fuming for friend = Housing benefit V morgage payments

[thekidsrule]

Hi,this does not effect me but a very close friend of mine

will try to keep brief and to the point

friend has 4dcs,age 3,5,8 and 13,she has been with her partner 16yrs,has worked,bought a home together etc etc

she has found out the last week that he has been having an affair on/off for last 5months,she had suspisions and finally admitted it only when other women rang her (nice) hes said all the normal he dosent want OW,its over,everybody does it (do they) blah blah blah

anyway she has kicked him out,kids devastated,she is but says no way can she take him back,anyway ive been helping her get benefits sorted,buying some shopping (left her overdrawn) generally trying to help

spoke to income support and that wont be a problem,but because she has a morgage and he is on the morgage

1, they say she will have to wait 13wks before they help

2, they will only pay £100 when her morgage is £400,her parner is supposed to make up rest

3, her partner hardly works so cant see that happening as his work has slowed alot due to recession,and if he went onto JSA there no way he could pay it,NO income payment protection

but if she rented they would pay upto approx 750 / 800 pcm for here straight away,its madness they wont really help with her housing because its a morgage but if she rents they will and straight away

I think its disgusting,it wasnt her kids or her fault her partner is a twat,where is the logic in these decisions they make,so now not only has her relationship failed,kids in bits,the only home theyve known could be lost

am i unreasonable to be so cross about this

and hopefully people that think benefits come easy please take note,they dont

Find a job with 4 kids the youngest being 2 - in todays climate?

Erm ok then

littlemisssarcastic - She still has to wait 13 weeks for help with interest payments. Why shouldn't it start from week 1 like hb?

Its easy to get a job apparently , well some on MN think it is anyway

It has taken me months to get a job recently and I have alot of experience, good secondary education and a degree and I couldn't even get interviews. I found it impossible and really quite soul destroying tbh

I think it has to reach some sort of default status with the bank first before HB will step in with the interest. Something like that anyway

and I don't smell

I got an interview for a bar job and didn't even get that and I am sure I would have been fine at it, it wasn't a young persons kind of bar....I do start a job on Friday though after alot of forcing myself on companies but the manager even said they are getting 300 applications A WEEK and it is only a tiny place

Ok, if it suits you naysayers better, it's as difficult for her to get a job as it is for the rest of us!

My point is that she's no different to any of us. Several children, housing costs to be met... Except that actually she's luckier than many that her housing costs are so low and that most of her children are school age, which is easier than having to work when they're pre-school.

Yea- the country is in recession. It's as easy, or difficult, for us all.

You can't even get the MN old favourite shelf stacking jobs where I live

im asumming some MNers have partners/husbands,never needed help before

god i really hope this never happens to some on here,dave would be proud with some of these comments,but keep them coming

at the time she thought she was doing the right thing by buying a home,security,stability etc,she should of just spent every penny she had,never bothered getting up at 5am to work in a sandwich shop for mw when work was quiet fo ex dc,

what a daft mare my mate is,cant all pick the best mates and good wage earners,she thought he was a life partner they were together 16yrs

rant over

School age kids still have to be collected from school before the end of the working day and then there is the school holidays oh and inset days and kids being off sick and needing to be collected/off school, and the school closing for snow.........

No one is denying she's had a rough time from her partner op

That doesn't therefore mean the state should pay her mortgage

Takeresponsibility. Couldn't agree more. Infidelity is painful, but many couples have weathered that particular storm. It's her choice to separate from him. It may be the right choice for her and I wish her luck but I don't wish to pay for her choice. It's not the same as having a duty to care for someone fleeing, say, a violent relationship.

Sensual lettuce- don't I know it.
It's bloody difficult - and expensive - when you work. At least on a low wage job she'll get a lot of childcare costs paid

agincourt,well done

O.... What do you want the government to actually DO here?

Is the 'friend' really you?

I am not disagreeing that it should start straightaway, although even if it did, by the time it is processed, payments can take up to 13 weeks to go through anyway, even for tenants, so would probably take that long for mortgages too.

Anyway, I don't disagree, I was just pointing out that 13 weeks is an improvement from 6 months +.

Instead of expecting the govt to pick up the tab, why aren't more posters expecting her XH to pay the mortgage. It's not exactly a huge one is it?

OP's friend doesn't necessarily have to get her house repossessed imo, if she can afford to pay £400 a month for 3 months, and then £300 a month thereafter...for the next 4 years.

Personally, I think her XH should pay half of this, so they are both paying £200 a month for 3 months and £150 a month for the next 4 years.

to be fair if she had left her husband for having an affair and taken her children with her she would be the responsibility of the state. As she has stayed in their home her husband, I imagine, is legally enforcable to pay the mortgage but she will need to seek legal advice to find out what her situation is. Someone should be able to link to the legal services free advice thing (hopefully) as I don#'t know what it is

Hmmm....there was no after school club at my kids school, I have no family close by oh and my kids went to three different schools because I live on the edge of two catchments and couldn't get them all into the same school meaning no child minder would do the run for me. Childcare doesn't help with unforseen circumstances and to put 4 kids into holiday clubs etc would cost a small fortune - I do not think it would be easy at all for this lady to get a job.

I love the way some people (eg Squeakytoy) automatically assume we'd all claim benefits if we could. Actually, people don't go to get their tonsils out just because it's 'free'. My suggestion of repaying the money is only what you do with a mortgage anyway - what's the big deal difference in having back-up State mortgages for these unforeseen situations? Works for RBS - oh no, wait - the Govt isn't going to get all the money back for that

I think the lack of compassion on these sort of threads is actually quite cruel :(

tiffany,no not me,was me a few yrs back though,similar situation,only 2 kids,morgage etc

i would like them to have a more level playing field intrest payment V housing benefit,maybe for a short time but unfair that starts at 13wks but will pay practically full HB

arent they discriminating against the homeowner then v hb,just a thought

ILoveTIFFEY I would like to know the answer to that question too.

The govt would still be discriminating against homeowner v tenant though OP if they put a time limit on how long a homeowner could claim HB, as opposed to no time limits on a tenant.

Why is it not the states problem to pay for a mortgage but not someones rent.This happened to me and was a terrible struggle to keep a home for my 4 children.If id have lost it the state would have had to re house me and the children would have had to move schools.I completely aggree that people shouldnt have their house purchased by the state but there should be provision such as having to pay it back when the house it sold.I had a freind on the same income as me (both working) we had the same tax credits,she got maintainence-i didnt and then housing benefit paid most of her rent.She was £800 a month better off than me,that really isnt fair.

Should have said If the govt decided to pay homeowners mortgage in full, then putting a time limit on it would STILL discriminate between homeowner and tenant!!