Losing my home

LegacyUser

I am completely broken. I am about to lose my home. I have been trying to get a job for months now, and paying my mortgage out of thin air. I have now missed mortgage payments. I have worked hard for five years to get my home, and if I sell it now, I lose everything. Right back to Zero.

I have been dodging on and dodging on, hoping for a job to turn up. Hence the missed mortgage payments. I have been to MABS, the social welfare, and family, having borrowed from everyone I know. I can borrow no more, and borrowing is no good anyway. I am already deeply in debt.

I dread selling my home. I may not even be able to. I am 40, with a credit history, and if I sell now, I fear that at my age, I will never be able to take out a mortgage again. Plus I will pay huge stamp duty if the opportunity ever arises. I will ruin the one good opportunity to own something of value in my life. I will never get that opportunity to get on my feet again.

So I dodge on, and dodge on, hoping for a miracle. But the miracle hasn't happened, and I can dodge on no more. It is no good telling me to get any job at all, as others have said. There is NO job for a fortysomething guy. I cannot even get a job sweeping a bloody floor! Even part time is not available. There is nothing. I have tried Fás. I have tried EVERYWHERE. I am desperate.

So I must put my home on the market, and HOPE for a sale, that will barely clear my mortgage, and leave nothing. Renting is not an option, as it will not clear the debt I owe. It WOULD be an option if I could even get a part time job. But I can get NOTHING. Nothing at all. Without ANY job I must sell. My ESB and phone will be cut off any day now. It's that bad.

Do I sell, and hope for a quick sale? Have I any chance of a sale, even at rock bottom price? Do I hang on, and wait for the bank to kick me out, or land me in jail? This twelve month embargo being mentioned in the news, is no good to me if I get my ESB and phone and everything cut off. A job, any job, would solve everything. But after months and months of trying everywhere, that seems out of the question altogether now.

I have €15 in my pocket to feed me till next week.

Brokenman

Brokenman wrote: »

I have €15 in my pocket to feed me till next week.

It's a tough lesson but a lot of people need to learn it.
Why on earth is owning a house so important?
Lifes too short.
Rent for fcecks sake if the figures for buying dont stack up and live your life!
It's no biggy and people won't care and if they do it's none of their business.
It's hard not to look at other people and envy them but for all you know a lot of them have no life.

Embrace your situation-sell your damn house and take the hit. Is the house really worth the pain you are having now?
FFS you'll be 60 in another 20 years.You'll most likely be dead in less years than you've lived already.

Time for a whole mindset change.
Best of luck,it's not the end of the world,just go and play the cards that you have been dealt and move on.

greatdane

good advice, and you are not the only one in this situation.
I presume you are on the dole , so you should have enough to pay ESB, and worse case dont the esb just put a money box in your house so you pay for what you use ???

the 12 month moratorium wil be a help as things may get back on track by then or you will pick up some kind of work.

If you do sell up , when you get back on your feet you will prob be able to buy another nicer house at a cheaper rate anyways, and possibly be in a better position.
chin up...im in a similar position but its out of my control so no point in worrying.

LegacyUser

If you sell now there is the risk that you will be homeless and despite what some other posters have said with very little propsect of buying another property again on account of age and adverse credit rating, or indeed borrowing anything for a considerable period of time. You really should contact MABS and or one of the free legal advice centres to discuss your options (www.flac.ie). But, I can tell you that for a bank to re-possess a house it is long drawn out legal process that takes far longer than twelve months anyway. And provided you keep in contact with the bank and turn up in court if and when necessary as well as showing genuine as best you can efforts Judges are loath to Order repossession. I'd estimate at least 18+ months on average from the time a loan first enters arrears to a repossession and then a lenghty stay on the order (i.e. postponement) can usually be got of up to another 6 months, giving even more time to try sort the mess.

Also are you claiming the full range of your welfare entitlements? I know that in addition to the unemployment benefit/allowance that the there is a scheme whereby the SW or Community Welfare Office make contributions towards mortgage interest and utility bills, the best people to talk to in this regard would be your local Citizens Information Centre http://findaddress.citizensinformation.ie/service_finder/

Okay, by staying in the house and running up your arrears more may eat further into any equity that you might have had, but you have a roof over your head and are also buying time to hopefully get employment. If and when that happens you can then slowly start to get out of the debt mess. If say you get a job in 18 months time and your arrears are say €30k on your mortgage, provided you come to some arrangement with you bank to pay additional sums towards the arrears or maybe even capitalise it on to your existing mortgage and increase the term the bank will drop any legal proceedings because they have no real interest in repossession because they will now be getting their money back.

These economic gloomy times aren't here forever. We must remember that these things move in cycles, one must just hope that they hang on in there long enough so that when the next upward cycle comes that they can begin to benefit again.

LegacyUser

I know things seem bleak but try not to panic, get in touch with your bank and see if you can come to some sort of arrangment with them. They may allow you to go on interest only payments for awhile till you get sorted.

I've six months of arrears on my home because I was laid off last year; what I've done is rented out my house, which covers most of morgage and I can just about cover the rest, and I've also met with the bank, who really didnt want to take the house as at this stage it's worth feck all to them, and I told them I could pay back 50 euro a month off the arrears.

They have no choice but to accept this..... Had this happened two years ago I would have lost the house but because the market is so **** and the banks are such a mess they just can't afford to take houses off people and try to sell them, they would much prefer to come to an arrangment with home owner.

The bank manager even told me that I shouldnt worry about my credit history because so long as the payments will be made and the arrears gradually cleared I should be alright in a couple of years,

Try not to panic, even if you do lose the house at the end of the day it's just bricks and mortar.

VeryBerry

OP I'm so sorry you're in this situation. My OH has also recently been let go from his job, and we've a baby on the way (and I'm not entitled to any maternity leave). We have no idea how we're going to manage mortgage repayments, so I can really sympathise.

But as others have advised, the best thing to do is to go and talk to the bank. Do this straight away before you miss anymore repayments. They are very open to working something out with you, but only if you explain your situation so they know whats going on.

I really hope it all works out for you. Best of luck

smellslikeshoes

Dodging the bank is going to make things worse for you, get down to them A.S.A.P and explain whats going on.

Vegeta

VeryBerry wrote: »

But as others have advised, the best thing to do is to go and talk to the bank. Do this straight away before you miss anymore repayments. They are very open to working something out with you, but only if you explain your situation so they know whats going on.

I really hope it all works out for you. Best of luck

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

Dodging the bank is going to make things worse for you, get down to them A.S.A.P and explain whats going on.

Spot on,

Have you talked to the bank, what did they say?

sunshinegirl

if you rent rooms in your house you can do so tax free provided you live there.


http://www.philiporeilly.com/taxcentre/rentaroom.htm