no way out

susand56

My house is in negative equity I also have other debts secured and have been paying off for the past 7 years with a debt management plan. I have spent £2000 this year on essential repairs and need to spend a lot more as the roof and gutters are leaking causing damp and the bathroom is barely serviceable and needs replacing. I work long hours at 2 jobs but the state of the house is causing health problems and I feel totally hopeless. If i sell I wont get enough to pay off the mortgage, and nobody would buy it in the state its in. I cant borrow anymore to pay for the repairs as I am not allowed under the terms of my debt management plan and if I could borrow I couldnt make the repayments. I feel like running away. Has anybody else been in my situation and did you manage to find a way out

Lips_and_Lashes

I didn't want to read and run but there is always a way out, no matter how daunting it might seem right now.

Someone else will be along shortly to offer you some advice!

Murphy2011

Hi there, have you spoken to your DMP provider or are you self managed? Might be worth a chat with Stepchange of similar got a bit of advice?

Also as you sound as if you are trying to cope with this on your own, any friends or family yo help/talk to? If not don't be afraid to call Samaritans, it's so good just to have someone on the end of the phone

Good luck and I agree with previous poster, it will get better x

phoenixx

I agree with pp. Your situation will improve. When our roof needed work last year, Step Change reduced our monthly payment for a few months until we sorted it out. My OH and I have been in utter despair in the past over debt problems, but there is so much support out there that we got through. We have been weeks from repossession (couple of years ago) but now no arrears and keeping up mortgage payments. Our kitchen is grim; our downstairs loo is in desperate need of replacement and we drive an elderly car but we are not in the desperate place we have been in. I hope you talk to everyone who can help and reach a solution.

patman99

susand56 if you post a SoA on here, we, as a collective, may be able to offer some really good advice on cutting costs and freeing-up enough cash to get the roof repaired at least.

A couple of ideas from me -

1. Rent out your driveway - works if you have a drive and live near a town centre/business centre with little parking/hospital with staff having to pay to park.

2. Take in a lodger (or rent a room to a student) - you can earn £65 p/w (I believe) without having to pay Tax.

3. If you have a garden, try growing your own veggies. Seeds are cheap.

Sazzie23

Hi Susan


Sorry to hear of you troubles, I sympathise as I am also in DMP and the house has been neglected, the cooker doesn't work, the sofa needs replacing, fascia boards are rotten etc, fortunately appears reasonable structurally but I can see myself in your position in a few years (and I'll still be in DMP).


My way of dealing with is my grateful diary - sorry its more of a psycological suggestion than a practical financial one. I look each day at things I don't like and find something related that I'm grateful for. It helps me not panic and want to rush off and spend money that is saved for real emergencies.


The DMP mutual support thread on this forum is a useful resource for help and support and maybe someone over there will have additional helpful suggestions on how to proceed.


Hope this helps, and remember that you are doing a good thing in repaying your creditors and its not supposed to be easy.


xx

thewhiteavenger

What is the total of your debt in the dmp?

How much per month do you pay to the dmp?

Who is it with?

moneyistooshorttomention

How much longer will it be before you have repaid all your debts? At some point they will be paid back, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I am rather coming round to the idea of "gratefulness thoughts", not as in preventing positive thinking and action to improve circumstances, but to remember things could be worse.

The other day I read about that conjoined baby/babies that had been born (?) and thought "That poor person, having to go through life with another head on their body and another person living in that head too!!". Or reading about the way women are treated as lesser beings and restricted so much in some of the Middle Eastern or African countries (ie "At least I'm not being ordered to walk around in a yashmak and told I shouldn't be doing a job/shouldn't have male friends/shouldn't listen to music or dance").

Ellieseleven

Hi Susan,

Sorry to hear about your situation but I agree with Sazzie, the DMP mutual support thread offers some great help and advice so might be worth popping over there.

We too are on a DMP and it is hard to maintain the house whilst paying off debts. Ours is structurally sound but there are plenty of jobs that need doing cosmetically. It might be worth speaking to your DMP provider as others have said to get your roof fixed.

Ellie xx