Mortgage debt advice - urgent help needed please.

loftus

Am posting this in mortgages and on the debt free board because not sure what the best fit is and need some advice urgently. Please excuse the duplication.

A frined of mine is going through the world's messiest divorce. Has 3 young children. Gets nothing from the ex2be as he jacked his job in to avoid mainteance. Has been struggling every month to make mortgage payments (interest only), pay bills - including minimum payments on cards - and is basically living on her overdraft and credit. House has been on the market for over a year as there is no way she can carry on like this, but she now has a buyer.

Mortgage is with the Abbey who have been totally unsympathetic all through. She has spoken to them a few times and the response is basically “Tough, miss a payment and it goes on your credit history, miss two and we start repossession proceedings”. The final straw came this morning with a letter saying that the mortgage – which her ex arranged – was a stepped tracker and payments were going to rise by £400. She can not afford the £810 a month she was paying and has scrabbled about to raise the last payments from family. She wants to be able to get a new mortgage when the sale goes through so she can rehouse herself and the 3 young kids.

She called the Abbey who said the best they could do without her ex's signature or co-operation – which is not likely to be forthcoming – was move her to a mortgage with payments of £950 better than £1200 but just as unaffordable.

She called CCCS but was told they couldn't deal with her as the mortgage was a joint debt and they needed her ex's permission.

She just feels like she is banging her head against a brick wall. All she wants is out of the house and to be able to put a roof over her children's head. I have run out of ideas. If anyone can offer any advice it would be so so welcome. Any further questions I'll do my best to answer them.

Many thanks in advance.