Utterly desperate and totally scared

Dizzy_Imp

I'm sure many many people are going through what we are experiencing due to the COVID-19 situation and so I'm not really expecting anyone to be able to offer help, but it's got to the stage where there seems to be no way of getting out of the hell we are in.

This is a bit of a long and involved situation so I will understand if any readers nod off and I'm not looking for sympathy, just the best way to deal with our current situation.

As a self employed person, my dog daycare and boarding business has pretty much dwindled to zero due to the coronavirus and until people go back to work and or start taking holidays again, my income remains unlikely to recover.  My partner is currently still working full-time as a key worker, so I am currently managing the homeschooling of two small children and a rural small-holding on my own.  Due to his income I am unable to claim UC or any other benefits except for child benefit.  We were flooded a few years ago and are still struggling with debt from that and have a tenant in our old house who us now saying she can't pay any rent, despite being in receipt of UC and support from her ex-husband.

We are totally maxed out on our credit cards and a consolidation loan we have been approved in principle for is on hold as there are no surveyors currently working in our area for a valuation on our house.  I've asked if another kind of valuation can be done, but due to our location, type and age of our house apparently this is not possible, so the loan has just been put on hold for a fortnight.

I literally have no money to pay bills, buy food for us and/or the animals, pay for oil to heat the house, run or insure the car and I don't know what to do.  I cannot get through to any of my credit card providers.  I'm currently on hold (and have been for over an hour) to Barclaycard and all the advice online assumes you can increase credit limits, which I know we wont be allowed to do due to level of debt.  I have asked for mortgage holidays on the houses, but this month's payment was still taken this morning, so clearly that wasn't done in time and I'm now at the point of throwing in the towel.

Is there anything I should be doing/can do to get us through this awful situation? I can't think straight any more. Thank you for reading, if you got this far x

EimearF

First take a breath, its only money, and its fixable.
DO NOT CONSOLIDATE CREDIT CARDS ON TO YOUR HOUSE!!! Cancel that loan! You are taking unsecured debt and making it secured. 
You say your husband is working full time, where is his salary going?
Can you put up a statement of affairs? Detailing bills and outgoings - a sticky on the main page should have a copy you can fill in.
Once we see that we can make recommendations and give you any help we can. 
Everyone on here has been in bad situations and are proof that everyhting is fixable. 

lordmountararat

What a horrible position to be in; can you ask family for help? Perhaps your tenant can be persuaded (in a non-threatening way) to pay something towards the rent.

EssexHebridean

OK - firstly - as Eimear says, take a breath. Secondly - as also said there, converting unsecured debt to secured is in nearly all cases a hideously bad idea. Now you *might* be an exception to that rule, but then again you most likely aren't. Stick that idea on the back burner for now....no, further back than that, even.

Now - next step - SOA, statement of Affairs The link to the calculator we use is in my signature below, so open that up, then gather together a year's worth of card & bank statements, and grab a cuppa, then sit yourselves down (yes - both of you, this is a joint problem, and the solution will be a joint solution) and work through the SOA filling in all the categories. It's important that it reflects how things are right now - so ignore what you think you "should" be spending, or what you imagine we "expect" to see - concentrate on the here and now. Don't say you are setting aside money for things that you aren't - and make clear whether things like car insurance are paid in monthly instalments. Once you've done, hit the "format for MSE" option and then paste the result into this thread and we'll take a look. 

One thing I will pretty much promise you - we WILL have seen worse. Probably a lot worse. And another, while I think of it - you will initially feel sick looking at the big picture, but pretty rapidly that feeling will be replaced by a sense of relief that you at least know what you're dealing with.

One final thought based on what you have said so far - is the rented property on a mortgage? If so apply for the three month payment holiday - it will buy you time to sort out what can be expected from the tenant, aside from anything else. (Just spotted that you have already done this - although this month's payment has gone. Had you had confirmation of the holidays being approved? If so then it may be that they will repay the current month's payments)

comeandgo

How long have you been self employed, have you been submitting tax returns and were you making any profit?

Willing2Learn

Another vote for you posting up your completed SOA into this thread.  Then we can see your monthly income, monthly expenses, debts and assets, and we can advise accordingly. 

Dizzy_Imp

Thank you for your replies - I have calmed down a bit since posting, but I am still teetering on the edge.
I will do an SOA, but at the moment, without knowing what, if any, rental money will be coming in from our tenant, it's a bit more like guesswork on the income side of things.  Until 7th/8th the situation will be rather unclear.  I'm a natural worrier - I need to be in control and be able to plan and at the moment I can't.   It is terrifying me.

I can gather together all the info on expenditure while I wait to see what money is coming in...cuppa needed...

EssexHebridean

Put in the income you can be certain of, and leave anything else out. That way you are working on a "worst case scenario" which may prove to be worse than things actually are. 

There are a lot of people here who entirely get anxiety around financial matters - you're among those who understand! 

fatbelly

I hope you've got the message - don't move nonpriority unsecured debt to priority secured debt.
Now that tenants are protected from eviction, I don't think the government envisaged those that could pay refusiing to pay.
There is nothing to stop you issuing a Section 21 notice and at least show your intent provided you meet the bullet point terms here:

https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/section-21-and-section-8-notices

When you talk about debt from when the house was flooded, is that the credit card debt or some other form of debt?

Fireflyaway

Look at what you do have. Look through the cupboards and freezer and make meals from what you already have. 
Definitely don't consolidate any debts, it's just moving it about, not actually paying it off. Creditors can wait so stop any credit card payments and ensure you feed yourself and keep a roof over your head. Yeah your credit score might drop but so what. I'd suggest looking for some temporary work. Supermarkets are hiring so could you get a couple of evening or weekend shifts in? The extra money will help but so will the feeling that you are taking control. 
You know, it seems scary now but this will pass. You will come out the other side. 

Dizzy_Imp

OK, so here's the SOA with a worst case scenario and only my income for a Breakfast Club supervisor at primary school and no rental income or dog boarding fees. How does it look?

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 2

Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details

Monthly income after tax................ 0

Partners monthly income after tax....... 1900

Benefits................................ 137.6

Other income............................ 0

Total monthly income.................... 2037.6

Monthly Expense Details

Mortgage................................ 700

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 568.36

Rent.................................... 0

Management charge (leasehold property).. 186

Council tax............................. 220

Electricity............................. 146.57

Gas..................................... 0

Oil..................................... 167

Water rates............................. 15

Telephone (land line)................... 36.49

Mobile phone............................ 41.82

TV Licence.............................. 13.2

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 72

Internet Services....................... 20

Groceries etc. ......................... 350

Clothing................................ 10

Petrol/diesel........................... 85

Road tax................................ 26

Car Insurance........................... 47.55

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 0

Other child related expenses............ 70.20

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 30

Buildings insurance..................... 110

Contents insurance...................... 35.97

Life assurance ......................... 0

Other insurance......................... 3.49

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60

Haircuts................................ 10

Entertainment........................... 34.34

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 30

Kennel name fee......................... 2

Overdraft fees.......................... 21

Commercial waste fee.................... 25

Home boarding licence................... 37.50

Business Insurance...................... 9.46

Diving Membership & Insurance........... 21.25

Audiobooks subscription ................ 7.99

School Lottery.......................... 4.34

Landlord Insurance...................... 24.41

Animal feed............................. 64

Dog food................................ 312

Total monthly expenses.................. 3637.94

Assets

Cash.................................... 0

House value (Gross)..................... 850000

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 15855

Other assets............................ 10000

Total Assets............................ 875855

Secured & HP Debts

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Mortgage...................... 156000...(700)......0

Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 775.88...(97.36)....0

BTL Mortgage...................293000...(471)......2.63

Total secured & HP debts...... 449775.8.-.........-   

Unsecured Debts

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Van Lease......................15855.....280.5.....17.9

10K Loan.......................7785......226.......14.3

Halifax CCard..................4264.99...55........18.9

NW Overdraft 2.................400.......0.........0

Hitachi personal loan..........7654......226.1.....14.2

Very...........................16.25.....16.25.....0

Barclaycard 2..................15987.....348.......6.9

Tesco CCard....................4200......120.......18.9

NW Overdraft 1.................2200......0.........0

MBNA C/Card....................4465.66...75........18.9

Santander CCard................3290.15...75........18.9

Barclaycard 1..................16489.....404.......18.9

HMRC CTC Repayments ...........420.......0.........0

Total unsecured debts..........83027.05..1825.85...-  

Monthly Budget Summary

Total monthly income.................... 2,037.6

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,637.94

Available for debt repayments........... -1,600.34

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,825.85

Amount short for making debt repayments. -3,426.19

Personal Balance Sheet Summary

Total assets (things you own)........... 875,855

Total HP & Secured debt................. -449,775.88

Total Unsecured debt.................... -83,027.05

Net Assets.............................. 343,052.07