Big time money problems

[missisl24]

My husband and I are both 55. 10 years ago we bought a fast food outlet after taking advise from lots of different people and family agreeing to lend us the money.
It's been a disaster.
The area we are in has gone very run down since we've been here and we are now not even making anywhere near a minimum wage each despite doing 50+ hours per week.
We have had the business for sale for 3 years but with each year getting quieter we haven't had any interest.
I've tried to get a job - so far applied for over 300 jobs of all varieties and not even one interview.
We have a mortgage which is currently @8.5% interest rate but we don't earn enough to change this despite seeing a financial advisor. We have personal debt of £5800 and we have debt collection letters coming through the door every week. We pay a token £1 off each debt monthly

We both feel in actual despair as we are literally just keeping the wolf from the door - only just.
We never take time off, I have recently had a breast cancer scare. God forbid if one of us got ill.
I know there is nothing anyone can really say but just feel better putting pen to paper.
I just can't see a way out.

That's sounds difficult , I think you may need some professional advice. I'd look at all your debt , the mortgage rate is very high are you in the UK ? Do you have a mortgage ? Can your husband get a job ?

Yes we are in UK.
We have had the mortgage for 8 years.
We work together and we're both trying to get jobs but to no avail.
Apart from going on interest only or selling our house - we currently have £80k equity but then we would probably have to rent. We are just stuck.

No advice but didn't want to read and run - I can't even imagine the stress. Good luck

Maltay - thank you so much. I don't really think anyone can give us anything g we haven't thought of already but it's nice of you to drop by and post.
THANK YOU

How much would you save if you switched to interest only?

Give up the shop. Add all the debts together - go for either a IVA or a Bankruptcy Order. Can't you get a job in Tesco or Asda or something.
To fund an IVA you need to have some sort of income.
With an IVA you can keep your home if you can prove that you are unable to remortgage due poor credit rating.

Go to the CAB to see what your options are.

8.5% APR on your mortgage is waaaaaay too high. Like seriously way too much.

Who is this with and is this their SVR?

Depending on circumstances you should be able to get them to put you on a cheaper fix by claiming the government supports the fact you should not be held mortgage prisoners. I did the same for my parents and their rate halved immediately.

That's interesting about getting them to reduce your rate because of government. How did you go about doing that? Sorry for being thick if that's stating the obvious. We have already paid off what the initial mortgage amount borrowed and still got 17 years left to pay. It's central Homeloans.

Do you own the premises? If not, are you tied into a contract or can you just close the business? Have you found out how much you can sell any equipment for?

Is there any way of developing your business? Could you use the kitchen to run other services eg a sandwich/soup/salad delivery service to local businesses, would a change of menu be more appropriate for the area, event catering?

From what I can see it doesn't look like Central Homeloans offer normal mortgages but secured home loans - usually for home improvements or to consolidate debt. Is this what you've done at some point?

Sorry to hear, OP.
Contact StepChange to discuss your options.
I hear they are a great resource.
www.stepchange.org

I would speak to stepchange or Christians against poverty.

Also is the mortgage on your business premises or your home? (Or are they combined?). If your business premises are leased you could try to renegotiate the lease?

8% is an incredibly high interest rate, there must be a back story to that?

sorry it sounds horribly stressful.