When Nadine McKenna checked her phone notifications in February, she never imagined she would end up having to sell her home.“My first reaction was fear,” the single mother from Lisburn told BBC News NI.
“That was my first house I ever bought. I bought it on my own. I’ve put all my money into it. I’ve put my heart and soul into it,” she said.Already paying more than £1,000 a month in childcare on top of her household bills, Ms McKenna was forced to ask her family for financial support.“I’m 38. I never thought I would have to rely on my baby sister to help me get a mortgage,” Ms McKenna said.
“We never find that somebody just doesn’t pay their mortgage, there are always reasons behind it," Aisling Cunningham said.“Some of the stories that people tell you are very difficult.” The data indicates that many of those struggling to pay are on interest-only or variable rate mortgages, deals which have been particularly impacted as the Bank of England has hiked interest rates 14 times in three years.
The average new homeowner in Northern Ireland is now paying almost £3,000 more for their mortgage every year than in 2021, according to the property website Zoopla.