Homeowners Mortgage Support
Homeowners who are worrying about keeping up with their mortgage
repayments have a range of different options open to them. A
new scheme, called Homeowners Mortgage Support (HMS), is now
available to homeowners.
What is HMS?
HMS is designed to help households whose
incomes have dropped as a result of the economic downturn.
Under the scheme, the homeowner’s lender will
defer some of the monthly interest payments for up to two
years. This money is not written off and the homeowner will
have to pay it back when they leave the scheme. But, this
scheme gives the homeowner breathing space to get their finances
back on track.
This complements other support available from
Government including the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme
and Mortgage Rescue Scheme.
To be eligible for the scheme, the
homeowner must
- Have a mortgage with a participating lender
- Be able to demonstrate their drop in income
- Have made regular payments for five months before joining, in
agreement with their lender (these could have been reduced
payments, or a payment holiday)
- Have explored all other forbearance options with their
lender
- Commit to paying as much of the interest due as they can, and
at least 30% of the interest due
- Have savings of less than £16,000
- Have taken out a mortgage or remortgaged before 1st
December 2008, and only own one property
- Have less than £400,000 left to pay on their mortgage and any
other loans secured against their home
Even if homeowners meet these basic criteria, lenders still
have the final say as to who is accepted onto the scheme.
Where can I find more information?