Cant afford mortgage payments, but if i sell i will be intentionlly homeless!

angel1985

Im hoping someone on here can i help me, im so confused about all the different info on internet,
I am a joint owner on the flat i live in, my dad is the other name, but lives in his own house, i live here on my own, i had a baby 6 months ago, and am really worried about being able to afford the repayments in the next few months.... Ive done some forms online and as a lone parent i would be entitled to income support and therefore SMI, however the smi payments would leave me with £300 per month still to pay on interest only.. Without the £200 per month capital.. Ive been told by an advice line that if i didnt own a place and was renting i would receive 4 times the amount towards my rent.. I dont understand why they are happy to give someone £1000 per month for rent but only £240 per month to help someone with mortgage interest..

By the way... If i went back to work fulltime i would earn less money than if i was to claim income support and smi.

I cant afford this anyway... So maybe i just have to sell... But if i do i could be seen as making myself intentionly homeless and entitled to nothing... I have no equity in the property at the current market value... So would be penniless without a roof over our heads... If i stay here it would eventually be repossed anyway... I dont really want to sell the flat ive had for 5 years and worked so hard for... But if i have to i have to.. But am worried about getting help to live somewhere else.

I have worked every day since i was 16.. Never claimed a penny for anything.. And yet it seems i would be better off ive i hadnt have bothered!!!

Any advice would be a great help.

HappyMJ

You can privately rent and be entitled to the full LHA rate as long as after you have paid your 6 months rent in advance, your selling costs of your existing property, your moving costs, your new home furnishing costs and any other essentials that you have less than £6,000. If you have up to £16,000 you will get a partial payment.

The intentionally homeless part is if you were to apply for social housing. You would not be prioritized at all unless you allowed the mortgage company to take further action due to non payment destroying your credit in the process.

kaya64

I asked the same question and got intouch with shelter, i received some good information back from them.
If you have tried everything to pay the mortgage but still can't affrord it then you are not considered as making yourself homeless, I think the system is silly and unfair when it will pay for a landlords mortgage to be paid but not someone who has their own mortgage, the way i see it , is that the governement are trying to get us to lose our homes and become tennants so we are answerable to them and them only . wicked governments .

BigAunty

The Shelter website, as well as having good information on how the 'intentional homelessness' rule works, also has a good section for home owners struggling to pay their mortgage, including all the options from negotiating with lenders to have a repayment holiday to selling the property. Their site is excellent for info on how to avoid arrears and repossession.

Also, note that the child maintenance payments from the father are on top of your benefits and don't reduce them.

If you do decide to sell the property and you are left with no equity, note that many councils operate rent deposit guarantee schemes, plus I think there is some kind of budgeting loan that can cover the first month's rent that people on benefits can apply for if they decide to go into privately rented accommodation.

Dunroamin

Is your father paying his half of the mortgage?

ticktack_2

kaya64 wrote: »

I think the system is silly and unfair when it will pay for a landlords mortgage to be paid but not someone who has their own mortgage

The system can often be unfair, but it would be even more unfair if it gave taxpayers' money to owner-occupiers to pay off their debts.

the way i see it , is that the governement are trying to get us to lose our homes and become tennants so we are answerable to them and them only . wicked governments .

The government is trying to get people to lose their homes so the taxpayer can pick up the tab for their rent? That doesn't make sense.

shoe*diva79

I assume your no longer with babies father if you can claim IS so is he providing financial support for your child? If not then you need to get the ball rolling with either a private agreement or CSA.

Is your father paying his half of the mortgage? Can he help you out in the short term?

BigAunty

Dunroamin wrote: »

Is your father paying his half of the mortgage?

In joint ownership, (like in a joint tenancy or joint council tax or utility bills, there is no such thing as a half share, there are joint and several liability to the mortgage company).

In the event of mortgage arrears, the lender will go for either or both owners for the debt - they don't apportion equal shares between them, the personal financial arrangements that joint owners make to contribute certain shares is irrelevant to them.

Dunroamin

BigAunty wrote: »

In joint ownership, (like in a joint tenancy or joint council tax or utility bills, there is no such thing as a half share, there are joint and several liability to the mortgage company).

In the event of mortgage arrears, the lender will go for either or both owners for the debt - they don't apportion equal shares between them, the personal financial arrangements that joint owners make to contribute certain shares is irrelevant to them.

I appreciate this (although the OP may not) but there's no mention of her father paying anything at all and he will obviously be affected if the property is eventually repossessed.

angel1985

Thank u for all the replies, my father doesnt pay anything towards the mortgage or any other bills.. It was aggreed that i would be responsible for everything and when the property sold i would get any equity made, but like a lot of people i have no equity as the market is.. It was my plan to sell at around this point in my life and locate outside london to a cheaper property therfore reducing my mortgage.. Alas never worked out like that... If i sell now i would just about cover outstanding mortgage, selling costs and moving expenses.. So would be debt free.. But have nothing... Its quite upsetting to think it is highly unlikely i would ever be able to get on the property ladder again :-( ...
No i am no longer with childs father.. He pays nothing and never has.. I havent seen him for over a year.. And have no idea where he is either...

Kaya.. Thank you for your reply, i have tried to contact shelter via phone, but no luck, was you in a similar situation to me? What did u do?

Do u think it may be possible for me to rent my flat out for a year and rent elsewhere? .. Because Ive noticed today on housing benefit application forms it says about declaring any other property you own??? Does anyone know how this works?? How do they let people rent the property they own but still apply for housing benefit??! This doesnt seem to make logical sense?!

ticktack_2

angel1985 wrote: »

Do u think it may be possible for me to rent my flat out for a year and rent elsewhere? .. Because Ive noticed today on housing benefit application forms it says about declaring any other property you own??? Does anyone know how this works?? How do they let people rent the property they own but still apply for housing benefit??! This doesnt seem to make logical sense?!

It's possible to put a property up for sale, move to a rented flat, and claim HB while you wait for a buyer. But I think this is discretionary so I don't know if you could rely on it being granted.