Some advice PLEASE!!!

stranded_2

Hi, to cut a long story short I am stranded at the moment with my children whilst my husband works 200 miles away and only comes home on weekends. We want to move to be with him, rent this place out and rent another place closer to him, but out Mortgage company (Birmingham Midshires) have not given us consent to let as we don't own 75% of the value of the property. (We can't sell right now as would end up in negative equity) We are soooo annoyed that a mortgage company has such control over our lives, so we are looking into the concept of renting this out without their permission. Can anyone advise how to do this? Do any letting agencies overlook the consent to let? We understand the implications, the problems this could bring, insurance issues....but we either bite the bullet and take a chance or spend the next 5 years living apart with 2 young children. Any advice on how to do this or shared experiences from people who have would be greatly appreciated.

superfran_uk

Yes, there is a guide on how to illegally let your house in a sticky at the top of the forum:rotfl:

Sorry, couldn't resist. You do know that your house could be re-poed if they find out...And if your tenant was to burn the place down your insurers would not pay up. Just two of the potential scenarios.

zappahey

superfran_uk wrote: »

Sorry, couldn't resist. You do know that your house could be re-poed if they find out...

Really? Got a reference for this?

stranded_2

Do they actually repo or is it a threat? Do they really care at the end of the day...so long as the mortgage gets paid each month...?

pinkshoes

stranded wrote: »

Do they actually repo or is it a threat? Do they really care at the end of the day...so long as the mortgage gets paid each month...?

You MUST have the mortgage lenders permission to rent it out!!! It's nothing to do with the mortgage company caring - it's a LEGAL obligation!

(at the very least, tell your buildings insurance company, as otherwise it would be invalid, so if your tenants burnt your house down, you'd be in trouble...)

superfran_uk

zappahey wrote: »

Really? Got a reference for this?

As I understand it, it would be a violation of the terms of the mortgage, and therefore they could take you to court and call the mortgage in - which would ultimately mean repossession. This is of course worse case scenario, but it's certainly a risk.

stranded_2

pinkshoes wrote: »

You MUST have the mortgage lenders permission to rent it out!!! It's nothing to do with the mortgage company caring - it's a LEGAL obligation!

Ok...so can we appeal? Anyone ever done this and know what the determining factors are? How long it could take? Many thanks

superfran_uk

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repossession/mortgage_arrears/increasing_income/renting_out_the_home

silvercar

You took your mortgage on a residential basis and you lived in the property, so there is no question of fraud (obtaining money by deception). What you would be doing is breaching a term of the mortgage. Theoretically the lender could go to court and ask the judge to grant possession on the grounds of this breach. I doubt a judge would agree provided you have kept up with repayments. No-one actually knows, because AFAIK, no lender has ever gone to court and asked for repo where the borrower has kept up with repayments. Perhaps the scaremongers on here would like to point to a court case where this has happened?

To be claear it is not a legal / criminal matter it is akin to a civil matter between you and your lender.

Permission or not, you need to get the correct building insurance ie one that allows tenants in the property.

You also need to comply with all the landlord legislation like gas certificates and tenat deposit schemes etc.

If you failed to keep up with the mortgage repayments and the tenants got evicted, they could sue you for breaching the tenancy. So you need to ensure you have enough money set aside to afford two properties.

stranded_2

Thank you silvercar...we may still look into an appeal if that's an option. Would much rather do all this above board as I value peace of mind!

Fire_Fox

Why don't you just get a let-friendly mortgage from another lender??