Please Help

myissues01

My friend isn't really good with anything like this and I'm trying to get as much information as I can...

My friend and her partner bought a house and got a joint loan, unfortunately he died so she is now having to pay it all back by herself. Her daughter is grown up and about to leave home her money she paid towards living there covered the loan repayment plan, even then my friend was scraping to get by! She's terrified she might have to sell her house. Surely this can't be right? Is there anything she can do to?

Thank you to anyone with any advice to help us out!! Greatly Appreciated!!

Caz3121

was there no life insurance to pay off the mortgage?
what income does your friend have?

Pixie5740

By joint loan do you mean that they purchased the property with a joint mortgage? Not that it particularly matter as either way as having a joint loan or joint mortgage with someone means both parties are jointly and severally responsible for servicing the debt. In other words there's no her half of the debt and his half, both of the are responsible for repaying the whole debt.

This is why it's important for people, especially couples to have life insurance in place. I suspect that as your friend is struggling to make the repayments that there was either no life insurance or inadequate life insurance in place.

Would your friend consider taking in a lodger when her daughter leaves home? The rent could help meet the repayments.

If your friend is struggling to meet the repayments then she should contact the mortgage lender to discuss her options. Long term it might be that unless your friend can increase her income (lodger, increase in salary) she might have to sell the property and downsize to something more affordable.

chanz4

knock knock sunday

dealer_wins

myissues01 wrote: »

My friend isn't really good with anything like this and I'm trying to get as much information as I can...

My friend and her partner bought a house and got a joint loan, unfortunately he died so she is now having to pay it all back by herself. Her daughter is grown up and about to leave home her money she paid towards living there covered the loan repayment plan, even then my friend was scraping to get by! She's terrified she might have to sell her house. Surely this can't be right? Is there anything she can do to?

Thank you to anyone with any advice to help us out!! Greatly Appreciated!!

She can rent somewhere.

bargainbetty

If it is a mortgage and she cannot afford it, then she has the option of getting a lodger, asking the bank to refinance the mortgage over a longer term, or selling up and moving to a smaller, more affordable place.

If it is an unsecured loan, then she can contact the bank about refinancing it over a longer period, taking in a lodger to increase her income, or go on a debt management plan to get her finances under control. This will affect her credit negatively for six years.

An unsecured loan is unlikely to force a sale on her home, but she needs to speak to the lender without further delay.