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BR Advice and Charging Order

I need some advice a bit quick so I know what to do.

Long and short, I had a business that had a factoring agreement, I supplied a PG and the business went tits up. The factors agreed a settlement with a creditor of less than 10% of the outstanding amount. Then they came at me for the grand total of £70K. They threatened BR, I had it set aside arguing a case of lack of business efficacy on their part and that it was a matter for a different court.

They then issued in the mercantile court and managed to get a CCJ for the above amount. I have negotiated with them to pay, but have now been severed with an application to the court to get a charging on the property that is jointly owned by me and the wife. That is in May. They have made it clear that they will then proceed to force a sale or have proceeds of sale order.

This leads me to where I am. I as of now am unemployed. My wife works; I have been told that I can claim income support. We have no savings and the property is in negative equity. I could see this coming and moved everything away two years ago. I have not bank account or anything like that. We are up to date on the mortgage and next doors went for £60K less than our mortgage only three weeks ago, so I assume it will be valued for the same.

I know some may not agree, but I am where I am through no fault of my own, the business failed because the factors cut our facility overnight by 70%. I suspect that as there is no equity they know this as they had a financial statement off me only in January. I assume they will be content to sit and wait a few years for the equity to rise and then force my hand. I have now got to the point where I want to end all this malarkey from them and am looking at the best step.

I need the advice on whether on the face of it a BR is the best option. They will pursue me forever for the money; I am due to go into hospital in May for a major operation that I have been told will prevent me from working for several months. I have just been assessed for DLA, both at higher rate. I am aware that I need to make the application before April for BR as the costs go up.
Is Bankruptcy my best option (own a house in negative equity, but nothing else, the rest has been in the wife’s name for several years). Not working and due to my illness have no prospect for the next year or so. Finally, as they do not have the order, if I go bankrupt, are they able to continue with the application or does that stop dead once I let the court know? Our option would then be for the wife to buy my beneficial interest off the OR.

To add to this we have had through the post an application from the solicitors for an interim charging order, with a hearing at the start of May.

As I stated previously, the house is jointly owned, the debt is mine, not the wife's or the kids. It was followed with a notice from the land registry informing me that their is a notice of interest on the property.

f I file for BR now, will that stop the charging order dead, or have they beaten me to it?

Help and guidance would be appreciated.

Comments

  • debt_doctor
    debt_doctor Posts: 4,595 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    If you are bankrupt before the date of the CO then the interim order will almost certainly be discharged. There was ONE case about 6 months ago that allowed a CO to go final after BR but was under very exceptional circumstances.

    DD
    Debt Doctor, Debt caseworker, Citizens' Advice Bureau .
    Impartial debt advice services: Citizens Advice Bureau Find your local CAB *** National Debtline - Tel: 0808 808 4000*** BSC No. 100 ***
  • treading_carefully
    treading_carefully Posts: 66 Forumite
    edited 19 March 2010 at 9:56PM
    Just a hypothetical question on charging orders. If the house is owned by the wife only on the deeds although husband lives there and will be deemed (I think) to have some beneficial interest. Can a charging order be applied for the husbands debts if house is in wife's name only or is it that the only way to release his BI is by forcing bankruptcy.
  • just thought I would bump this to pick your brains.
  • Hi, a creditor got an interim charging order on my house before I went BR. The date for the Final Charging Order hearing was a few days after I went BR. I was upto my eyeballs trying to get bank statements etc together, as requested by the OR, and I completely forgot about the hearing for the Final Charging Order. The creditor did get the final charging order but I wrote to the court with a copy of my bankruptcy order and the Final Charging Order was set aside. Despite including the creditor in my bankruptcy the creditor says they are still looking at other ways to get me to repay the debt. They continue to add interest monthly and the debt is now £4k higher than when I went bankrupt. I'm discharged now though and will be sending them a letter as part of my credit file cleanup.... Wish me luck:-)
  • Good luck.
  • :rotfl::rotfl:Lol, tc, thanks!
  • thechippy
    thechippy Posts: 1,938 Forumite
    The owner of the charging order is hardly going to try a forced sale on a property in negative equity and I doubt a judge would agree it....;)

    Also, if bankrupt and the property has little / negative equity, the OR will have no interest in it either..:D
    Happiness, is a Kebab called Doner.....:heart2::heart2:
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