Help with voluntary repossession letter

zoenewps

Hi all...not sure if this is right place but basically i need to send our mortgage company a letter for voluntary repossession...we have been re-housed and the property in question is now empty (we have no choice to go bankrupt papers going in next week)
ive written this so far:


Due to difficult financial reasons please accept this letter that we wish to voluntarily surrender the keys to our property,(********) to yourselves so that you may repossess the house as you require.
I confirm that all keys have been provided and that the property is secure, vacant and unfurnished.
Any further correspondence you need can be sent by letter to me at the above address(our new address)

Is there anything else i need to put in? do i have to wait for a form from them for voluntry repossion (Ive read a thread on here saying they to fill it before they gave the keys back) to actually post the keys? do we actually sign the letter im going to send them? thanks in advance

NeverAgain_2

You don't have to write to them at all.

They will hear of your situation after you are bankrupt via the official receiver, assuming you list the mortgage company as one of your creditors.

Send the letter by all means, but by including your current address you are inviting a lot of pointless correspondence.

What you must not do is sign or return anything they send you in relation to the mortgage.

Some lenders try to trick borrowers into taking responsibility for any shortfall, which I assume you don't want.

Ineedaname

I thought I'd quote If here as her post on such matters is so useful.

Also, don't forget to make sure you have the appropriate council tax banding so you aren't charged CT on the property if it takes longer than 6 months to be repossessed.

SteveABC

Hi

Your situation sounds quite similar to mine. You can tell the mortgage lender very little.

I moved into rented accommodation, went BR and simply wrote saying I had left the property and would not be returning (I enclosed the key, although they wrote back to say they would destroy it after 7 days!). I didn't mention voluntary repossession specifically - just let things take their natural course.

Be careful not to sign anything though - specifically a "deed of acknowledgement". This would make you liable for any shortfall after the repo.

Also, ensure that the mortgage debt and "any resulting shortfall" are included in your list of creditors on your BR froms.

I had to apply to the council though to get the property rated nil for council tax. Simply write to them to say the property is empty and unfurnished.

In my case the lender (NRAM) didn't actually repossess for 10 months. There were a lot of letters and legal documents from their solicitors and court documents, (and a home visit - I was out), but they were all a formailty. I didn't attend court and completed none of the forms I was sent.

One thing though, I was advised to keep the buildings insurance going on the property until it was repossessed, as any structural damage would still have been my responsibility.

So, if you do write, keep it very brief and just let things take their course with the lender, which could be several months. AND DON'T SIGN ANYTHING.

Good luck.