To feel suicidal about mortgage/interest rates

[mortgagequandary]

I am sorry if this post upsets anyone but my mind is constantly occupied with the fear of losing my house. [PART OF POST REMOVED BY MNHQ AS WE DON'T ALLOW MENTION OF SELF-HARM/ SUICIDE METHODS]

But I don't know where to turn and can't tell anyone in real life . I wake up every morning and feel hopeless. I am too scared to do anything but I wish I could go to sleep and not wake up

I am terrified of losing my home and not being able to provide suitable accommodation for my children. I have been here 13 years ago when I was evicted from a rental as a young single mum and the fear and shame about not being able to even provide a roof for your kids is awful. I was lucky enough to get a small council house which would not happen now, this made me able to save a deposit and 7 years ago we bought a tiny house. I then moved to a slightly bigger house in 2019 but it's just still modest 3 bed terrace - I was told I could borrow over 100k more but I stayed sensible

We don't have any kind of flashy life. We live paycheque to paycheque. Between me and H we have 5 jobs. I work about 40 hours in 3 pt jobs and he has a main job and an evening job. Since last year when rates started to rise I have used every spare penny I have making overpayments. I have now paid about £5500 but still got 103k owed so feels pointless and not enough as I don't think will make any difference to what my new payments will be

I have a year left now til my fixed ends. and I feel like that will be it then, I won't get to keep my house

I am worth more dead to my family because if I died my mortgage would be paid off and then my husband and kids would always have a home .

You still have a year left of your fixed term. Interest rates may have started to come down by then (they are predicted to) and utilities/fuel have already began to drop.

I know you've mentioned your ages as a reason not to extend or go interest only for a period of time but you could always downsize once your children leave home. My in-laws did similar in their late 50s and it left them mortgage free. And any decision isn't permanent, once rates come down you could continue paying as you have been now.

Or offer someone local to you who has a high insta following a free treatment in return for a picture and recommendation on their page

my dd who is a stunner always ‘wins’ these competitions 🤣 I’ve told her there’s a reason but she doesn’t seem to get it

Or rent a chair/room in an already successful place?

Most lenders hover somewhere between 70 and 90 for their upper age limits, and you'll have a good above 50% ltv even if your house had dropped 10k in value. under the current circumstances I think banks would be a bit more forgiving on the upper age limits, so you may be able to extend your term to 20 or even 25 years. there's always the option to switch to interest only if you couldn't extend your term.

don't panic, the banks are held back from aggressive repossessions like last time. also saw an advice that if you did end up being summoned for a repossession hearing, don't dodge it, go to it and demonstrate your willingness and effort to arrange a new payment deal with the lender (even if it's just a small amount each month). the judge won't want to rule in favor of an repossession, so as long as you can demonstrate your willingness to pay, you should be safe. if you don't go, the judge will have no other choice but to grant the repossession.

Oh bless her 😅 that's lovely that she wins though. not Gona lie I'm always happy when I get a beautiful client as they always make the best before and after pics

You may be surprised at how the bank values your property, it may not be lower. Ours was a big surprise to us.

Our bank uses some sort of overall house value index or something when we remortgage with them, which last I looked had our house at being worth about £90k more than it actually is.

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so something like

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That’s what my bank did and it meant I got a better rate!

I mean no way was it worth what they claimed

Surprised the tight buggers haven’t upgraded their valuation system actually

OP you will be fine, I really cannot see the interest rate hitting the giddy heights of 17% I once paid (with 3 jobs, so I do understand).

You don't mention pensions...if your DH has pension funds, when he retires he can take up to 25% tax free and use this to pay down / or pay off the mortgage. You'll likely find that taking a lump sum doesn't necessarily drastically reduce the payout on the pension - my DH is currently looking at this and is finding some of his pensions do not pay out much and with those he's better off drawing a lump sum and buying an annuity. Surprisingly one pension he had in his late teens when earning about £100 a week is final salary at a time he was doing vast hours of overtime (100 hours not unusual) so is actually paying out far, far above expectation, and with this one he will also get a % increase annually at current rates.

So even if you have to increase the term, you will have something to fall back on to pay off the mortgage if he has pensions.

If you've overpaid, can you not pay less for a bit or have a payment holiday? Speak to your bank.

Agree you're catastrophising, and you sound really tired. 40 hours isn't insane but spread over 3 jobs, 3 different mindsets/travel times that's bound to take a lot more toll than one job with similar hours. Do you ever get time off? Sundays? I'd really encourage you to find a few hours to focus and regroup, because you sound like you've made sensible choices financially so far and future-proofed yourself as much as you can, but that can be hard to appreciate when you're constantly on the hamster wheel.

We have 17 years

However H is 52 and I'm 44 so I can't see them extending it

We currently owe about £103000

Seriously not sure why you're panicking? I'm 49 and have 26 years left on mine (few traumatic life scenarios and having to start again etc etc) - also owe significantly more.

I should be mortgage free by now and don't feel as desperate as you do.

Stop overpaying for a start off. So long as you can afford your monthly payments, it will get paid off eventually. You can extend your term for sure.

Just get a decent mortgage broker and stop dramatising! You have a mortgage - that's the hard part. Once you have one, it's quite easy to get another.

People don't spend money on discretionary services when times are hard.

If there are 2 of you both working on nmw that is around £800 pw, or £42K per year.

So a mortgage of £100K (2.3x salary) should easily be serviceable, even with higher interest rates and COL.

I don't know what the best strategy for overpayment is. It may be better to hold the overpayment money in an account and then use it to help pay the mortgage when and if you start to struggle. That should help defer the time at which you can't keep up with the payments for longer and hopefully see you through until a point where you can either make more money, the economy recovers or interest rates start to go lower.

There may also be a lot of help available (for example moving onto interest only for a short period) from the banks.

If you have dependent children I doubt very much that you will end up losing the house although you might end up effectively losing the equity.

Even on a 7% mortgage rate it is probably less than you would pay in rent.

It sounds to me like you are panicking without really spending time looking at the facts and figuring out a plan. It is hard sometimes and easy to get overwhelmed, but the only way though it is really to work through it logically, maybe with the help of a family member. The good news is that the sooner you start planning and understand the reality of what you need to do, the better chance you have of coming up with a plan that will allow you to meet your expectations.

Good luck.

They vary enormously, my local one couldn't be trusted to help you find the exit.

Would you not be better saving the over payments for the next year to help cover the increase when your fixed rate ends. I can see that reducing your mortgage is a good thing, but I can’t see it making a big difference in the short term payments.

For example if paying an extra £100 only makes a £5 per month reduction because the mortgage is over 20 years then you’re better off keeping the money for next year when you may be struggling.

I think if you actually look at the figures, you might be reassured. I used this website: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/buying-a-home/use-our-mortgage-calculator

With your house value: £250,000
’Depost’ (current equity): £150,000
Over a 20 year term (you won’t be expected to retire until 68+ so could probably extend it further)

Current repayment (at 6%): £716pcm
Potential repayment (at 9%): £899pcm

How does that seem compared to now?

Keep in mind also, I did this on a quick online check. A mortgage broker who knows your circumstances might be able to get something better.

I'm absolutely exhausted tbh

Two of my jobs are self employed so I don't really get real time off

My mind doesn't stop I can't remember the last full nights sleep I had. I wake several times a night with my heart pounding

I also think I am in peri which won't be helping. but I can't even find time to go to the doc plus ours is impossible to get an appointment unless it's an emergency 🤦‍♀️

@mortgagequandary you need to speak to your GP & get some help with your MH.

honestly you don't have a financial problem, you have a MH problem.

it's understandable, given your previous housing situation, that you're focussing on this, but you're not thinking clearly at all.

im sorry if that's hard to hear, but maybe so many people telling you that actually your financial situation is NOT an issue, will encourage you to get help with your MH.

your kids need YOU! Your DH & family love you & want you here!!

your finances are actually ok.

please listen to everyone.

OP, I've not RTFT but I've read all your replies and don't see a response to this so will suggest:

Talk to your bank! It is not in their interest to have all their customers foreclosing on their mortgages or having to hand the keys back. You could ask for the mortgage to be extended by another 5 or 10 years to lower the monthly costs. They might well be amenable to that. People work until late sixties now. Make sure they don't screw you over. Maybe even chat to a mortgage broker. Get some control over what is happening with your repayments.

But please please stop feeling bad about it. If the worst happened and you lost your home it would not be your fault but the fault of the government and its economic policies.

I am older than you and lived through the 1990s recession when so many people had to hand back their keys, or sell houses for 50% what they'd paid for them. This happened to friends of mine. They survived. They thrived. They got back on their feet and found new lives and are even fairly wealthy now.

People survive war and natural disasters - famine and floods. People are made homeless all the time, all over the world. It is horrific, traumatic and stressful but it really is something you and your family can survive. What your DC need most is you.

Thanks this is helpful

Although I get different figures 😩😵‍💫

With all due respect, your mortgage is pretty tiny, and there are two adults working full time. On a £250k mortgage I'm looking at a £400 increase as things stand. Yours will be no more than £150-200. I think you need some help with your mental health. I appreciate people's anxiety over this, as I am too, but you're overreacting.

@mortgagequandary

ok to be blunt!

how much do your self employment jobs actually bring in??

make time to see your GP!

the appointment might be 2-3 weeks away, but at least you'd have one.

you're too exhausted to think straight.
take some time off your SE jobs, the work will be there after & a least you'll feel less exhausted.

when you wake in the night, be firm with yourself and tell yourself 'now is NOT the time, I will think about this tomorrow', put some white noise on & go back to sleep.

what is your DH saying about the finances?

loads & loads of posters have told you, you will NOT lose your house, your finances are ok, you need to sort your thinking out first, then you will see that too