step change wouldnt refer me on for advice?

xxemmaxx_2

Morning guys, as if im not confused enough already.

I phoned this morning to try and get a bit of guidance on my next step, due to living in northern ireland i was passed from pillar to post, as no available trained advisors were to hand, this was fine. But then i was told as i have no unsecured debt such as loans, credit cards overdrafts etc, that it wouldnt show i would qualify to go bankrupt therefore they couldnt pass my information on to speak to someone as they cant recommend it...

So what on earth do i do, after handing back keys to a property with a mortage of 140k to pay and property value of 35k and monthly payments of 630 that i cannot afford at all, and that the joint owner has completely walked away from.

I just feel right back to square one Is there anyone else I can call? x

PippaGirl_2

That is true, if you have no unsecured debt at the time of BR, BR won't be approved.

Once the property has been repossessed and sold, the shortfall then becomes unsecured and then you can go BR.

Sounds like you will need to wait for BR until that time.

If you want further advice there is National Debtline or the Citizens Advice Bureau

xxemmaxx_2

I am so confused i was told complete different advice to this back in jan when i handed the keys back to the bank, the property has been put on the market by the bank and i havent heard anything from them for over 8 months, in this time no payments have been made either, what if the property never sells for years and all these payments have been missed. is the house known as repossessed now that i handed the keys back... my stress levels are now through the roof, just because i have been extremeley careful in regards to unsecured debt i cant get rid of the massive 105k debt that is going to hang over me now until the property is sold! :(

Lou67

xxemmaxx wrote: »

I am so confused i was told complete different advice to this back in jan when i handed the keys back to the bank, the property has been put on the market by the bank and i havent heard anything from them for over 8 months, in this time no payments have been made either, what if the property never sells for years and all these payments have been missed. is the house known as repossessed now that i handed the keys back... my stress levels are now through the roof, just because i have been extremeley careful in regards to unsecured debt i cant get rid of the massive 105k debt that is going to hang over me now until the property is sold! :(

You poor thing I feel for you so much. The stress is unimaginable when you have debts and/or can't afford your mortgage.

OK, now stop panicking and stressing! (Easy to say I know!)

Now what you CAN do is go for Voluntary repossession. This is what we did. We actually went bankrupt, as we had well over 60-65K in unsecured and secured debt, and six months later, we discovered the house had not been repossessed by the building society OR the Official Receiver! So we contacted our Mortgage lender and went for Voluntary Repossession. We discovered it has not been repossessed when the Council started making demands for council tax!

So see the C.A.B. if you can; if you can't then contact your mortgage lender and say you want a Voluntary Repossession form. They have to let you do it. You will owe the shortfall of course, but then you can go bankrupt with that amount. (Although I am a bit confused about how much the shortfall is...I couldn't understand it from your first post sorry...)

Hope you'll be OK. Stop worrying, it will turn out fine.

xxemmaxx_2

thanks so much for your lovely reply. I feel like im just at the end of my tetter to be honest, pregnancy hormones dont help the situation much

sorry i meant i bought the property at the height of the book for 145k 6 years ago, i handed the keys back to the bank in jan this year and they put it on the market for me in that time it has dropped from 55k to 35k, they are obv wanted to try and get whatever they can for it... which is gonna leave me as u can see with over 100k left of unsecured debt.

the ex of course has completely walked away from this and washed his hands, he hasnt made a single contribution to the mortgage in the last 4 years, so it has been me trying to keep the bank of our backs paying what we could and i really cant pay 630 on my own at all!

I think im going to just have to get back in contact with the bank and ask for an update, so them selling the property on the market with me handing the keys back isnt voluntary repossession until i sign something??

what happens if i let this run on like it is and leave it to them to sell but no payments are being made?? xx

Lou67

xxemmaxx wrote: »

thanks so much for your lovely reply. I feel like im just at the end of my tetter to be honest, pregnancy hormones dont help the situation much

sorry i meant i bought the property at the height of the book for 145k 6 years ago, i handed the keys back to the bank in jan this year and they put it on the market for me in that time it has dropped from 55k to 35k, they are obv wanted to try and get whatever they can for it... which is gonna leave me as u can see with over 100k left of unsecured debt.

the ex of course has completely walked away from this and washed his hands, he hasnt made a single contribution to the mortgage in the last 4 years, so it has been me trying to keep the bank of our backs paying what we could and i really cant pay 630 on my own at all!

I think im going to just have to get back in contact with the bank and ask for an update, so them selling the property on the market with me handing the keys back isnt voluntary repossession until i sign something??

what happens if i let this run on like it is and leave it to them to sell but no payments are being made?? xx

Hi.

In answer to your last question (bolded) they will eventually probably put it on on auction, as they HAVE to get rid of it eventually. It's strange that they haven't done this already, but banks do tend to drag their feet - I think sometimes in the hope that you will resume payments or the value will increase again. So they aren't going to bother rushing. ESPECIALLY if their is no equity in the property or it's in negative equity.

So the answer to your question 'so them selling the property on the market with me handing the keys back isn't voluntary repossession until i sign something??" That is pretty much correct yes. You need to sign a Voluntary Repossession form. The same thing will happen if you don't sign a Voluntary Repossession, but it will take much much much longer. So if you just want rid of the property, then Voluntary Repossession is the answer for you. You know of course, that you will be responsible for the shortfall, but you're going to bankrupt that anyway...

The property did drop massively in value didn't it? Remember the days when you were guaranteed a good return on property? Not any more.

Good luck to you, and I am sorry you are in such a crappy situation with your ex leaving and all. and contact you mortgage lender today, tell them your nerves are frayed, you're at your wits end and you want RID of this house, so you want to go for Voluntary Repossession.

xxemmaxx_2

thank you.

Im confused even more now after ringing the bank, the girl looking after our case said theres no plans for auction at the min and they are leaving it with the estate agent to try and sell... she said it doesnt effect my position by me handing the keys back in, i asked about a voluntary repossession form that would of needed to be signed when the keys were handed in and she said she has never heard of this thats not how they work they said its quite common for ppl to hand in their keys and they just try and sell it and come up with an agreement to try and repay the amount, i said about the bankruptcy route and she said u can go ahead and do this now if you wish, as although you dont have any unsecured debt there will be unsecured debt once the properties sold and we cant come after you for the shortfall then, i said surly i have to wait till it sold then for there to be the unsecured and she said no not in all cases as they can see there would def be a shortfall...

oh i dunnnnooo anymore :(

fermi

Have you tried talking to https://www.advice4debtni.com ?

tiggerbodhi

Hi, I went down the VR route, be very careful with signing anything from the bank, they may try to get a form signed that makes you liable for any shortfall whether you go BR or not, by posting the keys back and surrendering the property you have VR'd but until it is "officially" in the banks possesion you are responsible for Council Tax (you will get a rebate after 6 months if un-occupied), you should have had a confirmation letter from the bank saying they have taken legal possesion, if you havn't get one as you are legally responsible for insuring the property and council tax until then.

The bank under their code of practice have an obligation to get the best price possible for your house in a reasonable timescale, keep the pressure on them in writing, emails will do, if it is with the hands of a local estate agent it can be worth "causing them a little itch" to keep them focused.

The good news (well sort of!) is you can get on with your life as it stands, do not make any further payments to the Mortgage or bank, get yourself ready for BR, get a basic bank account, save the fee, get your SOA ready along with the BR forms, once the property is sold you will get a letter from the bank along the lines of "your mortgage with us was £140K, we just sold it for £35K, your missed payments and our charges are £10K therefore could you write us a cheque or come to an arangement for the other £95K, at this point you fill in the "blank" on your BR form for the £95K and file for BR.

Apologies if I talk out of turn but at the point above where you go BR if it was a joint mortgage the bank will go to your ex for the £95K instead, Karma is a wonderful thing.....

Good luck, there is an end, dont feel guilty for the failings of the banks that got you into this.

one2escape

Emma we are in a similar position. We contacted cccs/stepchange but we where transfered to someone in Limavady. We have to leave our house as we cant afford to maintain the house (the house needs around 20k or repairs and are in a similar amount on negative equality as you) and are moving into rented house on Friday. We where advised to try and hand the keys back to the mortgage company but not to sign the forms. Our mortgage company will not allow this so we just have to wait till will finish saving for our bankrupcy fees. I would try and ring them again as the girl we spoke to was very helpful.

xxemmaxx_2

fermi wrote: »

Have you tried talking to www.advice4debtni.com ?

Thanks very much for your reply yes i did, they said it was a very complex case and ive done everything up to this point that i can and that its best to wait until the property is sold as there is a grey area between the time of br and if the property sells for a period of time after the br that i could be liable for interest accured after that.