BI in property - What is 'Next Step'?

rog2

I have, this morning, received a letter from my Trustee, regarding my Beneficial Interest in the house that I 'own' jointly with my wife.
The letter states that:
'It is my duty, as Trustee, to get in, realise and distribute the bankruptcy estate using, subject to legislation, my own discretion.
In the first instant, I invite you and your wife or a third party to make a reasonable offer to purchase my interest in the property'

It details my BI to be £79,000.00, based on search results of similar properties sold in the area.

The letter goes on to say:

'However, if you are not in a position to proceed on this basis, I seek the mutual consent of you and your wife to formerly market the property for sale, thus avoiding the unnecessary expense of me having to institute Court proceedings, which will only be taken as a last resort. I must insist that I have conduct of the sale and I will provide you with a suitable undertaking. Assuming the property is jointly owned, I will account to your wife on completion.'

'The property must be sold with vacant possession and, in the circumstances, you may wish to contact your local housing authority.'

My main questions refer to the 'mutual consent'.
What happens if my wife refuses to agree to a sale?
Is there any way in which she can be forced to agree?
Can we be evicted when my BI equates to only 50% of the equity?

We are not in a position to make any reasonable offer to purchase my BI, as I have been unemployed, without any benefits, for the last year (I have just started a temporary job, but this may only last a few weeks) and my wife will lose her job in November, when the hospital closes (Thanks Tony:mad: ).

I would welcome comments/suggestions from those who have been in this position.

Thanks,
Rog2

Mike_St_Helens

HI Rog,

Well theyve started the ball rolling havent they !

Id like to see where they would legally stand seeing thet they only 'own' 1/2 of the BI.

What are your initial feelings on what you want to do?

Did they get the valuation themselves ? Is it accurate ?

You were made B pretty much the same time as me.. Ive still not had my 'letter' like that yet.. Maybe its in the pipeline.

allofadither

Hi rog2,

I got a leaflet from the OR 'What will happen to my home?' Did you get that too? It's not very informative but I get the impression that they don't need your wife's consent, and if she doesn't give it they will just go to court anyway for a possession to sell. Her consent just makes it easier for them.

So my feeling is that they can and possibly will evict you if there isn't anyone to buy your BI.

Sorry rog, c**p start to your weekend.

rog2

Cheers Mike,

Yes I was made BR a couple of weeks before you - surprising that they have taken six months to write, although they DID write, initially, to state that they considered the house as part of my bankruptcy estate.

I am also interested about the legal position - I did ask CAB, before BR, but they were unsure, they did say that the OR may chase my wife to see if she would purchase my BI, but that she would be under no obligation to do so. I had assumed, from reading other posts, that the trustee would probably put a charge on the house, so that he got my BI when we eventually sold the house.

- maybe I need to speak with a Solicitor.

rog2

allofadither wrote: »

Hi rog2,

I got a leaflet from the OR 'What will happen to my home?' Did you get that too? It's not very informative but I get the impression that they don't need your wife's consent, and if she doesn't give it they will just go to court anyway for a possession to sell. Her consent just makes it easier for them.

So my feeling is that they can and possibly will evict you if there isn't anyone to buy your BI.

Sorry rog, c**p start to your weekend.

Thanks dither,

Yes I did get that booklet - as you say it isn't very clear.

I think I need to get legal clarification.

rizla01

does this mean that you will come away with £79k less expenses?

rog2

Mike_St_Helens wrote: »

Did they get the valuation themselves ? Is it accurate ?

The 'valuation' was based on the prices that house have been sold for in the area recently. It's probably not too far off the mark, though, but they do say that I can arrange for my own evaluation if I disagree.

What would constitute a 'reasonable offer'? Anyone got any ideas?

rog2

rizla01 wrote: »

does this mean that you will come away with £79k less expenses?

It means that I will come away with NOTHING and HOMELESS.

I assume that, in the case of eviction, the OR/Trustee would have to compensate my wife with HER share of the proceeds of the sale, less expenses, but this is what I need to clarify.

rizla01

Ah, So it's 79k taken off your debt?

silkglade

Hi rog2

When we went bankrupt 9 years ago we did not get contacted about the interest in the house until 2 months before discharge. Back then you were bankrupt for 3 years.

Basicly the house had no equity at the time of bankruptcy and were not offered the chance to buy out the interest then. It was only after the 3 years were almost up and the house prices had gone up by stupid amounts that they dumped this on us.

I was in a very different situation as you as I had bought my house with my now ex and we had brought it on a part rent and part buy scheme.

So my share was only 1/4 of the property and they still made us sell due to the fact that as my hubby and I were BOTH still bankrupt neither of us could apply for a mortgage. We also had 2 children that would potentially be homeless and that still did not make a difference.

Luckily for us the housing association came to our rescue at the time.

Is the £79,000.00 the full amount of equity or just your share? More important can you both afford to buy out the interest, and if so how much can you offer?

Sorry to hear they are doing the dirty on you

silkglade

Your Wife will get her full 1/2 share of the equity once all fees etc have been paid. that was what the ex got