Suggestions please. At present ex hubby is paying maintenance for our 13yr old and some of this this goes towards mortgage. He's being made redundant so m'tce will stop soon and i'll be in a mess.Does anyone know how I'd stand at getting a housing assoc or council house? I will have approx £50,000 capital if I sell up and pay my debts off. Sounds great but if I put it towards buying somewhere else I'd just be back in the same mess but in a worse area. I can't afford to rent privately, max rent I can afford is £250 pcm. Council or Housing assoc would seem the obvious choice but I suspect the capital would rule me out. It would also stop me getting child tax credit I think so I'd have even less income. Help!

Can you not get help towards the interest on the mortgage from the DSS?

have you put your name down on the council housing register as you need to do that before you will even get a council house
which should be cheeper than an housing association house
you may even have to take a massionette or flat. not sure how it goes in rotherham.usually if you do get a council house it will be on the worst estates which nobody wants.but i would advice you to go and see the council housing and put your name down if you have not done so and ask to talk to someone there.i have also heard of a company that says they will buy your house and charge you rent and you can stay there but i cant remember where i saw it and would not know how much rent they would charge. also there are houses that you can half buy and half rent. not sure on those prices.

DSS is not an option as I work (for DSS ironically) But thanks for the suggestion 1Man .

No I haven't put my name on the council list yet. I thought I'd see if anyone knew whether any capital I had from the sale of the house would affect my eligibility before making a pratt of myself by asking the council. It doesn't sound very hopeful does it? I don't want to be stuck on an awful estate and because of my son's school don't really want to move out of my area. I'll make enquiries about the company who buys your house and charges you rent though. I'm sure I can't be the only one in this predicament. I wonder what other people have done/would do. Thanks Summer

you could try talking to your mortgage provider as well, it might be possible to restructure it somehow to reduce your monthly payments.

I didn't think Child Tax credit was means tested. How come you are not in a position to buy if you have some deposit and a wage?

You can rent council properties for £250 pcm but as you would probably expect, they are not in the best of areas. You are not going to get mych for this amount if you rent privately, if anything at all.

Perhaps a finance advisor? When I came into some money, I offered to pay 75% of my credit card debts (I had gone into arrears at this stage) and my offer was accepted.

No prospect of the ex getting another job?

Originally posted by Bloomdido
I didn't think Child Tax credit was means tested. How come you are not in a position to buy if you have some deposit and a wage?

You can rent council properties for £250 pcm but as you would probably expect, they are not in the best of areas. You are not going to get mych for this amount if you rent privately, if anything at all.

Perhaps a finance advisor? When I came into some money, I offered to pay 75% of my credit card debts (I had gone into arrears at this stage) and my offer was accepted.

No prospect of the ex getting another job?

you might have misread the first post, she's looking to sell, so it's not about not being in a position to buy, it's about not being able to afford the mortgage payments on the current house.

Selling and ending up with £50k capital and being in a job but not being in a position to buy again? Just curious at to why this is not an option.

Perhaps things are different with a kid in tow, but if you sell up, won't the Council wash your hands of you anyway because you'll have deliberately made yourself homeless?

Have to say that Cyclone's suggestion is a good one - talk to the ortrgage company, let them know what's happening and ask for a restructuring to bring your payments close to what you'd be willing to pay as rent.

What are your re-payments, if you don't mind me asking (roughly).

Joe

JP is right about not making yourself deliberately homeless which is how I think the Council may very well construe selling your home. I think you need to arrange to see someone at Sheffield Housing Aid with some experience so that they can advise you how best to deal with it. They have some useful links on their website:
http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/housing-services/housing-aid/relationship-
Before doing that I think you may want to see CAB for basic advice and perhaps they can refer you to Sheffield Housing Aid for more specific advice which might speed things up a bit.

What about putting the 50k down as a deposite on a new property and getting a mortgage for about 40k (repayments on this amount would be about 250 a month i think).
This would mean you could look to buy a property for 90k, not sure if that would buy you anything in your area, though there are many properties out there in this price range.

Having capital will not stop you getting a council or housing association property. i'd agree that you need to see someone at housing aid asap but having a child living with you would probibly put you in priority need (ie: officially homeless and in need of council help) regardless of how you got that way.

Pigu has a good plan though. I'm sure ypou could find a decent house for 90K.

Good luck

unfortunately making oneself homeless by selling or even having your home repossessed results in no housing aid.
having any money in the bank means private rental i'm afraid.
you don't have fulfill any requirements for any assistance regardless oh having a child with you.
the council may help u with a hostel or b&B but your better sorting it out yourself.

if your ex is being made redundant he will be able to claim unemployment i would have thought, do they allow for extra contributions paid to your son as maintenance.

don't forget 50k in the bank would rent you something better for at least 10 years whilst allowing you to live on your earnings.
not ideal & a loss of a large sum of capital - but it could resolve allyour debt issues.

i think it may be best if you speak to your mortgage company - i know someone in a similar situation and she got the mortgage lender to change her mortgage to an interest only for a couple of years, making the payments much lower. after that time you may be in a better position - you may have even found yourself a rich fella!! :smile:

Originally posted by teeb
i think it may be best if you speak to your mortgage company - i know someone in a similar situation and she got the mortgage lender to change her mortgage to an interest only for a couple of years, making the payments much lower. after that time you may be in a better position - you may have even found yourself a rich fella!! :smile:

Your mortgage company is only interested in the security of their investment. UNDER ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES do I advise anyone in your position to discuss matters with their mortgage company before taking advice on their correct position. Mortgages, childcare, access and custody are a recipe for major problems.

YOu will end up with flompence and wont have to worry about how much capital you've got because it will be zilch because at the first sign of troube Financial Services ie, banks and finance houses abandon their agreements with customers.

Originally posted by wendygs
Your mortgage company is only interested in the security of their investment. UNDER ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES do I advise anyone in your position to discuss matters with their mortgage company before taking advice on their correct position. Mortgages, childcare, access and custody are a recipe for major problems.

YOu will end up with flompence and wont have to worry about how much capital you've got because it will be zilch because at the first sign of troube Financial Services ie, banks and finance houses abandon their agreements with customers.

I would disagree with this - I work for a high street lender and we encourage people to contact us immediately if a change in circumstances means they may not be able to make full repayments on the mortgage account....contrary to many beliefs mortgage lenders offer free debt management services to customers to overcome debt problems rather than go down the road of legal action and possible re-possession!!

If your mortgage is currently on repayment an interest only concession maybe sufficient to lower your repayments until your husband is back in work etc

Good luck and contact your lender ASAP!

:)

Originally posted by Shiesh
I would disagree with this - I work for a high street lender and we encourage people to contact us immediately if a change in circumstances means they may not be able to make full repayments on the mortgage account....contrary to many beliefs mortgage lenders offer free debt management services to customers to overcome debt problems rather than go down the road of legal action and possible re-possession!!

If your mortgage is currently on repayment an interest only concession maybe sufficient to lower your repayments until your husband is back in work etc

Good luck and contact your lender ASAP!

:)

Shiesh, I suggest we agree to disagree. From what many divorcees have told me of their difficulty with property, custody, access, children and mortgages, I would prefer CABs advice and a referral to Housing Aid rather than rely on any financial institution even in writing.

Well the Mortgage Code of Conduct (McOB) rules do state that re-possession and similiar is absolutely a last resort and should only be used when there is no other options available.

Thus, it is highly likely that the bank would be prepared to compromise, simply because they have to try and find a solution rather than just foreclose.

But I would say it would be worth knowing where you stand before going into a meeting with your lender.

Originally posted by wendygs
Shiesh, I suggest we agree to disagree. From what many divorcees have told me of their difficulty with property, custody, access, children and mortgages, I would prefer CABs advice and a referral to Housing Aid rather than rely on any financial institution even in writing.

IMO divorces are very differant when it comes to Debt Management advice and this is why you may feel as you do!

In many cases the breakdown of the relationship leads to animosity between borrowers and generally it is a 'wont pay' mentality not a 'can't pay'!

He won't pay because she's moved her new boyfriend in, or she won't pay because she has the kids at her mothers....it is all very, very complex therefore we adopt the approach that we 'will not' and 'cannot' get involved in marital disputes!

If solicitors cannot mediate between the borrowers and come to a solution then inevitably the payments are missed the arrears become serious and the account will be passed over to a litigation department!

In a few situations the customers genuinely 'can't pay' as their income is not sufficient to cover his/her rent at a new place plus the mortgage on the marital home. In those situations if lodgers etc cannot be considered they maybe advised to sell prior to major difficulties setting in.

In the majority of cases where the financial struggle is due to unemployment, illness, family bereavement, change in jobs, reduced income etc the problems are usually short term and can be overcome.

In this case the ladies' husband is currently out of work therefore cannot meet the payments temporarily whilst he is not earning (this is NOT related directly to his divorce/separation/marital dispute) so hopefully dispite the divorce as he has previously been happy and agreeable to pay...therefore IMO I see no reason why the lenders will not see this as a short term problem and help the best way suitable to the structure of their mortgage.

:)

Saifa, as a direct result of my first hand experience of the legal system, financial institutions and others I find myself quite unable to defer to you.

I have the files to prove what happens in practice. I therefore most respectfully suggest our legal system and the banking code are excellent theories which fail to translate in to practice particularly as applied to private individuals without strong legal advice and suitable representation.

It's not in a banks interest to forclose on the mortgage.
They are in the business of lending money and making a profit on it. Not owning houses and having to auction them off making little or no profit.
There's also no chance that they will forclose just because you advise them of difficulty, at that point you won't have even missed a payment.

It looks like you have a very pessimistic attitude wendy.

You are right that they are interested in the security of the investment, and the best way for them to maintain that is to make allowances in the short term for a customer so that they remain a customer in the long term.

Banks dont like losing money....

If you talk to them, you have a better chance of making other arrangements.... its not that easy to reposess as you mght think, and the property is then sold on for salvage value at auction. if there is an amount stil outstanding they have to pursue the client again for those plus costs...

its much easier and cheaper for them to make a deal from the start.

I've got the files to prove my point. You're welcome to come and look any time. I've also recently very successfully helped someone in a case where their bank was trying to re-write history to avoid paying out payment protection and I can assure you that is far less uncommon than you'd like to think

just anecdotal, but when my SO was unemployed the bank paid out on the payment protection without any problems.

Thank you everyone for your input. The reason why I don't want another mortgage is that I am struggling to pay the interest only one I have of £33,000. I want to AVOID getting into further debt, not take on more. I ought to add that I have 15 years to run on my current mortgage and this will take me up to retirement age. I feel disinclined to be compelled to work full time (+overtime) until age 65 just to pay the mortgage. I suspect my ex will not be in a rush to get another job as it took the CSA 5 years to get any maintenance out of him and he only reluctantly pays now. Someone I know wants to buy my house next year but I daren't say yes in case I can't find anywhere suitable to live myself. What a dilemma! It doesn't seem there is any way out apart from to stay put and struggle on trying not to let the debts get out of hand. And yes.... to hope for that rich man!

it makes no difference having capital. unless the rules have changed, all they want to know is whether or not you want to be on the list!

if you are forced to move, even better, you get priority.

there are alot of good flats and maisonettes that are overlooked. houses are more likely to be in less desirable areas, but there are less and less of these areas anyway as they are being flattened at the rate of 1,000 properties per year!

as it costs nothing to do it, i would put my name down on every list going: you'd be surprised how good and how cheap some of these places are... and you can pick and choose nowadays... the days of being "struck off" for turning places down are gone.

Originally posted by Susana
Thank you everyone for your input. The reason why I don't want another mortgage is that I am struggling to pay the interest only one I have of £33,000. I want to AVOID getting into further debt, not take on more. I ought to add that I have 15 years to run on my current mortgage and this will take me up to retirement age. I feel disinclined to be compelled to work full time (+overtime) until age 65 just to pay the mortgage. I suspect my ex will not be in a rush to get another job as it took the CSA 5 years to get any maintenance out of him and he only reluctantly pays now. Someone I know wants to buy my house next year but I daren't say yes in case I can't find anywhere suitable to live myself. What a dilemma! It doesn't seem there is any way out apart from to stay put and struggle on trying not to let the debts get out of hand. And yes.... to hope for that rich man!

sounds like you'd be better off sticking it out now and paying it off, than worrying about where your rent cheque is coming from when you've reached retirement age.

Susana, how much would your house sell for on the open market, if you don't mind me asking?

There must be a solution in there somewhere!