Get advice now. Are you worried about your mortgage? New edition

Transcription

1 New editio Jauary 2009 Are you worried about your mortgage? Get advice ow If you are strugglig to pay your mortgage, or you thik it will be difficult to pay more whe your fixed-rate deal eds, act ow to stop your situatio becomig worse. Workig with Citizes Advice Bureaux Idepedet advice agecies Local housig authorities to help prevet homelessess through the provisio of timely, quality housig advice.

2 Sometimes whe your circumstaces chage, for example you work fewer hours, become sick, receive a cut i your pay, lose your job or have high bills to pay, life seems impossible. Do t let your debt problems get o top of you. Get the advice ad help you eed to prevet you from losig your home. Not kowig who to talk to is half of the problem. You will be able to get free, cofidetial ad idepedet advice from the orgaisatios that we have listed at the back of our leaflet. Please remember, it is best to get advice as early as possible. This leaflet provides step-by-step iformatio to help you begi to sort out your moey worries ad to make other arragemets for payig your mortgage ad keepig your home. 1 Do t igore the problem Whe you receive a letter or phoe call from your mortgage leder, ever igore it. If you do t uderstad the letter, do t be afraid to ask your leder or speak to a debt adviser at your local Shelter advice service or Citizes Advice Bureau. If you have a fixed-term rate that will be edig soo, you ll get a letter from the leder warig you of whe the iterest rate ad mothly paymet will chage, ad how much your ew repaymet will be. Do t igore the letter. Your mortgage debt is a priority, so make sure you pay this before all other debts. Do t paic ad do t take out aother loa to help catch up with your mortgage paymets. Get advice istead. 2 Are you worried about your mortgage?

3 2 Look at your situatio ad check what help you ca get Take a good look at what you are spedig moey o. Ask yourself the followig questios. Ca I cut back o my spedig without havig to struggle? Ca I get a better deal o my mortgage? Am I behid o ay other loas secured agaist my home? Ca I chage the way I am payig my other debts that are ot a priority, by talkig to the people I owe moey to? Would a agreed paymet holiday or chagig to iterest oly paymets help me pay my mortgage? Is my home worth more or less tha the amout I borrowed to buy it? Is my loa regulated by the Cosumer Credit Act ad ca I take actio to reduce paymets or exted the term of the mortgage i the short term? Do I have mortgage paymet protectio isurace (MPPI) that I ca make a claim o? Visit or phoe your local advice agecy (for example, a Shelter advice service or a Citizes Advice Bureau) to make a appoitmet to see a debt adviser. You may see advertisemets for idepedet fiacial advisers who provide moey advice, but these people may charge you for their services, so you must always check first. Whe you go to see the adviser, take with you all relevat iformatio o your mothly household icome ad costs, ay beefits you receive ad loa paymets you are makig. The adviser will: check that you are gettig all the moey you ad your family should receive give you advice o beefits you might be able to get to help with your housig costs, icludig your etitlemet to help uder the Support for Mortgage Iterest scheme, which ca ow provide help withi 13 weeks Get advice ow

4 look ito ay other help you may be able to receive help you tell the leder about the problems you are havig come up with ways to help you maage your debt, ad may help you legally if court actio has started. 3 Talk to your leder If there s a problem ad you caot pay your mothly mortgage paymets i full, you should tell the leder immediately. They should be sympathetic ad ca help if you let them kow as early as possible that you have moey problems. Be hoest with them about what is causig the problems. Your leder will have experiece of workig with borrowers to help solve problems like this, ad it may be possible to reduce your mothly paymets for a time. It is importat to cotact your leder. If the leder does t kow why you re ot payig ad does t hear from you, they are likely to start legal actio to repossess your home. Ad, eve if possessio actio begis, you may still be give extra time to stop you losig your home (for example, while waitig for help from the Departmet for Work ad Pesios, waitig for a paymet from your mortgage paymet protectio isurace, or while waitig to go back to work). 4 Show that you are willig to pay what you ca To keep your home, you must keep paymets goig. If you are havig problems, work out your budget ad look at ways of makig savigs, cuttig back, or icreasig the amout of moey you have comig i. If your leder kows you are tryig your best to pay the loa, they should give you more time to sort out your moey problems. Are you worried about your mortgage?

5 If you have ay debts (arrears) but the, after lookig at your budget ad makig chages or makig the most of your icome you fid you are able to pay from ow o, cotact the leder ad offer to pay ay outstadig debts. As well as payig your usual mothly paymets, you ca make paymets towards your debts over a reasoable period. Always cotact your leder to tell them about your pla to repay ay debt. If you ca t pay ow, but will be able to at a later date, let the leder kow. If the leder does ot agree to your pla, do t paic. Tell them you will speak with your local advice agecy ad cotact a Shelter advice service or a Citizes Advice Bureau immediately. Cotiue to make paymets that you kow you ca afford, ad tell your leder why you are oly able to afford this much. This shows them that you are willig to make a effort to pay ad icreases your chaces of keepig your home. If you caot pay at all, for example if you lose your job or become ill, do t paic. Do t avoid speakig to your leder ad do t simply had them the keys to your home get advice straightaway. Oly had back your keys if you have sold the property or there is a court order to evict you, because you still have to pay the loa ad isuraces util you or the leder sells your home. 5 Fid out what your optios are Mortgage leders should oly take possessio actio as a last optio. If you took out your mortgage after October 2004, there are rules that leders must follow. The rules explai how leders are expected to help borrowers who are havig moey problems. If you are uhappy with how your leder has bee dealig with you, icludig if you thik your leder is igorig these rules, you ca complai to the Fiacial Ombudsma Service. Get advice ow

6 Your leder should thik about what they ca do to prevet you losig your home. For example, they may: agree to chage or legthe the term of your loa accept reduced paymets from you i the short term, or add your debt to the amout you have borrowed. A leder ca: reduce your mothly paymets for a certai period cut the charges they make to you for beig i debt with your mortgage exted the time of your loa (this reduces the amout of your mothly paymet but you will be makig paymets over a loger period, ad so payig more for your home) spread repaymet of the total amout you owe (icludig debts over the remaiig period of your mortgage) put off part of your repaymet, allowig you to make iterest oly paymets for a short period (oly if you have a repaymet mortgage) offer you a better loa rate, ad allow you time to sell your home, if that s what you wat. (Thik very carefully about this because you eed somewhere to live, ad you may ot get help from your local coucil if they cosider that you ve made yourself itetioally homeless.) Ay chages to your mortgage ca lead to pealties or charges, which may cost more to repay i the log term. If you are worried about how your household will be affected by these chages, ask a Shelter adviser or your local Citizes Advice Bureau. Whatever you arrage may oly be a short-term solutio, so as time goes o, your leder will wat to keep i regular cotact with you ad wat to kow about ay chages i your circumstaces. Whe you are tryig to egotiate with your leder, there are certai procedures they must follow, called a Pre-Actio Protocol (please see sectio 7). Are you worried about your mortgage?

7 6 Make the right decisio for your ad your family s future Before you ad your leder agree ay chage to your mortgage repaymet, get the leder to tell you about the problems that may arise i the future as a result of the chage. You must reach a decisio that the leder agrees to ad that takes your or your family s circumstaces ito accout. It may help to talk with family members or frieds who have recetly dealt with similar chages to their mortgage. You may also be able to speak to other mortgage leders o the high street, to see if there is a better iterest rate or mortgage package that could be available to you by remortgagig. Compaies that buy your home ad ret it back to you are offerig sale ad ret back agreemets. Although these are legal, they are ot curretly regulated effectively. Sellig your house to this type of scheme may pay off your debts, but you will o loger ow your home. Your ew ladlord may icrease your ret, makig it too expesive, or ask you to leave after six or 12 moths. If you sell your home to oe of these schemes, you may ot be able to claim Housig Beefit if you are o a low icome or if you lose your job. If the compay that bought your home gets ito fiacial problems ad caot pay the mortgage, you may be evicted. Most of these schemes will offer you less tha the actual value of your home. Avoid sigig up to schemes that appear too good to be true, because they probably are. Please get advice from your local Shelter advice service or Citizes Advice Bureau before you sig up to oe of these schemes. If, after takig advice ad fidig out about all the help that is available you realise you will ot be able to keep your home, you should sell your home. Decidig to sell your home yourself Get advice ow

8 is better, because it makes the most of ay potetial equity (the differece betwee how much your property is worth ad the amout you owe o your mortgage). You must check for ay extra costs with your mortgage deal, ad cosider whether or ot you will get the right price for your home, to cover your fiacial eeds (for example, the costs of movig) as well as payig off the mortgage. Before takig steps to sell, always get advice. This is very importat, because i some circumstaces you may be see to have made yourself itetioally homeless (for example, if you sell your home whe it could have bee saved). If this happes, the coucil may ot have a duty to rehouse you. If, after gettig advice, you are still ot able to save your home, you should check whether or ot you are eligible for help from the Govermet s Mortgage Rescue Scheme (see sectio 8). 7 Pre-Actio Protocol approved by the courts Sice 19 November 2008, this protocol applies to most residetial mortgages. It outlies what you ad your leder should do before your leder takes actio to take possessio of your home. Your leder should sed you a copy of this leaflet or other legal iformatio if you miss ay paymets. Your leder should tell you: how much moey you owe them how much of your mortgage you still have to pay, ad what iterest or charges you will have to pay because you owe them moey. Your leder should cosider ay reasoable request from you to chage the date you pay your mortgage or how you pay, ad respod promptly to ay offer of paymet you make. If you do ot keep to ay agreemet you have made with your leder, they must war you i writig that they pla to start court Are you worried about your mortgage?

9 actio. They must sed you a letter that gives you 15 workig days otice of the actio they pla to take. If the leder does ot accept your offer, they must give you their reasos withi 10 workig days. Your leder may postpoe ay possessio actio if: you make a claim uder a mortgage paymet protectio policy ad you ca show you ca reasoably expect the claim to be approved ad that you ca make up ay part of the mothly paymet that is ot met by the policy, or you ca show you are takig, or will be takig, reasoable steps to sell your home, i lie with professioal advice you are give. If the leder agrees to delay takig actio, you must cotiue to sell your home ad keep them up to date o the progress of the sale. If the leder does ot agree to delay takig actio to take possessio of your home, they should give you their reasos at least five workig days before startig ay actio. If you feel your leder has treated you ufairly whe dealig with your mortgage arrears, you may be able to make a complait to the Fiacial Ombudsma Service (FOS). You will eed advice o how to make a complait to them, so get advice straightaway. The Pre-Actio Protocol allows the leder to postpoe their possessio actio whe FOS is dealig with a complait. But if your leder decides to cotiue with possessio actio while your complait is beig dealt with, they must give you five workig days otice of their plas. FOS ca usually oly look ito complaits about how the leder dealt with your case, so you will still eed to get advice about the actual actio your leder may take. The court will wat to see that you losig your home is a last resort ad that other optios (see sectio 5) were discussed first. You ad your leder will eed to show you have followed the protocol at ay court hearig. Get advice ow 9

10 8 The Govermet s Mortgage Rescue Scheme This scheme ca help you if you have missed paymets o your mortgage. You may qualify for the scheme if you have depedet childre or ayoe i your household is pregat, elderly or disabled. If your household ears more tha 60,000 a year, you caot use this scheme, ad there are limits o the value of your property that may stop you applyig for this help. You should cotact the housig departmet of your local coucil to apply for help from the Govermet s Mortgage Rescue Scheme. The coucil will take care of your applicatio ad work with moey-advice agecies, local housig associatios ad your leder to provide the best solutio to suit you ad your family. To get help uder the scheme you will eed to: get a moey advice agecy to carry out a up-to-date assessmet of your fiaces, which will show whether or ot the Mortgage Rescue Scheme is a optio for you kow that your leder has cosidered other optios ad will support your applicatio be sure that there are curretly o orders or charges o your property that would stop it beig sold ad provide a up-to-date valuatio of your property to show its possible sellig price, ad show there is eough equity i your home. (Equity is the differece betwee how much your property is worth ad the amout you owe o your mortgage.) 10 Are you worried about your mortgage?

11 There are two possible solutios that the scheme ca provide. Shared equity This is whe a housig associatio provides a equity loa to reduce your mothly mortgage paymets. You will still ow the property. You will repay the loa at a low iterest rate ad the loa will be secured o your home. Mortgage to ret This is whe a housig associatio buys your property at the market value ad you the become the housig associatio s teat, ad pay them ret. To fid out more about this scheme, please cotact the housig departmet of your local coucil. There are other types of help that you ca get if you owe moey o your mortgage. If you lose your job or suffer a drop i your wages, you may be able to get help from the Homeower Mortgage Support Scheme, to help you repay your mortgage at a reduced amout for a fixed time while you get back o your feet. This scheme is curretly beig developed ad will be available soo. Please visit buyigsellig/mortgagesupportscheme for more iformatio. There may also be other schemes that ca help you. It is always worth askig your leder or a local advice agecy about ay other help that is available. Get advice ow 11

12 Useful orgaisatios for iformatio ad advice RH To help you with your mortgage ad debt problems Citizes Advice Bureaux Helps you to deal with ay legal, moey, welfare beefits issues or other problems. Fid your earest Citizes Advice Bureau at or uder C i your local phoe book, ad use for further cotacts ad iformatio. Commuity Legal Advice Provides legal advice i Eglad ad Wales. Phoe or visit Cosumer Credit Cousellig Service Offers you help to deal with several debts. Phoe or visit Fiacial Services Authority (FSA) Phoe the helplie o The FSA produces several guides o how to maage your moey ad these are available olie at Natioal Debtlie Helps you to deal with debt problems. Phoe or visit Paypla Gives you advice o your debts. Phoe or visit Shelter Offers you help with housig, mortgage debt or problems with welfare beefits. Phoe the free housig advice helplie o from 8am to 8pm, seve days a week (some mobile phoe etworks may charge for calls to this umber). Or, you ca visit To check you are gettig all the support you are etitled to Coucil Tax Beefit To see if you re eligible for help with your coucil tax bills, phoe Jobcetre Plus o , visit or cotact your local coucil. Icome Support, Employmet ad Support Allowace ad Jobseeker s Allowace For iformatio ad advice, or to make a claim, phoe Jobcetre Plus o or visit Pesio Credit For iformatio ad advice, or to make a claim, visit your local Pesio Cetre or phoe The Pesio Service o , or visit Workig Tax Credit ad Child Tax Credit For more iformatio, phoe or visit Please ote: If you wat advice o employmet ad traiig opportuities or beefits, cotact Jobcetre Plus. Advisers ca give you iformatio o the rage of orgaisatios that ca give you free fiacial ad debt advice. A Shelter ad Citizes Advice service. This leaflet has bee fuded by Commuities ad Local Govermet, a Govermet departmet. 12 Are you worried about your mortgage? Registered charity umber Registered charity umber