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 1^st 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?