Repossession Advice Please...

shelleybelly123

This is my first time on the site. I'm really after some advice if any anyone could help.....


My partner and i re-mortgaged our home to get a better rate 2 years ago now. Unfortunately 2 months after we did it my partner was made redundant. He has been depressed since (which we are working through) and has not got another job. He is 57 and is not finding it easy to get back in to the working scene as he had been with his previous employer for 30 years before the redundancy.
Since then, as i only work part time we have been upanddown with the mortgage payments, missing one here and there, making an agreement to repay, missing one, getting straight etc etc. Over the term i'd probably say we have never had more than 2 missed payments but we have never been completely up to date.
Court proceedings have been started 3 times however we have managed to settle the arrears (2 months - £1200) just before and managed to get make an arrangement and avoid court. We are in the same situation again, inevitably as i only work part time (have increased hours as much as can and now work 30hrs per week). We were meant to pay the mortgage on the 27th September with an extra £100 and again today. If we pay it it will leave us with absolutely nothing and we already have the bailiffs to pay £100 per month to for the council tax we owe - we are on a court order for some other CCJ's too so can't miss then. ALl in all a bit of a mess.

My question really is that i know we will get court papers through with a date on again soon and i'm just not sure whtehr a) they will let us repay what we need to to avoid court (arrears have to be under 2 months - now stand at 4 altogether although only 2 months missed to date) and/ or b) are we better off going to court and getting an order to pay and start from then. This would be better as my partner has now got a job so we can afford to start from scratch with the payments plus £100 per month but we can't afford to re-pay the £1200 to stop the court proceedings. I don't want to risk going to court and them saying no we are not giving you the opportunity to make a payment plan as you have never kept up with the payments and we don't think the court order will make anydifference. THe letter we receive normally says they are going for a straight posession order. Will the judge allow us to do make an arrangement? If not and they grant a posession order could we then stop this if we repaid all of the arrears or is it game over?

I really don't know what to do as never been in this situation before. I know we can get staright now OH will be working (starts on 15th nov) but re-paying 2 months and then an extra £200 on each month we have missed is notgoing to be possible.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks
Shell

BlondeHeadOn

Hi Shell, and welcome to the site.

Can I suggest that you post this on the DFW forum (or that one of the board guides moves your post there)? There are loads of really knowledgable (and supportive) people who post on the DFW (Debt Free Wannabee) forum, and I think you will get the best advice there.

I'm sure womeone else will be along very shortly who will be much more helpful.

Best Wishes, and a rather dodgy hug....

:grouphug:

GDB2222

Hi Shell

Do you have an idea of how much equity you have in the house?

If your OH is starting work again in a couple of weeks, the court is most, most unlikely to make a possession order, as you should be able to meet all your future mortgage payments plus make some gradual inroads into the arrears. I would speak to your lenders and let them know the good news about OH and check if they really want to go to court in the circumstances. I would also talk to CAB, etc.

alwaysonthego_2

Hi, I would second going to your local cab office. Make sure you take your paperwork with you including your default notices etc. I would stress that you need to contact your mortgage company and try and see if you can either go to an interest only mortgage (presuming you're not), check you have not got payment protection on your mortgage covering redundancies and see if you can take any payment holidays, but you would need to check the contract.

Also try www.entitledto.com to see if you are entitled to any benefits like working tax credits.

What do you really want, do you want to keep the house or do you want ot get rid? Do you have ay equity in the house? It is far better for you to sell it rahter then getting repossessed because the mortgage company will just auction it and will bill you if they do not get their full amount of money that is owing to them.

SouthCoast

And advice from CAB on mortgage arrears:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/debt/mortgage_arrears.htm

shelleybelly123

Hi,
Thanks for the responses so far. We don't have any equity in the house. It was remortgaged last year for £110,000 (valued at 125000 but we have a 15000 secured loan on it too).
We are on an interest only mortgage and have spoken to the mortgage co a few times ref not going to court but in fairness to them, they have said as they keep making agreemets and we keep breaking them they won't do this until we are under 2 months of arrears £1200. What keeps happening is that we get under the 2 months then as we've had to skrimp and save to do that we then end up not being able to pay a month which then starts the ball rolling with hte court again as as soon as the next payment is missed it puts us over 2 months and they instruct the solicitors again. I'm sure they are sick of us and i hate it that they must think we are just taking the michael so to speak but we have really struggled this year. Definitely DEFINITELY don't want to lose the house ad don't really want to havea court order but feel that we are constantly going round in circles! Seems silly for the sake of £1200 to be fair to go to court and have that hanging over us but it wold be a lot easier to say start fresh with a new payment plan from end of dec say as that would give us chance to get straight in the meantime. Just don't want to take the risk of going to court and them saying no way, get out of your house in 28 days and feel unsure as to whether to take the risk or not!

poppysarah

So if you scrimp and save you can make payments?

Can you get second jobs/cut expenses get a lodger?

lynzpower

is there anyone who could lend you a couple of hundred- to take the balance down to below 1200? ( im thinking freinds/ family here- not anyone like chequebook loans or other shysters)

Good luck to you, its so shocking that your house could be repod for such a small amount of money. With the help of the members of this site- YOU WILL GET THERE, as long as you put in the effort

All the best & welcome xx

Debt_Free_Chick

shelleybelly123 wrote: »

What keeps happening is that we get under the 2 months then as we've had to skrimp and save to do that we then end up not being able to pay a month

When you spend money, you have to pay the mortgage first. Inevitably, this means cutting back somewhere else.

As suggested, post on the Debt-Free Wannabe board where we can help to get your budget into shape and suggest where you can cut back.

You simply must pay the mortgage, CT and utility bills first. Typical areas to cut back and make savings are on Sky, mobile phones and food/grocery bills.

Premier_2

30 years in the same job you say? Should have been entitled to quite a bit of redundancy pay.

57 years old you say? Normally lenders don't like lending past normal retirement age, so 8 years remaining at most.

How much redundancy money did he get? How much was the outstanding mortgage when he was made redundant?


Edit: Wow! £125k to pay off in eight years! Either he was earning one heck of a lot of money or you really had no chance of paying off the debt in 8 years.

Edit2: Interest only mortgage??? What investment vehicle do you have in place to pay off the £125k??? When does it mature? What is it's expected maturity value? How much is is worth today?

punkgirlyuk

If you talk to the mortgage company about the situation and they dont make another re-arrangement with you then i would go to court, i have been to court twice with the mortgage co strongly opposing my case but have had the judge stop repossession (unfortunatly due to ill health i cant stop it this time!). If you take proof of your partners illness, his new job and in income expenditure showing what you can pay towards the arrears then i cant see why the judge wouldnt be on your side.