Letter From OR -BI in House, But Puzzled.

Chuckie1998

Hi,

Need some advice.....don't we all!
Went BR in November 2010, and was under the impression that the BI in my property wouldn't be looked at until 2 yrs and 3 months from my BR date.

I have received a letter today from the OR stating:

" It may be possible for me, as trustee, to transfer, at an agreed price, the beneficial interest and legal title to you, your spouse, a relative or friend.

Before a transfer can be made, we would have to agree on the value of the interest being transferred. To do this you would need to:

1-Supply me with an up to date valuation of the property, prepared at your own expense, by an independent valuer ar agent.

2-Supply me with evidence of the current amounts owed to each mortgage/chargeholder.

3-State the amount you are offering for my interest in the property.

If, after I have received the above information and we can agree on a value to be paid for my interest on completion of the transfer, I will require my solicitors costs to be paid in advance of the transaction. An estimate of these costs will be provided on request, when an offer is made. These costs are at present £500. I regret that there is no provision for waiving these costs."

Is this normal, as I am confused as to the solicitors costs (thought these were no longer), and I thought that nothing was supposed to happen regarding the property yet.

Anyone able to assist. Thanks.

mel12

Hmm odd. Is there any equity in the house?

Ineedaname

I would guess that the OR has finished their investigations into your BR affairs and has decided they are happy for you to buy back the BI.

I also believe that if you do nothing then the BI will revert to you 'free of charge' at the end of the 27 months.

Chuckie1998

There is only about £1000 equity in the house, or there was at the time of my BR in November.

If I get the house valued, and the equity is negligable, could the OR decide not to sell the BI back to me and sit on the house for a further couple of years hoping for the price to increase etc?

And where did the £500 solicitor fees come from?:(

mel12

Is your name only on the mortgage or is it jointly with someone else?
I think that might be where the £500 comes from if your name only - see page 7 here.

I'm not sure why its happened now and not in 2 years 3 months.
Bumping up the board hopfully someone can help, and also explain the possible consequences if no-one buys the BI?

Chuckie1998

Yes, there is only my name on the mortgage.

I am just puzzled as to why it has happened now after only 5 months of BR, when I have a letter from my OR stating that the interest in the house won't be looked at until 2 yrs 3 months when I went BR back in November.

Mind you, I don't have £500 spare in any case.

Chuckie1998

The letter from the OR also states:

" In the event that it is not possible for anyone to make a suitable offer, or agreement cannot be reached, the beneficial interest in the property will remain vested in the Trustee until 3 years have elapsed from the date of bankruptcy.
THE INTEREST WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO YOU UPON YOUR DISCHARGE FROM BANKRUPTCY"

Is that right?

tigerfeet2006

Yes, as you are discharged from BR at 12 months so if you do not buy the BI before discharge then he will wait till the 3 years are up and then if there is no equity to be had the interesy will be vested back to you.

Looks like they are using the old rules and are trying to get it out of the way asap.

mel12

Tigerfeet there is approx £1000 equity in the house - how will this affect things?

I wasn't sure if the OR would try and force a sale for that amount or not?

kepar

My OR told me if there had been £2000(1000 each as both br) he would have claimed it, but we were in negative equity.

silvercar

Chuckie1998 wrote: »

There is only about £1000 equity in the house, or there was at the time of my BR in November.

If I get the house valued, and the equity is negligable, could the OR decide not to sell the BI back to me and sit on the house for a further couple of years hoping for the price to increase etc?

And where did the £500 solicitor fees come from?:(

If the equity is negligible you would be making an offer of £1, plus the solicitor costs.

The OR always has the option of rejecting your offer and waiting to see what happens to house prices.