How bad could this potentially get?

poppasmurf_bewdley

Katem wrote: »

Great thank you -taff would the mortgage company have to go to court to get us evicted or can they say we need to get out after, for example two months of non-payment?

Most certainly they would. And you can go to court as well and ask that an eviction order isn't granted.

When I was in that situation, the judge granted an eviction order and stayed its implementation on condition that I paid the mortgage plus £50 per month towards the arrears, which I managed for almost a year until circumstances with my other half resulted in us letting the house go.

FireWyrm

Katem wrote: »

When I say living expenses, I mean essential things like gas/lecky etc. Which are as cheap as I can get it for our house (without actually walking around in the dark and not cooking).

I dont mean to be rude, but this is precisely one of those situations where walking around in the dark and making every penny count should most definately be on your mind. Granted, you only save small amounts, but it is truly shocking how much electricity is routinely wasted for instance. I mean that. We didnt realise how much until we got a monitor and started watching the graph. After a few weeks of seeing the cost of running a tumble dryer, you stop it. Same with anything else non-essential. You can save £80 a year on average simply by turning everything off at night.

As for walking around in the dark, perhaps not, but is it really necessary to have the living room well lit of an evening when a single energy saving spot light will do? These are the kinds of things you can change and since you are in an essentially, survival situation, these are the things you are going to have to do. Half of survival is about changing mindset. Now, you arnt trying to survive a week in the jungle, but you are trying to survive what for us in the West is the next best thing...an income drought.

Katem wrote: »

Other living expenses which I can't change like bus fares for the kids (£20 a week during school time, too far to walk)

How far precisely? I walked every day to secondary school which was three miles each way. Later, I got a second hand bike which improved things immeasurably, but the exercise did me no harm.

Katem wrote: »

, tv licence,

You most definately CAN do something about that, along with the accompanying pay-per-view TV package. If you watch catchup only, you are entitled to ditch the license.

Katem wrote: »

home/car insurance etc.

Perhaps. How many people are at home at any given moment? If someone is home most of the time, then this *might* be one of those emergency situations where contents insurance can be ditched. Building insurance is almost certainly a requirement of the mortgage, but some basic security will nullify the need for the other, just for the short term. You can reinstate it later when you are not scratching for pennies to feed yourself.

Katem wrote: »

My bills (mortgage, fuel, insurance, phone, internet, insurance, council tax etc) come to about 2700 per month.

Holy stinky stuff!!! :eek:

We need actual figures, but as a rule of thumb, if it isnt putting food in your belly or keeping a roof over your head, it goes. It's that simple.

Katem wrote: »

I am sure it's as pared back as it can be,

Bet it isnt.

Katem wrote: »

with the exception of a pension, which I am going to pay as long as I possibly can,

Nope. Dont stop, but reduce until you can get back on your feet. When you are back up again, increase the payments and make up the shortfall.

Katem wrote: »

but could save on that if absolutely necessary. I also have a life insurance policy I'm prepared to change to having no critical illness cover if really necessary but I feel twitchy about doing that.

I have no critical illness cover. It makes me twitchy too, but eating is far more important right now.

Katem wrote: »

All utilities are in credit and I want them to stay that way.

They count as savings right now. They can be used. You are fighting a fire, you dont put more fuel on it, you starve the flames.

Katem wrote: »

Partner does have some work at the moment but it is drying up.

Look for other work - anything, even if you dont want to do it. I once lifted 3 tonnes of sausages onto a freeze machine alone in one night shift. I did it because we needed the money and pay for a night shift was 30% higher than a day shift.

Katem wrote: »

All I really wanted to know was what would happen after our savings were used

Things go considerably more down hill, but you arnt there yet and I suggest that rather than being fatalistic, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and metaphorically give yourself a shake and a slap round the face. Your family needs you, you need to work together to get through this and when you do - you will be a better person for it. The biggest fear people have in a street fight is being hit, simply because most of us never experience that and we are afraid that we wont be able to get up again. Well, the fight is here, it is now, time to step up girl and do it.

Katem wrote: »

- would we be able to private rent (which has been answered), would the B/S have to go to court to chuck us out etc?

Yes. Usually after 2 months or so but it is a relatively drawn out process. In the meantime, you will be suprised at the leniency and latitude you get from creditors if you just EXPLAIN what is happening and ASK politely for help.

There are things like a charity fund run by British Gas to help pay energy bills, water bills have a similar thing I think. It isnt in the mortgage company's interest to throw you out either and you have children, so you wont be destitute - no one is in this country despite the propoganda - they just arnt as comfortable as they are used to.

Post an SOA as best as you can figure it and more suggestions will follow.

A starter for ten though....

How much do you spend on groceries? You can reduce it considerably by meal planning and forward thinking. I feed 5 on £250 a month but can and have done it for £120. That means I cook from scratch and there are no luxuries. You have to be ruthless, but then, this is a survival situation.

ChopinonaBudget

I follow Firewyrm's recommendation in posting an SOA; I bet the nice people on here can offer you concrete suggestions to cut your outgoings in ways you hadn't thought.

I wouldn't ditch contents insurance though, even in an emergency. I've been burgled whilst I was in the house. Asleep. With a small baby. Not a pleasant experience and I wasn't insured at the time. I've never been without insurance since.

FBaby

katem, why are feeling so negative about your husband finding another job within the next year? Is his job specialist, too much competition, he is on the wrong side of working age?

It seems a bit strange that if he had a decent job that paid enough to pay a large mortgage, that he would struggle so much to find anything, even if taking a significant cut, that meant that with your income, you could manage.

When_the_going_gets_tough

Katem visit adviceguide - the CAB website or the National Debtline site for advice on priority and non priority debts, and help with your mortgage. Other posters are right about making every penny count. Are you sure you are receiving the tax credits you may be entitled to? As others have said the mortgage co will have to take you to court, get a possession order then enforce it, so you are a long way from this at present. Would you be entitled to any council tax reduction - even if just briefly - this would depend on your savings.
LOng term with the equity from your house you would be able to pay 6-12 months rent up front so I think private renting would be possible even without a steady income. Once all your resourcesare depleted there is housing benefit, council tax reduction, many water authorities offer special schemes for low income families, child tax credit, and if applicable job seekers allowance if all work dries up. Just for a flavour - the joint JSA rate is about £110 per week. Many people survive on these benefits - it is by no means fun but please don't panic, you will not be destitute.
I think careful budgetting is your way forward, plan ahead so you can see exactly how longyour savings will last and make every penny work hard for you. The very best of luck with it all.

pineapple123

Katem, cant really give any advice other than whats been given but It seems to me that you are very sensable. You have alot of expense every month but its really good that you are addressing your financial situation now while you have time. Its going to be tough and hopefully with the help of benefits and your job and/or hubby getting any paid job and working to a tight budget your get through this.
Good luck.

dancingfairy

I honestly don't think it is as bad as you are fearing. Your husband will hopefully get a new job soon. You are starting a new job, you have significant savings (most people on this section of the board are in serious debt and don't have any money saved for an emergency, let alone a years worth).
Could you ask the bank/building society for a payment holiday?
Would your husband qualify for jobseekers after a certain amount of time? would he qualify for income-based job seekers allowance? He must be entitled to something surely?
Do you have things you could sell? maybe car boot or ebay?
Definitely look into where you could save but I don't think you need to panic just yet.
In answer to your question about the house, it could take months if not a year for you to be evicted (from the point you start running into difficulties/paying late/defaulting etc). Different banks and building societies have different rules and procedures but they would have to take you to court and then appoint bailiffs. They also have to show that they are being fair to you. Some people on the bankruptcy board seem to wait up to a year and that's when they actually want the house to get repossessed so the debt falls into their bankruptcy or even don't care what happens to their house.
I understand you are probably in shock and worried but honestly I do believe you'll be fine.
df

tgroom57

Tax rebate - your husband may be due a tax refund if he was earning and then his pay suddenly dropped. Tax refunds won't happen automatically. See if you and he can work out what he is due as refund, and pursue the tax office for it.

Get husband registered on Linked In. It is a place to showcase his cv and get references listed on his profile, and also keep in touch with references from previous work. LinkedIn is a good point of contact for recruiters.

Could your husband do contract work away from home? Although not best idea it is good as a stop gap measure, B&b during the week and 2 days at home the weekend. I negotiated mine to travel up Monday mornings, back Friday night. Something to think about. The advantage of contract work is that it isn't classed as self-employed which means if a person does some contract work and then it stops they can claim JSA.

Things you can cut back on - Sky subscription (if you have it), critical illness cover. Check the coucil tax savings rules to see when you might qualify for a reduction. Ebay selling is ok if you're not using the stuff, but you can save more by switching your buying to ebay, than you can by selling.

Mortgage- payment holiday or see if it can be transferred to interest-only. I'm not sure that would help much, but it's how I've got mine. The rules for JSA are constantly changing but it used to be they'd pay mortgage interest after a certain time unemployed. I don't know what the time delay is now.

Good luck.

roobee13

Hi Katem,

I had a mortgage with Northern Rock too, they are terrible aren't they!

I'm sure in my T&Cs there was a section saying if you paid on time and in full (or overpaid) for XX years you were entitled to a payment holiday of a month or two. Would this be an option for you to give you a bit of breathing space? I don't know that much about it but might be worth looking through your mortgage terms and seeing if its possible. Failing that, did another poster suggest going interest only for a while?

There is some fab advice on here, fingers crossed it all works out ok for you. Is your OH in a specialist field or would he be able to find something else to at least tide you over while he looks for something more stable and better paid.

Apologes if these suggestions have already been made.

Good luck OP!!

retepetsir

Please post an SOA if you can

Can he just get a temporary job whilst looking elsewhere for his profession? i.e. working in a supermarket or admin in a local business? Every little helps.