- In England

How to sort out your mortgage problems

This information applies to England and Wales

If you're having problems paying your mortgage, you must take action quickly to stop yourself from falling into debt.

If you get into debt and your lender thinks you’re not dealing with the problem, they will take action through the courts. This could lead to you losing your home.

This section tells you about some of the options you may have for sorting out your mortgage problems and how to deal with your lender:

Cutting down your mortgage costs

This page tells you about some of the things you could do to stop yourself from falling behind with your mortgage payments and getting into debt. These include: switching to a cheaper mortagage deal, reducing your monthly mortgage payments, changing the payments on your endowment policy and reducing payments on a shared-ownership property.

How to deal with mortgage debts

This page tells you about some of the things you might be able to do to pay back the money you owe on your mortgage payments if you've got into debt. These include: making extra payments on top of your usual monthly payments, adding what you owe to your capital, giving up your endowment policy, borrowing money to pay extra cash, cashing in a mortgage payment protection insurance policy.

Homeowner’s Mortgage Support

This page tells you about the government-backed Homeowner's Mortgage Support scheme which allows you to put off paying some of your monthly mortgage payments for up to two years. It includes: who can apply, things you need to think about before you apply and how to apply.

Mortgage rescue schemes

This page tells you about the different schemes which offer to buy your property and rent it back to you as a tenant. It includes: things to look out for before signing up to one of these schemes, schemes run by private firms and individuals, schemes run by social landlords and government-backed schemes.

Help with your mortgage if you're out of work

This page tells you about help you may be able to get towards your mortgage costs if you're out of work. It includes: which benefits you must be getting to get help with your mortgage costs, how much of your mortgage costs can be paid and whether you can get your mortgage costs paid straight away.

Selling your property to clear mortgage debts

This page tells you about selling your property to clear your mortgage debts. It includes: why you shouldn't just hand back the keys to your mortgage lender or wait to get evicted, what you need to think about when you sell your property, what you'll need to think about when you're looking for somewhere else to live and what happens if you don't get enough from the sale of the property to cover what you owe on the mortgage.

Dealing with your mortgage lender

This page tells you how to contact your lender and tell them what you'd like to do about clearing your mortgage debt or changing your payments. It includes: who to contact, what you should say to them and what to do if your mortgage lender doesn't want to help.

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