What can I do if I can't pay my mortgage? What assistance do the authorities give if you cannot afford your mortgage anymore

Not being able to pay your mortgage installment can be a very serious problem. It is very important not to get yourself into this type of situation.

If you mean to get a mortgage ...

If you want to know what assistance you can have but have not committed to a mortgage yet it is more important to know how not to get yourself in o position of defaulting payments. Here are a few simple tips:

Do not overextend yourself. Even if payments are affordable to you now remember that in 20 – 30 years interest rates could rises and you could end up paying up to 50% more than you would be now.

Save on the side. Always have a savings reserve for unforeseen events. You never know how your professional life might go up or down in the future. Keep a savings reserve to at least cover a couple of months of mortgage payments.

Choose the best deal that you can get. Because a bad mortgage choice could mean a loss of tens of thousands of pounds over the life of the mortgage be sure to make the best choice. If, by the time you choose your mortgage, you will have read through our guides it almost impossible to make the smallest mistake.

Get Insurance! If you can afford it, getting insurance is probably the best way of protecting yourself. Read more in our mortgage insurance guides.

If you are in trouble now and want state help ...

If you cannot afford repayments on your mortgage the state will not help you as much as you've hopped.

You are eligible for state help provided you have all the following financial characteristics:

You work less than 16 hours per week and earn low income.

Your spouse or partner works less than 24 hours per week.

You have less than £ 8000 in savings and your partner or spouse is in the same position. Any amount of savings above £ 3000 will decrease the amount received from the state.

What you will get

State help will only cover interest payments for the first £ 100 000 of your debt and only up to a set interest rate. If your mortgage start date is before September 1995, for the first 18 weeks only half of the interest payment will be covered.

State help kicks in, for mortgages before September 1995, about 8 weeks after filing your claim and for mortgages after September 1995 you will have to wait 39 weeks before any assistance is given.

If you become unemployed do not think that Job Seeker allowance will help much as the amounts are modest and only intended to cover basic and minimal needs. The same applies to state disability allowances.