Lost Job Can't Pay Mortgage.
Losing your job can feel like a devastating blow, but could be what opens your doors to a future opportunity. However, it’s easy to overlook that when you have a mortgage to pay and not enough income to pay it. This complete guide will move you from “lost my job and can’t pay the mortgage” into your better new life.
First, we’ll teach you to pay the bills. Then, there are many effective strategies for people in your situation. Therefore to decide what the best one is moving forward, it’s good to know what your goal is. Are you looking for other work? We’ll put you ahead of the competition. Do you want to move away to another city or country? We’ll get you moving quickly.
If you need to sell your house immediately, get a quote now to see how we can help.
- contact@cashhouse.co.uk
Frequently asked questions
The best way to pay your mortgage if you’ve lost your job is to use Support for Mortgage Interest after changing to Interest Only. Once this is set up, the government will pay 100% of your mortgage directly to your lender. This can take up to 8 weeks to set up. The fastest way to reduce your payments while waiting is to talk to your lender about reducing your payments or getting a mortgage holiday.
The fastest way to find a new job is by making yourself as attractive to employers as possible. This includes presenting the right experience to your future employer in the right way. Every point you make needs to be backed up with an experience you had which supports it. Our guide goes into detail about how to set up the perfect CV and then ace the interview.
If you’ve tried all other options and decided that you need to sell your house quickly to pay your mortgage then we can help. We will buy your house in as little as 14 days with no legal or other fees for you to pay. Guaranteed completion. You can still sell your house to us even with mortgage arrears. Our team has over 7 years of experience helping people in your situation. Get a no obligation free quote now to see how much your house is worth.
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How to Pay Your Mortgage
I Need to Find A New Job
I Want to Sell My House
How to Pay Your Mortgage
Having no income to pay your debt feels like a huge weight on your shoulders. It’s difficult to look to your distant future when you’re unsure how you’ll make it past tomorrow.
In this section you’ll learn the best strategy to pay the mortgage after losing your job. You’ll also discover that with the right knowledge, money can be made available to you when in need.
Lost job can't pay mortgage. What is the best strategy?
Jadah Sellner, US-based author and community leader, states “it is okay to be a glow stick, sometimes you have to break before you shine”. We understand that for you to start shining, the stress of your bills needs to be taken away. Therefore, below you will find our top 5 strategies for paying your mortgage with no income. If you’re simply looking for how many months mortgage arrears before repossession then follow the link for our guide.
1) Combine Support for Mortgage Interest with an Interest Only Mortgage
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is a government backed scheme that pays your mortgage interest directly to your lender. Although it is a loan, you won’t have to pay it back until you sell your house. In other words, SMI is a lifeline if you’ve lost your job and can’t pay your mortgage until you are stable. Here is the trick: make your mortgage interest only when you claim SMI. That way, the government will pay your entire monthly mortgage payment to your lender directly. This leaves any other benefits or income you have to pay for other essentials.
The above strategy is very effective for your situation, but, there are some down sides you should know. You apply for SMI when you apply for other benefits such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit. For most people who have lost their job and can’t pay their mortgage, Universal Credit will be the main income. Unfortunately, SMI is only paid after 9 consecutive Universal Credit payments are made, which are usually paid once a month. So, homeowners like yourself should apply as soon as possible to limit the long wait before SMI pays out.
2) Claim Universal Credit
If you’ve lost your job and can’t pay your mortgage you’ll be eligible for Universal Credit. This is a benefit paid directly to you whilst you try to find new work. The amount you’ll be able to claim will depend on your circumstances.
3) Reduce your mortgage payments
One way that you can survive when “lost job and can’t pay mortgage” is to reduce your mortgage payments. There are many ways you can do this including extending term, switching to interest only and remortgaging to a lower rate. Some lenders also offer you to stop paying anything to them for a few months. This is called a “repayment holiday”.
Call your lender to discuss which of the above could be an option for you. There are many strong reasons for you to do this quickly.
Firstly, the more behind you are with payments, the fewer options will be open to you.
Secondly, if you miss mortgage payments without informing your lender they can start repossession proceedings against you. This could be as early as just 3 months of you missing payments.
Finally, your lender can also provide one of the only support for you that starts immediately.
4) Sell your house
This is low on your list as selling your house to pay the mortgage should be a last resort. If you are considering this option then visit our guide. If you simply want a quote to sell your house quickly for a good price then click here now.
Finding A
New Job
Losing your job can feel like losing a part of your identity. That’s why you want to find work again as soon as possible. However, finding a new job is a repetitive and challenging process that can be time consuming. Certainly, this is made even more difficult for you by the amount of people competing for the same job.
This section is made to help you race ahead of the competition by:
- Giving you a step by step guide to job hunting
- Helping you understand what employers are searching for
- Structuring your interview answers to show your best
- contact@cashhouse.co.uk
"I've lost job can't pay mortgage. What is the fastest way of finding a new job?"
The steps in the previous section will have helped to buy you time. However, if you’ve lost your job and can’t pay your debts, there is still no time to lose. In the end, you will need to find some form of work again to keep yourself afloat.
What is the fastest way to do this? Many people jump straight back into applying without taking a step back to plan. Abraham Lincoln famously said “give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe”. In short, whatever the task, if you make a plan it will save you precious time down the line. We’ve done the work for you and below is our 5-step plan to finding a new job.
Our step by step guide in order is The Brainstorm, The Research, The Preparation, The Production and The Application. Notice how you shouldn’t start filling in any of the job application until you’ve gone through the first 4 steps. Below, we explain in detail why each step is needed and how you can use it.
1) The Brainstorm
Even when you’ve lost your job and can’t pay the mortgage, the first thing you should do is The Brainstorm. This makes sure that the direction you’re headed to is somewhere that you want to be. Also, once you have the job you will certainly perform much better if you’re doing something you enjoy. That might seem like a luxury in your current situation, but anyone can find satisfying work by following a strategy.
The questions to ask yourself at this early stage are things like where do I want to work? What role do my skills and experience make me suitable for? Where do I see myself in the future? You can visualise the answers by drawing something like this.
This process will give you the most benefit if you are specific and detailed in your answers. It will also help to set short and long term goals.
Why do you need a long term goal?
You may be asking yourself the question, why do I need a long term goal? Let us explain.
For example, let’s say my experience right now is of a customer service assistant at Tesco. It may not seem helpful saying that I want to work as a regional manager, but it is. Yes, I may not get that job immediately, however, if I know that’s where i’m headed then I can start working towards it. I also know that there are certain entry level jobs that would lead me to there. For example, I could start looking at becoming a Shift Manager. This way I can be guided in the present by my vision of the future.
The Brainstorm also helps to direct your energy. Many people fall into the trap of applying for everything that they see online with the same CV. They also use the same half-hearted answers to the questions that are asked. Do you want to know the main reason why they’re making a mistake? Job hunting is NOT a numbers game. It should never be seen that way. You have to focus your time and energy onto applying for a specific role you really want. The Brainstorm guides you to what that is.
2) The Research
The Brainstorm is a critical first step to decide where you want to go. That being said, it has to be matched with the real world opportunities available to you. That is why The Research stage comes straight after.
The most common platforms to search for jobs are LinkedIn and Indeed. To search jobs there you do not even need to have a profile. This will give you critically important information that you’ll need when writing your CV. Firstly, let us take a look at LinkedIn.
The first thing you see when you visit the LinkedIn website without a profile is this:
If you click on search for a job, it will come up with this screen.
Click on the search box to be able to specify a job and location.
Once you have specified the job title and location, press the search button.
Scroll to a job that you find interesting and click on it to reveal more information about the role.
After pressing show more and scrolling down, you will find the skills that they’re looking for.
Here, they are giving you what you need to focus on when writing your CV! You can go through a similar process when using Indeed. Now you should note down these qualities into a Microsoft Word document that you will use when you draft your application. Repeat the process for a few different job roles advertised in the field you want to get into. Now you’re in an incredibly strong position to start tailoring your experiences to the job you want to apply for.
3) The Preparation
Now you know what job you want, what jobs are available and what the employers are looking for. It is time to bring your examples into the mix. The reason why you need to do this is to add power to your argument when answering a question. Let’s look at the following two answers to the question “tell me about yourself”.
Answer 1
“I would describe myself as an ambitious person who stays positive even in difficult circumstances. Organisation and putting all my energy to support the team on the task at hand come naturally to me. There have been times I’ve been described as a “workaholic” when staying back late. Bringing creativity to solve problems and taking pride in what I do are how I act in the workplace.”
Answer 2
“I would describe myself as an ambitious person who stays positive even in difficult circumstances. For example, when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak my previous employer had been hit hard by lockdown. It was announced that job cuts would need to be made for the business to survive. I wanted to try and limit the impact of this as much as possible. My idea was for us all to take a pay cut so I surveyed my colleagues who agreed. I then presented this to my line manager and after a team meeting, this was agreed with everyone. My idea saved 25 jobs in the department by doing this and it banded us all together regardless of our position. When I work in a department I look to do what is best for the team and company.”
Which answer should you prefer?
If you said answer 2, then you’re already thinking like an interviewer so great work. The reason why you should prefer answer 2 is because it expands beyond the quality you’re trying to show. Anyone can list all the great qualities that they may or may not have, as is happening in Answer 1. However, few people can give a specific scenario which demonstrates these qualities. That’s what The Preparation stage is about. Think back to things that you’ve done that demonstrate the qualities that we just discovered in The Research stage. Write them down and really think deeply again to try and remember enough detail to be able to talk about it.
As soon as you have as many examples to cover all the qualities they’re looking for, then you’re ready to move on. The more experience you have, the easier this will be. So, don’t be disheartened if you can’t think of many. All you really need are 3 solid scenarios and you’re set. If you’ve lost job can’t pay mortgage, there’s no time to waste. So, now you’re ready for The Production.
4) The Production
You know what jobs you want, that there’s space and what experiences you have to show you’re who they need. That’s what you need to start writing your CV. It is tempting for you to just go ahead in Microsoft Word and start typing in straight away. After all, that is the easiest option and what most people will do.
However, you are not most people and that is why you are going to make your CV stand out. Therefore, to create your CV you will use a website called Canva. In addition to being free, it makes a really high quality CV. Let’s take a look below.
Build a Powerful CV Using The Canva Tool
Follow the link to the Canva Resume Builder
After you click to create your own resume, you’ll see the screen below:
Go ahead and type in your e-mail before clicking the sign up with e-mail option. **Tip – you can use Google or Facebook if you have accounts for faster access.**
After that, fill in the rest of the form details and press the “Get started, it’s free!” button.
You’ll then be able to see a few different templates that you can use to build your perfect CV. Choose the one that is most suitable to the job you’re looking for. For example, if you want a creative job like design or marketing you’ll want something more colourful. For a more professional/corporate job like banking or finance then you’ll want a more professional template.
Top tip: There is A good way to tell how professional your future employer is. Check the language that they use in their job advertisement. Does it sound friendly, fun and inviting? Or does it sound cold, impersonal and corporate? Match your template based on that.
Once you’ve chosen your template you can edit the different sections to make them perfect for you. Make sure to use the examples that we created in Step 3 for maximum effectiveness.
With your polished CV in the bag, it’s now time to move on to The Application.
5) The Application
You have done the hard work by getting to this point. Where you want to work, what is available and the skills you can bring roll off your tongue. A powerful CV you’ve created is also waiting to be sent off to your future employer.
Now is the time to go back to Indeed or LinkedIn and fill in your application. Remember, this is not just about completing as many forms as possible. A quality application is worth more to you than 10 rushed ones. It may take you even an hour to answer each of the questions that they ask specifically for that job. The best answers to their question will be written after researching some background information. Let’s give you an example.
You’re applying to a job at Tesco and the first question they ask is “Why do you want to work at Tesco?”
The first thing you should do to tackle that question is find out about the company. What employee benefits does it offer? Does it help the community in any way? How is it growing/changing? After you answer those questions with your research you’ll be in a great position to write your answer the the question. It will also prepare you with some information that you can use when you’re invited to an interview.
"I've lost job can't pay mortgage and have been offered an interview. How do I prepare for it?"
Preparing for an interview can be stressful. The great news though is that if you’ve followed our plan in the previous section you’ll already be halfway there. That being said, it is important still to have a strategy for the expected and unexpected questions you’ll be asked. Let’s go through the steps of an interview and how to excel at each part.
1) First Impression and Body Language
In some cases a first impression can make or break your interview. That is why you should arrive early, groomed, wearing smart cleaned and ironed clothes.
The next step is the meeting. When you first see your future employer make sure to smile, make eye contact and give a firm handshake.
Through the interview make sure to spread your eye contact across the different interviewers if there are more than one. Sit up straight and look engaged. **Top tip – avoid crossing your arms even though it is tempting**
2) Answering the Questions
This is the main thing that you will be worrying about. It’s important to know what the interviewer is trying to achieve by asking you these questions. They are trying to get a good picture of who you are, what you’ve done and why you’ve done it. That will help them to understand what skills you have and how you can apply them to your new job.
Interview questions will generally be in 1 of 3 categories:
1) Your life story and background
2) What motivates you
3) The skills and experience you have
There are commonly asked questions in each of these fields that you should prepare for before the interview. For the questions where you include an experience you’ve had, use the STAR method to structure your answer.
STAR stands for:
Situation
Task
Action
Result.
Following this structure will help you stay on topic and avoid adding any unnecessary information. Now it’s time to use the STAR method to make your answers to some common interview questions.
Your Life Story and Background.
Examples of these type of questions are things like:
- Tell me about yourself
- What important choices have you made in your life?
- Introduce yourself
- What experiences on your CV can you use for this role?
What motivates you?
Examples here include:
- What made you apply for this role?
- Why do you want to work at this company?
- Do you have a particular interest in this industry?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
The skills and experience you have.
This will include questions about your competencies like:
- Why are you a good fit for this job?
- What is your biggest weakness?
- What is your biggest strength?
- How do you work in a team?
- Why should we hire you instead of someone else?
- Can you describe a time that you handled a difficult situation?
3) Completing the Interview
You’ve aced the interview questions by preparing and practising using the material above. Now things are coming to a close and your future employer asks you if you have any questions. This is the time to show how keen you are to know about the role. You can ask things like:
- Why do you like working for the company?
- What would a typical work day look like in this role?
- What are the next steps with the application?
- Have there been any recent developments in this field? How could I get involved with it if I get the job?
I Want to Sell My House
For some people who have “lost job can’t pay mortgage”, it is used as a reason for a new start. This may or may not be the right thing for you and should be considered carefully before taking any quick decisions.
In this section you’ll find out:
- The things you should consider before selling your house
- How to sell your house quickly if you decide it is the right thing to do
- contact@cashhouse.co.uk
I've "Lost Job Can't Pay Mortgage" and Want to Sell My House. What Should I Do?
Selling your house after you’ve lost your job can be a good way to start a new life. Moving may also open the door for you to more opportunities to work. To clarify, this is because some areas in the UK are suffering from more of a job freeze than others. ITV sources show that London Boroughs, Northern and Midland towns and coastal cities have been hit hardest. If you are in these areas, moving to a place with less job competition could make things easier for you. But, the things that you should consider are the following:
- How will your family be affected by the move? Moreover, how do they feel about moving and why?
- Have you tried hard enough to find work in your local area already?
- Do you have work lined up in the area you need to move towards?
- Are there any other benefits to moving other than work? For example, lifestyle, quieter surroundings or better schools.
- How will your costs of living change? Specifically, will you be able to afford the new area?
After that, if you think moving house is a good idea then it’s time for you to start planning.
I've Decided to Sell My House, Can I Do This Quickly for a Good Price?
Selling your house quickly for a good price is possible and if you’re looking to do this then please see our guide here. However, if you’re simply looking for a quote to sell your house quickly then use our form now. When a customer tells us they need to “sell my house in 30 days“, we know this is the right choice for them.
In any case, we hope you have found our guide useful. If you have any questions or feedback then please email us at contact@cashhouse.co.uk. Best of luck to you and we hope you improve your situation soon.
About The Author
This article was written by Dr Sermed Mezher MbChB (Hons) MRes, experienced property investor, published author in Global Paediatric Health and The Journal of Medical Ethics, and medical doctor.
Sermed has a special interest in educating people on how to improve their situation. He believes that physical and financial health are intimately linked.
Sell your house fast for cash
If you’ve tried all of the available options and still are looking to sell your house for cash, get a quote now by following the link below.