T
Turtledove
Guest
First Time Poster. Long time reader of Posts. I'm hoping putting this down in black and white will make a difference to my situation.
Age:
36
Spouse’s/Partner's age:
37
Annual gross income from employment or profession:
E45 (Net 2400)
Annual gross income spouse:
E65 (Net 3000)
Type of employment:
Public Sector
Spouse Private sector
Expenditure pattern:
Poor Money Management. Living beyond our means for a long time, that said have never defaulted on any payments.
Rough estimate of value of home
E310,000
Mortgage on home
E425,000 100% mortgage over 35 years (commenced 2006)
Owing E397,000 - we've been paying our mortgage for 5 years now.
No missed payments to date.
Mortgage provider:
BOI
Type of mortgage:
Fixed rate
Interest rate
5.39%
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
Car Loan: 320pm over 5 years (6 months in)
BOI Credit Card Visa: 9k
AIB Credit Card Visa: 2K
BOI Credit Card MasterCard: 4k
Credit Union 250pm over 5 years (This loan was to consolidate credit card debt. It worked for year. Now back at same scenario.)
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month?
No, pay off minimum
Savings and investments:
3,000 in shares in Credit Union
Do you have a pension scheme?
Yes, I pay E230pm into pension
Plus Partner pays 250 pm into pension and AVC of 250 pm
Do you own any investment or other property?
No.
Ages of children:
2 and 3 and a half
Life insurance:
Yes.
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
We are almost three years into a five-year fixed rate at 5.39%. Took out Mortgage 2006, fixed it in 2008 (interest rates were increasing at the time, fixed at level we thought we could at least pay if rate climbed higher). Going on the fixed rate proved to be a disastrous decision given the plummeting interest rates months later and as a result have been paying a significant proportion of our income in repayments ever since.
No matter what we do, at the start of each month all our money is swallowed up in debt repayments leaving us with nothing, hence we are using our credit cards for day to day expenses to get us through the month. Obviously not a good situation. We are now at a point where we are now maxing out all our available credit cards.
We are aware that we are to blame for where we are now, but we are looking for a way to loosen the grip the mortgage (2250pm) and other debt has on us.
Along with tackling the obvious such as cutting down on groceries, and lunches, what are our options here? Should we look to pay interest only on our mortgage? Would the bank play ball given our situation? How would we go about doing this? Would interest only even make a difference? Should we even look to sell the house and start renting to find some breathing space?
Any advice appreciated
Thanks
Turtledove
Age:
36
Spouse’s/Partner's age:
37
Annual gross income from employment or profession:
E45 (Net 2400)
Annual gross income spouse:
E65 (Net 3000)
Type of employment:
Public Sector
Spouse Private sector
Expenditure pattern:
Poor Money Management. Living beyond our means for a long time, that said have never defaulted on any payments.
Rough estimate of value of home
E310,000
Mortgage on home
E425,000 100% mortgage over 35 years (commenced 2006)
Owing E397,000 - we've been paying our mortgage for 5 years now.
No missed payments to date.
Mortgage provider:
BOI
Type of mortgage:
Fixed rate
Interest rate
5.39%
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
Car Loan: 320pm over 5 years (6 months in)
BOI Credit Card Visa: 9k
AIB Credit Card Visa: 2K
BOI Credit Card MasterCard: 4k
Credit Union 250pm over 5 years (This loan was to consolidate credit card debt. It worked for year. Now back at same scenario.)
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month?
No, pay off minimum
Savings and investments:
3,000 in shares in Credit Union
Do you have a pension scheme?
Yes, I pay E230pm into pension
Plus Partner pays 250 pm into pension and AVC of 250 pm
Do you own any investment or other property?
No.
Ages of children:
2 and 3 and a half
Life insurance:
Yes.
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
We are almost three years into a five-year fixed rate at 5.39%. Took out Mortgage 2006, fixed it in 2008 (interest rates were increasing at the time, fixed at level we thought we could at least pay if rate climbed higher). Going on the fixed rate proved to be a disastrous decision given the plummeting interest rates months later and as a result have been paying a significant proportion of our income in repayments ever since.
No matter what we do, at the start of each month all our money is swallowed up in debt repayments leaving us with nothing, hence we are using our credit cards for day to day expenses to get us through the month. Obviously not a good situation. We are now at a point where we are now maxing out all our available credit cards.
We are aware that we are to blame for where we are now, but we are looking for a way to loosen the grip the mortgage (2250pm) and other debt has on us.
Along with tackling the obvious such as cutting down on groceries, and lunches, what are our options here? Should we look to pay interest only on our mortgage? Would the bank play ball given our situation? How would we go about doing this? Would interest only even make a difference? Should we even look to sell the house and start renting to find some breathing space?
Any advice appreciated
Thanks
Turtledove