Mortgage Help Needed Please

[mo_the_cow]

Im self employed in the building trade which has been decimated in the recession The work has has not been regular as it used to be

I wrote to Cheltenham & Gloucester B Soc asking for help They sent me an income and expenditure form which I sent back to them recorded delivery

Ive received a letter this morning they said they have not received the income and expenditure form I now have arrears of approx £8000.00 going back to two years ago when the recession first started They want the arrears paying within 7 days but are prepared to come to an amicable agreement

I wrote a couple of months ago to them but as yet have not had any help from them and they want the arrears paid off while still maintaining the monthly instalment of £1055

Could anybody please help with what I should do now

I did ask them in my letter if I could have reduced monthly payments for a while until my situation improved but have not had a response

Any advice would be appreciated

[boss lady]

Hi

You have not stated if you are on a capital repayment mortgage or an interest only mortgage. If you are on a capital repayment mortgage you could ask to be transferred to an interest only option but this step should not be taken lightly and to be honest I would do it only as a last resort. If you transfer to an interest only option it means you will be paying off the interest only part of the mortgage and at the end of the term you will still owe the capital,(the original amount).

I would firstly ring C&G and tell them to get their a---s into gear because you sent them the income and expenditure form via recorded delivery and you have not had it returned so that means they do have the form. Hopefully you have kept a copy of the income and expenditure form so they could do it over the phone with you.

Also state to C&G that the government has made it quite clear that lenders should do their utmost to avoid repossession, so you hope they are taking the government's view seriously and working towards helping their customers in a difficult recession. Hope that helps.

[boss lady]

Sorry forgot to say that if you opt for the interest only option they will probably charge about £50.00 to swap you over, this will reduce your monthly payments.

[mo_the_cow]

Thanks for the quick reply

Sorry forgot to mention that its a repayment mortgage

Would it be better do you think do contact them in a letter as they are not being too helpful at the moment

[Ell-enn]

Any letter you send to them should be sent by recorded delivery and keep a copy of the letter together with the proof of receipt which you can print off the royalmail website.

 

If you need help with constructing a letter let me know.

 

Ell-enn

[mo_the_cow]

Thank you Ell-enn

Could I please take you up on the offer of help to construct the letter

[Ell-enn]

No problem, will post up later. What do you want to ask them to do? switch you to interest only, add the arrears to the end of the mortgage etc?

 

I have affixed the budget sheet we use, you will need to send it with the letter.

 

Ell

Budget Sheet.xls

[boss lady]

Hi totally agree with Ell-enn, keep a copy of everything, every letter you send, recorded delivery proof. Try to do it all by correspondence but if you do speak to someone on the phone take their name and write down the date and time you spoke to them.

One point to take into consideration is if you want to consolidate your arrears and the lender will not always allow you this option but if they do it means you will pay interest on those arrears over the rest of the term of the mortgage. At this time you might feel okay about that but it certainly is something to take into consideration. I personally would ask how much the monthly payment would be if you went interest only. It does make a difference and then decide from there. To ask you to pay arrears when your monthly rate is already high is stupid of C & G.

[mo_the_cow]

Thanks for the replies

I would like to ask them how much they could reduce the present payments by if the mortgage is left as it is and also how much would the payments be if it was switched to an interest only Would the arrears be able to be added to the mortgage at all as you suggested

I did ask them in my letter if they could help by reducing the payments at all or maybe give us a payment break but they have not answered that

Thanks again everyone for your help

[Ell-enn]

Hi, affixed is the letter - make sure you send by recorded delivery and keep a copy of both the letter and the budget sheet. Also make sure you print off the signature receipt from royalmail website.

 

Ell

Mo the cow letter.doc

[boss lady]

When you ask for the arrears to be added to the mortgage the lender will sometimes do this but they look at how much the arrears are and if payments are usually paid on time but if they do add the arrears to the mortgage it will increase your payments a bit. It is unlikely they will reduce your current payments unless you have a mortgage which allows payment holidays. You can check that on your KFI (key facts illustration) or your mortgage offer paperwork.

[mo_the_cow]

Thanks again both of you for all your help

Just hope something can be sorted out as its an awful situation to be in

Will send the letter off and take it from there

[mo_the_cow]

Hi

Didnt expect to be on here quite so soon but received another letter this morning that the account has been passed to the recoveries department and from now on I should write to them as they are saying legal action will start in15 business days

Im pretty worried now and dont know what to do

Any advice or help please?

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, does the Recoveries Dept have a different address to the one you sent the letter to?

 

Ell

[mo_the_cow]

Hi Ell_enn

Theyve not given me another address for them so I think its the same

Theyve also added a £206 administration fee to the account

Thanks fot the quick reply

[mo_the_cow]

I meant for the reply their getting a bit heavy now the building society

but have asked them for help before so dont understand it really thought

theyd be a bit more helpful new govenment initiative and all that

[Ell-enn]

Haveyou checked that your letter was received ? (on royalmail website)

[mo_the_cow]

Hi Ell-enn they received the letter today so hoping this will be sorted out and that letter will do the trick easy to goi n to a tailspin when youve got problems

[Ell-enn]

It's understandable that you are anxious in this situation. I can well imagine how stressful it must be for you, however you know you can come on here and get support whenever you need it

[mo_the_cow]

Yes thank you Ell-enn it is appreciated the help and support Ive been

given

[mo_the_cow]

Thought Id let you know that Ive heard from the building societyThey are prepared to drop the payment by £200 per month but it now going to litigation as they are refusing to add the arrears on the end of the mortgage

[mo_the_cow]

Just wanted to say that regardless of any government initiatives theres no real help when your hours are cut or your inand out of work when youre self employed because of the recession

Ive sent letters to the Cheltenham & Gloucester an income and expenditure form but at the end of the day they are not interested wont entertain a payment holiday An interest only mortgage will only make a difference of £200 per month and they still want the arrears clearing at the same time so there wont be much difference

So after all that Ive not got anywhere

Sorry to go on but Im absolutely fed with all this I think its the fact as well you do think at the time they will help you but the reality is a bit different