mortgage while on income support

upset40

hi

im a single mum with 3 kids and not working at the mo.

am still in argument with dss about how much of my mortgage payments they will help with - i remortgaged 6 yrs ago while still with my ex and they will only pay it if i used it for essential work on the house..

i am hoping to go back to work soon and will want to remortgage.

at the mo im in a house worth approx £190000 with a £112000 interest only mortgage. it is with northern rock and monthly payments have just gone up to £640 !!!! i am not however tied into this mortgage anymore.

my main question is i want to downsize property and obviously have a cheap a mortgage as possible. im due to be divorced a a few weeks and the house will become mine in the settlement. does anyone know how i go about getting a newer and cheaper mortgage while still on oncome support ? if dss end up paying any of my mortgage will they still once a move ?

and once i start work , probably part-time whilst claiming working families tax credits will i be able to get a mortgage easily considering how much equity i have . i will be looking to buy a new house priced between £155000 - £175000.

thanks for reading my ramblings and and advice will be VERY gratefully received

shameless-about-money

You need this to be on the Benefits Board.

upset40

hi shameless

i did wonder about that but thought any mortgage advisers etc would be more likely to look at this part of the forum. correct me if im wrong though.thanks.

the income support question may well be irrelevant soon as i dont hold out much hope for them helping me

so basically i was asking - how do i go about getting a mortgage while working p/t and getting wftc.

sorry if i confused the issue

thanks

cattie

A lot of high street lenders will no longer take income support as income for mortgage purposes. Your best route to begin with is to approach your present lender to see if they can offer you a better deal, as you have more chance of them wanting to continue to lend to you while on income support.

Income support will not pay interest on a mortgage over £100,000, so you need to bear this in mind.

If you ask about moving & being able to claim towards help with interest pathments they won't give you an answer, but tell you it will be considered if & when you move. Don't worry though, for as long as you still qualify & don't have a higher mortgage than you currently have, there shouldn't be much of a hiccup.

The only thing to note is that with them needing the paperwork etc from the new lender & or a change of area, there may be a delay in them paying the first month or so interest payments to the lender. So you need to be prepared for this.

Good luck.

upset40

many thanks cattie

you're right what a nightmare !! even tho im downsizing my house due to divorce and it will mean dss wont have to pay as much they cant give me an answer until it all happens !!!

even now I have to pay £60 a week towards my mortgage while struggling to live on income support. just about had enough of this mad country

and where i live u cant get to speak to anyone at DSS faceto face anymore. only the government could run a business so badly, sorry getting rather bitter here with the whole system.maybe just be easier to get repossessed. can certainly see why many people dont bother to fight :mad:

alidee