Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

CCCS_Sarah

MITZIW wrote: »

thanks i have had my phone appointment with cccs so will give them a call tonight if i can.

In your pack there will be the support counsellor’s number, they will be happy to help.

Let me know if you have any other questions

CIS

If you went down this route you would be liable for the buildings insurance and council tax until the house is sold at auction. If the house is unoccupied contact the council as they may give you a reduction in the council tax.

You would be liable for council tax however an unoccupied and substantially unfurnished property is exempt under a Class C exemption for a maximum of 6 months. Once the property is re-possessed then (providing its unoccupied) it is subject to a Class L exemption (this is unlimited timewise until the property is disposed of or re-occupied).

annie_plum

Thank you Sarah
Can I just ask a couple of things.
1) As the apartment is in my sole name if my husband went bankrupt would they still consider it an asset of his and be able to take house as we are married, we have no secured loans and none of our loans are in joint names.
2) As we are abroad we would not be able to attend a meeting with CCCS, could it all be done by phone?
3) If we do not go for bankrupsy and wait for them to bankrupt us. What difference would that make to us and would that save on our fees?
Regards Annie

annie_plum

Sorry Sarah one more thing,
Do they have to serve us notice personally by hand? and as we are abroad would they send a representative to serve papers and would they have to inform the Turkish courts first?

sizzler

Hi annie its sizzler,

looks like you getting some help now, let us know how you are getting on

sizzler:)

CCCS_Matthew

annie_plum wrote: »

Thank you Sarah
Can I just ask a couple of things.
1) As the apartment is in my sole name if my husband went bankrupt would they still consider it an asset of his and be able to take house as we are married, we have no secured loans and none of our loans are in joint names.
2) As we are abroad we would not be able to attend a meeting with CCCS, could it all be done by phone?
3) If we do not go for bankrupsy and wait for them to bankrupt us. What difference would that make to us and would that save on our fees?
Regards Annie

Hi Annie.

1) Although the apartment is in your name, your husband may have "beneficial interest" in the property which means that in theory he is entitled to some of the equity due to the fact he may have contributed towards the running costs of the house such as mortgage, utility bills etc. However it's very difficult to say whether or not he would without further discussion.

2) The majority of our appointments are conducted over the telephone with people in the UK, so we can certainly do it over the phone if you are outside the UK.

3) As Sarah said, it's unlikely that bankruptcy is going to be a good option so I don't want to overwhelm you with information surrounding the process etc at this stage. If the property is worth £40k it would be considered an asset, which may mean you wouldn't be able to keep the apartment should you go bankrupt. However I'm wary of not wanting to tell you what options you may or may not have at this stage without further discussion, which is what the counsellor can do for you if you call for an appointment.

Regards,
Matthew.

annie_plum

Thank you I will ring tomorrow and try to set up an appointment.
Also just had an email from MBNA asking me to telephone or reply to email stating I am happy to communicate via email. This is the first contact I have had from any one I owe money to. Probably because they do not actually know where I am at the moment.
Should I reply stating I am happy or ignore it until I have spoken to a councellor, what do you think?

philnicandamy

Hiya Annie...ignore the email till you have a chat with CCCS

victoryhill

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]We have recently been discharged from bankruptcy. We had a number of properties ( personal and Buy to Let ) that formed part of the bankruptcy estate that we no longer want any part of. We are now getting chased by one council for council tax due on the property after we were declared bankrupt, while the property was empty.

The council is saying that because the properties are still "officially" in our name and haven't supposedly been repossessed ( even though all the properties are now managed by the Property Law Act Receiver and have been since before we went bankrupt ) we are liable for the council tax on the two empty properties.

When I spoke to Northern Rock they said they have not officially repossessed the property and, as such, we are still the legal owners of the property. They plan to keep our properties ( 6 in total ) in this holding pattern for the next 6 years until such time as the value increases to where they can sell them and minimize their losses as the properties are all in negative equity.

My questions are these:

1. Why will Northern Rock not officially repossess our property when it seems other lenders will do so in similar circumstances ? Is it because if they do repossess the property it will be moved to a different part of their balance sheet and therefore not look so good ?

2. How can I possibly be liable for council tax on a property after being declared bankrupt while having no control over the management of the property and receiving no benefit ie income from the property ?

Further info:

1. The Official Receiver is saying that any Council Tax monies owed on our BTL property ( or any property I suppose ) AFTER we went bankrupt have to be paid to the council. In fact they said I should seek legal advice from an independent party to determine our liability but if they property is in our name then basically we are liable for the council tax.

2. The council themselves - they are saying they don't care what the circumstances are - as long as we're the "official" owners of the property we are liable for any council tax after the bankruptcy period has started. I stress after the bankruptcy period because they don't have to wait for the normal 12 month bankruptcy period before they can claim against the property - any money that is owed after you are officially declared bankrupt they can try and claim it from you.

I really feel like I am stuck in the Twilight Zone as I am being asked to pay for something related to a property I now have no control over.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.
[/FONT]

CCCS_Matthew

annie_plum wrote: »

Thank you I will ring tomorrow and try to set up an appointment.
Also just had an email from MBNA asking me to telephone or reply to email stating I am happy to communicate via email. This is the first contact I have had from any one I owe money to. Probably because they do not actually know where I am at the moment.
Should I reply stating I am happy or ignore it until I have spoken to a councellor, what do you think?

Hi Annie.

I wouldn't worry about communicating with them yet, until you've had an appointment with a counsellor. It's likely that they will want you to come to an arrangement to pay them what you owe them, and until you've had advice you shouldn't make any commitments.

Regards,
Matthew.