secured loan - seperated, help

paulc333

Hi.

My life has recently been turned upside down but I now need to get my head out of the sand and get sorted.

Basically until last month i thought everything was fine with my life.

happily married, no kids, a fair bit of debt but paying it off gradually.

Then suddenly my wife declared she did not love me anymore and has disappeared, presumably back to her homeland (i.e not Britain)

I have had no contact from her and have no contact details for her.

Now this has left me financially in a bit of trouble.

The house deeds and mortgage where solely in my name but paid from a joint bank account, does she have a claim on the house?

most of the other debt was on my credit cards and a loan in my name.

currently the cost of repaying the credit cards is more than i can really afford so i was looking to refinance into one loan.

The amount of money i'd need would probably mean i'd need a secured loan (I know it's not ideal but the whole situation is not!)

Cant remortgage as tied into a deal and current lender wont offer any more.

current mortgage has about £54000 on it property value is about £100000

so if i could get a secured loan for about £30000 then i'd still be well under the value of the property, i'd be able to clear all other debts and start to rebuild my life.

A few questions,

I earn 25000 per annum with the equity in my house and the amount of debt i need to clear am i likely to get a loan?

Will I somehow need to prove she has left me?

should i declare my status as married or seperated on application forms and if seperated then does that have an impact?

any help greatly appreciated

CHR15

Sell up, downsize, clear debt, move on;

paulc333

theoretically not a bad idea, a few problems though,

a)time, takes time to sell a property and i'd need to still fund the debts in the meantime
b) downsizing, In edinburgh or locally your not getting any property for much less than the value of this one, it's a pretty basic 2 bed flat. so i'd end up with the same amount of debt anyway.

given whats happened recently for now at least i'd at least like to keep the same home!

paulc333

anyone else got any thoughts? could really use some help here.

Tixy

Have you closed down the joint account? or at least stopped any new income going there? I would do that first and set up new DDs from a new bank account in your name only (with a different bank so they cannot offset money from the new account to the joint account).

As you are married then she may have a claim on the house and any other assets - you really need to discuss this with a solicitor.

In respect of consolidating into a secured loan then I can see no reason why you would need to prove you have seperated from your wife, if the debts and house are all in your name.

fatbelly

Paul - you know it's not ideal to take out a secured loan - you say that yourself.

The secured loan would not 'clear your debts'. It would just move your indebtedness to a more dangerous place.

The problem is, if you default on a secured loan, the lender will apply for possession of your property. That's the deal. And none of us know what the future holds for our jobs.

With a mortgage taken out to buy a property, there is a DWP safety net (again not an ideal one) of Support for Mortgage Interest - part of Income Support. This does not cover secured loans taken out for other purposes.

So I would gently steer you to having a look at what aprs you can get from personal loans and credit card juggling. As it is your expenditure that is causing the problem, you could post a thread on the debt-free wannabee board and maybe do a statement of affairs (calculator here)

Let's see if we can avoid the secured loan.

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paulc333

thanks for the advice,

however i think a secured loan is my only hope here,

i've cut all needless expenses, sky, cinema card, mobile etc.

however total repayments on cards and loans is very high,

used to have 2 wages coming in to pay them but since she left i'm on my own.

my credit record is only fair, a lot of credit already, a few late (not missed) but late payments due to not being on direct debits, i doubt i'd be accepted at any kind of decent level for any unsecured loans or other credit cards.

any other help or advice or answers to my original point about proving separation for the loan?

Fang_3

You're married, she could have a claim on the house, but equally she would have to pay some of the debts.

I really, really wouldn't advise a secured loan. You wouldn't be paying your debts off, you'd be moving them to a very dangerous place instead.

You need to speak to a solicitor regarding your estranged wife and her position, but you should also head over to the Debt Free Wannabe Board and post your complete SOA and then posters will be able to help you with your debts and hopefully help you avoid having to take a secured loan.

paulc333

the problem is no amount of minimizing spending is going to help.

currently

loan/card repayments + mortgage + council tax + gas/electric is greater than my take home pay.

so need to reduce the only one that will be able to change greatly which is the repayments.

I know a secured loan is not ideal but it seems the only way out.

I'd then be able to put a sizeable chunk of money aside every month and then once could remortgage i'd be able to clear the loan.

dont want to cloud my credit file anymore by applying for unsecured loans and credit cards that i dont think i'll get.

Fang_3

paulc333 wrote: »

the problem is no amount of minimizing spending is going to help.

currently

loan/card repayments + mortgage + council tax + gas/electric is greater than my take home pay.

so need to reduce the only one that will be able to change greatly which is the repayments.

I know a secured loan is not ideal but it seems the only way out.

I'd then be able to put a sizeable chunk of money aside every month and then once could remortgage i'd be able to clear the loan.

dont want to cloud my credit file anymore by applying for unsecured loans and credit cards that i dont think i'll get.

That's not the only way. You've nothing to lose by trying, but if you take a secured loan then you risk losing your home.

You also risk having to pay off your wife when you divorce, and that could scupper any plans to remortgage.

As I've said, you've nothing to lose by taking the advice of that board and exploring your other options fully, but it's clear that you see more dangerous debt as the easy way out.

paulc333

ok so how about an UNsecured loan.

with my salary and amount of current debt what are the chances of being accepted for say a 15000 unsecured loan?

like i said i've done a few tests and my credit profile is only fair. due to a few late payments and the total debt.

a 15000 unsecured loan would allow me to pay off some of the more expensive debt and reduce monthly outgoings.

but what are the odds in this climate of someone with a less than perfect credit rating and a large amount of debt getting a loan like this?