What happens if you no longer have an income but have bills to pay? That’s not a distant thought especially now that the world is dealing with the biggest economic threat yet – the coronavirus.

In New Zealand, tour operators who handled over 50,000 Chinese tourists last February are grappling with significant income losses. Staffers in these establishments are facing imminent job losses. Missing out on your mortgage payments can be a stressful thought. After all, it’s often the first step to a downward spiral that ends up with a mortgagee sale.

But you are not helpless even when dealing with the loss of employment. There are many options to help you weather the storm.

Read on and find out more about what to do when you’ve lost a job and can’t pay the mortgage.

Contact the Lender

Losing your job doesn’t mean that you should hide from your creditors, especially the mortgage lender. Instead, you should reach out to the bank and explain your situation. Most banks will request that you fill out a statement of status. From this, they can guide you through various options for handling mortgage payments when facing financial hardships.

But that’s only if you’re not already in arrears.

If you’ve already missed a payment or two, consider looking for alternative financial assistance for home loans to help you get through the crisis.

These solutions may only provide temporary relief, but they can buy you precious time to weather the storm.

Consider a Mortgage Holiday

One of the options that a bank would give you when facing hardships, is a mortgage holiday. This is a temporary suspension of mortgage payments to enable clients who experience financial hardships to weather a storm. The holidays can span between three and 12 months. However, during the ‘holiday,’ interest continues to accrue. Thus when you resume payments, your mortgage bill will be bigger.

Plus, mortgage holidays are often short and there’s no guarantee that you’ll have found another job by the time it expires. It could land you in more trouble.

Look for Alternative Financial Assistance

Losing a job is not funny nor exciting. It can be downright depressing. Unfortunately, mortgage payments, and many other bills, do not relent.

You must reach out and find creative alternative financial assistance for home loans. It may save your home from going to a mortgagee sale.

Also, consider raising cash creatively as you negotiate for an alternative deal.  You could rent one of the rooms at your home and cut down your expenses. These moves will go a long way in helping you to weather the storm.