Mortgage rates: Corby woman 'convinced' she would lose her home

BBC Natasha RoughtonBBC
Natasha Roughton, a nurse from Corby, has taken on a second job to help cover her mortgage rate increase

A woman said she was "convinced" she and her family would lose their home due to the increase in mortgage rates.

Natasha Roughton, from Corby, Northamptonshire, said the repayments were set to double in March.

As well has their mortgage rate rising by more than 3%, Ms Roughton and her fiancé will also have to start paying interest on their Help to Buy loan.

The 39-year-old nurse said it felt as though people had been "thrown to the wolves".

The mother-of-two has taken on a second job to help with the increase, while her fiancé, Neil, has been doing overtime.

She said their repayments would increase from about £700-a-month to £1,500-a-month when they remortgage in March.

Ms Roughton decided to contact a mortgage broker after hearing about interest rates increasing on the news.

As she was concerned "things could get a lot worse" she wanted to lock-in a deal at current rates.

"Reading the stories and listening to the radio, we were convinced that we were going to lose our house, our children's home" she said.

"I didn't sleep. We were so anxious."

Natasha Roughton and partner Neil outside their home
Ms Roughton and her fiancé Neil bought their property in 2018

The couple were due to be getting married in July, but Ms Roughton said they were looking at postponing due to the cost of living crisis.

"We were prepared for an increase due to the Help to Buy loan, but we weren't prepared for this," she said.

"I've cancelled my gym membership, decreased our TV package, decreased our childcare as much as we can and I've taken on another job while my fiancé does overtime where he can.

"It makes me really angry."

Ms Roughton said she had "severe anxiety" that her children would lose their home or she would have to "choose which child to feed".

"I've worked very hard, my fiancé's worked really hard and it feels like we have no where to run," she said.

"We are working harder than ever to make sure we don't lose our home.

"With the cost of living crisis and now the mortgage crisis, it just feels never-ending.

"It feels like we're kind of being thrown to the wolves."

presentational grey line

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]