Mortgage arrears or payment difficulties

2009-01-31T03:15:00.001-08:00

Mortgage arrears or payment difficulties

If you can't meet your mortgage repayments, or you're worried you might fall behind, contact your lender as soon as possible. You can also get free independent advice from other organisations and you may be able to get help with your mortgage from new schemes starting in early 2009.

Contact your lender and agree a plan

Mortgage lenders are keen to help their customers sort out any payment difficulties. Also, the law says they must treat you fairly and take your circumstances into account. They may be able to come to a payment arrangement with you.

If you're struggling to make the payments

Depending on your payment history and whether your difficulties are likely to be long or short term, your lender might agree to:

reduce your payments for a set period
charge you interest only for a while, if you've got a repayment mortgage (usually you pay capital and interest)
give you a 'payment holiday'
extend your mortgage term to reduce your payments

If you are already in arrears

If you've already fallen behind, your lender will suggest a way to pay off the arrears gradually, alongside your usual payments. If you can't meet the extra payments, you may be able to delay them for a while or add them to your loan. Again, it depends on your track record.

You should pay what you can

Pay as much as you can manage every month. Keeping up regular payments (even if they vary) shows that you're committed. Your lender's more likely to treat you sympathetically and you'll minimise the arrears charges too.

You can find more mortgage payment advice from the National Homelessness Advice Service.

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Debt Help -What can be done about your debts?

2009-01-31T02:10:00.000-08:00

This page is here to offer you information about what solutions are availiable for people with debt troubles