mortgage help - what to do

superbad50

hi guy's,

unemployed near a year. Have already extended my interest part of the loan on my mortgage to 1 year. Come December my mortgage will be rising to near 1200 per month. Rang the bank and seeked advice on extending the number of year's, to be told they could only extend by another five years , bringing my repayments over 26 years. I am 31.

I know i signed a contract and all that but my question is if I told them I could only afford 900 a month what would they say?

I know under the new legislation banks cannot start legal proceedings for quiet some time. I am thinking surely they would except 900 per month with the economy the way it is. Maybe I am wrong?
I simply cannot afford the repayments at the moment and this is causing me a great deal of stress and anxiety and affecting my self esteem to seek work.

extending further is not an option. I have 21 year's left on my mortgage and am currently working with MABS to resolve my financial issues.

Any advice is much appreciate

Ehyeok

Hi Superbad50

1st post on Boards so here goes...
I think any bank will be happy to negotiate a compromise rather than see you default on your repayments. They have nothing to gain in the current environment in trying to launch legal proceedings to repossess the house. You advised the bank don't want to have a longer term on the mortgage but it might be the only short term option for both of you. You only have 21 yr term left and more than likely they will have bigger mortgages on terms of 30/35yrs so it wont be alien to them to extend the term longer. You could try and come to an arrangement that you start off with 900pm and then when you are in full employment you can increase the repayments back to 1200pm and the term will reduce down in line with this. It will suit both parties. In a nut shell - keep talking to the bank they will be far more understanding. Best of luck with everything.

superbad50

thanks for that ehyeok.

It would make things a lot easier for myself. I suppose there is no harm in talking to the bank to see what they think on the matter, this will be my first step early next week . I have a couple of months left on the interest option of my mortgage so i have some time to discuss with the relevant parties what exactly are my options.

Hopefully all goes well and we can agree a decreased payment for the foreseeable future.

thank you for the reply

kmick

If you are unemplyed how are you affording 900 per month? Dole and savings? Start writing letters to the bank notifying them of your unabilty to pay and inviting them to discuss the matter with you. Keep copies of all these letters. Do out your budget and exclude any savings you have so for example.

Income/month 812
Mortgage 900
Food 230
Heat/Electricity 80
Car 25
Insurances 45

Income 812
Outgoings 1280
Deficit 418

Show them your budget and offer to pay them your current mortgage miuns the deficit. If I were you if your savings are with the same bank I would move them to another bank and stop using them unless you are sure you will be working again soon. Anything agreed write tem a letter to confirm. They will shout and scream but at the end of the day they will have to accept the lesser repayments.

Have you considered asking the bank to switch to an interest only payment?

superbad50

hi kmick ,

I can afford to pay the 900 as I let a room in my apartment plus I have a small amount of savings, nothing to write home about. I have my budget list complete with the help of MABS and a special account setup with the credit union were my creditors, ie esb, bank loans are withdrawn on a weekly basis . I have also answered and filled out the banks over the phone budget questionairre so they are well aware of my situation.

Yes regards the letters I will start preparing immediately. thank you kmick.

gerards - please dont say we have another liverpoolian fan, ha . for the past year i have been on the interest only option. Maybe i used a slightly different term in my original post but what i meant to say was that i am currently on that repayment option. I would not like to extend for any longer as the banks charge a considerable fee on these repayments. Thank you all the same

Hi Super Bad,

our circumstances are similar and I admire you have made stance to try and sort things out,

just a few questions; have you contacted your relationship manager and seen whether you could continue with interest only for 6 months to a year. That's really the only mechanism the banks are currently using. you have already tryed to extent the the mortgage. And also from shared experience its does very little. make sure to keep all your documentation and e mail's

I proposed an offer to the banks just last week and they turned it down, how ever they have considered I am going back to college to get re skilled so they have granted more time in relation to the interest only option.

its difficult when there little assistance there to help people in trouble, dont get me wrong MABBS have been great with me, and the banks helped to. I believe the government should introduce some new policy's to help home owner's and do it quick. At least help individuals who are actively trying to sort things out.


Any way i do hope you get things sorted

best of luck


Cheers

superbad50

hi buddysmiley,

yes i agree totally with your point, by extending the number of years on the mortgage it brings my monthly repayments down by not much more than 50 euro a month. i would still be in a great deal of difficulty with regards to meeting the full mortgage.

as with the interest only option, I have spoke with the banks and to be honest an other extension is not a vialble option.

I also agree MABS have be a terrific help and would highly recommend to people in similiar scenario's. You say they turned your offer down. Can I ask was your offer considerably less than what your full mortgage repayments are at present?

Things are pretty bad. The government are doing absolutely zilch for job growth and the prospects of people losing there homes. I find it an absolute disgrace.

I too have enrolled on a degree course fearing the worse on the job front. believe it or not it will be slightly work out better for me financially , plus the fact that i can work par-time without losing my allowance.

To be perfectly honest if the banks refuse my offer then i will let them proceed through the legal channels, at least in that way I will get 2 more years at home and then when they have me by the balls , i will lease my property out. After the banks behaviour they have no rights calling the shots.

Any judge in there right mind that see;s you making an effort to pay your mortgage and trying to work with the banks will, in my opinion rule in your favour. I may be going a bit ahead of myself but it just disgusts me that these fat cat bankers can demand full payment under the circumstances, the mess in which they created.

Blackjack

superbad50 wrote: »

To be perfectly honest if the banks refuse my offer then i will let them proceed through the legal channels, at least in that way I will get 2 more years at home and then when they have me by the balls , i will lease my property out. After the banks behaviour they have no rights calling the shots.

Any judge in there right mind that see;s you making an effort to pay your mortgage and trying to work with the banks will, in my opinion rule in your favour. I may be going a bit ahead of myself but it just disgusts me that these fat cat bankers can demand full payment under the circumstances, the mess in which they created.

While I sympatise with your situation, it's hard to understand your attitude here.

The reason that Banks are in Trouble, is because they lent to people who can't or won't pay back.

They've accommodated you considerably so far by extending the Interest only period. If after 2 years you're still not paying the Mortgage back, then they have every right to call the shots.

baaaa

OP these are unusual times we live in,there's no way I would be using my savings to prop up the banks right now.
If I was in your position I'd be keeping my savings,once they are gone and welfare is cut you may find yourself in a worse situation.I would keep them for retraining or emergencies-I certainly wouldn't use them to buy a few months breathing space from the banks,what would be the point of giving them your last valuable resource?

baaaa

Blackjack wrote: »

The reason that Banks are in Trouble, is because they lent to people who can't or won't pay back.

That's it ,the banks were just being helpful and now we're screwing them over.:eek:

superbad50

hi blackjack,

first of all the banks have helped me out for 1 year and not 2 years, if that is what you want to call it. i dont think they had a choice in the matter to be perfectly honest. i am grateful dont get me wrong but i do feel there should be more help for people in extremely difficult circumstances. for every extension the bank offers they gain from this also.

they have used the legal loop holes along with the government for long enough. i will do anything i can that benefits me regardless of whether or not it suits the banks. at the end of the day the banks do not give a toss , ie more interest rate hikes and the number of repossesions we have seen of late.

i admit my attitude has severely changed but rightly so, in my opinion . i stand by what i commented in my previous post. i am out for me at this stage. i will hold my head high. i am genuinely seeking work and doing all i can to keep all parties happy. if it comes to legal issues down the line then so be it - at least i can say i tried all i could.

superbad50

hi baa ,

absolutely not. i am in no way using my savings that's for sure. not that i have a lot in the first place.