Eviction/Repossession - Any Other Options?

Down_But_Not_Out

Thank you all so much for the advice above. It is greatly appreciated.

I received this morning a red letter from the mortage company saying that they are in the process of requesting a warrant for eviction and applying to the court for an eviction date.

The letter also says 'we may be in a position to offer you a payment arrangement, even at this late stage'.

Reflecting on your comments & the realities of my situation I now think my best course of action may be to exit my property asap and take up the offer of a room in a friends house until I can find work. It will mean moving a fair way from London and starting afresh on the job hunt but that may be what is needed. Someone has offered to help me with the monthly costs of putting my stuff into storage until I am able to fund them fully myself.

I receive £67 a week income support and also council tax benefit. My JSA entitlement ran out. I therefore don't have any substantive means to put a reasonable offer to the mortgage company.

Please could you advise whether you think the mortgage company would give me some breathing space if I put the property on the market to sell it straight away?

Also, what is the difference from my perspective of handing back the keys to them as opposed to repossession?

Am I right in saying that if they repossess (or I hand the keys back) they are then likely to sell at auction and take their costs and the money I owe from the proceeds and pass the remainder to me?

Thank you all once again.

Down_But_Not_Out

Just spoke to the mortgage company who were very evasive about whether a warrant for execution had been issued. They kept saying that it was applied for on 8th June but couldn't give a date of issue.

They said there was no point me putting the property on the market because I could be evicted any day. I asked about the differences between handing back the keys and them taking enforced possession and they couldn't give me an answer. I asked if I could hand the keys back and they said there wouldn't be time because I could be evicted any day. I said that I thought it just involved me posting the keys back with a covering letter but they said it would need them to organise the despatch of surrender documents to me and there wasn't enough time for that becaue we are so far down the road with the eviction process.

I then phoned the court concerned and gave them my case number and asked if they could advise whether a warrant of evcition had been issued. They said it was issued on 13th June but that it normally took 5-6 weeks from this point for an actual date of eviction to be handed down. From there it would be another 5-6 weeks they said before the actual eviction date - so 10-12 weeks in total!

This amazed me! From the mortgage company saying I could be out any day, the court advised me it would be September at the earliest before I would have to depart. When I said I wanted to sell the property they advised this may be sufficient grounds to get a stay of eviction granted by the court. They are sending me an application form today and I have to return it with copies of vaulation and instruction letters from estate agents and then attend a stay of eviction hearing.

I now feel much more positive about my situation and the first few estate agents I have spoken to have given initial assessments of potential value well in excess of my best expectations of price.

I don't quite understand why the mortgage company have been so evasive, misleading and keen to repossess - given the additional costs it would entail for them.

Suffice it to say that if I had not come on here and got your input and advice I would probably have just gone along with their plan.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me and to all those on this forum who give of their time and expertise so wonderfully. It is an extraordinary resource and I am so very grateful for your help. :T

RAS

Why have you not applied to have the interest on your mortgage paid along with CTB and JSA?

Down_But_Not_Out

I had thought I needed dependants or a disability to qualify. Can anyone apply? Is it something I could still do in my situation?

Thanks.

RAS

Go to www.turn2us.org.uk.

i think you can only backdate buy one month now.

!!!!!! speak to Shelter urgently.

Gareth19

Down_But_Not_Out wrote: »

I had thought I needed dependants or a disability to qualify. Can anyone apply? Is it something I could still do in my situation?

Thanks.

No you do not need a disability or any dependants. If you are a homeowner and on income support then you qualify. It is all done through your income support so give them a call and tell them you need mortgage help and they will arrange it

NeverAgain_2

Auction it.

BlushingRose

In a previous life I was living with someone who had the threat of repossession hanging over his head. I actually advised him to put the flat on the market, we told the mortgage company this and they backed off a little - however the flat didn't sell for ages and the eventual sale went through the day before the court case!

Please contact Shelter as people have said above though and get their advice.

fatbelly

Down_But_Not_Out wrote: »

Reflecting on your comments & the realities of my situation I now think my best course of action may be to exit my property asap and take up the offer of a room in a friends house until I can find work. It will mean moving a fair way from London and starting afresh on the job hunt but that may be what is needed. Someone has offered to help me with the monthly costs of putting my stuff into storage until I am able to fund them fully myself.

I think I'd be inclined to stay where I was until nearer the eviction day. No point paying rent and storage somewhere else if you don't have to.

Down_But_Not_Out wrote: »

I then phoned the court concerned and gave them my case number and asked if they could advise whether a warrant of eviction had been issued. They said it was issued on 13th June but that it normally took 5-6 weeks from this point for an actual date of eviction to be handed down. From there it would be another 5-6 weeks they said before the actual eviction date - so 10-12 weeks in total!

And there's your timescale!

The 'auction it' idea isn't bad. You can put a reserve on it and the advantage of being in control of a sale is that the equity is released to you on the completion day, whereas with a repossession you will be waiting for months

cvt1

If the warrant has been applied for, it will be sitting in the bailiffs pile. If they work like the ones in my area do, they work through them, in order of the pile and this time of year is busy; repossessions always peak in June/July . Lenders seize the opprortunity of sales in good weather, but bailiffs are often on holiday and courts operate a summer service, from July to September, which slows them all down. You will be served and given about 7-10 days before it's executed. It's the court who issues the warrant, not the lender, who would like to! If the court is busy, then the bailiffs are busy, it can take time. In ths instance, the lender is keen, as it hasn't waited long to make the application. Some take months.

As I said earlier, it's not over until the warrant has been executed and if you can make an offer before it, then do so.

As has been said earlier, why leave until you have to. You're only incurring further debt and you never know, you might have good news before the big w.

If you auction it, you are likely to need the lender's agreement, as it has a possession order and wants its money back. As you have equity, it shouldn't be an issue.

If you get a buyer, before the warrant, ask the court to adjourn your application and suspend the warrant in the meantime, then ask for a review in 28 days. This will allow the sale and gives the court the power to delay the matter. If you have no buyer, then the warrant will be reissued and the lender gets his property; again no real prejudice to the lender, as you have good equity in the property, even if it is sold 'At best price' by the lender, which is the legal cover up for 'at undervalue'. Again, if you sell it cheaply, the lender shouldn't argue, as its money will be safe because of the equity.

Please go to Shelter.