And so it begins, the articles subtly warning that a major crisis is upon us.
The strong arm of the FCA means that lenders must treat their customers fairly and make reasonable attempts to rectify a customer going into arrears, whether that be setting up a lower payment, adjusting the term or allowing them to pay interest only for a while. Fortunately, house repossessions are not as common as they used to be.
UK based
If you think you’re going to miss a payment call your lender immediately. Like, immediately. Discuss with them your situation and they’ll probably go through an income and expenditure exercise with you to see what you can afford.
They’ll put you on a repayment plan based on that. Be honest and realistic. Stick to it. Don’t, and it will likely be a problem as they have to report your account behaviour to the credit reference agencies.
Your credit report will be affected anyway but it’s better for you if you at least try to repay what you can instead of sticking your head in the sand and hope it goes away.
It won’t and your lending options get narrower and interest on what you want to borrow will increase.
Credit reference reporting lasts 6 years.
If I was thinking about missing a payment I’d probably contact my lender and not a news agency.
Believe it or not they don’t want to turf you out at the first sign of financial difficulties, unlike landlords.
Some mortgage lenders allow occasional payment holidays (if you have kept up with payments) – albeit this is a very short term solution.
Contact them *before* you miss the payment and discuss options with them.
Many lenders did 3 month mortgage holidays pre-Covid. Always check if this is an option before going into arrears.
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Essentially stop you getting credit for 6 years.
And so it begins, the articles subtly warning that a major crisis is upon us.
The strong arm of the FCA means that lenders must treat their customers fairly and make reasonable attempts to rectify a customer going into arrears, whether that be setting up a lower payment, adjusting the term or allowing them to pay interest only for a while. Fortunately, house repossessions are not as common as they used to be.
UK based
If you think you’re going to miss a payment call your lender immediately. Like, immediately. Discuss with them your situation and they’ll probably go through an income and expenditure exercise with you to see what you can afford.
They’ll put you on a repayment plan based on that. Be honest and realistic. Stick to it. Don’t, and it will likely be a problem as they have to report your account behaviour to the credit reference agencies.
Your credit report will be affected anyway but it’s better for you if you at least try to repay what you can instead of sticking your head in the sand and hope it goes away.
It won’t and your lending options get narrower and interest on what you want to borrow will increase.
Credit reference reporting lasts 6 years.
If I was thinking about missing a payment I’d probably contact my lender and not a news agency.
Believe it or not they don’t want to turf you out at the first sign of financial difficulties, unlike landlords.
Some mortgage lenders allow occasional payment holidays (if you have kept up with payments) – albeit this is a very short term solution.
Contact them *before* you miss the payment and discuss options with them.
Many lenders did 3 month mortgage holidays pre-Covid. Always check if this is an option before going into arrears.