There’s been so much information coming out from the Government in the past days it is easy to miss important things.

One of the measures announced to help people through the current coronavirus pandemic was a three-month mortgage payment holiday.

On the face of it, this sounds like a positive move to help people through a challenging period.

You don’t need to have tested positive for Covid-19, there are no fees for taking up the offer and all you need to be is up to date on your mortgage payments. (Anyone in arrears should contact their lender.)

But the question is: should I take up the payment holiday?

The holiday is being offered to people who are concerned they will face hardship because of coronavirus, particularly if they can’t work through illness.

Taking the holiday shouldn’t impact upon your credit rating. Banks shouldn’t register payment holidays as missed payments on your credit report, but at the end of the day, that responsibility lies with the individual lender.

Remember of course that the mortgage payments don’t disappear; you’ll still have to catch up at some stage and interest continues to accrue, so it will take longer to pay off your mortgage.

After the three months is up your lender will be in touch to discuss how you can make up the missed payments. You might extend your mortgage or alter your monthly payments, for example.

There’s lots to consider and there are also other ways of getting help with your mortgage.

For example, you might move your mortgage to interest-only for a period; defer your interest payments for a bit or extend your mortgage term to reduce your monthly payments.

All of these are options worth considering before you opt to take the holiday.

As you can imagine, telephone lines have been bursting with people wanting to take advantage of this, but most if not all lenders will have an online form to fill in so it may be easiest to use that, unless you have any questions you need to ask.

I’m happy to talk over your mortgage options with you before you make a decision. For a free, no-obligation discussion on this or any mortgage or insurance-related issue, please give me a call on 01723 384558 or 07767 692 653 or email me at mgrayshan@googlemail.com