Help needed Selling up and then renting

bluezone

Tony,

Hang in there. The people on here I like to call my friends that are here 24/7. You will get through this. I have just pm'd you.

Bluezone

lessonlearned

Hi Tony

Have been mulling over your problem, and as Martin points out your long term scenario sounds pretty good - it's really a short term thing.

How about this? (Sorry it's going to be a bit long-winded)

You have an offer on your property so that's a good start. Let's assume that the sale progresses smoothly.

First of all can you get your purchaser to agree to a short delay between exchange of contracts and legal completion. If so, you may have the solution.

It is not compulsory to exchange contracts and legally complete on the same day. Your purchaser may be happy to agree to exchange contracts on the basis of a "fixed legal completion date". This could be say, 7 or even better, 14 days later.

(I work selling new build houses and this happens all the time. In fact it is extremely rare for purchasers of new build properties to exchange and legally complete on the same day, due to build delays etc.)

A 7 or 14 day delay would work in your favour and enable you to make all your necessary financial arrangements (with the bank's help of course). But the bank have said no I hear you say. This is because at present they have nothing concrete to go on and are still regarding you as a "bad risk".

I'm afraid a sale is not guaranteed until contracts are exchanged, however, once contracts are exchanged the sale is legal and binding and it is highly unusual for a sale to take a nosedive after exchange.

(This is because the party who withdraws would stand to lose a lot of money - usually 10% of the purchase price plus the other party's out of pocket expenses and costs). For this reason exchange of contracts will not occur until every little kink has been ironed out and everyone is in a position to proceed. No solicitor worth their salt would allow their clients to take such a risk.

Therefore, once exchange of contract has taken place your bank should be in a position to then either extend your overdraft facility or give you some form of bridging loan. They know they will get their money and they have nothing to lose - you are longer a "bad risk". (In fact quite the opposite because you will have a surplus of about £40K. Remind them of that if they are at all "iffy" - they will, after all, want you to leave your £40K in their bank).

(Of course, you will probably want to change banks when the dust has settled but they don't need to know that). Your bank should have absolutely no reason to deny your request.

You will, of course, need to provide proof from your solicitor that contracts have been exchanged and perhaps some kind of promissory letter or guarantee that funds will be available on the date of legal completion. Your solicitor will probably make a charge for doing this.

(I would suggest you set up a face to face meeting with your bank to sort this out - timed for immediately after exchange with your solicitor either faxing or e-mailing the necessary proof either to you or to the bank -- face to face is more effective than the phone).

Don't forget that funds are transferred electronically and therefore your bank will get their money just as soon as all the legal stuff is done.

I suggest that you write down all your expenditure, together with evidence of written estimates for moving costs, quotes for expenses incurred with your rental agreement, deposits and bonds etc. so that you can show the bank exactly what the money is for. Give a copy to your solicitor who can include this as part of your promissory letter. (A sort of business plan if you like.)

With regard to your immediate cash flow needs I agree with Lynz and the other posters. Start selling some of your stuff. You will probably want or need to declutter when you move anyway - you may as well get started now.

I started decluttering a couple of months ago (I'm hoping to sell our house too and go into rented for a while). So far our decluttering efforts have raised £1100. Last Sunday we did a car boot which raised £60. Don't forget E-bay, cash converters, the free ads in your local paper etc.

Tony, I wish you every success with your sale. Like Martin says, try not to panic. You are not alone - this site is very helpful and everyone is extremely supportive. People will share their knowledge with you and help you.

Good luck. I hope I have helped you a bit.

Sorry it's such a long and "wordy" post, but I thought it was best to explain it step by step so you could digest the information and see if my suggestion could work for you.

P.S. Try to avoid legally completing on a Friday if you can. Moving companies get booked up for Fridays and you might be able to get it cheaper if you move mid-week. Just a thought.:cool:

taxi73

So sorry to hear of your plight Tony...but please hang on in there...we are all here for you!!!....please don't do anything silly...the above poster has made some really positive comments above and that may be your answer...did you go for a crisis loan?...all this nightmare will be over in a few weeks...the salvation army or local shelter or church maybe able to help with a meal...I can't think of anything else to suggest for your immediate problem

lessonlearned

Still mulling things over for you Tony.

Here's another couple of points which might help.

For the immediate "how can I feed myself problem" - I think Martin & the other posters are right - a crisis loan may be your best option there. If they won't help perhaps you could pawn something or sell something at one of those cash converter places. You might have to sell at less than the object's real value but at least you will be able to buy some food.

If you take the money as cash your creditors can't get their hands on it. (Again this is where car boot sales help -it's cash, it's yours);) In the past, during times of crisis, I've done a car boot sale just to put food on the table too. I do Know where you're coming from.

To get your creditors off your back and give you a breathing space the following should work. (I once had to do something similar i.e. write to our creditors telling them I had a CAB appointment. It worked for us)

Have you received a written offer for your property? Your estate agent should have sent you something in writing - your solicitor will certainly have received a written offer from your purchaser's solicitor.

You might be able to stall your creditors by writing to them, explaining about selling up and enclosing a copy of this written offer. It would probably "buy" you some time whilst you sort yourself out a bit.

In the meantime set up an appointment with the CAB or similar. When you've met with CAB or whoever they should write to your creditors on your behalf and ask for time, maybe even asking them to freeze interest for you.

A series of car boots, and advertising your stuff in the free ads in your local paper should help you generate cash to help with buying food etc. If you use E-bay it will have to go into your bank account and will be gobbled up with charges or interest etc.

Try to keep calm. You will get through this. Remember - it's only money. If you have to sell most of your possessions to get you through the next few weeks - it's only "stuff". Things can be replaced - you can't.

Take good care and keep your chin up.

I'm not very good with techno stuff but if you want to PM please do. I can just about manage to access my messages.:rolleyes:

Lovin_It

Have you thought about a "sale and rent back". You sell the property to an investor and then rent it back from them. Saves moving, etc. And landlord knows you will look after the proerty, and are less of a void risk.

http://www.landlordtrader.co.uk/tenanted/sale_rent_back.php

Tony1966

Hello all, and thanks for your continued support and well wishes

First of all, thank you very much to those of you who have sent what little bit of money you can afford, enabling me to buy some food. It's very much appreciated (despite your own financial situations) and i promise to pay you back when i get my grubby little mits on my equity.

It's been a very productive day for me today....
I went to see my solicitor to return the completed forms to them and also give them the neccessary i.d. and stuff they require, and i explained my situation in full and how i could not afford the £100 of their fee upfront. They were very good about it, and said not to worry, as that was just a default letter they send out. They said they are flexible and understanding when it comes to people's financial situations, and said they will wait till the house sale is complete before taking their fee in full.
I also explained how concerned i was about the whole idea of looking for and moving into a rented place, especially seeing as i have so much other stuff to do on my own, and not having any upfront money. My solicitor told me that she has a colleague who works kind of hand in hand with them, and this person buys houses, renovates them practically to new build standard inside, and then rents them out to people. She gave him a call and he says he has a house that will be completed in 3 weeks time if i wanted that. I was also told that because he has worked with my solicitor on a regular basis in the past, he is always prepared to waive any advance bond and rent until i have my money from the house sale ! I couldnt believe my luck, and i've got my fingers crossed on this. I was also told that if my current buyer pulls out of the house sale, he would buy my place for 5,000 less than the price i've currently been offered and rent it back to me if i wanted to stay here (not 75% of the house value like other sell and rent back schemes have quoted me) so things aren't looking too bad for me at the moment and i'm feeling a massive sense of relief !

I also visited the social security armed with printouts of my 3 overdrawn bank account statements, final demand bills etc, and tried applying for a crisis loan for food. I was handed a leaflet with a number to call (as the claim is apparently done over the phone now and then they tell you where to collect the money from if you're successful) but the number was engaged all day when i tried calling :mad: So i will have to try again on Monday now.

I also made a claim for council trax benefit, and that looks like my claim will be backdated to when i went on the sick last September through ill health. I'm not sure what that means though ? Am i likely to get any cash refunded to me because i've been paying my council tax out of my own overdraft ?

So things seem to be looking up at the moment and i dont feel suicidal anymore, thanks to the help, support, and financial generousity of some fantastic caring people on this site. It has moved me to tears, honestly. However, i'm still fretting about how i can pay my £54 BT bill by May 7th and not get cut off while this house sale is going on, but i'll cross that bridge when i come to it.

Despite the fact i am dreading the whole packing and moving buiness on my own, i am looking forward to selling my place, clearing my debts, and starting afresh. Then once i am settled in my new place, my next task will be to claim bank the hundreds in bank charges that has crippled me over the last 2 years

Thank you so much, each and every one of you.
I will keep you all updated....

mioliere

Hi - I've just found your thread and it has moved me to tears! How pleased I am that you have had such wonderful support here! I take my hat off to all those who have obviously brought you back from the brink. Thank goodness you did 'hang on in there' - just think how much you will have gained when this is finally sorted out! Martin, Lynz and everyone else here - you've all been absolutely brilliant! Gold stars for all of you!

As regards BT - lessonlearned said he bought time with creditors by telling them he had an appointment with CAB, so try that with BT. Remind them that you need the phone to deal with these final stages of solving your problems. They'd have to be inhuman not to give you more time; also, my DH and I have often struggled to pay BT and we have phoned them several times over the same bill and managed to delay payment. So, please do give them a ring! I also hope you are using saynotto0870.com when phoning any company with 0845, 0870 etc numbers - it will give you the cheaper telephone numbers for most of them. That will make a real difference to your phone bill - it did to ours! Also, when you have repaid all the debts and are sitting there basking in that warm glow of relief and - maybe, even smugness! - start reclaiming your bank charges. As Martin would say 'don't let them screw you, screw them back - legally!' You may end up even richer than you think! It sounds as if they could owe you a very tidy sum!

I wish you all the best of luck and hope the sun shines very soon in your life. I will keep looking in now so make sure you keep us posted. Just think of how much help and advice you will now be able to give others. You've had a hell of a learning curve! Don't worry - be happy!

lessonlearned

Hi Tony

Wow that's great news. Was worried about you. Glad it all sounds so positive.

Just hang in there and stay focussed - everything will come together for you.

Well done you.

needawayout_2

I'm sitting here with a big grin like this for you!
So pleased to hear things are looking up tony. Will be thinking of you :T

Melissa177

Good news Tony - things are turning around your way. It sounds like you're doing everything right.

In answer to your council tax refund query - yes, they should backdate the money and pay you it back. Can you go to the council offices with the information (ie, bills etc) and speak to someone at the cash desk? They should hopefully sort you out there and then.


:T: