You can save your home
If you are behind with your mortgage payments (in arrears), don’t panic! You’re not alone. Many people are in the same situation.
According to Credit Action, a property is repossessed every 10 minutes. But there is no need for you to become part of that statistic.
If you are worried about keeping your home… there is hope! There are practical things that you can do to save your home. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the problem – it won’t go away.
• Contact your mortgage lender right away to tell them you are having problems. You must do this even if you feel the situation is hopeless.
• Contact your local debt-advice centre. They are friendly and will not judge you. They have lots of experience of helping people get out of debt. To find your nearest free debt-advice centre or free legal advice centre, visit: www.careforthefamily.org.uk/saveyourhome.
Action points
• Remember that you don’t have to face this on your own.
• Go to your nearest free debt-advice centre.
o They will prepare a budget that shows what you can afford to pay.
o They will start to deal with the lender on your behalf.
o They will also give you advice about any other debts you have.
• Open and read carefully all letters you get from your lender. If you don’t understand the letters, ask your lender to explain them to you or take them to your free debt-advice centre.
• Keep copies of all the letters you send to your lender, and make a note of important phone calls. You might need to show these to a court.
Pay what you can afford
Work out what you can afford to pay your lender each month. Be realistic. You can ask your local free debt-advice centre to help you with this.
• Cut down on all spending that you possibly can to find extra money to pay your mortgage arrears.
• If you can’t afford to pay the full amount your lender is asking for, work out what you can afford – however small.
• Contact the lender again and tell them how much you can pay.
• Don’t agree to an amount that you won’t be able to pay – make an arrangement you can stick to.
• Confirm your offer in writing and start making payments straight away.
• If anything changes, make sure that you let the lender know right away. This is important. Whether the change is good or bad, they need to know.
Court hearings
If you need to go to court, don’t panic. A free legal advice centre will help you get ready for court. They might even speak on your behalf in court. You must go to all court hearings. The court can allow you to keep your home if you can pay:
• the normal monthly payment; and
• an affordable amount each month towards the arrears – this may be less than the lender asked for.
Always make the payments ordered by the court.
Remember
Many people have almost had their homes repossessed but they:
• faced up to the problem;
• got free legal and debt advice;
• put their mortgage near the top of the list of debts to pay first;
• stopped ignoring their lender’s letters and started speaking to them;
• started paying their lender what they could afford; and
• saved their home from repossession.
This information is taken from ‘Save your Home – practical tips to help you avoid repossession’. Download the full PDF booklet for free here.
Written by Care for the Family. Posted on 16th June.
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