home owner , little help

shelby_

hello ! so please picture this , first time buyer , in a 2 year fixed rate repayment mortgage , on my own exciting hey !

unfortunately for me my mind is doing backflips ! so becoming a home owner at 33 has alot of positives !
right now looking long term at reality im terrifying myself !

im a single women 33 and hoping to settle down and have children of my own in the next few years , i am most possibly looking at worst case but i have to be realistic ...

say i meet someone partner moves in with me and we have a child in the next 18 months but then the inevitable happens and it all goes wrong ! partner leaves and im stuck as a single parent with a mortgage ...

i understand that housing benefit does not pay out for home owners , there is a mortgage scheme that does however it only covers the interest of your mortgage !

childcare fees i believe cost a absloute bomb ! even for partime so that would make going to work impossible as i also havent anyone else i could rely on to look after my child whilst at work !

This also brings me to the question about remortgaging ! if it gets to the end of my 2 year fixed and i am a single parent unable to work how would i ever remortgage ?

i am scared stiff of how myself and my child plus my mortgage would survive

my mortgage is just undergoing valuation so im hoping if my fears are confirmed i can still change my mind on my own flat ! any advice i would be very grateful !

Alice_Holt

Mortgage Protection Insurance?
https://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/mortgages/what-is-mortgage-protection-insurance-a912h5h1z67y

SMI is now a loan charged on your property, repayable on sale.
https://www.gov.uk/support-for-mortgage-interest

Invest in yourself to increase your options, employment and self-employment opportunities, and your income.
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/3-valuable-ways-to-invest-in-yourself.html

shelby_

thanks for your reply ! i believe that mortgage protection insurance ( life insurance )
only covers you in long term illness and death ,
this is a completely different situation im keen to know about all together , is there insurance that covers you for your mortgage if you end up as a single parent unable to work because of child care arrangements and costs ? housing benefit doesnt pay out , so what do people actually do ?

Voyager2002

There is nothing inevitable about a relationship break-up!


Every child has two parents, both of whom are financially liable. So an absent parent is obliged to pay child support.


Tax credits usually cover a hefty chunk of childcare costs.

shelby_

apologies , i have just caught up with your reply , SMI only pay out for the interest on the mortgage not your actual repayments , i am going to be in a repayment mortgage , my mortgage repayments being 328 a month

huckster

Sounds like your mind is doing overtime planning and thinking about things which might not be relevant.

If you are working and earning decent money, take out Mortgage protection or other Insurance cover, so if you lose your job, you have a policy that would cover some mortgage payments for a period. Go see a financial advisor.

If you are out of work, the benefits help with mortgage interest payments is only a loan, which is repayable. And you might have to wait months to receive help.

Don't have kids if you cannot afford them. Some people try to live on benefits to help pay towards looking after children and it is a nightmare for them. The help Government provides for childcare can make it easier to stay working, but there are still difficulties in finding suitable childcare providers and meeting all costs. Check website childcare choices.

Remember that if you do form a relationship, that any new partner moving in with you would become part of a benefit unit with you. If the partner is working on good money, there income as well as your own is considered and it might mean you are not eligible for any benefit awards. I.e. You have to live off your joint employment earnings.

shelby_

thank you i know i am worrying about things that havent happened yet , its just such a scary feild to get into , seems the goverment look after you if your renting but things are not so easy if you own your own home !

calcotti

None of us know the future and we can’t plan for everything. Insurance can help provide protection for some things such as ill health or unemployment - but of course has to be paid for (and self employed people can’t insure for unemployment). Obviously you can’t insure for choices such as having children.

The benefits system provides some support but it is less for homeowners/purchasers. If you were on a low income you would have access to Universal Credit and Council Tax Reduction (Universal Credit has replaced Tax Credits).

In respect of the mortgage you are right that a change of circumstances could make it difficult (or impossible) to remortgage but that doesn’t mean you would be without a mortgage - at the end of the fixed term you would normally get moved onto your lenders standard variable rate.

Live is scary. You are right to think about how you might manage but over thinking it is a recipe for paralysis (I say that as a bit of a worrier myself).

antrobus

Child maintenance.:)

Ames

It's really impossible to answer your question because the benefit system is changing all the time. No-one (especially the government!) knows what it will be in a couple of years time, let alone a decade down the line.