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Advice

Hudo53
Hudo53 Community member Posts: 9 Listener
Hi,

I am lucky that we have a mortgage property.   I have a Interest only mortgage which ends next year and we still owe 100000.   My husband has become recently a above kneee amputee.  The council want to come in and do alterations so he can become more independent.  (no downstairs toilet or shower, stairs curl round at the top so needs a proper stairlift.  No ramps to get out of the house etc.)   I am going to have to give up work, as he is not going forward as he should be.   We have loads of problems in the last 8 months,  bleeding ulcer, a lung op, 4 vascular operations, which resulted in him have a bka 23 feb, and then aka 23 march.    I have loads of support where I live, if I move I am on my own with no support, as we cannot afford the properties here unless we have money to spend to modernise it.   The council are coming back next week with a surveyor and a stairlift engineer.   I don't think I can let them progress as we have to move.   Any advice, just at my wits end. 

Comments

  • wildlife
    wildlife Community member Posts: 1,293 Pioneering
    Hi@Hudo53, Welcome to the community. Can you give us more info as to what you want advice for? Is it a financial problem you have with the mortgage and having to give up work? Post again and someone will try and help...
  • wildlife
    wildlife Community member Posts: 1,293 Pioneering
    edited April 2017
    Sorry have just seen your other post. Ignore the last message. 
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hudo53,

    Sorry to see that you're faced with so many difficult decisions at the moment. You've got a lot to consider and lots of decisions to make. I hope that you and your husband are keeping well despite the future uncertainty.

    Firstly, let's talk about the mortgage. Have you spoken to your lender about what happens at the end of the mortgage and whether there is any help they can give you? 

    I think you would also benefit from seeking advice from both Adult Social Care and your local housing team. Local Authorities carry out a great deal of work in preventing homelessness. Knowing what your rights are will be critical in this process and knowing what support is available can really help with the future planning.

    Do you have any kind of Life and/or protection insurance? It might be worth going through your paper work to see if you have any policies and review what the policies cover.

    Don't feel rushed into making any big decisions. Take the time to look at all the options available to help you remain in your own home for as long as possible. I can guide you along as you go and I'm sure some other members will be along soon with some ideas too.

    Thanks for sharing with us, I hope it's helped a little bit.

    Best wishes
    Debbie


  • Hudo53
    Hudo53 Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    Yes, I wrote to them and explained the situation they sent me a letter to contact them.  When I did yesterday they told me to speak to citizens advice or get legal advice.   Other than that if I contact them June next year things may have changed and they may be able to help!!!!    June 2018 is when I have to be out!!   I had got told by a friend  that lenders had to be more sympathic to people in my situation.  Seems not.   Our plan was to sell the house and buy a mobile home and spent six months in UK and 6 months in India!    Should never bank on plans. 
  • wildlife
    wildlife Community member Posts: 1,293 Pioneering
    @Hudo53 I do understand your dilemma about whether to sell the house or not which would mean finding somewhere else to live. I think you really need a f2f chat with CAB or AgeConcern just to go through all your options. You could then work out if you can afford to stay where you are? Having enough money to live on and suitable housing are your top priorities. I've been where you are in different circumstances when our business in France went under and we had to come back to UK and start again. Your circumstances have changed dramatically so, as I had to at the time, you need to regroup, think positively and focus on what you need to find out to make the right decision about your future. Let us know how you get on.Good Luck. 
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hudo53,

    I think the lender may have advised you to get legal advice because it's such a complex area. The lender can only look at things related to the current mortgage at the present time. Anything can happen with the economy before next June, in fact anything can happen in any areas of law in this time too, so while it seems as though your lender is unwilling to help now, things could be different nearer to the time. An experienced adviser will be able to take a holistic approach to things and help you work out what the best way forward is based on your situation. There is no blanket approach to any of this which is why seeking advice is best. The Money Advice Service has some good information about Mortgages and Ways of Repaying an Interest Only mortgage.

    Things that you can look at in the meantime are the prospects of securing a remortgage or an extension to the existing mortgage. A mortgage broker can help with you this. Obtaining another mortgage is probably going to be difficult. The strict mortgage affordability tests which were introduced in 2014 mean that lenders really have to be very strict when assessing a borrower's ability to sustain the mortgage at the time of the application and further along in the future. They will apply various stress tests to your application and will assess your vulnerability to stresses on your finances. A brief example of this would be if the interest rates were to rise, would your current income be able to absorb that rise and still be affordable?

    In April 2018 Support for Mortgage Interest which is currently available as a benefit to help pay towards some of the interest on your mortgage if you become sick or unemployed is ending in its current form. From April 2018 the help offered will be by way of a loan. This loan would be repayable when the claimant returns to work or when the property is sold. This is a very critical change and does need to be taken into consideration. From a lender's point of view this will add to the risk. This particular change might not affect you now as you may not be receiving this support but you should certainly be aware of this now in case you need help like this in the future.

    If you find that your lender isn't being helpful speak to Shelter. They have a Mortgage Debt Advice Team and if appropriate they can refer you to this team for further advice.  

    Let us know how you get on and how things progress.

    Best wishes
    Debbie

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