Mortgage broker or debt advice

bilbo_bobbins

I would really appreciate some help with a situation that is consuming our lives.
My wife has become disabled over the last two years with various health problems and our debt has increased a bit due to her being unable to work. We have never missed a payment but know that we are unable to claw things back.
Should we sell our house and use the equity for our debts?
Or would we not be able to get a mortgage due to our change in circumstances?
Is debt advice from a specialist the way to go?
Can we stay and use equity release?

I really am unsure what to do for the best and my wife has mental health issues too which makes the situation even more stressful.

I appreciate any information posted.
Thanks in advance.

Debtslayer

There are too many unknowns for anyone on here to give a specific answer
How much do you owe?
Are your debts manageable?
How much do you owe on mortgage?
How much is your property worth?

These questions need to be answered first

bilbo_bobbins

We have about 40k of equity in the house which will cover the debt,but with me being the sole provider now will mortgage companies turn us away?

Tigsteroonie

bilbo_bobbins wrote: »

We have about 40k of equity in the house which will cover the debt,but with me being the sole provider now will mortgage companies turn us away?

You'd need to provide details of income, and value of house, for anybody to be able to tell. £40k equity in a £100k house is a bit different from £40k equity in a £600k house.

AnotherJoe

And also do you currently have a mortage, and what is your age?

frugalsmurf

Having been in your position. We sold up and paid of debt a then rented.
Prices in that area shot up in the next 3 years and we were priced out of the market. (Which is gutting when you see your old house sell for 60k more)

We couldn't afford the debt repayments so felt we had no choice. I now regret it as we didn't look in to any other options and we panicked.

I'd recommend you speak to a broker to see what your options are with remortaging. Don't do anything without really considering the options and the future implications.

Look at local rents-are they much cheaper than the mortgage?
Will your credit score be a hindrance when you rent ? (We had a ccj but spoke to the landlord and paid a higher deposit and didn't have to do a credit check-but I think that's rare)

Are you ever going to be in a position to buy again? Does this matter to you or are you happy renting.?

Will the debts reoccur again or were they caused by the position you're in?
As you can only sell up once

Although it stopped a bad situation getting worse for us, it eased money issues which were causing even more health issues....it's not a decision to take lightly.

Good luck and I hope you get lots of good advice on here

MortgageMamma

Hi - first of all I'm really sorry to hear of your situation. I've been in a similar situation where I got extremely ill and could not work for 8 years and we rent now as a result of that. It does hurt ones pride a little but at the time it was the right decision, although now I am working really hard to save a house deposit again!

The problem with physical illness which then triggers mental illness is you just can't see how long it will go on or if your partner will ever recover. The question you really need to ask yourself is how long can you sustain things as they are if your wife doesn't recover? If she never recovers will you have to finish work to care for her?

There is more to life than owning a property as has been said by Frugalsmurf and often when you have big changes like someone becoming very ill you have to work hard to shift your priorities (mentally). Relieving yourself of debt could help your wife get better with her depression and you can start living life again, But private renting can have challenges so I would recommend you get onto the social housing list for your area and also on the housing associations lists. That way if you are able to buy again further down the line you could look at shared ownership and buy property in "segments" without having to move again.

You don't say if you have children or if you receive any sickness/disability benefits for your wife?

In order to help you by looking at options now, we need figures.

House value
outstanding mortgage amount and payment
outstanding mortgage term
Amount of debts and total monthly repayments

your income including any benefits and type of job you have (employed/self employed/contractor)

an idea if its possible for your wife to recover and begin to work again in future.

also do you have payment protection insurance on your mortgage?

Once we have this and get an idea how your situation is then we can help you decide on whether to look at debt advice, remortgage and consolidate the debts or some other way to reduce your outgoings. The aim of this is to help you stay in your owned home if possible.


MM

bilbo_bobbins

Thank you for sharing mm,I know it is difficult to open up about personal things and I'm quite wary about it myself.
My wife also suffers from fibromyalgia as well as other conditions so I understand how you must feel on a day to day basis.
I have spoken to a few friends yesterday about a mortgage broker that they have both used,so I think I will seek her advice first as she won't charge until we purchase a product then I will take it from there.
Hopefully I will understand what options are best for us this week. But I still welcome any advice as people on the forum are so helpful and I appreciate your time and effort.
Cheers

MortgageMamma

bilbo_bobbins wrote: »

Thank you for sharing mm,I know it is difficult to open up about personal things and I'm quite wary about it myself.
My wife also suffers from fibromyalgia as well as other conditions so I understand how you must feel on a day to day basis.
I have spoken to a few friends yesterday about a mortgage broker that they have both used,so I think I will seek her advice first as she won't charge until we purchase a product then I will take it from there.
Hopefully I will understand what options are best for us this week. But I still welcome any advice as people on the forum are so helpful and I appreciate your time and effort.
Cheers

Good plan, always best to get a professional on the case but remember you can always come back to this forum and ask for our opinion on whatever solution your broker comes up with. I would also take some advice from a debt advisory services as well and compare options this one is good http://www.stepchange.org/