Full and Final Settlement

irishmissy

Hi, i am new to this site and am hoping someone can help.

I have recently spilt with my husband and he has moved out into a rented property. He is not prepared to pay in any way towards bills, upkeep or mortgage of the former marital home. He pays £240 in maintenance for our daughter and nothing else. As a result i cannot afford to continue living in the house.

*Mortgage company will not let me take over the mortgage by myself.
* Reducing the payments to intereset only will only reduce the payments by £120 per month so not really any help.
* The house would be rented out for max of £650 a month - leaving a shortfal of £326 per month along with a minimum rental expense for me of £475
* i am not in a position to borrow any money from family members / friends

At this stage my next mortgage opayment is due tomorrow and i cant really afford it. I am seriously considering handing the keys back to the bank.

The house is in negative equity (outstanding mortgage of approx £190k - realistic estate agent valuation of £160k) with a monthly payment of £976 (repayment)

Halifax have advised that they will let "us" repay the shortfall at 0% interest for however long it takes but to be honest i resent the fact that he is walking away scot free from the marriage and the debt while i am left to pay it all back by myself. He says he will declare bankrupcty if necessary, he doesnt really care :-(

My estate agents have advised me that if a mortgage is in arrears with my mortgage lender they have been known to accept the sale price as full and final settlement of the mortgage. Apparently its only a case with Halifax (LLoyds group in other words)

Has anyone else heard of this???

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.

billinghamfan

If the mortgage is in joint names and you fall behind with it he is liable too.

I would start to worry about him declaring himself bankrupt though as that will affect your credit rating!

irishmissy

He does not seem worried about his credit rating at this point. He is happy for me to keep paying the mortgage until house prices rise again.
Does the estate agents suggestion sound feasible? That Halifax would take the sale price as full and final settlement?

DS4215

Before you start making any final decisions, you might want to make a SOA for your current position and check that you are receiving any benefits that you are entitled to. Also check with the CSA that he is paying the correct amount for your kids. It might be that you can get to a position where you can afford to continue in the house - even if you have to take in a lodger for a while to meet your payments.

Just handing the keys back now could result in bigger losses than if you take your time and consider your options carefully. You might still lose the house, but you could be better off financially (or at least, less worse off).

irishmissy

I have done an income and expenditure with the CAB, and also check my benefit entitlement. I am currently short each month in excess of £600 :-(

My current idea is to try and get halifax to reduce the mortgage on the condition that the house is on the market and the situation is temporary. Hopefully the estate agents advice will bear fruit and i will be able to settle the mortgage with a full and final settlement.