'Home Payments' closes its doors

Home Payments Ltd has stopped trading. They provided budgeting and bill pay service since 1963.

Customers would use them to help manage their money and forward on payments for bills, they also provided savings services. The company stated that the fall in property value had badly affected properties it invested in and they were taking this step to protect their customers deposits.

The National Consumer Agency has urged their customers to cancel any direct debits they had with the company. They also took the opportunity to call for the regulation of the private budgeting industry.

I spoke about this back in May:

For a lot of people however they may feel overwhelmed with their situation, they don't even know where to start to put themselves on the path to recovery. Luckily there is an agency which can help you, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service will help you take control again. They will budget your money, work out a payment plan for your debts/utility bills and there is no cost involved.

Contact them http://www.mabs.ie/ and they will schedule a meeting for you. As you can imagine they are extraordinarily busy at the moment and you may need to wait a few weeks but it will be worth it. There are a number of private budgeting services who promise to renegotiate your debt but please tread carefully, they do charge fees.

FS

'The Economiser'

'The Economiser' is a programme offered by the National Consumer agency which allows you to examine your spend on Groceries, TV/Telecoms, Mobiles, Motoring and Energy. By simply asnwering some questions about your spending on these categories, the programme will help you save money.Well worth a look

http://www.economiser.ie/

FS

Property dilemma - Sell, rent or buy

If you bought your home in the last few years, you may now find yourself in negative equity. If you have no plans to move and you can afford your mortgage repayments, then negative equity shouldn’t be an immediate problem for you.
However, if you are looking to move up the property ladder (for example if you’re planning on having children or moving in together, or you need to move for work reasons) it can become a problem because you may have to sell your home for less than you owe.
So, what are your options?
Stay put and save
If you can put off moving for a little while and you can afford to do it, then you could stay put and try to set aside some savings in a regular savings account to cover the shortfall if you do decide to sell. Or, if you can afford it, another option is to overpay your mortgage. This will reduce the amount you owe on your mortgage, but may only be an option for you if you have a variable rate mortgage (this includes tracker rates). With a fixed rate mortgage, you can’t usually make additional payments without penalty.
Try to sell your home and buy another
You could also consider selling your property at a loss. However, you will need to make up the shortfall between what you owe on your mortgage and the proceeds you will make from selling. So, unless you have savings put aside, this will not be an option. And, if you do have savings, bear in mind that covering the shortfall will eat into the deposit that you would use to buy a new property.
Get more information on what to consider
Rent out your property and buy again
Instead of selling, another option is to rent out your property and buy a new one. Of course, whether this is an option or not depends on:

• how much rent you could get and whether it would cover the current mortgage and other expenses
• whether you will be able to get a second mortgage and
• whether you have a deposit to buy a new property

Get more information on what to consider
Rent out your property and rent another
If you cannot stay put, maybe because of a growing family or work, but selling is not an option, you could also consider renting out your own property and renting a bigger home or one in a more convenient location. Again, you’ll need to consider whether you can get enough rental income to cover your mortgage and allow you to pay monthly rent on another property.
Get more information on what to consider

Taken from:

http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/index.jsp?p=100&n=569&a=1463

FS