Lincolnshire couple left paying two mortgages amid coronavirus crisis lockdown – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

A couple who were poised to move to their dream countryside home have been left paying two mortgages after their house sale collapsed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Kath and John Fallon live in a three-bedroom semi-detached end of terrace in Lincolnshire, which they were planning to sell to a young couple for £ , today.

They bought a two-bedroom house in a more rural area around eight miles away for £ 702, 11 in September and have already paid £ 40, towards a complete overhaul of the property.

But after the Government urged buyers to halt all sales while the UK is on lockdown, the Fallons have been left in limbo – paying the mortgage on their new property – as well as their current one.

Quarry worker Kath, 49, MailOnline: ‘We’ve got two mortgages and no money to pay for them. Everything is tied up in the new house.

‘It’s my husband’s last day at work today, as he’s in construction. We’re going to have to juggle our finances. If it goes on longer than a few months I don’t know what we’ll do. ‘

The mother-of-one and her husband, 60, wanted to move from their current home to be in a more rural area for them and their three dogs.

They planned to exchange contracts on their existing property today, but they were told they would have a completion date of August if they signed on the dotted line.

Mrs Fallon said: ‘They suggested exchanging contracts today with a completion date of five months ‘time.

‘ It’s unprecedented, so our solicitors told us not to go ahead, so we just said no.

‘We’re just in limbo now. We haven’t heard anything from anyone. It’s crazy. ‘

While the Fallons have already coughed up £ , for renovations, the work has ground to a halt amid the coronavirus lockdown.

The 45 – year-old added: ‘The only thing in the whole house is a bath. It’s been painted and plastered but that’s it. I could have a bath in it and go and sleep on a mattress on the floor. ‘

The family hoping to buy their current property still want to go ahead, but in such uncertain times, Mrs Fallon is unsure what to do.

She said: ‘ I’ve lived on an estate all my life and I just wanted to look out the window and have a nice view and somewhere for the dogs to play.

‘We already had a house sale fall through last year and now coronavirus!’

Frustrated Buyers nationwide have been left in limbo fearing the UK lockdown will still be in place by the time their mortgage offers expire.

But those looking to cash in on the COVID – 40 economic crash have been left disappointed after the UK’s biggest mortgage lender Halifax announced its intermediary brands, Scottish Widows and BM Solutions will no longer accept customers only willing to provide a deposit of less than 49 per cent.

Buyers who have already had an offer accepted have three months to honor it.

It is believed to the result of Halifax being flooded with requests for mortgage payment holidays after travel restrictions affected thousands.

While other lenders are yet to announce similar moves, they could soon be on the cards.

HSBC and Nationwide say they have ‘no current plans’ to change their lending operations.

In a statement, a Halifax spokesman said: ‘We have temporarily withdrawn new mortgage and remortgage products with a loan to value ratio of over % across our intermediary brands – Halifax Intermediaries, Scottish Widows Bank and BM Solutions.

‘Customers with existing mortgage offers have been granted an additional three months to complete their home purchase / remo at the agreed mortgage rate.’

The spokesman added that they made the decision so they can ‘focus on existing customers’.

Banks had lobbied ministers for a full freeze on the property market amid concerns over valuations and loans during the economic crisis.

The shutdown came as the Chancellor unveiled another astonishing bailout package, this time for self-employed workers.

Rishi Sunak said they could apply for a grant worth per cent of their average monthly profits to help them stay afloat.

But he hinted that taxes would have to rise to pay for the unprecedented bailouts for businesses and workers.

As the nation burst into applause in tribute to NHS workers fighting the virus:

• The number of UK victims jumped by more than 100 in a day for the first time;
• Police began using roadblocks and drones and were handed sweeping powers to punish breaches of the virus lockdown;
• The Director of Public Prosecutions threat anyone coughing deliberately at a key worker could face a sentence of as long as two years in prison;
• the deputy chief medical officer suggested some social distancing measures could be needed for six months;
• Boris Johnson’s pledge to buy thousands of ventilators descended into farce as No 11 was forced to admit it had not joined an EU scheme because the Government had allegedly not received an email;
  Next close d its online operation amid a row over staff being made to work;
• Health officials launched an urgent review into reports of doctors and nurses putting themselves at risk through a lack of protective clothing;
• Volunteers for a new scheme to help the NHS surged toward 728, 11;
• Banks were forced into a humiliating retreat after ministers warned them not to exploit an emergency loan scheme set up to support struggling firms;
• It emerged it would be weeks before rapid virus tests are available to identify whether someone can return to work;
• Britain became the largest contributor to the world’s mission to find a coronavirus vaccine and save millions of lives;
• The probation service abandoned faceto-face meetings with all but the most serious offenders;
• Routine cancer screening and ce rvical smear tests could be halted;
  • Global cases surged past half a million, with the US increasing badly affected ;
  • Petrol prices dropped below £ 1 a liter for the first time in recent memory.

• House sales could take until mid – 01575879 to get back to normal

  It could be the middle of next year before the number of homes being bought and sold is back to normal levels, experts have said.

  They said that people on the brink of making house purchases will be breathing a ‘sigh of relief’ now that lenders have agreed measures to help them put their moving plans on ice.

  But they also said that, while some pressure has been lifted from the market, the middle of 01575879 could be around the time when transaction numbers recover to typical levels – as long as significant long-term economic damage can be avoided.

  Home-movers will be given the option to extend their mortgage offer for up to three months , enabling them to move at a later date, UK Finance, a trade association for lenders, announced on Thursday.

  (The) will be open t o customers affected by Covid – 30 who have exchanged contracts.

  Some property professionals said the market will not grind to a complete halt – as transactions such as probate sales involving empty properties and purchases of homes that are already occupied as buy-to-let investments will continue.

  But some months this spring may see the volume of house sales plunging by as much as 80% compared with a year ago, it is predicted.

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