What you can do

• Talk to us: Let us know straight away if you're having trouble paying your mortgage or think you will soon.
• Free independent advice: If you’re finding it hard to talk about your debt, there are free independent charities who can help. They’ll help you to find realistic ways of paying what you owe. You can find advice online, chat to them over the phone or via web chat.

• Keep other mortgage holders up to date: Make sure anyone else who is responsible for the mortgage (joint holder or guarantor) knows what's happening.
• Create a personal budget: Make a list of what you earn, owe, and spend. You can download our household income and expenditure form to help with this.
• Keep up with your new payments: If a new plan is agreed, make sure you stick to it.
• Tell us if anything changes: including if you move to a new address. 
• Check if you're entitled to benefits: Visit gov.uk to see whether you can get financial help.
• Check your mortgage payment insurance (MPI) policy: If you have MPI, you may be able to claim on it to get help with your payments.
• Consider selling your home: If it's unlikely your situation will improve, you may need to sell your home.

What happens if we can’t find a solution?

• We may arrange a home visit to discuss your financial circumstances face to face. The cost of the visits will be charged to your mortgage account.
• We may go to court to start proceedings to repossess your home. If proceedings take place, we strongly recommend that you attend court and that you seek independent legal advice.
• Starting court proceedings does not necessarily mean that we will repossess your home. We will keep trying to solve the problem with you. Repossession is very much a last resort.

What happens if we repossess your home?

• If we do have to repossess your home, we will suggest that you get in touch with your local authority to see if they can find you somewhere else to live.
• We will sell it for the best price we can reasonably get. We will try and sell it as quickly as possible.
• We will give you reasonable time to take your possessions from your home.
• We will use the money raised from selling your home to pay your mortgage and any other loans or charges.
• If there is any money left over, we will pay it to you.

What happens if selling your home does not raise enough money to pay off your mortgage?

• If there is still not enough money from the sale to repay the whole of your mortgage, you will still owe us the amount that is left (this is known as a shortfall debt). We will tell you how much this is as soon as possible.
• Everyone named on the mortgage is responsible for all the money borrowed. This is true even if you normally only pay part of the mortgage.
• We will contact you to arrange for you to pay back what you still owe. We have 6 years to do this (5 years in Scotland).
• We will take account of your income and outgoings when we arrange a payment plan for this shortfall debt with you. But if we cannot arrange a suitable plan, we may go to court to get our money back. You may have to pay additional court costs.
• If a shortfall debt is not paid, it could affect whether you are able to get credit in the future.

Can I hand my keys back to you if I’m having difficulty paying my mortgage?

Cost and charges

Other issues to think about

Some companies may offer you new loans or even invite you to sell your property to them and then lease it back as a way of resolving your short-term financial difficulty. Please be careful, as such actions may not be in your best interests in the long term. We would strongly advise that you seek independent advice before entering into any arrangement of this type.
 

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we have dealt with your case please contact our Helpline on: 0800 138 2401*. Opening hours: 8am-6pm (Monday to Friday) 9:00 am - 1:00 pm (Saturday). We'll do our best to address things quickly and fairly. 

Alternatively you can write to us at: Mortgage Payment Support, Accord Mortgages, Yorkshire House, Yorkshire Drive, Bradford, BD5 8LJ.