What are you going to do when you just run out of money?

[batvixen123]

My situation - I'm currently working from home. DH is on furlough, but is bringing in considerably less than he would do normally due to the cap on earnings. Am aware we were v lucky before. DH's company is one which relies on people being allowed to interact in public - they can't work while mass gatherings, and hospitality is shut down. Currently the company owner is pretty honest about the fact that they know the company will go bankrupt, but they're keeping it open on paper in order to be able to get their staff furlough pay. Once furlough pay stops, the company goes into liquidation.

DH has worked in his industry for over 20 years. I think it would be challenging for him to get a new job in another industry. Especially if he can't leave the house - he has severe asthma and so is meant to be shielding. If shielding continues until we have a vaccine, potentially 1-2 years, he won't be able to work.

If DH can't work and his furlough pay stops, which we expect will happen well before a vaccine appears, then we won't be able to pay the mortgage. We have savings that will last us maybe 4-5 months but not more. Certainly not years. I don't see how we can put the house on the market to sell it before foreclosure if we are meant to be shielding. I don't see how we can move house without massively breaking shielding.

If we're going to have to break shielding anyway, is he best off just finding some kind of work when furlough ends and he loses his job, even if it involves going out for some of the time? Are there any other options?

What are other people in the shielding category going to do when they stop receiving furlough pay etc if the expectation is that they can't engage with the world again until there is a vaccine?

@ChrissieKeller61 People will if it is cheap enough. I have rented a room from a family when young and poor. But people will pay less. In terms of safety you have to assess the person.
It is not what I would recommend, but if it means the difference between surviving or not then yes I would do it. I would only rent to a woman though.

Childminder would not be a safe job if you are shielded. Shielded will continue to be able to claim statutory sick pay while shielded.

The same as if being made redundant. You cancel every direct debit you can, you stop buying brands, cut all luxuries. Claim a mortgage holiday, then go interest-only with the mortgage. If you have two cars sell at least one. Sell anything else.

He signs on with agencies and takes any job with a semblance of social distancing, to make ends meet. You try to find a second job at the weekend.

You eke out your savings until your luck turns. And only then do you consider reneging on the mortgage when you have absolutely no other option.

@Willyoujustbequiet Wasn't mortgage interest support scrapped years ago?

Desirability of your house for room renting would also depend on location. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to rent a room from us with a 6 year old, a 4 year old and a 1 year old who doesn’t sleep through the night and gets up at 5.30am, in our house in the sticks in a village with no jobs and 50 mins on the bus from our nearest town with massive unemployment!

We are near a major hospital but I wouldn’t want a doctor or a nurse in the house, in fact any key worker. And yet they will be the ones with a DBS so in theory exactly who you’d want under normal circumstances.

@HoffiCoffi13 No obviously not relevant for everyone. But a friend did manage to cling onto her house through redundancy when she rented out the biggest bedroom in her house. It works for some people.

Actually just found Support for Mortgage Interest on .gov site. It's a loan from the government which you pay back WITH INTEREST! So unfair you can have private rent paid indefinitely but no help for home owners.

Ramdogs Its still there but in the form of an equity loan rather than a benefit. Should your house ever be sold it gets paid back. Still needs must.

I think there's a qualifying period but I wouldn't be surprised if that had been scrapped in the current circumstances.

But with regards to mortgages, my understanding is they have to do everything in their power to prevent repossession so paying anything is always better than paying nothing. We had tenants not pay the rent for 9 months and it was just getting to the point then that the bank was loosing patience. I think if we’d even sent £100 a month it would have been better. I ended up clearing all the arrears but as I say took a while before they were even at the giving us the red card stage.

And money saving expert forums are brilliant for advice. They do ask you to post all financial details, but you can register under a fake name. The people on there will tell you what you need to do, even if it is harsh to hear.

I think it has interest because it assumes your house will increase in price.
And if you can't manage the mortgage, you need to sell or rent out.
There is lots of advice out there because I know many more people are going to face this at the moment, but individuals have been dealing with these situations for years.

My husband has severe asthma, and is still working. He is working outdoors with 3 other colleagues. Shielding is not an option. He is doing his best to keep a physical distance. As a family we are trying to get fitter, eat less to loose some weight, and make sure we are outdoors lots getting vitamin d. Not a perfect plan, but the one we have opted for. Good luck.

@glitterfarts is your husband limited? If so and he's paid himself a nominal salary he can furlough himself and at least get 80% of that, not a fortune but better than nothing.

DH is self employed in events also and not eligible for furlough or any government handouts.

The self-employed can claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month for 3 months.

Banks have to do everything they can to prevent repossession. But if they repossess it will be sold at auction and you will get less than if you had sold it yourself. If it sells with negative equity, you still have to pay back the difference. This happened during the 90s to lots of those boomers that some people say had it easy. So do whatever you can to avoid repossession.

@hopeless I know it says grant, but I am right this does not need to be repaid? DP will get this and it will help a lot.

I think there's a qualifying period but I wouldn't be surprised if that had been scrapped in the current circumstances.

No, that period is still nine months.

All this talk of registering with agency and signing up for other jobs - there's nothing out there right now. Maybe a delivery job if you're lucky, but that's not guaranteed to last, a friend got one and was let go six days later.

Ditto selling the second car - have any of you seen the number of cars flooding the market at present? No-one's going to be buying.

Sorry to be negative but this isn't like a normal scenario when someone is facing redundancy but there's a whole functioning world beyond that.

It’s a grant based on your last 3 years trading profits
It won’t have to be payed back

My parents were in a similar situation when I was in my late teens. My advice is to definitely talk to your mortgage provider. They don't actually want to repossess houses, it's a ball ache for them, so if you can come to terms it is easier. Personally I'd say I'm looking to sell once lockdown is over, in the meantime can you have a holiday / interest only / remortgage for a longer period to reduce repayments. Depends on how much equity there is in the house already.

If it helps reassure you in the smallest way my friend has severe asthma and has ended up in icu before. She's now had the virus and has come through it fine. She was tested so definitely had it (she's a doctor). I know there are no guarantees with other asthma sufferers but I hope it helps to know that. So lots of people will be in your husband's shoes, get the virus and be ok in terms of then being able to work

I hope things work out for you. It must be very worrying.

@alloutoffucks that’s no longer the case. The bank has to achieve market value for the property but the charges etc all mount up. This is what pisses me off when people think there will be a house price crash. It won’t happen when banks repossess properties it’ll happen when home owners shut themselves thinking they’ll be repossessed and don’t take proper advice. A lot can be done to prevent things getting to that stage.

So many in the same boat. My dh also has severe asthma and is shielding. There is no way he will be able to continue in his current job working from home, le needs to be on site longer term. We are lucky we have no mortgage and some savings but it's a massive worry with four teenagers a( one at Uni). As others have said I don't see how the government will manage the benefits bill with so many claiming.

@alloutoffucks The grant does not have to be repaid but has to be declared as income when tax time comes around.

You can also claim UC while waiting for the grant and you can take on other/casual work while receiving the grant.

If you do get UC then you can take out a loan to pay your mortgage.