Advice on my situation please

BobProperty

I thought I’d put my own situation up here to see whether I can do any better and/or to see if I’ve missed something.
I owe various loans, utilities and mortgage payments some of which are in arrears. The property is on the market and as soon as it is sold I will clear all debts and put some money aside for a known forthcoming expense. I will hopefully take out a mortgage on a new property which won’t be much more in value than the one I’m selling. I should have enough from the sale for a reasonable deposit.
My problem is the cash flow at present. I am self-employed and struggling to get my business re-started. I am owed money by various creditors but am only slowly making progress at getting money out of them.
Question is : is it worth getting a credit card or loan now to help sort out the small debts and get some of them off my back, knowing it will be paid off when I sell the property. Or am I wasting my time and messing up my credit rating by applying. Bear in mind, I suspect I don’t have too good a rating at present so will several failed attempts at getting a card skew my chance of a mortgage?

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

Well done on posting :T

It would be a good idea to state your Ins & Outs and what you owe and where. Also APR rates etc. Not being nosey, but will help people offer better/more accurate information

If you are behind with payments, it may be difficult to get a credit card anyway and will just add further to your debt.

How long has your property been on the market? Property sales seem quite slow ATM.

PP
xx

BobProperty

Hi PP

I don't think there's much point in putting figures up as one debtor paying up changes the whole situation. Roughly though it looks like this:
Previous place:
Gas £720 agreement to pay £72 a month
Electric £63 paying over next 2 months
Cable/phone £75ish
Current place:
Council tax about £300 which they are getting stroppy about as the DD failed
Loans £122 per month ends summer
£75 per month agreement
£53 per month
Mortgage 400 per month 2 months in arrears.
Business is owed over £2000 some of which I will never see, some of which I look like I will have to take legal action to get.

Property is on market at £150k mortgage os is about £48k so it's not like anyone isn't going to get paid.
As I said problem is I'm self employed (in effect - if you desparately need the technicalities I'll explain) If I get one reasonable sized job the picture changes dramatically.

From what you say it looks like I just keep going until the property sells, saves making credit applications until I need the mortgage.

greencatrus

I'd keep going focus your energy on getting more work first and chasing the leeches who won't pay second. You going to need some impressive figures for your new morgage and every credit application is registered with experian ect. Infact it'd probably be as well for your peace of mind to contact experian and find out just what your credit rating is. Good luck - Paul.

BobProperty

greencatrus wrote:

I'd keep going focus your energy on getting more work first and chasing the leeches who won't pay second.

Thanks for your opinion.

greencatrus wrote:

You going to need some impressive figures for your new morgage

No I'll self dec like I have been doing for the last 20 odd years.

greencatrus wrote:

and every credit application is registered with experian ect.

I am aware of that which is why I don't want to apply again unnecessarily.

greencatrus wrote:

Infact it'd probably be as well for your peace of mind to contact experian and find out just what your credit rating is. Good luck - Paul.

I obtained a credit report last September after I was turned down for a re-mortgage. Being turned down for credit is not something that happens to me very often. Main thing looks like I wasn't on the electoral register here (still at old address) and this has only just been changed. I know this is a big no-no with credit rating. I may well look at getting the score so long as it counts as an enquiry only. Thanks for your interest.

silvercar

I will hopefully take out a mortgage on a new property which won’t be much more in value than the one I’m selling.

If your going to buy a property at the same value as the one your selling why not just remortgage. This way you'll save a lot of moving costs. I'm sure a broker could find you as good a deal on a remortgage as you could find on a new property.

robertbruce

Hi
Best advice I can offer is to trade out of your situation... no more borrowing, especially to pay off what is actually someone else's debts. I'd rather you pay mine off if you're in that frame of mind :-)

I've worked recently on the premise that FIXING THE INCOME is the priority and everything else will fall into line. In your case, that includes getting your outstanding accounts to pay you. My normal course of action used to be (I NOW get payment up front)-
1- Ask nicely... works more often than you would imagine.
2- Ask politely but firmly... stating that even part payment would be helpful if they are also a struggling business.
3- Ask very firmly... even including a reference to the next step which is legal recovery, used mostly when "cheques in the post" haven't turned up a week later.
4- Take the debt through the small claims court ... usually best for amounts over £100. Under this, try steps 1-3 again to avoid the small fees for the court action (which are added to the debt, incidentally, and must be paid in full by the debtor when your claim is upheld).

After you've fixed the income, including these debts and getting a bit more business in the order book, concentrate on REDUCING THE EXPENDITURE which is what the members on this site do so well.

Regarding your mortgage, I used a company called PLATFORM recently who gave me a deal on MEDIUM ADVERSE credit at a rate of 6.37%... not great but acceptable to me in my circumstances. I can re-mortgage after 3 years and get myself sorted permanently, so the first step has been taken on my road to recovery. (The history is even more complicated which is why I am happy with the rate)

Each person has their own circumstances so assess each piece of advice on its own merits and take what you need from it all. Good luck. Regards. Bob.

BobProperty

silvercar wrote:

If your going to buy a property at the same value as the one your selling why not just remortgage. This way you'll save a lot of moving costs. I'm sure a broker could find you as good a deal on a remortgage as you could find on a new property.

Without getting into too much detail, I have already failed to get a re-mortgage (see previous post). The property I am in was bought as an investment and I am in it following separating from my wife. It is not what I want to live in but I don't want to move out of the area.

BobProperty

Bob Bruce -thanks for your thoughts. It would be nice to trade out and have no debt but as I have just said to silvercar I have to stay in the same area, and what I would be left with will become a deposit on the next property and the mortgage will be my only debt.