looking for financial advice so please dont be so judgemental....

In which case it is worth what £380000 today to get a sale?
That will still leave you with £190000 in the bank after clearing the mortgage. Why not buy for something around £190000?

With that amount of equity you are sitting pretty. What about those that are in negative equity and will have no hope of getting another mortgage - they only have one choice, rent. And with rents now at well above the mortgage repayments, and the cut back on housing benefit, they are in a worse position than you are, but they manage.