DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

stars2017

Hello all, new to this. We have a dmp with payplan, we have 21k remaining, paying £270 a month, also have a mortgage with 98k remaining over 13 years, the mortgage has just come off the fixed rate and is now 2.25%, the house is valued at 160k, and w were thinking we may be able to re mortgage and offer lump sum, but from what we read, it looks like as our credit file is so poor, due to the dmp payments, that we would not be able to do this. Just wondering if there is anything else we could do, other than selling the house. We have two children, both work full time and are 33 and 38. Thank you, any advice, help would be great.

sourcrates

Triangle wrote: »

So just to clarify you advise continue paying Argos? Should I call just to confirm they still own it?

Thanks again, much appreciated

I would ignore Zink.

Give Argos a ring just to clarify ownership of your account.

Then there can be no doubt eh !!

January2015

stars2017 wrote: »

Hello all, new to this. We have a dmp with payplan, we have 21k remaining, paying £270 a month, also have a mortgage with 98k remaining over 13 years, the mortgage has just come off the fixed rate and is now 2.25%, the house is valued at 160k, and w were thinking we may be able to re mortgage and offer lump sum, but from what we read, it looks like as our credit file is so poor, due to the dmp payments, that we would not be able to do this. Just wondering if there is anything else we could do, other than selling the house. We have two children, both work full time and are 33 and 38. Thank you, any advice, help would be great.

Hi and welcome to DMP land - it's not such a bad place to be (I love my DMP )

I personally would not remortgage and convert unsecured debt to secured debt. I've done this a couple of times and still ended up with masses of unsecured debt (because I ran more debt up). It's easy to say you won't do it - I said that and so did loads of others on this forum.

I wouldn't advise selling the house either. As you are on a DMP the house is a priority debt and the mortgage will always be paid before any unsecured debts are allocated money. Similarly your living costs will be allocated before any unsecured debts get their share of the remaining pot.

Life on a DMP is not so bad. Work out your budget so that you do have a bit of wriggle room to save for emergencies and the odd nicety, but other than that you know that you will be debt free at the end of the DMP (because you won't be able to get any credit whilst on the DMP) and in 13 years you will be mortgage free as well. You will both only be 46 and 51. You will be totally debt free and apart from living expenses your income will be yours to do as you please with. That will be amazing.

If you remortage you are increasing the secured debt, probably extending the life of the mortgage and seriously you will not be helping yourselves.

If you sell the house to clear the mortgage and debts, what good would that do you. Compare what you pay on your mortgage to the cost of renting. Renting means you will never reach a point where you no longer have to make payments. When your mortgage completes, the house is yours and you no longer have to make those horrible monthly payments. Selling now and hoping to buy again at a later date is also not a realistic option. Not only will the house prices rise, but if your credit file is already trashed because of being on a DMP then you would struggle to get a mortgage at a good rate. As you already have a mortgage you are more likely to be able to negotiate a good deal for a fixed term mortgage (if you want to). Most lenders will do this as you are not borrowing more money.

My advice is stick with the DMP, do not add unsecured debt to a mortgage and just let the unsecured creditors wait for their money - however long that takes on your DMP. Keep the house and look forward to being mortgage free. If you budget is too tight on the DMP then just revisit it and make it more realistic so that you can afford to live.

Sazzie23

stars2017 wrote: »

Hello all, new to this. We have a dmp with payplan, we have 21k remaining, paying £270 a month, also have a mortgage with 98k remaining over 13 years, the mortgage has just come off the fixed rate and is now 2.25%, the house is valued at 160k, and w were thinking we may be able to re mortgage and offer lump sum, but from what we read, it looks like as our credit file is so poor, due to the dmp payments, that we would not be able to do this. Just wondering if there is anything else we could do, other than selling the house. We have two children, both work full time and are 33 and 38. Thank you, any advice, help would be great.

Hi welcome aboard the great DMP bus:beer:

I agree with January, remortgage to get rid of the debts is a bad idea, have the tshirt twice for this always ran up the debt after. Changing habits first is my advice. You should be able to switch your mortgage with the same lender to a different rate though if you need to, but you might not get the best rate. Nothing wrong with trying though. Switching lender is likely impossible, I tried it about 18 months ago and not even the stepchange broker could help. However am happy with the deal I am on with my existing lender so it's not that bad. For me the mortgage is about security, I should always have somewhere to live and won't have to move on whim of a landlord.

I owe about £17k now after 3 years on DMP and about 10 to go (sigh), but I'm hopeful mortgage will be paid up in less than 4 then I'll be able to get the DFD down further.

Maybe think about moving your focus to saving up for f&fs with a view to picking the debts off one at a time?

Saz

sourcrates

stars2017 wrote: »

Hello all, new to this. We have a dmp with payplan, we have 21k remaining, paying £270 a month, also have a mortgage with 98k remaining over 13 years, the mortgage has just come off the fixed rate and is now 2.25%, the house is valued at 160k, and w were thinking we may be able to re mortgage and offer lump sum, but from what we read, it looks like as our credit file is so poor, due to the dmp payments, that we would not be able to do this. Just wondering if there is anything else we could do, other than selling the house. We have two children, both work full time and are 33 and 38. Thank you, any advice, help would be great.

Hi Stars,

You will find that unsecured creditors always shout the loudest, when your behind with paying them, i think thats one reason that drives debtors to consider secured lending, just to shut them up basically.

The thing is, when it comes to budgets, as with most things in life, there is a pecking order, the unsecured creditors know they are bottom of the list, thats why they make the most fuss, so they dont get ignored.

All it takes to shut them up is to remind them of there position in the pecking order occasionally, they know what your telling them is the truth, as its all contained within the "FSA Handbook on fair debt collection practices", these are guidelines set down by the regulator, that creditors have to adhere to, otherwise they risk losing there consumer credit licence, in other words, being put out of business.

Budgeting correctly, and saving up for settlement offers really is the right way to go, if your debts are a few years old, consider doing CCA requests, to check if they have the legal paperwork to enforce them, i would explore every other avenue before putting more debt on my mortgage (again !!) !!

CP2016

stars2017 wrote: »

Hello all, new to this. We have a dmp with payplan, we have 21k remaining, paying £270 a month, also have a mortgage with 98k remaining over 13 years, the mortgage has just come off the fixed rate and is now 2.25%, the house is valued at 160k, and w were thinking we may be able to re mortgage and offer lump sum, but from what we read, it looks like as our credit file is so poor, due to the dmp payments, that we would not be able to do this. Just wondering if there is anything else we could do, other than selling the house. We have two children, both work full time and are 33 and 38. Thank you, any advice, help would be great.

Hi Stars, I pondered the same things myself as I started my DMP and asked the same question on a previous version of this thread and the advice I got was the same as everyone else has already given you. I thought that extending my mortgage or selling up was a nice quick way to get everything sorted out and really that’s the problem, it seems quick and it seems easy. I would have learned nothing and would have been back in debt again in a few years. Instead, over the past five years I’ve paid my mortgage every month and made inroads into my debts. In 2018 all the default markers will start to drop off my credit file and by 2019 they will be all gone and in December 2019 my consumer debts will be repaid in full. I will then have a clean credit record, all my debts paid and five years left on my mortgage.

Taking on a DMP isn’t the easy option, especially at first, but it will get easier and when your DMP ends in six or seven years you will have repaid your debts, continued to pay your mortgage and (if your creditors default you at the appropriate time) a credit record clear of defaults ready to start the next chapter of your life.

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to you all

Great to see everyone continuing with their debt busting and hello to all the Newbies :hello:

Just wondered if it is normal at this time of year to feel a little low about my debts?

Seeing loads of things in the sales but not being able to afford them, struggling to find any cheap days out with the kids, not being able to treat ourselves to a few nice things

On a plus note, we have paid nearly £5000 off our debts via our DMP in the last 12 months, have budgeted for Christmas without having to rely on credit and are sticking to our monthly budget (just!).

It just feels tough sometimes and I just wish we could be a bit more impulsive at times and go out for a meal, or take the kids bowling or to the cinema without having to account for every penny. Hate the fact that any days out cost over £50 these days.

Sorry to whinge - just having an 'off' day today!

Take care,

BDFSH x

[Deleted User]

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere wrote: »

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to you all

Great to see everyone continuing with their debt busting and hello to all the Newbies :hello:

Just wondered if it is normal at this time of year to feel a little low about my debts?

Seeing loads of things in the sales but not being able to afford them, struggling to find any cheap days out with the kids, not being able to treat ourselves to a few nice things

On a plus note, we have paid nearly £5000 off our debts via our DMP in the last 12 months, have budgeted for Christmas without having to rely on credit and are sticking to our monthly budget (just!).

It just feels tough sometimes and I just wish we could be a bit more impulsive at times and go out for a meal, or take the kids bowling or to the cinema without having to account for every penny. Hate the fact that any days out cost over £50 these days.

Sorry to whinge - just having an 'off' day today!

Take care,

BDFSH x

Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year too, BDFSH:beer:

I'm so sorry that you are feeling 'down' at the moment especially after doing so well with paying off a lot of your debt during the year. Plus, you've had Christmas without any more debt, and I'm sure it felt extra good for that. You should be proud of yourself and I hope that you are:)


It must be really hard when you have children that you feel aren't getting what you'd like to give them but I honestly don't think children care all that much especially if they are younger and not having to 'compete' with more well-off friends.


Just remember that, thanks to the efforts you're making now, in a very few years time you'll be debt free:j and will be able to do whatever you want. I suspect though that, like a lot of people who have been on DMPs for a few more years than you, you'll develop a different relationship with money and that 'stuff' gets to matter less as time goes by.


Please don't apologise, you aren't 'whingeing'. We all feel 'down' from time to time and this time of year isn't always a happy one for everyone. Please feel free to come on here whenever you like and say exactly what you like. We're all here to help each other through what can sometimes seem like a long dark tunnel. Just think there's a brand new year to embark on, with each DMP payment taking you nearer to debt-freedom.


Take care:kisses3:

January2015

Hi everyone and Happy New Year :beer:
I just wanted to say, especially for those new to DMP land, that I cannot believe how quickly the last two years have flown by It was two years ago, in January 2015, that we had our LBM and plunged into the life changing world of a DMP. It was one year ago that we took the plunge and went self managed.

For those just starting their DMP journies, I can honestly say it was the best thing we could have done. We are far happier on our DMP than we had been in a long, long time. It's strengthened our relationship as a couple because we are both honest with each about money and because we both think about money and what we want/need rather than just what we want/will have on a credit card.

When we started we were looking at a 9 year DMP:eek: If we carry on the path we are on, that is still more or less the case, but we have plans for full and final settlement offers in the next few years (F&Fs). We aim to clear the debts much sooner than the original 9 years calculated by StepChange.

We have re-jigged our budget since starting, and we now retain more funds in our budget and our creditors get less. This gives us flexibility to have the occasional treat, but also to save towards those F&Fs. As someone who only ever spent on borrowed money it's amazing how good I've become at being obsessed at watching the saving pot grow :rotfl:

Finally, I really cannot thank the regulars on this forum enough - you know who you all are - without you lot I know we would not have got this far. You answer all the questions, you keep us sane and motivated to continue. Seeing your progress and achievements is enough to keep us spurred on (god I wish I was as motivated at weightwatchers, but that's another story!)

Wishing you all a happy, debtbusting 2017. Thank you for being my virtual friends. You are all amazing :beer:

[Deleted User]

January2015 wrote: »

Finally, I really cannot thank the regulars on this forum enough - you know who you all are - without you lot I know we would not have got this far. You answer all the questions, you keep us sane and motivated to continue. Seeing your progress and achievements is enough to keep us spurred on (god I wish I was as motivated at weightwatchers, but that's another story!)

Wishing you all a happy, debtbusting 2017. Thank you for being my virtual friends. You are all amazing :beer:

January, you are one of the stalwarts of this thread, always so helpful and supportive to everyone. I've been on my DMP for nearly 2 years longer than you but I've still learned so much from you:A