Birmingham Midshires Mortgage (2008)

Cinders81

Help! - The thought of calling BM regarding my mortgage is filling me with dread & anxiety already. Previously they have been so unhelpful & dismissive of my concerns - It would be a relief If I could get through to someone who could help me tackle my current situation. Due re-structuring at work I have had to take a cut in my hours - I've struggled for months & now I can no longer pay my mortgage. I have decided that I will have to sell the property but this may take 6mths to a year. I want to speak to BM about reducing my mortgage to interest only until its sold if this is an option?! I know mortgage providers aren't keen to do this, but it's the only short term solution I can think of!. Has anyone had any experience with BM? or how to best approach this? After my previous dealings with them I just want to be prepared as best I can. Thanks

ACG

Anything less than the contractual payments (even if the lender agrees to it) will likely result in missed/late payments on your credit report - so bare that in mind when paying anything less.

Why have you put off selling the property until the point of being unable to make the payments? Not that is matters, you are where you are. Ultimately they will have no option to accept a reduced payment if you can not pay more, but there will probably be letters coming through the door that will talk of arrears and repossession. As far as I am aware they can not stop those letters as you will get to a certain point where they want to take you to court (assuming you have not sold it soon enough) and your argument could be that they did not send the letters out so they can not repossess.

Cinders81

Thank you for your reply. It's too long a story to explain to you why I have put off selling, my circumstances have been changeable, up until recently I had been working towards/promised a substantial pay rise at work which would have meant that I could easily take on the mortgage on my own. Also the fear of not getting "back on the ladder", or being "homeless". Thanks, I have since contacted them to discuss my options. I've been asked to provide a breakdown on my incoming/outgoings first.

getmore4less

you would benefit form a post on debtfreewannabe to have a look at your finances

you will need to do a SOA for dealing with the lenders so you might as well get it looked at first.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76
http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

ACG

Sorry, I did mean to sound like I was delving/being nosey - it was one of those questions more to ask yourself (which reading it back sounds condescending - it is not supposed to).

As I said, just bare in mind anything below your contractual payments will be reflected on yoru credit report regardless of whether or not BM agree to it. That will affect future mortgage applications, it should not prevent you getting a mortgage but will cost you more.

MortgageMamma

I know its probably not what you want to hear right now, but don't worry if you come off the housing ladder. There is more to life than owning a property - like being able to LIVE your life without too many worries.

It might be a good time to apply to your social housing or a local housing association to see if you can be helped out. Sometimes rents with social landlords are a lot cheaper than private landlords. Private renting isn't always straightforward and not always more affordable although you could qualify for help with housing costs.

I've put a link below to a website that will help you work out if you will be eligible for benefit assistance once you have sold your property.

http://WWW.entitled.2.co.uk

Cinders81

Thanks , that's really helpful. I live in Edinburgh & have recently started to look at Shared Ownership providers & similar products out there. Not sure if I qualify yet but worth a look into. ⭐️

Cinders81

Its ok, I didn't think you were being nosey. I understand why you may think "Why?" . I was trying to keep my post brief , without delving into the finer details /history of me trying to maintain the house. I'm really conscious of keeping a good credit score, so I'll avoid missed payments at all " costs" . Thanks for your advice as I say , grateful for any guidance. ⭐️