House value less than mortgage?

mrsS_2

desperate times and all that.......

barnaby-bear

noyk wrote:

how many women want to live in a house with "leaky roof, no hot running water, no central heating, half a kitchen"?
Not many me thinks!

Errr... probably as few as would date a bankrupt?

Debt_Free_Chick

noyk wrote:

how many women want to live in a house with "leaky roof, no hot running water, no central heating, half a kitchen"?
Not many me thinks!

LOL! sounds like my house

At the right price, some of us would consider this, as it has the potential for profit, if you simply put it right and sell it on.

All is not lost

Debt_Free_Chick

johanne wrote:

So what would happen - worse case scenario if the house was worth less than the mortgage and hes forced to sell it for less than the mortgage??

He won't be able to sell it unless the "charge" is paid off. The Charge is the amount he owes the mortgage company. They have a charge over the property, meaning that the property belongs to them, until the mortgage is paid off.

If he tries to sell the property for less than the mortgage, then the mortgage lender will block the sale; the buyer will find out, via their solicitor; and he will have wasted the fees (solicitor, especially).

He cant afford to do any work to it at all now (hence why its in such a bad state as he had to stop renovation 1/2 way through) so what would be his options?

Get a lodger! You can have a lodger paying you approx £400 per month "rent" and have the rent ignored for tax purposes. Even if he did this for only 12 months, it might provide a lifeline - or even enough money to do up the property. Incidentally, getting central heating would fix that problem AND the lack of hot running water

Is there no hot water at all? No immersion heater?

Still ... consider letting a room to a lodger. Some people (though not "the masses" admittedly) will not be bothered about the lack of hot water. But that really ought to be a priority, when finances permit.

Finally .... does he really, really have a robust budget? Should he be posting on the DFW board?

Good luck

johanne

i have been living with him for the past 3 months, but even with my help he couldnt afford his side of the payments because hes over £8000 in debt, inlcuding council tax arrears and mortgage payments, and was bringing in £0 a month as he was self employed. Im only temping myself and earn very little.

Ive already forked out for loads in the house myself to get it to the stage its at now, and cant afford to do anymore myself. What i meant by moving into a rented property with me is we have been offered a gorgeous house owned by my parents (it was my nans house till june when she unfortunetly died, they are in the process of renovating it to a nice standard) .. and have offered to rent it to us at below market rent value until we can get back on our feet (even reducing/not asking for the rent if were on hard times!!) As both of us have debt... its just the lifeline we both need.... and are going to grasp it with both hands. I mean come one... Who wouldnt want a newly refurbished 3 bed semi with front and back gardens, new kitchen and bathroom, UPVC double glazing, Brand new central heating system and off road parking in a fantastic area? Compared to the (excuse the language) s***hole were livin in at the mo!!!!

Even if my parents charged up market value for rent we would be paying only £11.64 more a month in rent for all that luxury than on the mortgage he has now

The only thing that will hold us down is getting rid of my partners house... he cant afford to do anything to it.. and has no access to credit (cant even get a debit card!) We have sat and discussed all the options and really do not want to go down the bankruptcy route.. so is there anything else we can do??

(BTW im helping him with the debt problem, which only come to light last week... i didnt know the extent... which is a shame as im a DFW myself and addicted to moneysaving.. which apparently part the reason he didnt tell me, he was so ashamed so i know all the right things to do to clear off his debt... we just need to reduce his outgoings majorly first.. and his mortgage is the killer)

johanne

Is there no hot water at all? No immersion heater?

The immersion is broken and has been for 6 months, cant afford to fix it.

I currently pay for more than 1/2 of all the bills, so more than a lodger, as i pay my half and help him out with whatever he cant afford to pay... if i can that is.

leftieM

Forgive me if I overstep the mark here, but on two occasions you say that your partner is in debt because he is self employed and that he brings in nothing from his job. Surely a business must bring in money to be viable? Is it time for your partner to do something to earn money? If he has his heart set on his current business he might have to think about some other career to lift himself out of his current financial situation and then return to self employment when he has some cash behind him.

dkny_2

Hi,
Maybe come to an agreement with your creditors and freeze interest, if they are not willing to negotiate direct then use the CAB? just an idea..

Good luck,

dkny_2

leftieM wrote:

Forgive me if I overstep the mark here, but on two occasions you say that your partner is in debt because he is self employed and that he brings in nothing from his job. Surely a business must bring in money to be viable? Is it time for your partner to do something to earn money? If he has his heart set on his current business he might have to think about some other career to lift himself out of his current financial situation and then return to self employment when he has some cash behind him.

sounds like a reasonable idea :T

greencat_2

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Get a lodger! You can have a lodger paying you approx £400 per month "rent" and have the rent ignored for tax purposes. Even if he did this for only 12 months, it might provide a lifeline - or even enough money to do up the property. Incidentally, getting central heating would fix that problem AND the lack of hot running water

Can't think of many lodgers who would pay 400 quid a month for a room in the place described (if it included meals/bills in a good location maybe?).

Here in east London - I'm paying less than £250 a month for a room in a house which while a bit shabby is no where near as bad as the OP describes. And it has the distinct advantage of not having the landlord living on site.

I think it time for the OP's partner to consider a different job or at least another job if the business isn't doing well.