A case study about Short Term Forbearance

Martha works as a front-end developer. The pay is generally good, but most roles are on a contract – which can sometimes lead to gaps between employment. As Martha’s husband stays at home to look after their young children, she’s solely responsible for covering their joint mortgage.

Recently, one of Martha’s contracts came to an end, and it took her a while to find her next role. When she did secure the next contract, the start date was delayed by two months.

It wasn’t unusual for Martha to have a spell with no money coming in, but this was longer than expected. Understandably, Martha was really worried about how she’d be able to pay the mortgage in the months until she got paid again.

As if the stress of this wasn’t enough, Martha was also worried about the impact it might have on her credit file.

Thankfully, Martha made sure she contacted her mortgage company as soon as possible. She took them through the situation and they discussed a few options with her.

The mortgage company was very understanding of Martha’s situation. They proposed a simple, practical solution – that Martha could make a reduced payment this month and then a larger payment the month after to catch up. Martha’s mortgage provider advised her this would have an impact on her credit file for the month she made the reduced payment – but by agreeing to an arrangement, it would stop any further action from them.

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I was really anxious about the gap in my employment. Speaking to my mortgage company helped me come up with a viable to know I have options.

Martha

They also suggested that Martha carried out a review of her budget, to make sure the suggestion was affordable. This practical advice also helped her make sure her priority bills were paid first. Doing this meant Martha reduced the impact on her credit file, and had the peace of mind that she wasn’t putting anything at risk.

Soon everything was back to normal, and Martha was back to paying her mortgage like she did before she changed contracts. The mortgage provider’s empathetic response meant that Martha was able to regain control of her finances, without having to worry about risk to her home or credit score.

When Martha went a few months without income, she wanted to avoid missing mortgage payments and putting her house at risk. She asked her mortgage company for advice on the options available – they helped her make an arrangement to continue making payments, and ensure she didn’t damage her credit score.