Struggling to be able to afford to pay off mortgage balance

Barbeduk

Hi missi, the only savings I can see are on your grocery spends, you could try gradually cutting back by £20 each month to find your cut off point. There are plenty of ideas on the grocery challenge thread on the old style board.

Also, are you doing surveys etc to earn points towards shopping vouchers? There seem to be a lot of sites mentioned on here such as valued opinions.

I'd think very carefully before you sell, I can't really see what you'd gain from it. Even though you're on an interest only loan, you'll still gain if property prices rise.

Good luck.

jules888

Car insurance of 65 pounds a month seems very expensive!Do you shop around?

missi1

Hi Jules

This includes £10 for RAC breakdown but unforunately was the cheapest quote I could get and think I searched everywhere for about 2 weeks solid.

Barbeduk, I may give that a try and cut down by £5 a week. I also use Quidco when I can and have previously tried the surveys but now that I have more time on my hands when I'm not job hunting, I shall do that instead. Thanks

exarmydreamer

Hi ,missi1, Do your council offer the buy back scheme. This is where you would get the market value and the council get the property back. The only thing is, you would not necessarily be able to rent that same property if you were eligible. Plus I believe you would not be allowed to sell privately for 10 years from date of purchase under the right to buy scheme. It would be the council's decision to buy the property depending on condition and if they had a need to increase their housing stock. If the property is sold privately, it has to be offered to the council first under the 10 year buy to let scheme.

My mother is in a similar position, but she is now 64, can't work and has an interest only mortgage which finishes next March. Hope this helps, this is my understanding of the regulations, having looked into it for my mum. I believe all councils are different but the policy is the same.

missi1

Hi exarmydreamer, I have considered that but I know the local council arent currently buying back properties but may look at it if struggling to sell privately. My concern with that is if i did sell i would struggle to rent given my poor credit rating and not sure if council would rehouse as i would be making myself intentionally homeless. I noticed that the council have debt advisors so i may arrange to see one for advice.

[Deleted User]

missi1 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0This will change ultimately - Good luck with the search - If you need help with preparing a CV I know that there's some experts on here (can't remember usernames offhand) - maybe post of the employment board?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 528You can worry about this as circumstances change
Other income............................ 136What's this? And ultimately your son will put something here - he can probably work even part-time if going to college etc If your son decides to move out at some point in the future, you could always consider a lodger then
Total monthly income.................... 664

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 40
Management charge (leasehold property).. 40
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 114Arrears will be paid off in 5 months. Try and monitor usage as well. Switch things off instead of on standby, only have lights and other electric things on when they are actually being used. Use energy saving bulbs. Switch the thermostat down on the boiler [you will never notice]
Gas..................................... 25Is this just heating? Make sure all radiators etc are off now that the better weather is here, keep the thermostat down
Water rates............................. 28Is this a meter? If not, then consider if one would be cheaper
Telephone (land line)................... 15Although this does not seem excessive, try comparing with other providers, I get home phone and internet combined (including international calls) for £22/24 per month, perhapse it would be cheaper without international calls - I'm with talktalk, but I think it depends on the providers that operate in your area
Mobile phone............................ 10Is this pay monthly? If so when it ends look at PAYG. I used to pay £10 per month, but now I'm with GiffGaff, I pay about half (and use the phone the same) - you can keep your number
TV Licence.............................. 13
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 220Any way to reduce (although not excessive) - meal plan, batch cook, drop brands, try lidl/aldi
Petrol/diesel........................... 40Is a car necessary, not only could you sell the car and make a payment to your debts, you could also save a fortune in running costs?
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 65
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0need something here probably
Other travel............................ 0Would this be an option if you got rid of the car?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10Compare at renewal, and see if there's any cash back available
Contents insurance...................... 10As above
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0never - try joining some survey sites for cash/vouchers, and or/mystery shopping. They'll never be a quick way to make money, nor will they make a lot, but can be useful for covering the cost of Xmas/birthdays
Haircuts................................ 0never?
Entertainment........................... 0never?
Emergency fund.......................... 0It might be worth putting a little something here, even£5, to cover any unexpected expenses ahould they crop up.
Ground Rent ............................ 0.75Do you pay this monthly?
Total monthly expenses.................. 650.75


Assets
Cash.................................... 0Should probably have a bit here for non monthly bills - presents, MOT, ground rent
House value (Gross)..................... 82000
Car(s).................................. 3000 Seriously consider if you can live without
Total Assets............................ 85000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 74500....(40).......0What is the interest rate
Total secured & HP debts...... 74500.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Payplan .......................12500.....50........0Remember that when you are on a DMP that you can amend this if and when circumstances arise - for better or worse
Total unsecured debts..........12500.....50........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 664
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 650.75
Available for debt repayments........... 13.25
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 50
Amount short for making debt repayments. -36.75Well, things are tight, and you don't seem to be spending excessively on anything. However, as your arrears will be paid off reasonably soon, I think that you can make up this shortfall in the mean time - try cutting mobile bill, reducing groceries, and making sure all your bills are the cheapest that they can be. But if after making all the cutbacks that you can make you are still not able to make this shortfall you need to go back and talk to payplan.

Try having a good clear out and selling any unwanted/no longer used items on e-bay, amazon, gumtree.

Pop over to the employment board for help/advice/support for job hunting

Take a look at the "up my income" board for ideas too

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 85,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -74,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,500
Net Assets.............................. -2,000

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.[/B]

Hi there - welcome to the boards, and well done for posting.

As others have suggested I think you need to focus on the here and now and when you are on a more even keel, then consider the longer term future more carefully. Try not get overwhelmed by everything all at once, deal with what you can for now.

The first thing to do is see if (in the short term until your arrears are repaid) you can get your SOA to balance.

And secondly, focus on getting a new job - this will be far more beneficial that worrying about 25 years from now. It is difficult out there but persistence and perseverance will pay off..

Good luck, and I hope that things improve soon,

D9

Johnhowell

missi1 wrote: »

Hi Jules

This includes £10 for RAC breakdown but unforunately was the cheapest quote I could get and think I searched everywhere for about 2 weeks solid.

Barbeduk, I may give that a try and cut down by £5 a week. I also use Quidco when I can and have previously tried the surveys but now that I have more time on my hands when I'm not job hunting, I shall do that instead. Thanks

Missi,

You could get breakdown cover a lot cheaper this. RAC and AA are generally the most expensive providers. Having this attached to your insurance probably is not the cheapest route, either. For example: UK Breakdown Cover (inc Home) from First Call charges £42.50 (a third of RAC).

Hopefully, after reading these responses you are no longer fixated on your mortgage. Look at your SOA - it costs your ONLY £40 a month! I wish I could get a mortgage at £40! That actually is your saving grace with your situation. You have a roof over your head and it is not costing you that much. You have many years to solve the mortgage issue.

With regards the water meter - a friend lives in a flat and the water company survey stated that a meter could not be fitted. However, they agreed that the monthly charge would be revised from the Rated Value to an equivalent metered amount. This saved him quite a bit each month. Well worth asking.

All the best and good luck,
John

P.S. can your son do evening/weekend work to help out? When I was a lad (many years ago) I got a cleaning job whilst doing A-levels and before going to university. Not glamourous, but paid comparatively well, worked 2/3 evenings a week and got extra at the weekends.

missi1

Domino9 wrote: »

Hi there - welcome to the boards, and well done for posting.

As others have suggested I think you need to focus on the here and now and when you are on a more even keel, then consider the longer term future more carefully. Try not get overwhelmed by everything all at once, deal with what you can for now.

The first thing to do is see if (in the short term until your arrears are repaid) you can get your SOA to balance.

And secondly, focus on getting a new job - this will be far more beneficial that worrying about 25 years from now. It is difficult out there but persistence and perseverance will pay off..

Good luck, and I hope that things improve soon,

D9

Hi D9

Thanks for the advice. I contacted my local councils debt team today who were really helpful. They took some details over the phone and will be sending me out some documents to complete and sign so they can act on my behalf and take over from Payplan.

She will also contact the leasehold team which is part of the council and ask them to accept reduced payments and will send letters to all my creditors to offer £1 per month, including my mortgage company so this may help to gain some control over the situation and with the council on my side, it might prove better than me contacting them and also if any decided to go to court. The council will also ask all creditors to stop any contact for 30 days breathing space and to come to some sort of agreement.

I was also advised that as long as I'm offering the mortgage company something, they have to allow you the full term of the mortgage to pay off the arrears, so in my case, 25 years.

To answer your questions on soa...
Thanks, will look on jobs section tonight for tips

136 is child maintenance, originally included it in benefits total but on the soa there was a seperate section below for this.

Son is looking for a part time job at the moment so fingers crossed.

Electricity amount owed is £649 and I am paying £50 for ongoing usage and the rest towards arrears.
I have also applied to the energy trust for a grant to help with this.

Gas is for cooking (hob) and heating but in summer months this could be less, maybe £15.

Will look into landline/broadband although not long signed up for 12 mth contract.

Mobile is 30 day rolling contract that includes 500 free mins, unlimited texts which I use for applying for jobs else it costs on landline before 7pm, especially if it's a mobile number which a lot of agencies are. I compared a lot of the tariffs and networks.

The car was a gift from a family member and think if I sold it they may want the money back so will need to look into that but it would free up some cash for sure.

missi1

Johnhowell wrote: »

Missi,

You could get breakdown cover a lot cheaper this. RAC and AA are generally the most expensive providers. Having this attached to your insurance probably is not the cheapest route, either. For example: UK Breakdown Cover (inc Home) from First Call charges £42.50 (a third of RAC).

Hopefully, after reading these responses you are no longer fixated on your mortgage. Look at your SOA - it costs your ONLY £40 a month! I wish I could get a mortgage at £40! That actually is your saving grace with your situation. You have a roof over your head and it is not costing you that much. You have many years to solve the mortgage issue.

With regards the water meter - a friend lives in a flat and the water company survey stated that a meter could not be fitted. However, they agreed that the monthly charge would be revised from the Rated Value to an equivalent metered amount. This saved him quite a bit each month. Well worth asking.

All the best and good luck,
John

P.S. can your son do evening/weekend work to help out? When I was a lad (many years ago) I got a cleaning job whilst doing A-levels and before going to university. Not glamourous, but paid comparatively well, worked 2/3 evenings a week and got extra at the weekends.

Hi John, thanks for the reply.

The breakdown cover is seperate to insurance so I will look at changing this as dont necessarily need at home cover until I find work.

The mortgage is £235 a month (interest only) and I'm paying the shortfall for the interest payments to what I receive in benefits.

Will look into getting a water meter, could be some savings to be made. Shall let you know the outcome.

Son job hunting for any hours at moment so hopefully something will come up soon.

Niv

missi1,

Thank you for replying so thoughly to pretty much everyone (if not everyone), it is nice when the OP does this (it doesnt often happen in my experiance).

I am glad you you seem happier with your situation after talking it out on this thread, and i hope you manage to sort out your debts and keep your home. I am confident that someone with your outlook wil be able to overcome this bump in the road and sort out your money situation over the next 2/3 years.

Niv