Prisoner in my own home: Trapped by high interest rates and mortgage payments

“I’m now a single parent since my wife passed away, leaving me in a house I don’t want and I can’t move from… I’m trapped.”
David Poyton tells #TimesRadio how he feels like a prisoner in his own home thanks to rising interest rates keeping him locked in an unaffordable mortgage. Solicitor Olivia Selley says she’s bringing legal action against a number of mortgage providers.
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[@jackholmes7521]

£750 is now considered a high mortgage repayment? People pay more than that renting a 1 bed flat.

[@damianmousley2098]

Very sad case . My heart goes out for this chap. Its amazing the resilience he shows in the face of it all. God bless you and really pray things improve for your circumstances.

[@ConstructiveMinds100]

Stress lower immune system that is why adds to premature death. Banks killing people without using a knife. Yet people don't see it

[@lukeatbrandynightful]

Here’s what ya do mate, put a bedroom in every room and sub let the bell outta the house on air, I know you don’t have a buy to let, but they fkd you first. Don’t expect any help from anyone. Start overpaying and get that sold asap

[@kirishima638]

Sounds like he hasn't sold the house because he still wants to make a profit. Any house can be sold if you're willing to take a loss. And £750 a month a lot less than most renters, for whom it's money down the drain.

[@wanderer2246]

And though, 750 is still less than tenants are paying in the UK and across the EU

[@brewski535]

Exactly, I feel bad for the guy but most tenants have it far worse.

[@Celandines]

Yup! My rent is £1050 a month and that doesn’t include any bills. I earn less than 27k a year.

[@wanderer2246]

​@@Celandines Find another job with higher salary. Note: not a better job, but better paid, and the better one in total will be the next aftter the next

[@Celandines]

@@wanderer2246 I already did. My wage increased when my rent did.

[@wanderer2246]

​@@Celandines Its a complex problem, for some professions people need to change jobs really frequently, for others or if you are a real professional sometimes better to work for yourself and choose when how and what to do Investigate the market is always a good idea, maybe you just 1 step in 2x salary increase

[@PedroPiquero]

WoW, £750 on repayment! Poor people on mortgages with crazy interests! Not like the renters, who have been paying way more than that for years.

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

I feel for this guy, he’s had a bad run. Things will get better 🤝

[@roytetwart]

My wife and I bought (On mortgage) an old run-down bungalow in the mid-eighties. It was in a beautiful location, and we considered, with a lot of hard work, this would be our forever home. We lived in the bungalow whilst we did the work, but I must admit it was heavy going. All the ceilings, floors and windows needed replacing, but we got stuck into it, completing that phase around 1989. In 1990 I became acquainted with a self-employed mortgage broker who said he could raise extra funds for our home. (By this time, we were mortgaged up to our limit, restricted by my salary.) We decided to go for an extension and increase the bungalow by 50%. The mortgage broker set up the funding, and we remortgaged through some bank I'd never heard of. We completed the extension, adding 2 more bedrooms. We were by then living in a four-bedroomed detached bungalow. We were so happy. By then, the financial market was stirring, and interest payments were increasing. However, our payments to the Bank were increasing much higher than the Bank of England rate. By 1993, our interest rate had gone into double figures, and we were struggling to make the payments. To cut a long story short, we had to sell the bungalow or risk mortgage default and have it taken away from us. We sold quickly, selling at much less than the property was worth. Heartbreaking.

[@SimonWallwork]

Rotten luck. I bought a lovely refurbished property in Bulgaria for 55,000 Euro. It has 2,000m2 of land. Britain is desperate!

[@chrislambert9435]

@@SimonWallwork The UK Government is causing shortages & price hikes in housing

[@delhog6161]

I’m so sorry to hear that, but you have the skills to do this work so try and find somewhere else and do it again. I bet this time you will succeed.. good luck 🤞 👍

[@debbieframpton3857]

Not the bankers fault that you got in over your head

[@stephengreen2626]

It is the banker’s fault. He has been extorted by the banks and the court case will vindicate them.

[@razeensayed1654]

I admire his resiliency. I pray that things get better for him.

[@billmoretz8718]

At the end of the day every one is stuck with the sum of their decisions. Many people put too little down and buy a more expensive house than they should.

[@SophiaChristian-so2of]

As a realtor in my opinion, a housing market crash is imminent due to the high number of individuals who purchased homes above the asking price despite the low interest rates. These buyers find themselves in precarious situations as housing prices decline, leaving them without any equity. If they become unable to afford their homes, foreclosure becomes a likely outcome. Even attempting to sell would not yield any profits. This scenario is expected to impact a significant number of people, particularly in light of the anticipated surge in layoffs and the rapid increase in the cost of living.

[@AntonioBianh]

I suggest you offset your real estate and get into stocks, A recession as bad it can be, provides good buying opportunities in the markets if you’re careful and it can also create volatility giving great short time buy and sell opportunities too. This is not financial advise but get buying, cash isn’t king at all in this time!

[@MarkFreeman-xi3rk]

You are right! I’ve diversified my 450K portfolio across various market with the aid of an investment coach, I have been able to generate a little bit above $830k in net profit across high dividend yield stocks, ETF and bonds.

[@cythiahan8455]

@@MarkFreeman-xi3rk Could you kindly leave your investment advisor's contact information here? I absolutely must have one.

[@MarkFreeman-xi3rk]

I thoroughly recommend Margaret Johnson Arndt, an investment advisor who is subject to US SEC regulation. She has assisted me with my portfolio for many years. Look her up online; she's a well-known figure.

[@sophiadouglaswagner]

thank you for this tip, I must say, She appears to be quite knowledgeable. After coming across her online page, I thoroughly went through her resume, and I must say, it was quite impressive. I reached out to her, and I have booked a session with her.

[@DavidBennell]

I was in the same position, bought my first house in 2007 for £130k and had to borrow £20k to decorate and make it livable in, all the carpets needed replacing etc, by 2009 after the crash it was valued at £95k and I had to move for work and I split wtih my partner, I had to do 2 hour commutes, in the end I rented it out for £600 per month while paying £800 per month on the morgage, and rented myself for £750 per month a 2 bed flat by 2010. In 2016 I was finally able to sell for £130k and I still had to finish off paying the debt I took for renovating it, at the time my rent went up to £1,200 in 2016 renting a 3 bed appartment. and its taken 7 years until now to save £25k so I am just about to buy a £200k house and just you watch the price crash after I do!? over the last 15 years I have paid out £175k in rent which has more than fully paid for at least one of the houses I have rented. some of us just seem to have cought the housing market at the wrong angle / time.

[@cgarden23]

£175k maybe the value of the house, but with a 25 year mortgage, figure is nearly double.

[@MC-mv2wr]

@@cgarden23 last 15 interest rates has been hardly anything.

[@Samuelioi]

£750 a month? Thats quite reasonable for a house. Appreciate youre facing oroblems and I hope things improve for you.

[@saxonstacker1078]

...without an income and food costs it can seem insurmountable month after month.

[@MP-mr8rj]

My mortgage is now double that?😅

[@bugattisteve]

....2700 just to rent a house

[@andrewharvey7667]

interest rates were never going to stay at.01% for ever this happened only because 2008 financial crisis which will happen this year or early next year again BAD FINANCIAL ADVICE

[@3321far]

I was about to have some sympathy until he said interest only. By definition you will never pay down the principal.

[@squibys2262]

You might want to re watch then, I'm sure he said he is lucky as only part was interest only as it covered the dodgy building works. Most others are on interest only like he said, I caught that while playing ps4 and having this on in the background so not sure what you were hearing

[@evolassunglasses4673]

Arrest the money printers.

[@mikecohen2400]

The UK housing market is unstable because of the idiotic way homes are financed in the UK, there can be no housing stability with adjustable rate mortgages, it is madness to finance a house that way.

[@thesuncollective1475]

Same thing happened in the 90s and 00s every ten years. Very sad story, please do hang in there

[@-_-11k52]

Sending love x

[@pjk1714]

We are required to renew every five years despite term of mortgage. Some changed to variable over fixed hoping the rate hikes would improve. Now very slow sells and renting costs more. Imagine monthly cost jumps between $400 - $600. I see more foreclosures and bankruptcy.

[@jamesnash6101]

Plus.... When a borrower has a 30 year loan. That's not smart because financial conditions can and do change. Such as loss of employment, death, health issues ect.... Therefore, there needs to be other housing options. Other than renting, leasing or that 30 year mortgage, for that large home. I personally think that a 400 sq. ft. tiny house could be another option. The owner could buy it for, let's say, $60k, and it could be portable. However, hookups could be a problem.

[@changechange9972]

How horrible. What a sad story.

[@Blueguitar007]

The late 80s were around 9% in the US.

[@thecount3965]

Poor guy

[@jamesnash6101]

Let me get this straight. He signed a mortgage loan, with one lender. And the loan was sold over and over again. Now the question becomes, did the interest or conditions change with any of the new mortgage buyers? If they didn't, then he must honor the loan. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not heartless, because losing a loved one. Is extremely difficult. But he did sign that agreement. If the interest or conditions did change, then shouldn't the loan be voided? Ya..... This seems illegal.

[@Adam-fj6ls]

I pray God blesses you mate. There is a lot more going on in your life than just the financial burdens.

[@nickiw1979]

Brave guy, hope his luck improves

[@ShoppingwithRina]

So sad

[@jamiekenleyuk]

hes one person who truly deserve to be on one of these shows. most are just over leveraged consumer sheep finding themselves in the grips of natural selection.

[@peterbeer8657]

I think he missed the boat on refinancing. In 2020 interest rates were really low, should he have refinanced then he wouldn't be in a pickle today. Does he keep going to the same bank over and over again? He should get himself good financial advice somewhere.

[@Natta44]

He said he didn't pass affordability check. If his credit is bad then other lenders don't touch you.

[@peterbeer8657]

@@Natta44 I get it, he tried but didn't qualify for the loan. That's painful... What he really needs is a very good professional financial adviser who will look into every detail of his personal situation in order to clean up his mess. Don't know where he will get that.

[@erdevon3257]

Someone once said " cant go wrong with bricks and mortor". Truth is you can go very wrong

[@iandavidson752]

Good luck to him....

[@burropoco]

So after 20 years why does he feel entitled to live in a house that he's been unable to afford for years? His personal finances must also be dire or he'd be eligible for a decent mortgage elsewhere. What happened to his wife's life insurance? Property must now be equity positive so he should sell up and rent like millions of others.

[@gaz.7770]

He’s a boomer he won’t understand how the system works that’s why he’s in the mess to begin with I mean who in their right mind gets an “ interest only mortgage” I had sympathy for him until he said that.

[@andrewharvey7667]

QE £875 BILLION HAS CAUSED INFLATION this story has played out in ZIMBABWE ( first to use QE ) with inflation at 289% today

[@evolassunglasses4673]

Money printer goes brrrrrrrrh

[@goober-ll1wx]

Bitcoin fixes this...

[@1955dannys]

Investment can go up or down.

[@goober-ll1wx]

Esp dangerous when you leverage to gamble on the future...

[@haydenharris3059]

People should also look at the total interest paid before they actually own their home.

[@pjk1714]

Might be possible in some countries but difficult to gauge when system requirements means you renew every five years despite 20 or 30 year term. Imagine not qualification cancelled with loss of job... It's difficult

[@haydenharris3059]

@@pjk1714 Many people pay twice the cost of the house and if houses increase, its still in no way covers the massive overall interest. We can't live in a house and spend any increased value unless equity release which is another brutal scenario.

[@peterwickett9088]

First person I do feel sorry for - keep going 👍

[@The_Experience023]

This makes me sick! People need to watch out for what they call “Silent Second” someone took 611K of equity from our home and we don’t know who and we are still dealing with this!

[@motolola]

How?

[@The_Experience023]

@motolola look up what a silent second is. We have an attorney.

[@rinakaur7245]

Feel sorry for him. Its a very diifficult situation. I take it he was unable to move his mortgage to another lender for better rates. If he bought his house pre credit crunch financial crisis & did home improvements, then its got to be worth a lot more today? Can he sell & down size? Or move to another lender as better equity/loan ration now than before? Even if it was interest only, i expect the rate to be more favourable than what he is paying right now. Hope the situation improves for him.

[@user-zd3kj4cu6w]

I’m not worried about people who buy house low prices I’m worried about people who buy houses over priced houses with high mortgage rates!! Witch is now!! Last 2 years buyers! 750euro is cheap!! People pay now over 1000 k 3 bed house ! And renting 1.800€ for house a month!!

[@spencerosei2616]

I feel for the guy but many tenants in london pay 850£ plus for a room to rent.

[@Christine-wz9fy]

I think some calling him a boomer and critisizing his choices re interest free mortgages in among his wife dying and raising an autistic child , are not helping . He is depressed enough . And easy to say tent out his bedrooms but having an autistic child there may be extremely stressful solution for the child . I wish him well .

[@stephentite7384]

We are locked into our mortgage due to taking it out with Northern Rock. My health got worse after we bought our home and we have been unable to change mortgage. Each month our mortgage is going up and we have less and less to spend on groceries. We have not had a holiday for nearly five years, my wifes health has also gotten worse and is waiting for an operation because she can return to work, even though she is also my full time carer. This government has not helped at all.

[@davidkennedy8929]

The government is not here to help you with your finances! sell the property and rent, you are not trapped, you just make it seem so, I sold my property when my business folded and now I rent, it’s not worth making yourself ill over it, you are not “entitled” to own a property, take the equity left in the property and bank it, you at least will not have the issues that you have mentioned.

[@DavidBennell]

But you must have equaity in the property? so you are still going to be much better off than those just renting a flat for £1200 a month? you might not see it but you are actually privallaged with options others don't have.

[@davidkennedy8929]

@@DavidBennell what options? If they have equity then use it, I have had to and am paying £1,000 per month rent and not blaming the government for my position! People always feel it’s someone else’s fault for their situation and are unable to take responsibility for their own actions! Sell the property, pay off the outstanding mortgage and rent.

[@imapadlock]

That solicitor woman didn’t offer to help then 🤷🏻‍♂️😳

[@changbeerbeer]

I hope an able viewer reaches out and helps this guy!

[@DavidBennell]

why, he is in a good position with equaity in a property, there are millions of renters out there that would dream of being in his position. why not help them first?

[@asmith5149]

@@DavidBennell I think negative equity means no equity and in fact the house would sell for less than what is owed

[@geoffreycodnett6570]

It's possible to be in negative equity since it seems there is a mortgage on interest only terms additional to the primary mortgage. The interest only portion will never be paid off. As the primary mortgage was 100% I think he said the lenders could well be charging higher interest rates. Selling would still leave him liable for any shortfall in paying off the mortgages. Could well be worth considering if he could obtain social housing.

[@Comm0ut]

NEVER take an interest only mortgage. Never sign an adjustable rate mortgage. STUDY finance FFS because it's vital to your survival. Nothing you learn will matter more.

[@debbieframpton3857]

If a person gets a mortgaged with a fixed rate how can it continue to go up? I understand if your real estate taxes and house insurance is included in that payment it could go up but not if it isn't

[@geoffreycodnett6570]

The fixed rate may apply for a limited term. When that term expires you will be on a variable rate. How anyone is paying 9% currently surprises me. Northern Rock (mentioned at the beginning) went bust and the government stepped in eventually to help home owners. We have no idea how much was borrowed on interest only terms, which could have had a higher interest rate. It's not a good idea to max out borrowing because two of you have a well paid job. Additionally if you're young enough insurance for death of either borrower is a good idea.

[@johnnyboyvan]

There will be NO compensation. Don't take on ridiculous property prices and mortgages.😮 It is clearly a sub prime mortgage scam.

[@helenmcinerney1058]

This is making me so angry 😡

[@bengardener8928]

And did you educate yourself on the consequences of artificially low interest rates? Resource allocation, capital consumption and accumulation? If so you knew low rates were a temporary blip.

[@HorseSaddleRider]

Mortgage interest should be set for the life of the mortgage. Banks make a percentage every time we use a debit card. They should not be exploiting home owners.

[@Engineersoldinterstingstuff]

The problem is basically caused by financial gurus thinking that its good to have inflation and low interest. FIAT monye is a terrible idea. Basically infaltion (government printing currency) is the same as high taxes. We should be incentived to borrow mone for consumption - but it helps politicians inflate the bubble to win another election.

[@evolassunglasses4673]

Money printer goes brrrrrrrrh

[@goober-ll1wx]

Bitcoin fixes this...

[@leonie563]

Sounds like a priority case for council housing and sell off the house. Saves his life and deals with the disabled child. No house is worth any of this pain.

[@p.h.3987]

Main reason being the idiotic mortgage market in the UK. This would not hapoen in Germany.

[@bobjames6622]

That's because the moment Germany ever gets in real trouble, it just starts a war with its neighbours.

[@delhog6161]

I’m so lucky I got a fixed rate for 5yrs it started just before the rates started rising 😅

[@frostycanada6404]

Five years goes fast

[@delhog6161]

@@frostycanada6404 hopefully will be paid off by then. I’m 61yrs & had already paid off my mortgage and had a very nice home. But my now ex wife decided to start having affairs. So that was the end of 30yrs of marriage & a very nice house.

[@frostycanada6404]

@@delhog6161 Hello Delhog, funny how life just throws a monkey wrench into our best laid plans. Since 2008 we’ve put considerable effort into getting the our house paid off and we are almost there. Wishing you all the best. Brian.

[@goober-ll1wx]

I have no idea why out country offers such short terms, in the US 10,15 and 30 fixed is standard, the average age to maturity is 21 years, so most don't even get hit by this credit cycle

[@delhog6161]

@@frostycanada6404 I put it down to my ex having a full hysterectomy & not have hrt. Well she’s struggling & lives in a two bed ex council house in Lincoln. + 4 failed relationships, she’s definitely living the dream she wanted. I will soon be living on the Norfolk coast in a three bed bungalow. Exactly what I dreamt of before all this happened.

[@jonathanmcgovern2464]

I like renting, though keep hearing it is waste money buying is better because rent increases over time but mortgage doesn't gives stability. Really? Renting - no hassle, flexible, not locked in can move out downsize if need anytime without worrying about negative equity, interest rates etc

[@EpicCrust]

There are a lot of guilty people who perpetuate this checkbox exercise of owning a home. I’m happy to be free for now :)

[@EpicCrust]

@@broadcast_bar not having a massive liability, I can go wherever I want when I want. The opportunity cost of owning that brick is a lot.

[@EpicCrust]

@@broadcast_bar until I buy a house outright yeah

[@pippipster6767]

Male radio presenter did not say a single word. Bizarre.

[@kcdrapes]

No rich people are paying 9 % interest on there mortgages that you’d the disgusting thing about this case

[@ghosthdel3098]

My sister is one of the MDs of a large supermarket in the UK begin with T. She just got a pay increase of 20% + Bonus. She told me that the prices in her supermarket will not go down.. because her superior also just got 25% rise + bonus. She said that they will pass on the price increase to their customers by using applying significant increase of the rrp price on the stickers than use discount labels to make it as if it is lower. She is a very clever girl.

[@debbieframpton3857]

Hopefully people will catch on and Shop other places Nothing "clever" about what your sisters doing but this is how businesses work

[@bobjames6622]

That's not clever. It's bleeding obvious to the shoppers what's going on and your sister is a scumbag if she thinks she's being clever at the expense of others. If you cheat and chiesel your way through life it will, one day, rebound on you.

[@realest-12]

Housing is biggest scam around. Ownership is just lesser of 2 evils

[@DavidGetling]

When I was paying my mortgage we could only dream of the kind of low rates that people are enjoying even now.

[@generalstack6540]

True. But you probably had “dreamy” property prices at that time

[@erdevon3257]

​​@@generalstack6540 Not to mention less to pay for than current time and bills were minimal!The average person could fix car problems with a haynes manual too but not now

[@tea.topzone]

Salary in keeping with house prices at the time

[@Billygoatmanstan]

Don't know how you managed with those 40k average house prices

[@mikeroyce8926]

I have a buy to let mortgage with a company that bought the mortgage from a subsidiary from Bradford and Bingley. They refuse to offer me any alternative to the variable tracker rate mortgage rate terms (that track the Bank of England rate) that I took out. They also refuse to allow me to extend the term of the mortgage beyond the original term of September 2027.

[@antpoo]

Everyone are prisoners now. You can’t move, even trading down is too expensive. Trading sideways will cost you huge stamp duty and real estate fees. Aren’t house price rises the best 👍👍

[@connormcleod9595]

Legal action for what??? No one forced you to choose deal. Now crying like muppets😂

[@craighip7870]

oh well, at least we have lots of money to send Ukraine. Look at the bright side /s

[@making.music.about.maga.morons]

I requested information from landmark mortgages. Twice now they have sent me other customers information by mistake. Ine posted a video today showing how nuch information they have sent me. They have sent me mortgage statements for a mr Chapman and everything i would need to steal a mr m mial identity.