I appreciate the suggestions. Some details (they are really boring!)
Husband died intestate. No life insurance, but two mortgaged buy to let properties. I have one btl in my own name, mortgaged with Financial Institution. I inherited his, but it’s a sod to get a mortgage in my name, because of inheriting them, I don’t understand why. Got one single offer, on a horrible interest rate. Offers in writing accepted with enough to discharge DH’s mortgage and a bit more to buy me and DD a house outright along with the proceeds from our house in the SE. So I borrowed from my mum to make up the difference until the btl mortgages come through.
Was almost going through, when a last minute credit check revealed Financial institution have marked my credit rating with several unpaid mortgage markers. I had paid the mortgage and am furious. I pay it in advance, quarterly and I they didn’t advise me of the right reference number when I started doing it online. They returned the money to a savings account and didn’t even write to me until they’d put two months markers on. Mortgages declined.
Took months and months to get anyone to GAF. Eventually, they did (emailed the chief exec) and I got it cleared. Took almost a year. New Mortgage offers but worse rates, and only enough to cover DH’s mortgage. Not the extra I’d planned to pay off my mum with. Then even that was withdrawn and I had to pay in money to get them remortgaged at all. No real choice.
Got a few hundred quid costs for rearranging holidays and stuff, and a few thousand legal costs and difference between the mortgage I was paying and the one I could now get. It was still crappy rate, but I was advised to take what I could get (one property was almost repossessed in this time!) and remortgage after six months.
At this point I was happy enough. Not getting the equity hurt, and I persuaded Financial Institution to give me a mortgage to make up the difference, and rolled in the motorhome finance so as to afford it. (All my money is from btl so residential mortgages are hard for me to get, which is why I was trying not have one). And it was all right over lockdown which was awful. I was just so glad to be able to keep the properties.
I wait six months (you have to) and try to remortgage. I have to get quotes for works to release equity, not just match the mortgage, which is now during 2nd lockdown and is really hard to organise. Finally I have what I need (my agent was crap here, it all took months) and they put more markers on my credit rating, for various different and invalid reasons. Again it takes months for them to admit liability and remove them. They gave all sorts of excuses. I completely flip my lid at them, several times. I’m going broke paying horrible interest rates, and a residential mortgage I didn’t budget for. By August 21 I am almost bankrupt and sell my motorhome to keep paying the bloody mortgages, because one of the houses isn’t now let. I have been offered a 5 year let by a company, but I can’t take it became the mortgage lender wouldn’t re-finance on that basis. The mortgage offers have long since expired.
I now can’t get another mortgage offer. the mortgage company decides they are Houses of Multiple Occupancy (they are usually, but not at the moment because of covid) and won’t offer on them. Products are massively reduced because of covid, and HMO mortgages aren’t widely available. Lender doesn’t do one to offer me. HMO licences are £900 each property, and I don’t have that, and an HMO mortgage will need them, even if it isn’t an HMO let.
Financial Institution offers 2k compensation and about 6K difference between the mortgage I thought I could get, and the one I thought I could have had before they stomped all over my credit rating for the second time. But they won’t pay the 6k, only the 2k. I think 2k is too low, given the shit I’ve been through and that they know I need money and are chancing it. The 6K is money I have already spent on interest costs unfairly, and I think they should pay up. They also tried to impose a deadline for remortgaging or they wouldn’t pay anything, which I can’t meet, because one property isn’t let, and anyway I can’t pay for the licenses now. I hand the whole lot over the to the ombudsman.
I’m now broke. My dog almost died over Christmas, which cost a fortune in vet fees. She is insured, but they haven’t paid out yet either, and she was so sick, I couldn’t just leave her to suffer. (She’s fine now as long as she eats really expensive food). I thought for sure the Obudsman would sort out in February, but I’m still waiting. They keep asking for more evidence and information (I know they need evidence, but they keep saying they have everything and then finding something else). I have just enough saved for the solicitors costs to remortgage, but that’s only half a months mortgage payment. The two properties that are let are enough for us pay basic bills, and I’m frugal, but not enough to pay the mortgages as well let as they are. If the ombudsman doesn’t come through and the institution actually pay up by the end of the March, I’ll get real markers on my credit rating and then I won’t be able remortgage at all.
The ombudsman can only only consider the second lot of credit markers, not the first, because it was more than six months ago and I didn’t flip out at the time (mistake. I was polite and civil and didn’t want to seem grabby. I didn’t know they’d do it again. I didn’t know about the HMO crap). They can’t take into account that it’s been going on for so long. They can’t award for the motorhome (that I had to sell in a hurry to a broker, because I needed to make the mortgage payment at the end of month). I don’t think they can award for the interest, as we can’t compare like to like and the lender won’t give me historical rates anyway. I bet they can’t award for the rental income loss, or the extra interest I’ve been paying on my residential mortgage or even the compensatory interest on the equity I couldn’t get, because it all relates to the first set of markers. I’ve only recently found this out.
It’s all so stupid. It was such a small mistake, and they would NOT listen that it was such a big issue for me and correct it. And I’m going to lose my livelihood over it. Pre covid I made about £30k over the three properties. The last two years I’ve made £13k. I’ve no reserves.
I’m going to have to sell one and go back to work. They were DHs pension provision, I’ve got no other death benefits for him. They are a perfectly viable comfortable income usually. We should have been fine, and I was thinking of re-training or starting a little business once my dd is settled in high school. (I’ve no real childcare here) I’ve never had problems letting them before (especially the one that’s empty now. It’s never been void, not in twenty years. It’s just covid a blip but I can’t weather it because of this. If I could hold on until July, it would let, I’m certain. But I can’t. I’m going to have to sell it, pay capital gains tax and buy another one and pay second home stamp duty.
I didn’t choose to be a landlord. It was DH’s thing. But it would be working out OK if Financial Institution hadn’t made mistakes, and I don’t think I would be such dire straights if they hadn’t. There are better ways to get out than this. I’m not comfortable morally with second home ownership, but I’m so beaten down by it all, I haven’t the wherewithal to do something else at moment, and I have to consider my obligation to DD via his estate as well, not just what I might like to do. I feel a bit broken over it. I’m usually pretty smart and savvy, but jeez, how much can any one person deal with. My DD is a pretty high needs kiddo, and is currently undergoing an ADHD assessment, doesn’t sleep through and is having support for anxiety at school. my dishwasher and my oven broke this week. Ironically, I have spares of both in the garage, but I haven’t the headspace to figure out how to plumb them in (and I can’t lift them on my own). And the boiler is making a horrible noise and needs the reset button pressing to heat up every couple of hours. I’m terrified it’s going to break and I can’t bear the thought of living with no heating or hot water. I just can’t. It’s the last straw. I know it’s a first world problem, and many people are facing worse with the cost of living crisis and lots of widows would consider themselves lucky to have a passive income at all. I know that. But this is all because of someone else’s mistakes and I just want them to FIX IT! With money.
I may be a little overwrought. I’m not usually despondent. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new new attitude. Unless the boiler fails. Then I will stay in bed and cry. A lot.