About to lose everything...

[Startingagainandagain]

Sorry to make this a heavy chat but here goes. I am in place where:

• I just had a nervous breakdown, currently under the care of the mental health crisis team
• I am on sick leave from work because of said breakdown
• I have a disability and receive PIP alongside my salary
• I have a house that is literally falling apart around me that I cannot afford to fix. broken boiler, toilet was leaking into the living room ceiling today (recently made the mistake of buying an older house and underestimated the costs of maintaining it and how much damage had been caused by bodged jobs although I had a full survey done)
• I live alone so don't have the support of partner and the friends I have live in a different location from me.

I can't see any way out of this mess at the moment...

I have asked my local citizen advice bureau for an appointment to look at my options but I would truly appreciate advice from anyone who has reached that level of failure in their life but managed to get themselves back on track again.

Really what are my options? all I could think of is:

• put the house back on the market after some basic fixes? try to put the cost of the repairs on the mortgage? (will the bank even agree as my salary is quite low...)
• consider traditional auctions or those companies that buy back houses for cash?
• give the keys of the house back to the bank...but is that even an option
• will I even qualify for support if I become homeless in this situation?

Sorry if I am rambling a bit but I have done the best I could in my life to get ahead but I have the worst rotten luck in the past five years and now in my early 50s I think I am about to lose everything and have to start again.

I am so sorry you're going through this OP. Unfortunately I don't have any practical advice, hopefully CAB (and other posters) will be able to come up with something useful for you, but I didn't want to read and run. Sending a huge hug x

Where were you before buying this house?

Speak to citizens advice.

Can you switch to interest only mortgage payments for a while to free up some cash and deal with the most urgent repairs?

I am so sorry you’re going through this and hope life gets easier for you soon.

Remember that everything is temporary. Circumstances change all the time. The situation you’re in now will have changed in a few years’ time. This is what it is for the time being.
The first thing is you, your health. Look after yourself as if you were your best friend. With whatever that implies, from doughnuts to counselling, cosy socks or a new mug for your favourite tea.

The house, although not perfect, is your safe place. A 0% credit card would allow you to fix the boiler and the leak and give you a breather for at least a year.
Start small.
Wishing you all the best, you can do this, it’s just a temporary situation.

that all sounds truly awful.

perhaps make an appointment with your bank. the bank will prefer to help you keep the house.

get the leak fixed first then the others.

take it one fix at a time.

get more than one quote before you agree to any one.

Prioritise. What few things urgently need doing? Toilet and boiler sound like good starters. You can usually add to mortgage after 6 months. Could you get a credit card even if you need to pay interest to cover the initial cost until you can add to mortgage? Agree citizens advice first see if you are entitled to an to grants etc.

I can't offer any advice on what to do with the house as I've never been a house owner (so you've done better than I have, and you have a disability!) but I would say, try to just buy yourself some time short term, while you concentrate on getting your health back on track. So yes, speak to bank and see what's possible, maybe a mortgage holiday is possible, and an interest free credit card to do essential works sounds like a good plan.

You don't have to answer but I'm wondering what it is that's caused your current breakdown - is it related to the stress of the house? Do you normally enjoy work? Or is work an issue that's causing you stress? If you can see yourself going back once you've recovered, then I would imagine things will be okay, you just need temporary support which I very much hope the bank should be able to accommodate. I'm sure if must happen a lot. If work is an issue then I guess you need to try to find something else, but a talk with the bank I'm sure is best either way. Good luck and well done for all you've achieved. Even if the worst happens and you have to sell up, I'm sure you will be eligible for housing support. Perhaps get your name down on the list for council housing now as a back up.

If you are on a low income, you could be entitled to some sort of benefit, Citizens Advice will be able to help with this.
First job is to get the toilet leak fixed, anything to do with leaking water is serious, so get it fixed asap, even if you have to put the repair on a credit card.
Ring your mortgage people and explain that you’ve been ill and on sick pay, so what can they do to help you, it could be a 3 month mortgage break, with which you could get a new boiler fitted.
Or change your mortgage to Interest only for 12 months while you get on your feet.

I wouldn’t throw the towel in just yet and give up your house, even if at this stage all you can do is get the leak fixed.
Good luck….

@Vallencia

Thank you everyone for the responses so far. I really appreciate people taking the time to post.

I think the breakdown has been a long time coming. In the past 5 years I had to deal with (I hope that does not trigger anyone by the way):

• identity fraud
• sexual assault by a male friend
• being caught in the cladding scandal in my previous property
• 1 major surgery and other health issues
• chronic pain
• having to change jobs and not really liking the current one
• relocating to a new town
• family estrangement
• losing friends...

It has been endless really and I think the house was just the final blow.

Toilet and boiler are the priorities.

Is it the only toilet in the house? If not then short term look to see if you have an isolator valve on the pipe that goes into the Cistern, that way you can prevent water going to the toilet and stop the leak from becoming a bigger problem.

waterleak.co.uk/help-tips/isolation-valves-guide/

Boiler - if you're on benefits it's likely you will be eligible for some kind of boiler grant if your current boiler is gas and over 10 years old. CAB should be able to help you to find a scheme in your area.

And I also really appreciate the financial advice by the way. It makes sense to start negotiating with the bank to see what the options are.

The plumber stopped the water from leaking for now but will have to come back to remove the toilet and do the proper repairs. I am wondering if it worth hiring someone else tomorrow though to get that urgently fixed instead.

I just have no energy to do anything right now...

''If not then short term look to see if you have an isolator valve on the pipe that goes into the Cistern, that way you can prevent water going to the toilet and stop the leak from becoming a bigger problem. ''

Yes that's what the plumber did for now and I am staying somewhere else at the moment while I wait for him to come back to fix the toilet properly and the boiler.

He actually called me to quote a reasonable price so at least I can afford that.

I am just worrying the leak might have gone on for a while and cause damage to the floor and other places. Although I will speak to the insurance tomorrow as well.

Ask to take a payment break from your mortgage to ease the pressure whisky you fix your house, and stabilise your MH.

Anything I could think of has been said so just came to wish you a swift recovery OP and hope you can get some relief from somewhere soon. Living in a mess (while spending more time at home) is incredibly difficult.

Can you claim universal credit whilst you are too unwell to work? That would enable you to get your boiler repaired or replaced under the ECO4 scheme.

Thank you again everyone for all the advice and good wishes. It helped keep me sane this evening to read this thread!

I'm not trying to be contrary but I'm just trying to look at your situation with a glass half full mindset.

Ok, so you've had a mental breakdown but you're being cared for by professionals who will do their best to get you better.

Ok, you're on sick leave from work. That's only temporary. They care about you. Nothing will fall apart when you're away. Think about how happy they'll be to see you back. It's great you have a job to go back too.

Ok, your toilet is leaking. Sure the plumber has stopped the leak. Another phone call or two to get that replaced and repaired will take you no time at all.

Ok, your house needs some maintenance but you have a mortgage. A phone call with the bank will allow you to remortgage to release some funds or you can tackle the urgent stuff first and then go a bit slower on the non urgent stuff. Well done you going back to a home you own. You've worked hard and you deserve it.

Life is so good OP. You're going to be ok. Your house is going to be a home soon. Big hugs from me and I hope you get better soon. Better days are coming!

Bloody hell that's a lot on your plate OP. Have you discussed some of these issues with your crisis team? I wonder if they would be able to sign post you to some support? It sounds like you just need some support getting a plan in place. The CAB I think will be really helpful to you, so try them first tomorrow, then work your way up to tackling the bank. Do you have any counselling or therapy? Sounds like you need some structured support to work through everything you've got going on. I'm glad you're under the crisis team, hope you're getting the support you need.

Don’t make yourself homeless. PPs have given some good advice. I’m not a home owner but I found Citizen’s Advice really good when I was in a financial hole. They really helped me prioritise the most urgent things and they wrote to the bank to put a hold on some debt. They can also help with claiming any help you need. You will get through this.

Thank you again everyone. I emailed the local CAB yesterday and will call them as well.

I am seeing the crisis team for the first time this afternoon and I will be honest with them about the fact that I am really struggling.

I think it is just hard to think rationally at the moment and believe there might be a way out.

Have you ever been a home owner before? Is this situation of not coping with it temporary because of the type of house you own and your current health or could it be a long term/permanent situation? I'm wondering if you're someone who needs to rent, so when a repair needs doing you pick up the phone and call the LL and that's it. If that's the case apply for social housing via the council. There could be a bit of a wait but you're eligible for the over 50s housing and older people, er, move on more often, so there can be better availability than housing for younger people and families.

If the property is repossessed the problem is you're still liable for the mortgage. The bank aren't going to pay the council tax and utilities for years waiting for the right buyer to come along. If they can't sell it at auction for the amount of the mortgage you're going to be left with the shortfall to pay.

If you want to sell up, find out how much mortgage you owe if you paid it off eg tomorrow because there could be early exit fees or something, then speak to an estate agent about the best way of selling it to at least cover the mortgage.

Regarding the council, I honestly don't know if you'd be voluntary homeless or involuntarily homeless if you sold cheaply when you could have got more and bought a flat with the equity. I imagine it could be seen as deliberate deprivation of assets. If it's repossessed then you're involuntarily homeless, but the bank aren't going to repossess without good reason.

You can't just hand the keys back to the bank. They didn't lend you a mortgage because they wanted a house. They lent you a mortgage because they wanted the interest on the money they've lent you. If their business was acquired houses they'd just go out and buy them.

If you've got a social worker or psych nurse talk it over with them.

Oh I forgot to say if you're going to apply to the council you're also going to need to sell up and rent first, I imagine. I can't see you ever being offered a place or possibly even allowed to join the list if you own a home. Having money from the sale of that home in the bank isn't necessarily a barrier, especially if it's rapidly getting spent on rent.

In your shoes I’d cut my losses, mend the loo/boiler, sell the house and buy a one bed ground floor flat with the equity. Something that needs minimal work and is lovable in current condition.

Again thank you everyone.

To answer the questions, I owned a flat before. it has a few issues over the years but nothing too drastic so this is all a shock.

Yes I think the wise thing is to try to patch up the immediate issues with bathroom and boiler and then putting it back on sale. As long as there is enough to pay the mortgage, I don't even care if I lose money on this. I can always move to a cheaper area.

I just want to get out of this with my life intact but in the meantime every day is hell.

I should have added as anyone any experience of dealing with this cash companies that buy properties in poor state? DM if you do and can recommend one that is not a complete rip off...as mentioned I really don't care how much money I lose at this stage. I just want out.