Repossession advice please

sevens74

Im not sure if Im posting this in the right section, being new to the forum. Bit of a long sorry tale but please bear with me.

I have a house that has been on the market since Nov 07. Two initial sales fell through as a result of the crunch hitting. The second fell through late on and just as I have found work in another city. I then had to go ahead with the move, resulting in me having to live with relatives for a while.

Because of vandalism costing me yet more money, the estate agency advised I get tenants in, saying they had a couple who were interested etc. I didnt really want to do this but felt pressured into it by them and the situation. As a result, I was badly informed as the the necessaries, including a managment contract which i found later I didnt have. The house remained on the market but without success.

I am now renting a room in an expensive city, and rely on the house rent to cover the mortgage. I had to ditch a whole lot of possessions and lost a lot of money in the move due to expenses etc. putting me further in debt than I already was. Im now barely making minimums.

Skipping on, the tenants started being difficult paying their rent beginning this year. One month the deposit was used to cover the shortfall, leaving me with no deposit. Now they have not paid since May, and subsequently neither has the mortgage. They have been given Notice to evict, expiring 15th Sept. I also discovered the agency had given all keys to the tenants, leaving me with no access to my property. The agency's failure to act on my behalf on all these matters has meant I sacked them last month. Im now trying to manage it myself. But with no rent, and trying to make ends meet, i cannot afford mortgage payments of any kind right now. The problem is if the tenants dont leave by that date, I cannot afford to go through the legal process to evict.

The house is now into negative equity and the area going downhill means that nothing is selling there. Even if I did manage to sell it I would be a min. of £10k in debt, including fees etc. The stress and worry of this is affecting my health etc. I only have a temp job, ongoing but by no means guaranteed. I have not been sleeping because of all this, and have broken down at work - I really cant afford to get sacked too because they think i cant manage. Im now at the point I want rid of it the easiest and least painful method and that appears to be surrendering it. I have been in and seen the CAB who agreed im between a rock and a hard place (!) and told me the options. Ive also taken brief, free legal advice.

The mortgage company are ringing, writing etc constantly, sometimes 3/4 times a day. I have been in regular contact with them anyway explaining the situation. I went in branch this week which proved a waste of time as they said they are unable to give advice in branch. I have spoken to them about voluntarily surrendering the property. I think im aware of the consequences, and have received from the bank THAT letter, which upon reading through this forum I dont think i should sign.

Im trying to avoid bankruptcy if i can but i guess that depends on how the bank wishes to respond. The only asset i suppose i have is my car, not yet paid off and maybe worth £4k. But given im a temp, if i need to go to another company i will need my car to get to it, plus i have elderly relatives living in the middle of nowhere who depend on me somewhat. I am desperate to save my car, i fought damn hard to get it in the first place and is my freedom, worth more than money. I did try to pay it off in full with some of the overdraft attached to the mortgage which i only just realised still had funds in, but I believe the bank has just pulled this.

To add a twist to the tale, I am about to receive an inheritance in the next couple of months. It will be enough to pay off all my other debts and allow me to get myself straight, but I dont want the mortgage company to swallow this as it will be dead money and I will still be left with the rest of the debts saddling me. Plus i begrudge losing yet more money to that damn house. Ive already lost close to £30k i invested in it, not to include the loss in equity as well.

Well done for getting this for, I apologise for the length of this, but its not easy to explain, and I appreciate any advice you can give me as to how I should proceed. Thank you.

dollparts

Someone will come along soon and offer some advice.

Sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time of late.

All the best

Feelingfoolish_3

Hi there

I've read through your story and you've had a tough time.
What advice are you asking for? Are you asking if you should go BR? Are you asking if you should hand the house back? I'm unsure.

One thing though - why have you waited so long to evict your tenants, you could have had them in court long ago, you dont need to give notice to evict if they have defaulted on the rent payments.

Do you have any other debts?

sevens74

Thanks for the replies. I must admit im so confused and so in a muddle, im not entirely sure. I guess whether I should hand it back to the bank, how i should tackle this letter i shouldnt really sign re: liability, whether i should go BR, if i have to lose my car, if im gonna lose my entire inheritance? Im scared im gonna lose what little i have left of my life and I dont have anyone to turn to for support.

Why i waited so long? bad advice from those bad agents and a hope things would sort out. I dont really know anything about letting properties out and so relied on the advice i was being given.

Yeah, other debts - loan, car loan, credit cards overdrafts. Im in such a mess, and i thought there was light at the end of the tunnel but not so sure now. Just feels the rug is being pulled out everytime i try and get sorted, and my trying to do the right thing just leaves me in a worse mess.

debtinfo

Hi have you thought about offering a pro rata reduced final payment to all creditors. What percentage would you be able to give them if you did this

sevens74

Until i get the inheritance and know what this will be, its difficult to say. My intention is to pay off everything minus mortgage with it then i will be debt free (bar the house). But i suspect unless its hidden somehow the bank will take that all for the mortgage shortfall.

debtinfo

if it is paid into an account with a different bank then they cannot take it. although they have been difficult i think that if you have a lump sum and want to avoid bankruptcy then you should look into giving all your debts a reduced offer. This may irradicate them forever if you can get them to agree

Feelingfoolish_3

Ok, deep breath, this can be sorted but may take time and you have to approach it step by step. First of all

What do you mean by the bank will take all that for the mortgage? Do you bank with the same bank who has your mortgage? If so then you need to change your bank asap

I think, from listening to you that your house is obviously the major issue in your life, so you could let it go, however face the prospect of the shortfall however this can be paid back at an affordable rate later on.

Like debt info said, consider full and finals when you have your inheritance.

Have you physically sat down with CAB and worked something out? Did they do anything for you?

sevens74

No, mortgage and current bank account in seperate banks. But if they force a bankruptcy wont I have to disclose money that ive been given? I really want to be able to clear everything else so i have some breathing space and then i can deal with the house. I already know my credit rating is wrecked, and i have no intention of ever buying a house again.

Yes, went into the CAB. Because i dont actually live in the house and various other reasons, they can only offer me limited help, not much more than beyond what they have, and seemed loathe to actually give specific advice as to my best course of action. Trying to put them on the spot and tell me the worst that could happen was like drawing blood from a stone. Very few people I speak to will say "I think you are best doing ..(this)".

Feelingfoolish_3

Ok, very few creditors force bankruptcy for individuals. Just ensure you have no other debt with who you bank with.

Repossession takes time and by this time you may be in a clearer posn to clear some debt.

Worth giving CLA a ring who can give you advice, ensure you tell them that even though you spoke with CAB they offered no help. To qualify for CLA help you need to be on a lowish income. worth a shot for further advice, number is 0845 345 4 345

sevens74

The loan is with the bank but i will clear that as soon as i have that money. In terms of waiting for that money to come through which will take a couple months I expect, should I hold off handing the house over and wait for them to push for repossession, or do it sooner rather than later whilst im in the worst state, so to speak?

Thank you for that number and your help.