Plan your way out of arrears

Creating a checklist of all your creditors, including your mortgage lender, can help you better understand the extent of anydebt problems. 

A checklist will also enable you to quickly realise what your priority and non-priority commitments are, so that you can decide easily what payments you need to make first.

You can download a PDF version of the  creditors’ checklist here.

When listing your creditors, you will want to look at:

• the level of your current arrears,
• whether your lender started any legal action,
• what are your current financial commitment (apart from mortgage or secured loan),
• your income level, and
• your personal circumstances.

If you are getting advice from a specialist adviser, s/he will probably need to see copies of relevant documents, such as letters from your lenders, bank statements, etc. This would be helpful when making a detailed list of your income and outgoings.You will also need to try to make some savings while maximising your income – this is easier said than done, but we have some good tips on how to achieve this in this chapter.

You should also consider having a benefits check to see if you are entitled to any assistance with your housing costs. You may be eligible for support for mortgage interest or some other benefits that may come in handy when paying off your arrears.