vol repossesion and council tax

moneybuster

So is the best way forward to have your house reposessed then are you still liable for the C/Tax

moneybuster

peachyprice

eklynne wrote: »

yes, this is what the CAB told me.

It can take , 6 months, 9 months, up to a year for it to be repossessed, depending on who your mortgage is with.

Which is why you must cover yourself with the council tax people, just moving out isn't enough for it to become the mortgage co.'s responsibility.

LilyBart

Seconded. You must notify the council so you get the 6 months of non-payment established. Peachy's right that it become the lender's responsibility once it's *legally* repossessed but it's highly unlikely a council will pursue you for two sets of payments while the lender faffs around. 6 months should cover this, though it can drag out and you will continue to get mortgage statements etc until it's sold.

For example (though it varies hugely), we moved out in May, went BR in June, were formally repossessed in Nov and the property is still on the market! I get the shakes when I think of what my poor garden must look like now....

eklynne

Thanks Lily, really helpful.
Can I just ask, more out of noseyness than anything else...why do people move out before repo? I'm hoping to stay here as long as I can without paying the mortgage to give me some savings for when I get turfed out. Seems a shame for houses to lie empty when you could live rent/mortgage free for a few months.

LilyBart

In our case, we were just really panicky about finding somewhere to live after BR and lucky enough to have the funds for a deposit. (We'd asked for a mortgage holiday when we realised we were in serious trouble.) So we jumped before our credit rating fell into the seventh circle of hell, having got a guarantor lined up just in case the letting agent could sniff impending doom!