Help Im Sinking Fast

southernscouser

Crazy_C wrote:

Hi All,

Im a new member and Ive been reading some of your postings over the past couple of days and thought maybe you could help me with some advice, Im to ashamed to go to my family and let them think im a faliure and its so much easier to be open on honest on a forum like this.

Ive recently split from my husband of 15 years due to debt problems, there isnt anyone I dont owe money to but the worst and most disturbing issue that I have to resolve at the moment is my Mortgage arrears, I currently have £2800 pounds worth of arrears and have been served with a re-possesion notice, the court date was on Tuesday 1st but I didnt go to court because I was to ashamed and scared but I have realised now from reading your articals that my debt isnt going to go away and I have to face up to it and I dont want to loose my house, I have 2 children and I need to keep a roof over there head. I have a good job and earn good money, but I have no way of coming up with the money to pay my arrears off.

Please help What do I do.

Have a read of this then post back here.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

Crazy_C

I can afford to make the payments on the mortgage, but I also have a 40,000 secured loan and re-mortgaging to an interest only mortgage for 2 years would clear my arrears, and consolidate my secured loan and save me £150 per month which I could then use to pay off other detb. Do you still think its a bad idea.???

I now have an excel spreadsheet of all my debts, including my mortgage arrears. I dont know the APR on some of them but I can find that out. I am today finishing off my income and expenditure and will send this along with a letter today to the Solicitor dealing with the re-possession followed by a phone call once they have received the letter.

I am then going to send a standard letter to all my other creditors offering them a token payment for the intrim until I sort the house out.

Thank you so much for your advice, it has really spurred me on to grab this by the neck and deal with it, rather then hide my head in the sand which is what I have been doing.

jen_jen_2

switching mortgage isnt necessarily a bad idea, remember by going interest only you will still have to pay the capital back at some point and so may be more expensive in the long run.

with regard to the court, did you contact them and find out the outcome of the hearing. this is important, you may need to apply to the court to ask them to reconsider the decision and the sooner you do this the easier it is to explain to the district judge why you couldnt go to the first hearing but you are trying now.

still contact lenders solicitors but remember you may have to apply to the court, keep your CAB appointment they may be able to come with you to any hearings or at least provide a letter of support saying you are trying to resolve this.

1313

Crazy_C wrote:

I
Thank you so much for your advice, it has really spurred me on to grab this by the neck and deal with it, rather then hide my head in the sand which is what I have been doing.

Yes you have got the right idea. Always deal with it!!!!!

If you have a question, you can always ask it here as a new thread. The you can go away and deal with the problem a bit more.

Thefunkygibbons

Do remember that only about a quarter of repossission orders are enforced, the banks really don't want to evict you

This is the wake up call to deal with things

Sounds like you are ready to do so, hopefully it all works out for you

Crazy_C

Yesterday I contacted the Court and the solicitors and then sent a letter with a copy of my income and expenditure with a request to agree an acceptable payment arrangment to start paying off some of the arrears, so fingers crossed. I should hear something soon.

AndrewSmith

Hi,

Dealing with this type of scenario on a regular basis I will just add a footnote to all the excellent advice you have already received.

It is highly unlikely that the court will grant a possession order at the first hearing. They usually grant what is called a suspended possession order which works as follows:

You submit a means enquiry (income / expenditure) to the courts along with your proposal to the Lender for what you can afford to pay and how long you will take to repay any arrears. Ask the courts to request the lender capitalise the arrears (add them to the end of your mortgage thus taking the pressure off having to repay them immediately). Whilst I know this means you are increasing your debt by £2,800 and paying it over the term of the mortgage it does release the arrears from accruing charges etc.

To cut a long story short you will end up with a formal agreement from the courts as to what you are expected to pay the lender each month. As long as you keep this up you will not lose your home.

Take care though as if you miss one single payment on this new agreement the lender reserves the right to re-apply to the courts for a possession order, which is more likely to be granted second time round.

The other alternative is to switch to another lender, starting with a clean slate and getting the mortgage and secured loan into one loan and possibly lower the payments, either by reducing the overall interest rate (the secured loan will be at a higher rate than the mortgage I assume), extending the term of the mortgage, or paying interest only for a couple of years to allow you to get back on your feet.

Beware of mortgage companies that promise to "lend to anyone regardless of your credit history" as you will usually find their interest rates quite high. However I cannot comment without fully knowing the situation and figures involved.

Once a re-mortgage has been completed upon, your dealings with your current lender cease and you are no longer under the order of the courts. Also every month you pay your mortgage on time with no arrears you are improving your own credit file.

My suggestion would be to contact an Independant Mortgage Advisor to go over the figures with you. This will establish whether a re-mortgage is the best option for you, and what mortgage products are available to you.

Hope this is useful.

Andy