Can I take a break from paying my mortgage?

If you want to be free to take a break from your mortgage on occasion, then you'll need a Flexible, Current Account or Offset mortgage.

The interest only mortgage also offers a degree of flexibility. You have to pay the interest off every month, but if you are using an ISA with your investment tool then you have the flexibility to save as and when you like.

If your mortgage agreement does not allow you to take a break in making your mortgage repayments, then you can try talking to your mortgage provider to see if you can come to an arrangement. If you can assure them that the lost repayments will be repaid in an agreed period of time, you may well be able to negotiate a deal. Then you'll still be on schedule to repay the mortgage as agreed.

Don't ever consider cancelling your direct debit or stopping the payments without talking to your mortgage lender first. They will assume that you are defaulting on payments and it's likely that the defaults will appear on your credit record quite swiftly.