Was bankrupt but kept house..remortgage advise pls

madasaboxoffrogs

That's bloody brilliant - good luck to you I say.

My problem is that I'm single, and have no one to buy out the equity - do you think that it would be possible to negotiate with the OR - if i could come up with say 3.5k towards my 55k debt and keep the house rather than having someone buy out the equity - or - lightening flash - give someone the cash....stored elsewhere from sold stuff for emergencies when I'm evicted.....to buy out some of my equity. Sorry equity was 14k 2 years ago, so is a positive (negative for me).....thinking about it though - 14k less fees will be a lot more than 3.5k - and the value will have gone up too.....crap - I dont know what to do -now I dont want to be homeless with 2 kids - one of which is a year old...my eldest is 13 and grew up in the house and dosent want to move, and I feel like I've failed them by getting sucked in by a serial con artist! Rambling sorry. Any advise would be much appreciated. It is also worth not ing that my expenditure exceeds my income - great for the diet.....
Thanks millions.

Sooty0404

madasaboxoffrogs
Remember firstly that your house is probably worth 15 - 20% LESS than its normal value under a forced sale - that should reduce your equity on paper considerably and when you take selling fees into account there won't be much left. I'm thinking out loud here but make enquiries...
The OR is unlikely to force a sale within 12 months and if you are discharged after a year I can see no reason why you can't buy it back yourself. You may even be able to do this during the bankruptcy period. After all, if they took your car and sent it to public auction there is nothing to stop you buying that back is there? I hate to say it but 2 kids are a great weapon in this fight.
Are you getting all the benefits to which you may be entitled? Council Tax, Mortgage Assistance etc If not get claiming!

northantsandy
I live in Northamptonshire. If you need a chat and a beer sometime let me know. In terms of being in debt at least - you are not 'all on your own'.

worry_2

hi
have just read your threads and i just wanted to say that you talk alot of sense ! , I am at the minute worrying day and night re our debt and approx 50k i have seeked advice from cccs ansd have set up a re payment plan but i really dont know whther i will be aqble to keep up with the payments as my husband is self employed and we never know how much and when money will be coming in ! so i getting stressed with it all , The phone calls are getting me down and im so sick of repeating myself with them all , And im really angry with hsbc bank who have sent documents for a "managed loan" after ccccs have written to them with a offer for a credit card debt and overdraft , with documents for ujs to repay untill 2016 and charges us 13% interest and added money to the debt and wehn i phoned to ask what the hell this loan was about i gotg 2 people in anouther country not having a clue what i wanted tfo know .

I know is shouldnt let it get me down but i cant help it , i have worked in debt collection for a credit card company and i know how it all works and ive worked in a bank .

i dont know whether it would be the best thing for me to go bankrupt and not try and pay these payments and keep getting hassell , we remortgaged many times and dont have any equity in the house now buit i really couldnt bare losing it as ive only been here a couple of years and have 3 small children ,
Life is hard enough with out all this stress

Sooty0404

Worry - Don't Worry!

The great British public currently have credit debts in excess of £200 BILLION so your 50 grand is a drop in the ocean for the financial institutions.

As 'responsible lenders' your credit card companies have to comply with certain guidelines laid down by the Office of Fair Trading who issue their Consumer Credit Licences which allows them to trade in the money business.

When the phone calls come in from the New Dehli branch of your credit card company the first thing they ask for is personal information, usually date of birth, for security reasons. Refuse to give this information over the phone unless they can identify themselves - usually they can't. Don't accept information that can easily be obtained from a statement as proof of who they are. Whilst every call is probably a genuine one, unless they can convince you of who they are you don't have to talk to them. After all, don't they tell us to be security concious? Identity theft is this country's fastest growing crime and in 2005 the Shredder overtook the toaster as the most purchased household item. They are not allowed to discuss your debt until they verify your identity and if you don't co-operate they generally get confused as this is not part of their script.

If the calls are persistent send a letter complaining of harassment and ask for all communication to be in writing. They will then mark your file accordingly and the calls should stop. If you have entered into a repayment plan there is no reson for them to be calling you in the first place. If you quote your CCCS reference number this should put a stop to the calls as well.

Contact the CCCS and tell them you are being pestered. Tell HSBC what to do with their loan as well. Don't be tempted to borrow your way out of debt. This is counterproductive and can be costly. If your circumstances have changed ask the CCCS to reduce your monthly arrangement.

Bankruptcy is an option (see earlier posts) and can rid you of all the problems in one go. I doubt very much that you will lose your house and there are ways to deal with this as I have also mentioned in earlier posts.

There is some good news in the near future. At present creditors and their appointed agencies can call you as often as they like (as I am sure you know) because there is no regulation on how they chase up debtors. From April 6th 2007 this will change and they will be responsible to the Financial Ombudsman for the way in which they conduct this aspect of their business.

If you send a written complaint the company must acknowledge your letter within 5 working days, give you a progress report within 4 weeks and a final report within 8 weeks advising you if they agree with your complaint and what they are going to do about it, or if they disagree they must state why.

If they do not comply you can report them to the Financial Ombudsman who will invesigate your complaint and his decision is legally binding. He can also impose a compensation order if your complaint is upheld.

Here's the best bit - Credit companies are allowed two free investigations per year. That means if 2 people complain about one company the FO will investigate and the company will not have to pay anything. However, if three or more people complain the company will be charged £400 per investigation NO MATTER WHETHER THEY ARE RIGHT OR WRONG.

100 complaints will give them a £40k bill and no matter how big the company they do not have bottomless pockets so their entire approach to chasing debtors will have to change. The balance of power is slowly swinging our way.

I began to struggle with my debts about a year ago when my business took a downward turn. So far, in spite of calls, threats of legal action, numerous letters etc not one of my creditors has issued a court summons. I pay each one a little bit - a fiver here and a tenner there - every couple of months to keep them quiet. In November, acting on advice from this website I queried the missed payment and late payment charges, putting each account into dispute. I have now finally sent a Financial Statement of Income and Expenditure telling each one what I can pay from my disposal income and already the discounted settlement offers are coming in.

With DMP's IVA's and bankruptcy you have more ways of dumping your debt than they have of collecting it - AND THEY KNOW IT.

Like you I have 3 kids so I know exactly how you feel right now. Don't let credit card companies get you down. They can't take what you don't have so make sure you tell them.

I hope things improve for you (and me) very soon and wish you well.

shaunc196

That is such a great post Sooty. I am in a very serious problem with mine. The wife is upping and leaving with my 3 lovely daughters. Although both responsible for the loan and the mortgage, I have taken these on board.

Don't ask why, I just felt I had to because she has my children, and its less stress for them.

Now my problem is, I have a 69K secured loan, and 50K mortgage, and house is worth 100k. With a forced sale, that drops to aroun 80K as you said.

Its not just that, its all the credit cards debts and bills, I can barely manage, and also when CSA catch up, thats going to be the nail in the coffin.

Is Bankruptcy an option in my situation, as it does keeping rolling around in my head. I don't really understand the way Bankruptcy works, all the ins and outs, as different sites say different things.

Thank you in advance

Sooty0404

Hi Shaun

You need to be careful here. Bankruptcy is an option as this will clear all unsecured debts - BUT NOT THE SECURED ONES! If the secured loans are joint and several then the creditors could go after your wife for the money and she would be solely liable if you have been declared bankrupt.

If the debts were gone could you save the marriage? If so, then one solution may be for you to go bankrupt (if the majority of debts and bills are in your name only).

You could then negotiate the secured debts down to say, £90-95k (or less) and let the wife re-mortgage to consolidate these into one affordable payment.

With secured debts totalling more than the value of the house your wife could buy out the Receiver very cheaply and you could then start again. An interest only mortgage may be cheaper option in the first instance while you get back on your feet.

I certainly could not have dealt with my problems without the support of my wife, who was 100% supportive, and although we are having financial problems at the moment we will come through them TOGETHER (with our three lovely daughters). When I went bankrupt in the early 90's we had only been married for three years and in May we will celebrate our 19th anniversary

My amateur advice to you is deal with the marriage first and together ANYTHING is possible.

I wish you all the best and will offer any advice I can (though not marital)

Good Luck

Richard_S

Sooty0404 wrote:

Hi Shaun

You need to be careful here. Bankruptcy is an option as this will clear all unsecured debts - BUT NOT THE SECURED ONES! If the secured loans are joint and several then the creditors could go after your wife for the money and she would be solely liable if you have been delared bankrupt.

If the debts were gone could you save the marriage? If so, then one solution may be for you to go bankrupt (if the majority of debts and bills are in your name only).

You could then negotiate the secured debts down to say, £90-95k (or less) and let the wife re-mortgage to consolidate these into one affordable payment.

With secured debts totalling more than the value of the house your wife could buy out the Receiver very cheaply and you could then start again. An interest only mortgage may be cheaper option in the first instance while you get back on your feet.

I certainly could not have dealt with my problems without the support of my wife, who was 100% supportive, and although we are having problems at the moment we will come through them TOGETHER (with our three lovely daughters). When I went bankrupt in the early 90's we had only been married for three years and in May we will celebrate our 19th anniversary (you don't get that for murder do you )

My amateur advice to you is deal with the marriage first and together ANYTHING is possible.

I wish you all the best and will offer any advice I can (though not marital)

Good Luck

I'll second that Sooty,

We've had a truly horrendous 18 months culminating in our bankruptcy last year and we've fought some seemingly unwinnable battles and come through victorious and smiling. However, if we'd not stayed focused as a couple and started playing the "blame game" I really can't imagine just how bad it could have got.

Richard

shaunc196

Hi. Thanks but there is no saving the marriage. Its gone past that point. Now its a case of sorting the finances out that help each as much as possible. So I am looking at every possible angle. So what happens to the secured debt if BOTH of us went bankrupt. I know CAB could tell me, but its only a drop in centre, and I haven't been in my town for a few days now with work.

Thanks Again

Sooty0404

If you both go bankrupt one or both of the secured creitors could force the sale/repossession of the house - I imagine that is what the loans are secured against.

My feelings are that neither would do anything until such time as there is positive equity in the property. Even after you are discharged the debt remains with you and I believe they have up to 10 years to recliam it.

My brother was in a similar situation and his secured creditor waited over 9 years to make a claim for their money (see my earlier post for full details.)

Bear in mind also that interst will continue to accrue - my brother borrowed £30k and 9 years later he owed £103K.

Even if your house has appreciated enough to cover this any surplus money belongs to the OR unless you have taken steps to safeguard this (see earlier post for details).

Good luck to you both

shaunc196

Wow so I am really up 5448 creak without a padel