Bankrupcy - uncooperate ex partner

kezza90

Hi, I wonder if anyone would have some guidance for me, I will try and explain my situation as best as possible, apologies if any of my questions have been answered I've taken a look around the forums for the last few weeks but to be honest I'm more confused than ever!

In June 2007 I bought a house with my partner (now ex-partner) we got a joint mortgage for approx. 138k and I paid the 7k deposit. We don’t have a deed of trust. We split up in May this year and I moved out of the house, he stayed in the house. I took my name off all of the utility bills. As I got credit in my name for sofa’s £60 per month until September 2009 and credit cards approx. 5k total I am liable for those and have been continuing to make minimum payments each month. We agreed to set up to pay half of the £750 mortgage each, the first month I paid my half £373, but my ex-partner claimed he was now unemployed and could not afford to pay the mortgage and his exact words to me were "what are you going to do about it?". I cannot afford to pay his share of the mortgage.

Since this time he has not paid any money towards the mortgage and neither have I. I figured that even if I am paying half the mortgage my credit file is still being affected and I have a feeling my ex will not pay anything at all so if they come to repossess the house even if I’ve made payments I will still be liable for the whole outstanding amount.

We have now received an offer on the house of 110k and to redeem the mortgage is 142k which leaves us with a 32k shortfall. The mortgage co have said in order to agree to the sale we need to say we will repay the shortfall and give them copies of bank statements and sign an agreement with them. I was willing to do this but now my ex partner has disappeared (he likes to bury his head in the sand).

I visited the CAB and explained my debt:

1500 - HSBC overdraft - 18 p/m interest
800 - setees - 60 p/m interest free
2597 - Barclays career development loan - 123 p/m
1625 - halifax cc - 0%
2738 - virgin cc - 0%
300 - mint cc

Plus also the shortfall in the property if we sell of 32k, plus 2250 estate agents fees and also 500 solicitors fees. Of which I just do not have the cash to pay and my ex partner is unco-operative.

The CAB recommended I declare myself bankrupt as I am now living back in a flat I own and paying a mortgage of 388 interest only per month and with an income of 1220 per month I cannot afford to pay all creditors and also money towards the shortfall in the mortgage.

My questions are:

If I declare myself bankrupt now before the sale of the house will I still be liable for the shortfall of 32k?

Or if the sale does not go through and they end up repossessing will I still be liable for the amounts on the mortgage and shortfall?

If I am planning to go bankrupt in December do I stop paying all my creditors now? As at the moment the only one I'm not paying is the joint mortgage.

Has anyone else had similar problems of unco-operative ex partners?

Many thansk your help is greatly appreciated.

maxmycardagain

your lender will not agree to any sale below what is owed on the property

kick your ex out the house and let it out?

any shortfall will be included in your BR, but lender may be able to chase your ex

if december is "d day" then yes, stop paying now, save up for the fees and a good xmas party..

what equity do you have in your current residence, that could be at risk from the OR

kezza90

the house is empty but letting is not an option as we were busy trying to do it up and i would need to spend quite a bit of money on it to be in a good state of repair to let. And again it would be me paying and not my ex, plus I dont want to be associated with him any longer.

i have mort of 63k on flat, it was worth 100k before the property bubble burst...now the estate agents reckon i'd have to accept less than 80k to sell, so i think 15k equity. I have read about beneifical interest and spoke to OR help line about this, they have said I should be given the opp to purchase the BI within 3 years of being bankrupt, do you know if this would cost me 15k?

thanks

maxmycardagain

80K less £63K is £17K equity, Bi can be calculated at less than the actual equity, and then again, its open to negotiation, the OR may take £10K - if you can raise it or find someone to buy the Bi

a couple of things to be wary off

if you stop paying bills now, whoever you owe money to could take out a CCJ, then a charging order to alter a CCJ from unsecured to secured, making life difficult.

and your ex may be interested in the fact he may be due to pay half the shortfall....lol

or, indeed ALL of it, as a joint debtor, if it was a tax bill and you and he were business partners HMRC would certainly send BOTH of you the SAME bill, for the TOTAL, not half each!

kezza90

thanks for your help.

If i am planning on doing BR in December and I stopped paying creditors now would they have enough time to start CCJ's? And would I still be liable for them after the BR?

Another question i have, when BR can creditors still send bailiffs round, etc?

To be totally honest, even if the mort co tried to chase my ex partner for half or even the full amount owed he would just try to dodge them as much as possible. I hope they chase him for the full amount tho as this has not seemed to phase him at all...i'm tearing my hair out and he just doesnt have a care in the world!

maxmycardagain

1.If i am planning on doing BR in December and I stopped paying creditors now would they have enough time to start CCJ's? And would I still be liable for them after the BR?

2.Another question i have, when BR can creditors still send bailiffs round, etc?

1. unlikely, could take 6 months, espesh if your a bad girl and fib to em
2. no, BR is a trump card, beats all others (except for current year council tax and student loans)

BUI, i would advise copying your BR notice and sending a copy to all creditors, i did and heard nothing further from the posse of 33 chasing me...

kezza90

Thanks for all your help.

I just wondered if anyone could advise me on whether I just continue paying the mortgage on the flat and do I just notify the OR that I plan to stay there? I imagine it's not as easy as that. Is there a change the mort co on my flat will take the flat off me?

peachyprice

You just carry on paying your mortgage as normal, nothing changes as far as that is concerned, you don't have to inform your mortgage company and the OR will assume you're going to carry on living there if you can afford to. It really is that easy and the mortgage company cannot take the flat from you as long as you pay the mortgage.

The OR will most likely give you the opportunity to buy the BI within a few weeks of going BR, based on the value at that time. Obviously you won't be able to do this yourself, but a family member or friend can do this. If you have no-one to do this for you the OR will usually approach you a year after BR and tell you they want you to vacate, at this time you can offer to buy the BI, which with the present climate will most likely be less than today, you will by that time be discharged and will be free to raise the money yourself. The OR will always rather negotiate than be landed with a property has to sell.

As soon as you are bankrupt the mortgage company will chase your ex for the wholeoutstanding amount and can continue to do so for 12 years.

HTH

fiveyearplan

If you are planning BR in December then stop paying all your creditors but stay on top of priority bills like council tax, utilities, mortgage (on your flat not the joint one) etc. Save anything you can in the meantime (and I mean under your mattress not in the bank). You will need this money as a cushion once you are BR as emergencies may arise and you will not be able to get credit. Your creditors will not have time to take you to court before December.