New Member looking for as much advice as possible R.E Repossession & Debt ...

Showgirl101

Hi everyone,

I have just discovered and joined this site, I am not sure if I am in the right place but can't seem to find a forum specifically about repossession and/or bankruptcy - they all seem mixed in together - so apologies if I am in the wrong place!
You really do think you are the only person in the world going through such horrible things, and to find out how many people are having problems makes me so sad but also helps me feel that I am not alone. I am really sorry to hear about all your problems but this seems to be such a wonderful and supportive group and I would love to join, if you'll all have me!? I will try to tell you what's happening just now (I do tend to go on a bit!) to let you guys know and then hopefully someone can offer me some advice as I am a bit confused just now.

We are at the moment about 5 weeks away from repossession, it has been 3 years of trying to juggle mortgage, debt and everything and now everything has hit rock bottom and we simply do not have the money to pay the mortgage (or any other bills!). We have spoken to our mortgage company (Skipton) who have advised us to go for Voluntary Repossession, they are sending forms out from their lawyers, once signed, they will take possession of the property and put it up for sale (giving us 4 weeks to move out). Obviously we would be responsible for any shortfall and all costs etc. However from reading a few posts on this forum I see that many advise not to go for voluntary repossession and signing these forms they send because of all the small print etc, etc. I see that many say a hand written letter signed by myself and my Husband will be enough to have our home repossessed?
Our house has been on the market for two years and we haven't managed to sell it, now the house has dropped in value by about £35-40k since we first put it on the market, meaning the house is now worth less than the mortage we have on it by about £5-10k! I imagine there will definitely be a short fall when the mortgage company sell it! And probably a pretty big one!!

This is not the whole story, we also are in about £20-25k worth of debt from a credit card, bank overdraft, loan company (for a computer course my Husband still hasn't done!) and a sofa. These debts we stopped paying and consulted a debt management compnay who we were paying £80 per month to pay so much to our creditors, but our creditors are still pursuing us (receiving up to 20 threatening calls a day and threatening letters every day) and refusing to accept the payment through the debt management company. We have since been informed by CAB to stop paying the debt management company because we are just lining their pockets for no reason! So we still have all these debts outstanding and we think that bankruptcy is the best way to go. CAB advise us the best thing to do is NOTHING and let our creditors send us bankrupt and our home get repossessed. Sounds easy but we want this all over and done with so we contacted the mortage company as mentioned earlier and told them we simply couldn't afford to pay and stopped the direct debit.
We are fortunate enough to be able to go and live with my Father, who lives very far away (about 6 hours from here) and will mean my Husband leaving his job etc, not that we want to do this but we really are at the end of our tether now and have no other option as we cannot afford private rented accomodation and have no family willing to take us in near by (also on council list but we are near the bottom of the list and not much chance of a council house any time soon).

My main questions are (I am very confused about it all!) ...

Is voluntary repossession the best way to go?

Do we go bankrupt first or after the repossession is complete?

How do you actually go bankrupt yourself (sorry probably a silly question!) - who do we go to or contact?? How long does it take?

Will going bankrupt mean all our debt with other creditors is written off? And what happens with any mortgage shortfall if we are bankrupt?

I know people will think we are just taking the easy way out but we are not, we have been at this for 3 years now and have tried everything to sort it out every other way. I have been signed off unfit to work by my doctor due to severe stress, depression & anxiety and we have had a lot of other personal problems too, mainly my own health and emotional problems. Had two miscarriages & two ectopic pregnancies in last three tears, lost both fallopian tubes so now infertile and need IVF - we've so far used up our 3 IVF goes which have all failed ( ( This has all taken it's toll on my mental and physical health. My wonderful Husband works 70 hours a week during the summer (he is a tourguide and coach driver) business is slower in winter and he has to take whatever work is going - and we just can't do anymore of this banging our heads against a brick wall (

Any and all advice more than welcome. Sorry for droning on and on. Thank you in advance.

Showgirl101

Sorry should have mentioned we are in Scotland!

Joe_Bloggs

I am sorry to hear of your financial problems. There is a 'sticky' section that relates to Bankruptcy Help in Scotland in the Bankruptcy & Living With It section of the forum.
There is lots of real world experience and practical help to be found on this board.
J_B.

Showgirl101

Thank you.

Radiantsoul

If you make yourself voluntarily homeless then you may not be rehoused by the council, which is one reason why it isn't always a great idea. Additionally the mortgage company will charge you for their costs in selling the property.

I suggest that you contact a debt charity in the first instance. However once your house is sold if you go bankrupt the mortgage debt and other debts will be included(and so will "disappear"). The process is that you go to court stating you cannot pay your debts, and if the judge agrees he will grant a bankruptcy order. You also need to pay a fee. Then you attend a few interviews, lose your assets and may have to pay any surplus income. In a years time it will be over, although you may struggle to borrow again.

Good luck

Radiantsoul

Oh and there is a bankruptcy board you ought to check out too!

Showgirl101

Thank you so much for your reply I really appreciate it. I have had a good look at the bankruptcy forum and it is very daunting, but I am finding this whole forum very helpful. I have got the number for Debt Line Scotland so will give them a ring too.

Many thanks

SouthCoast

This is a link to Shelter in Scotland:

http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/getadvice

Showgirl101

Thanks I will have a look

Mrs_Bumble

Definitely speak to Shelter in Scotland and don't do anything until you have. Making yourself voluntarily homeless is probably not the right way to go.