One months arrears in mortgage & worried

H

Headachecity

Registered User
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Hi all,

As the title says, we are one month down on our mortgage repayments, up to that we were perfect and we haven't missed a payment since but we don't have the money to pay the arrears at the moment.
Basically, we suffered a family berevement in Nov which hit us hard. My husband was off work for 6 weeks he was so devastated and still isn't right, so he was docked a hell of alot of money out of his wages eventhough he had a doctors note. Therefore we missed Novembers repayment but we have been fine for Dec & Jan and will be okay for Feb etc. Our savings are all but nil after everything and I work part time as we have small kids so creche fees would take up most of any full time salary I could earn so it's pointless.
So, basically could our house be repossessed over this?, so scared and worried about it. Our lender has not sent us one nasty letter over it but I have spoken to them on the phone and I thought we would have the money to catch up but then hubbies wages were not enough at the time, barely covered Decembers repayment.

What should I do now and are we in serious trouble?. Thanks in advance.
 
One missed repayment is not a disaster but you should arrange to speak to your lender face to face about this - especially to see how the missed repayment will be dealt with (e.g. will they extend the mortgage by a month or something?) and what, if anything, needs to be done to facilitate you meeting future repayments. For example if you are hard pressed to meet them now then the loan may need rescheduling (e.g. lengthen the term, going interest only etc.) in order to give you some breathing space. Obviously the lender will have their own views on what sort of arrangements can be made. But taking the initiative to confront the issue head on and talk to them will help and will stand to you in the worst case of things continuing to be tough or even getting worse. If necessary talk to MABS first.
 
Write to your lender as a matter of priority. Set out what has happened in plain English. Set up an appointment to meet their representative. Be realistic in terms of what you set out to do - agree a plan to gradually reduce your arrears. At the same time, set up a savings account in a credit union or other bank, and save €20 or €30 a week towards having a "Rainy Day Fund". Most mortgage staff are reasonable people - you have made a good start by resuming your repayments, and they will appreciate this.
 
Some lenders allow payment holidays of a few months - may suit you at this time.
 
you've done everything right in terms of contacting your morrtgage provider and that goes down well with them

Did your husband claim his social welfare entitlements when he was off sick for 6 weeks?

If things are tight and you have no "rainy day fund" perhaps you should consider changing your lender going forward to one with a better rate
 
Don't worry yourself until you have something to worry about. Hubby is back to work now so try make up the arrears as quick as possible.

Banks are usually quick to send a letter out if they had a major problem. Phone them and ask them if its a problem that you missed a payment. They will log the call on their system so they know that you are not ignoring the problem.

Read some of the posts on how to reduce outgoings and make it a family project of reducing outgoings.

Can you give more details on income, mortgage and outgoings? People will be able to advise better if they know the full story.
 
Hi all, thanks so much for the great advice and understanding!. Well I spoke with the lender yesterday and I paid them €300 yesterday off the arrears on my laser card and told them I will do the same again on Feb 10th and I will have to do it that way over the next 2 months to settle the arrears. They were very happy with that and understanding of the situation and acknowledged the fact that we have never missed a repayment before and that I did ring them at the time to tell them we didn't have the money for the DD.
Hubby will be paid again at the end of Feb and I work part time and earn €380 per week, pay €80 for one of the kids in playschool, put petrol in my car which is about €40 and I shop in Aldi all the time now and spend about €70 per week.
Any budget recommendations for me?
 
Headachecity said:
They were very happy with that and understanding of the situation and acknowledged the fact that we have never missed a repayment before and that I did ring them at the time to tell them we didn't have the money for the DD.
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Did they do this in writing? Ideally try to get such stuff on paper just in case you ever need it as evidence!
Any budget recommendations for me?
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You'd need to post detailed information about your existing incomings, outgoungs, debts/savings/investments, etc. for people to comment. There are numerous threads on this already illustrating how people do it. There are also some useful budgeting/debt management resources and tips in various threads including the key topics threads. Bear in mind that I get the impression that when people roughly estimate their budget they often underestimate what they spend. A good reality check is to keep a detailed expenditure diary for a few weeks and then tally that plus any ongoing monthly/annual expenses which you know will fall due in time.
 
You were wise to bite the bullet and contact them. A lot of people just let it go - 'Out of sight,out of mind!!' A month late won't have them kicking you out on the streets,it would usually require a couple of no payments before the nasty letters start appearing. Stick to the arrear repayment plan with the lender and it will all blow over...

My sympathies on your family bereavement.
 
I am okay now, they were fine about it all thank god. I am paying them more next week. I am still waiting on my insurance cheque from my car accident last month and no sign of it, once I get that I can pay it off in full. All we are doing at the moment is when I get paid is do a thrifty grocery shop, get petrol & diesel, and put money off the arrears. Hubby not paid again till end of Feb so it's tough going, once he gets paid again and I get my insurance cheque we will be back in business thank god!.

We are living to a budget and we will stick to it from now on, it's when times get tough like this you realise that you can manage instead of wasting money!
 
I have two repayments left on a 20 year mortgage that I have paid off over 15 years by making extra repayments. I normally pay my yearly repayments by way of a lump sum in advance. This means that my mortgage repayments are constantly in credit. This year because my mortgage is coming to an end and because of interest rate changes throughout the year I only lodged 11 repayments in advance. This means that I am in arrears on my mortgage for the first time ever. The arrears are less than one monthly repayment.
Recently I got a letter from the Manager, EBS Credit Control advising me to make an immediate payment or "If you do not, your record with EBS will be adversely affected". Incidentally I have enough money in my savings account with the EBS to cover the arrears 50 times over. Nice one EBS, good to know where I stand after 20 years of being a customer.
 
Such warnings are probably generated automatically. I would not take it personally. In any case they are technically correct in deeming you to be in arrears so I don't see what the problem is.
 
ClubMan said:
Such warnings are probably generated automatically. I would not take it personally. In any case they are technically correct in deeming you to be in arrears so I don't see what the problem is.
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When I dealt with arrears in a previous life I took the whole picture in to consideration. Previous history. Balance in Savings. Value of house viz a vis arrears etc. Automatic arrears letters were "pulled". Maybe after three months or so a more polite reminder was issued in some cases it wasn't even a letter but a statement of account.
 
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