Estranged husband handing keys to house back to bank

Savvy_Sue

MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to the House Buying board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

It's possible the Board Guides there may think it's better on Debt Free Wannabe or somewhere like that, but I'll leave that to them!

pinkshoes

You have a large 4 bed detached house, and 3 people living in it.

Why can't you take on a lodger? or two lodgers and make your DDs share?

neas

'house was remortgaged but cannot afford to pay mortgage'.

This statement rings of MEWing... for cash. I.e withdrawing 20-40k+ pounds for holidays or expensive tat that isnt needed.

That equity withdrawal is now cvoming back to bite you both in the bum, unfortunately... I guess a hard lesson will be learned that equity withdrawal to no equity is a silly thing for your future mortgage.

Also as it is a joint mortgage both of you are equally liable.. and if i might add, asking to wriggle out of your responsibility to pay the mortgage is a little sneaky if you ask me. Life is a weird thing, people break up and you must've realised what a joint mortgage was at the time you got the property.= in that you would be liabale for the shortfall.

If you hadn't remortgaged... you'd have equity.. would be able to lower the price of the house and sell it without using the banks to reposses it and sell it at a lower cost.

Basically, cause you remortgaged you gonna lose out more than the cash you withdrew.

Say you withdrew 40k and bank sells for a 50k loss you are down 10k
Say you withdrew 0k and you sell for a 30k loss you are up 10k..

Just thoughts for your next mortgage experience.

TTMCMschine

peachyprice wrote: »

This is indeed possible, it's voluntary repossession, you can send the keys back, the lender will ask you to sign a deed of acknowledgement (which say's you'll be liable for the shortfall and costs) which you may not want to sign, the lender goes to court for possession, if the house is empty aleady it's granted immediately, if you're still living there you're given time to move out, usually 28 days.

I heard about people leaving "their keys" at the bank a lot in the late 80's.

confused31_2

neas wrote: »

'house was remortgaged but cannot afford to pay mortgage'.

This statement rings of MEWing... for cash. I.e withdrawing 20-40k+ pounds for holidays or expensive tat that isnt needed.

That equity withdrawal is now cvoming back to bite you both in the bum, unfortunately... I guess a hard lesson will be learned that equity withdrawal to no equity is a silly thing for your future mortgage.

Also as it is a joint mortgage both of you are equally liable.. and if i might add, asking to wriggle out of your responsibility to pay the mortgage is a little sneaky if you ask me. Life is a weird thing, people break up and you must've realised what a joint mortgage was at the time you got the property.= in that you would be liabale for the shortfall..

Just thoughts for your next mortgage experience.

Very harsh, the lady stated her husband left her and she was working 20 hours a week and looking after her two children, if i left my missus and had a joint mortgage and like most responsible parents if they could pay it, they would pay their half, just to keep a roof over their kids heads.

Its obvious when they were living together they could afford it, maybe her husband was the main bread winner, but for someone to say she should have been prepared for it is a load of waffle.

How many couples who take joint mortgages out say we better not have a joint mortgage just incase one of us decides to start having affairs.

Just hope it dont happen to you, you dont know her husband might have lost his job thats why he can not pay.

Some people!!!!!!!!

confused

duchy

Gotta love the "hindsight" posters-I'm sure if the OP had known her husband was going to have an affair she would have handled things differently-but she didn 't-your comments are unhelpful.
Back to practicalities.....It's a big house-what about lodgers ? Students often work well as they go home for holidays and if it's arranged through the college or uni are also answerable to them.
I doubt you or your husband really want a reposesstion so can you work together to find some way to keep the house so you aren't both left with a lurking debt for the next 12 years ?

blue_monkey_2

OP, can you get your ex to pay you instead of the mortgage so you can start saving so you have somewhere to rent for the girls. I am guess he is paying the mortgage direct so this is why he cannot pay you additional child support - well if he is NOT paying the mortgage he can pay that money to you surely as the girls need supporting.

Check out what your rights are to Housing Benefit if you are renting too. Go in armed with all the info you need and look to this as a new start. It could take 6 months for the bank to get you out so it is possible to get enough money behind you for a deposit and for the rent. If you have no savings (as it sounds like you will not) then you will get housing benefit. Use the money you have been able to save to pay 2-3 months rent while HB is being sorted out - then you'll be in credit, it also means that if you stay with the same letting agent they can use this 'credit' to pay your future rents and should not have to worry about credit checks. This is what happened to my friend who was in the exact same situation as you but had debt up to her eyeballs and so this was why she lost the house but she was able to rent as she had the lump sum to put down.

However, she came out with equity, she spent loads and paid a years rent upfront and then as she had no money was able to claim all but £68 a month HB. The years rent still sat with the LA and she could ask for some back if she wanted it and also it was there as credits towards her rent each month. I do not know if this applies to all agents but this was the case for hers.

Also go to as many Housing Associsions as you can as they will put you on their list (I found this out too late) - they will not look at you as homeless but you can go on the list for housing - but look into every single HA that serves your area (I found around 10 in this area in the end) and apply to them all. You can put in as many applications as you can but can only be housed by one so once you have housing you'll have to come off the list of the others.

Find out what your husband is doing with that money if he has decided not to pay, do not just hand back the keys, especially if you have no-where to go, eek it out until the very end so that you can prepare yourselves, if you can save that money and find somewhere to rent before the bailiff is due then you'll be sorted and more prepared.

Good luck. Look at this as a new start for you all.

Neas, your comments were not helpful, no-one knows what the future holds, people are coming for advice not to be sneered at because her husband could not keep his pants on!! The sad thing is that this lady and her kids are the ones losing their home because he was the selfish one, note HE is the one handing the keys back leaving this lady and HIS children with no-where to live. Have some compassion for goodness sake!!

Oh and OP, speak to your local homeless department, they can give you temporary housing for 28 days (usually a hostel) if he does hand the keys back and you have to get out but after that, but because you lost the house as the mortgage was not paid, they have no obligation to help. But you never know, some of them might because of how times are right now, you do not know if you do not ask the question.

ALIBOBSY

It is also a good idea to seak to cab or oe of the other free debtservices(not the ones who charge a fee).
If you and hubby have alot of other debt as well although not a nice thought you may wish to consider bankcruptcy.
Not to be taken lightly by any means but for some people it is a weight off their mind once things are at least settled.

Thats why you need independant advice as to your options.

good luck

ali x

sarahb

Council of Mortgage Lenders Statement of Practice
http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/policy/issues/1629

Methods of Obtaining Possession

[FONT=Arial,Arial]

[FONT=Arial,Arial]Possession of a property will be sought only as a last resort when all attempts to reach alternative arrangements with the borrower have been unsuccessful. A lender may obtain possession of a property in three ways:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial] [/FONT]
[/FONT](a) By Court Order

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]When [/FONT][/FONT]taking [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]possession proceedings through the courts, lenders must adhere to all the legal requirements and procedures which give considerable protection to the borrower. Court proceedings may be suspended should the court consider that a borrower may be able, within a reasonable time period, to [/FONT][/FONT]repay [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]any sums due under the mortgage. The possession order may be postponed for a time to allow the borrower to [/FONT][/FONT]find [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]alternative accommodation. [/FONT][/FONT]Borrowers are encouraged to attend court proceedings.

(b) By Voluntary Agreement with the Lender
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]A borrower who has fallen into arrears and who has little prospect of repaying such arrears may reach an agreement with his lender to hand over the property to the lender without the need to obtain a court order. A borrower may also be asked to sign a voluntary possession declaration to confirm the agreement, which would make it clear that mortgage interest together with other charges will continue to accrue until the property is sold. A voluntary surrender may result in an earlier sale of the property than would be the case with court proceedings. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]
[/FONT](c) Surrender (or Abandonment) by the Borrower without Notifying the Lender
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]In cases where a borrower has failed to discuss his mortgage arrears problems with the lender, or where suitable arrangements have not been reached between the lender and borrower, a borrower may simply vacate the property without advising the lender; often keys are sent to the lender, this being possibly the first intimation that the property has been surrendered. In such circumstances, the property would be sold by the lender. Again the borrower is liable for the total debt including mortgage interest which accrues until the property is sold. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]
[/FONT]Borrowers should speak to their local housing authority to check if how their property is taken into possession (voluntary or via court proceedings) has an impact on any subsequent application for housing.

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Irrespective of how the property is taken into possession, the borrower will remain liable for the outstanding debt including any accrued interest and charges between the date of possession and the date of sale. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial]In some cases borrowers who have had their properties taken into possession may seek a mortgage on another property. Potential borrowers should not conceal the fact that they have defaulted on a previous loan. The subsequent lender will be aware of the previous mortgage either as a result of enquiries of the original lender or the CML Mortgage Possessions Register which lists borrowers who have had their properties taken into possession. [/FONT][/FONT]This information will remain on the Possessions Register for six years.


My ex did a voluntary surrender in the mid 90s and manged to get another mortgage within 3 years, but there were unusual circumstances (structurally unsound building, lender's internal valuer did not notice !) - this was noted on the CML's repossession register so probably helped considerably.

silvercar

You say its a joint mortgage, which means the property is jointly owned.

He cannot hand back the keys without your agreement. Even if he owned the house, he couldn't hand back the keys without removing you from the property.

Unilateral statements of "I'll hand back the keys" are hot air talk.