Joint Bankruptcy, marriage breakdown, repossesion.

gibboking

Well what can I say.... The last 12 months have been fun

Basically hubby and i have seperated -
We have combined debts of approx £25k - one is a charge on the property - £5k
Debts have been being paid through a DMP for the last 5 years or so and should be cleared by 2031!!!
We have a mortgaged property which is in neg equity of around £15k - He has tried living here alone but couldnt manage and I am here now and I cant manage either.
We have 2 children and he has taken on repayment of the debt but this then means he has very little to help me out with the children.
We have come to the conclusion that BR is our best option (things are amicable, so communication is good) to be able to draw a line and for us to both move on.
The thing is neither of us want to take on the house as we both cant afford it. What are our options? We have already been told we possibly wouldnt lose the house due to lack of equity so should we stop paying the mortgage so it's repossesed? Hand back the keys? And do we need to do this prior to going BR or just start it all now?

Any help greatly appreciated

ghostfinder

Hi,

Sorry you have had a rough time

when we decided enough was enough we moved into a rental and stopped paying the mortgage.

We let the building society to repo it.

gibboking

It's been challenging thats for sure!!
The thing is Private rent is going to cost me more than my mortgage, and my mortgage is on a variable rate so when that starts going up so will my payments - totally stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I'm hoping that my LA may house me and the kids, but im under no illusions thet they defo will.
I'm not very clued up on social housing etc.

ghostfinder

if your facing eviction and have kids wouldn't you be a priority?

alastairq

We have already been told we possibly wouldn't lose the house due to lack of equity so should we stop paying the mortgage so it's repossessed? Hand back the keys? And do we need to do this prior to going BR or just start it all now?

if neither of you wish to retain the house, maybe best to seek rented accommodation?

However, you might find it ok to stay living in the house for some months, if you cease paying the mortgage.

It takes quite a while for a mortgagor to commence re-possession proceedings.

For the shortfall, it doesn't matter when you petition BR... as a preceding [and following sale of house, unsecured] debt it will fall into your BR.

XOH should petition as well, at some point.

Be aware..if you decide, at some point in the far distant future, to re-enter the private property market, having a re-possession on your records may not go well with future lenders.

markeymark

What kind of timescale from the first missed payment does it take till actual repossession?

luvchocolate

In my experience...6 missed payments went legal repo 4 months later so 10 months in all but lenders can vary.
I went into rented before any missed payments so credit was good.
good luck....keep in touch

PippaGirl_2

Wrt social housing, if you have children you are classed as vulnerable and the council have a duty to house you unless you have made yourself intentionally homeless. Each council interpets intentionally homeless differently in that some are stricter than others on points. Some would say that if you left a property before you were legally evicted through the courts, then you have made yourself intentionally homeless, others would accept a notice to leave from a landlord as enough for example. So do meet with a homeless officer from your LA to check their guidlelines before deciding what to do. The last thing you need is deciding something then realising your LA then deems you to have done something that has made your intentionally homeless and then has no duty to help you.

It's rare now for LA's to house homeless people in social housing, this is because there are so many homeless people that if they did house them in social housing the people waiting in the queue would never be housed if they did and this would not be fair on those in the queue. Instead they often source rented properties from private individuals, and then rent them to you. You get an assured tenancy as you would if you were renting from an agent, rent is always less or the same as the LHA, and all repairs are carried out by the LA, usually well. You don't need to pay deposits or rent in advance with those properties either. So it has it's bonuses. If there are not enough of such properties, then temporary options might be offered such as B&B or hostels or shared accommodation (sharing kitchens and bathrooms usually with other families). My LA never puts teenagers in shared or B&B accommodation.

If rent is more expensive than your current mortgage, I wonder if you are better staying where you are though and trying to make savings on your SOA elsewhere to be able to do so?