Utility and council tax problems

Grichardallen

Hi, Right as it stands, I am on an agreement with my local council to re-pay my arrears on council tax but I have fallen behind by I think 3 months now (£88pm), I also have a county court order from my water board and I cannot afford it (£130).

One of the main problem is i am employed full time and earn £200pw the majority of this is swallowed up on direct debits to pay other utilities so I barely get any thing by the time i am done.

And just to make it a little bit worse I own 2 Chalets on the east coast which ground rent for these will be due on the 1st of April 2014 at about £3000 for both.

What on earth can I do? I am not on benefits so I cannot claim anything at all, Would there be a possibility of a crisis loan or something like that?

Your help and advice would be much appreciated, Thanks, Richard

mr.brightside87

Water board.. Do you work for the CIA?

I have a similar problem with my CT bill. I'm around 4 months behind but have very little spare money to pay the arrears. I manage, but it makes things difficult.

May I ask, what other utilities do you pay for and which ones of these are priority. If you are bundling TV subscriptions down, I'd advise looking at downgrading.

iolanthe07

And just to make it a little bit worse I own 2 Chalets on the east coast

An obvious first step would be to sell one or both of your chalets. You clearly can't afford them, and their sale would release funds for you to start paying off your debts. Don't mess about with the Council Tax one especially; that needs to be a priority.

mr.brightside87

iolanthe07 wrote: »

And just to make it a little bit worse I own 2 Chalets on the east coast

An obvious first step would be to sell one or both of your chalets. You clearly can't afford them, and their sale would release funds for you to start paying off your debts. Don't mess about with the Council Tax one especially; that needs to be a priority.

I was thinking that to start with. £3000 for ground rent per year on a £200 p/w wage. That is surely going to end up in tears especially since you will surely, also, be paying a CT bill for them if you rent them out as holiday homes plus whatever you pay for where you are living whether it be rent or mortgage.

We need a bit more info here!

Grichardallen

Hi, only have freeview, I get free internet from 2 houses up, I pay vodaphone £13pm for my contract phone, which for what i get is really good value, and the rest is chalet utilities, Water & Electric.

It may seem like i am beating round the bush but I need to sit tight and try and hold onto the chalets as when I bought them at £5000 a each some years ago the site was only seasonal, a new company has taken the site over and it may become residential there fore I will be able to sell them both at a greater profit. There is a residential site near by which sell there chalets on lease hold (29 years) at between £25,000 and £30,000 which is what I intend on doing.

mr.brightside87

Grichardallen wrote: »

Hi, only have freeview, I get free internet from 2 houses up, I pay vodaphone £13pm for my contract phone, which for what i get is really good value, and the rest is chalet utilities, Water & Electric.

It may seem like i am beating round the bush but I need to sit tight and try and hold onto the chalets as when I bought them at £5000 a each some years ago the site was only seasonal, a new company has taken the site over and it may become residential there fore I will be able to sell them both at a greater profit. There is a residential site near by which sell there chalets on lease hold (29 years) at between £25,000 and £30,000 which is what I intend on doing.

By which time you could end up in all sorts of mire. Keep one by all means but I would sell the other. That way, you can free up money now and have an investment for the future.

What I'm trying to say is that at the moment you are seeing pound signs in front of your eyes more than what you should be doing to make sure those chalets are actually there in the future. Default on ground rent and CT, they could be gone in a blink of an eye.

Grichardallen

Well the plot on top of that thickens abit, One of the chalets is half mine and half the Xs according to the contract, but the contract was never looked over by a solicitor?? I have had words with the park office and they will not take her off without her consent, I can prove I paid for the chalet myself as the CT and utilities are in my name is in my name, I took out a loan to pay for the chalet which is obviously the reason I gave to the finance company so that should be on there records. and ow yes she wants £2500 from the sale if I was to sell it.

According to the contract the park can refuse to let me sell the chalet if it is not up-to scratch on wood work and exterior painting, which it is crying out for (both chalets) but no money = no wood or paint.

This is why im looking into hopefully a crisis loan or something like that to tied me over till work pics up and I start earning better money...

On a work front im a plumber but there is very little work to be offered until I do my gas course which work will be paying for which should be starting in January.
Another idea I have fought about is work from home on-line surveys but I can't see them paying mega money in time for April.

LannieDuck

Online surveys pay very little. Perhaps £20/mth - have a look at the Up your income board. They're good for raising a little extra cash for pressies etc over the course of a year.

Could you post a proper SOA? It'll be a lot easier to see your incomes/outgoings. (I think the link is a sticky on the DFW forum.)