DRO: Expense Form & Old Mortgage

GoodDay_2

Hello there everyone,

Me from the dead, I lurk around reading this forum - it's brilliant!

1. I'm on complete state benefits for a few years now since I fell permanently ill. I don't have any assets and qualify for the DRO (debt less than £15K).

However about 5 years ago I had a mortgage, which I could not afford to keep the payments up to date since I fell ill but the mortgage was "transferred" to a member of the family who kept it up until they could no longer afford to maintain it. They sold it. I didn't get any money or windfall from it since it was no longer officially or legally mine. So when it was "transferred" to the family member, the mortgage was no longer in my name.

Since for a DRO application a credit check is carried out, I've had a look at my credit file and it shows that about 5 years ago I had such a mortgage with a high street bank and the status is "settled".

So I want to ask, having had a mortgage in the past, which was and is not an asset of mine since I could not afford to keep up with the payments, does that affect the DRO application? Will the OR say: "You've had a mortgage before...?" even though clearly the house is not mine and not even the family member who decided to take it and continue with the mortgage payments?

2. Second question: I'm trying to fill in my expense sheet for the DRO but I wanted to know are there sample, or "acceptable, reasonable, average" cost of say food and other expenses that the OR deems as reasonable.

I know someone mentioned that somewhere in this massive website/forum someone posted such "average figures" but I could not find that thread, so if someone could kindly point that to me, it would be of immense help.

Also, since I'm living with family, I don't get housing or council tax benefit, but the fact that I do and need to pay towards "rent/mortgage" since I'm staying there with my wife and 2 kids, can this expense be put in the form - even though there is no "formal tenancy or other agreement". I pay cash, which can vary from month to month, so there's no direct bank evidence or anything I can show?

Thank you very very much in advance. I really do appreciate your help as I am frightened to death about this. I will be applying for the DRO very very soon.

Thank you once again.

GoodDay_2

My bad, seems I haven't been here for a while then....I've had a good look at a few of the SOAs so that kinda helps me out but if you could answer the other questions, that'd be great, particular the mortgage.

Also do I need to show proof of rent money being paid since it's a family place. Also a lot of the bills are not in my name, since I don't own the house or anything but I DO pay towards a lot of utility and other expenses even though they are not in my name.

BTW Is this an acceptable SOA for DRO?

Rent £250.00
Grocery £200.00
Electricity £20.00
Gas £25.00
Water £15.00
Telephone £30.00
Mobile £15.00
TV License £12.00
Internet £10.00
Travel £60.00
Other child expenses £30.00
Clothing £70.00
Haircuts £20.00
Entertainment £20.00
Emergency Fund £15.00
Pocket Money £15.00
Miscellaneous £20.00

PS: Utility bills not under my name but I pay towards them...problem is I live with family and so can't claim HB & CT hence also most utility bills are not under my name, so do I need to give such evidence of bills etc?

Statement of Affairs
Number of Adults in Household 2 - Number of Children in Household 1 (17 and in full time education)

Monthly Income Details
Income Support £570.00 Child Tax Credit £200.00 Child Benefit £80.00 Total £850.00

Total Monthly Income £850.00 Expenses £827.00 Available for Debt Repayments £23.00

Thank you once again everyone.

ladyday

I had a similar situation with my DRO as I was living with family and not claiming housing or council tax benefit. On my DRO my household payments were called board which covers living with family and paying a fair share of any household bills. I didn't list utility payments etc separately as it was all included as board. I didn't need to provide any proof of payments made, not even a bank statement, but I expect if it had been too high then they would have wanted more info.

debt_doctor

Hi, there is nothing about your situation that should cause a problem for your DRO. Your inc / exp is fine (i would stick another £20 on groceries to make surplus £3). A DRO asks about 'transactions at undervalue within the last 2 years'. Ther may have been a TAUV but more than 2 years ago.

You need to make sure you are not on the land registry as a home owner or your application will fail.

It is up to your intermediary how many 'checks' they make. Making checks of income etc is something an Intermediary MAY do, not must do. Personally I take clients information at face value as it is the applicants duty to provide accurate information for THEIR DRO.

DD

silvercar

I agree with previous posters, your rent and utilities would be covered under board. Quite reasonable for your contribution to vary given that you are living with family. I would put down a truthful average amount.

[STRIKE]Check on the land registry the true status of your home[/STRIKE]. It sounds like someone took a mortgage on and that could either mean that you "sold" the house to them ( though I accept that money didn't change hands) or that you became joint owners. I've just noticed that the property has been sold, so the Land Registry would just show the new owners. The only time this would cause a problem is if you were joint owners and it was sold for more than the mortgage, meaning you should have had some money from the sale.

On balance, I would forget about this. You answer the questions as truthfully as you can, as far as you were concerned, you ceased having a financial interest in the property 5 years ago, have had no dealings with it since and therefore wouldn't include it in your figures. Digging around (to find out if someone bought it off you at the level of the mortgage and then sold at a quick profit) is only going to cause aggravation and as you didn't benefit financially from the sale, there is little point delving further.

kepar

I am curious as to why if you are living with family you are paying the tv licence, do they not have a telly. Also as you are paying over £300 a month towards living there are they declaring it to the tax man. As you are technically lodging have they told the mortgage company.

silvercar

kepar wrote: »

I am curious as to why if you are living with family you are paying the tv licence, do they not have a telly. Also as you are paying over £300 a month towards living there are they declaring it to the tax man. As you are technically lodging have they told the mortgage company.

Also, since I'm living with family, I don't get housing or council tax benefit, but the fact that I do and need to pay towards "rent/mortgage" since I'm staying there with my wife and 2 kids, can this expense be put in the form - even though there is no "formal tenancy or other agreement".

I think you need to make clear if you are living with whoever owns the property or if another family member (who lives elsewhere) owns the property.

If you are paying rent each month, there doesn't need to be a formal tenancy agreement in writing for you to be a tenant. On the other hand there is a difference between someone allowing you to live in a home they have own where you cover a bit of the costs rather than a letting even at low friend and family rates.

Just to make the point on Kepar's query, the owner's tax and the owner's mortgage are not the OPs worry or concern.