Husband left, can't afford to pay mortgage, what should I do?

cas444

My husband moved out of our jointly owned property on Friday. We have 2 small children.

The mortgage is due on the 28th July. He says he cannot afford to pay anything towards it as he has to pay for someone to live.

I work PT and cannot afford the mortgage by myself.

We are in arrears on the interest only mortgage and are in a payment plan. There is no equity in the house. The building society say if we don't make the payment they will start legal action.

I am due to see citizens advice on Wednesday. I am hoping to qualify for the local councils 'mortgage rescue scheme' where a local housing association buys our house and I rent it back off them.

If not then I have to speak to my building society about making a quick sale and what they will do if there is a shortfall (which there more than likely will be after estate agent and solicitor fees)

I am wondering what to do about the payment on the 28th. I can't afford the full amount, should I pay any?

Any advice re. my situation and what to do about the payment gratefully received.

Hump

Have you had your conversation about mortgage rescue yet? If not then contact you council asap

1. It can work with negative equity situations
2. It will require the co-operation of your ex- in signing paperwork etc
3. The lender doesn't have to have actually started legal action - the threat of action due to arrears is usually enough
4. If succesful you get to live in the house as a tenant paying 80% of market rental - and you can claim help with the rent through Housing Benefits (subject to your income being below the threshold etc)

There are many hoops and hurdles to cross - but the biggest is actually sitting down with the council and having the conversation.

Waffle_On

Have you been in contact with tax credits? As a single parent you should get a good amount of help, especially if you have childcare costs. Depending on your income there may be other benefits you can apply for. Plus the mortgage rescue scheme you already mentioned.

These should help in the longer term, but in the short term the CAB are a good place to start. It's also a good idea to contact your lender and explain the situation - they may be able to give you a little extra time to get things sorted out.

stormbreaker

Can't advise on morgage but I would also get in touch with your local council. Get your name on the waiting list and make them aware of your situation. No local authority will see a mother and her children homeless. Just incase you don't find a solution to keep your house. Good luck!

Depth_Charge

cas444 wrote: »

My husband moved out of our jointly owned property on Friday. We have 2 small children.

The mortgage is due on the 28th July. He says he cannot afford to pay anything towards it as he has to pay for someone to live.

I work PT and cannot afford the mortgage by myself.

We are in arrears on the interest only mortgage and are in a payment plan. There is no equity in the house. The building society say if we don't make the payment they will start legal action.

I am due to see citizens advice on Wednesday. I am hoping to qualify for the local councils 'mortgage rescue scheme' where a local housing association buys our house and I rent it back off them.

If not then I have to speak to my building society about making a quick sale and what they will do if there is a shortfall (which there more than likely will be after estate agent and solicitor fees)

I am wondering what to do about the payment on the 28th. I can't afford the full amount, should I pay any?

Any advice re. my situation and what to do about the payment gratefully received.

Hi

To be accepted on the Mortgage Rescue scheme basIcally they will expect you to have looked at all other avenues as to stay in the mortgaged home.

You also the have to meet certain eligibilty criteria and be within the house valuation cap for your particular area (there can be discretion on this depending on circumstances)

If you get past the above which may be the case and there is an absent joint owner partner their co-operation is significant as far as progress with the scheme is concerned.

It does not sound like your lender has started possession proceedings at this stage from what you have put so there looks to be some breathing space so to speak.

Difficult to say much more without knowing your full circumstances and if you could put up your SOA it should help.

Have a careful look through the the CAB links on the Mortgage Rescue Scheme and mortgage arrears / possession etc below as they may help you for now .

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/mortgagerescuescheme.asp

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/mortgagearrears.asp

Also make sure you have all the necessary information at hand when you visit the CAB as this can only help them assess your situation. The CAB adviser may be able to speak with your mortgage lender with regard to the payment due on the 28th of July with the possibility of a request to hold any action on the account if appropriate.

There is also another very good thread (that I cannot seem to locate at the moment) concerning the MRS somewhere on this site that you may wish to view.

Knowledge and information is the name of the game with the MRS cas

Best wishes

Depth_Charge

Hi cas

Just noticed the date on your post.

From what you have put you will likely have now already visited the CAB so a paragraph or two of my last post may be a little in the past tense so to speak.

Apologies, Im blaming the drink for blurring my vision on this occassion (again)

Ive only had a couple, honest, just helps me sleep sometimes:)

Voyager2002

A couple of other things to help the budget:

Your household almost certainly now qualifies for Council Tax benefit, which would take care of one bill that you could do without;

Your husband is legally obliged to support his children: if necessary the CSA will collect the required amount direct from his wages and hand it over to you.

Hump

I think the link to the main mortgage arrears area is https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/18406369#Comment_18406369

Depth_Charge

Hi cas

Here is the link to the Mortgage Rescue Scheme thread I mentioned earlier (started by Angiepange)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1930931

As previously mentioned the MRS powers that be will expect people to have looked at everything as to a means of staying in the mortgaged property which will include income maximisation such as benefits & tax credits.

Someone has also mentioned possible future CSA payments which is a very good point as this was brought up by a solicitor representing a lender at a court hearing I attended relating to the Mortgage Rescue Scheme some months ago. CSA payments can make a huge difference to someones income however possible problems with CSA payments is where the other party may not co-operate / delays in administration / is self employed / on benefits / loss of employment etc meaning the stress and uncertainty goes on in the situation where possession / eviction is hanging over someone or families head.

The Mortgage Rescue Scheme can also be a long drawn out affair and can depend heavily on lender co-operation which in my experience is sometimes not exactly forthcoming on a number of fronts.

There is usually also the issue of dealing with remaining debts post Mortgage Rescue as the entrants Financial Statement / situation will be different from the pre rescue stage with a number of options possibly available. This can be an interesting experience on occasions especially where any 'previous' secured lender shortfall so called 'agreement' is concerned.

RecoveringAlcoholic

A friend went through MRS and as already mentioned it took ages to sort out.
She was left with very substantial shorfalls from her secured loans togethe with large unsecured consumer credit debt from buying "stuff". She would never have been able to repay these debts and the only solution was bankruptcy.

She now lives in the former matrimonial home with her two young children and is thrilled to just be paying rent to her housing association and living within her income.

Depth_Charge

RecoveringAlcoholic wrote: »

A friend went through MRS and as already mentioned it took ages to sort out.
She was left with very substantial shorfalls from her secured loans togethe with large unsecured consumer credit debt from buying "stuff". She would never have been able to repay these debts and the only solution was bankruptcy.

She now lives in the former matrimonial home with her two young children and is thrilled to just be paying rent to her housing association and living within her income.

Hi

Thanks for this

Yes, the Mortgage Rescue Scheme can turn out very well for people, change their lives for the better most definitely.

There can be very contentious issues around shortfalls however with some lenders, applications being held up as a result often causing extra stress and anxiety for the people going through the scheme.

It seems to me on occasions that certain lenders appear to want to re-write bankruptcy law and the standard debt advice procedure and very rarely dont try to object in some way at possession hearings.

The nonsense of some of these situations is that the lender would almost certainly end up with less if the homeowner chucked in the keys, found somewhere else to live and where appropriate just went bankrupt.

After all it is is a goverment run scheme, nobody is trying to pull any fast ones, just trying to keep people and families in their homes.

Applications to the scheme are well down with a massive underspend in the tens of millions I understand, so much so that the scheme looks like being extended for another year or two with its own original funding I am told, which is a somewhat stunning under achievement in these days of funding cuts if you ask me.

Changing the rules did not help at all in my opinion but those who voiced their concern (the people at the coal face) where not listened to as usual (they still arent being the last time I tried a few weeks ago).

Never mind, the Mortgage Rescue Scheme still is definitey worth considering in my opinion and the dwindling band will keep trying our best as always.