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Equity Stripping
Nelson341
Posts: 16 Forumite
Sorry in advance as I am sure this will be a bit confusing.
Not to give excuses but to explain a little:
My father in law and wife had a baby about 6 years ago, when the wife gave birth she was found to have terminal cancer and sadly passed away a month after giving birth. That caused my father in law to turn to drink - suddenly not working 14 hour shifts with his wife looking after bills and the kid as planned. (I know it isn't right that he was drinking but he is now 2 years sober and people were there with the child throughout).
Anyway, forward to 2 years after her passing, he took a £50k loan through what I think is a equity stripping scam - he was to rent back his house to cover the loan but I think he gave them the deeds (he kept it quiet, no idea why he did this). He was told by the company he took the loan through that they were bankrupt and to not pay the rent into their account as that would be taken (We know, obviously he should have looked into where he should pay it, or at least save it to show he wasn't NOT paying it but he's never been left with bills, his wife took care of it all & mixed with being an alcoholic it just didn't register).
So now, he has just admitted this to me and no-one else knows about it as yet - they are telling him he owes around £200k; for a £50k loan.
The company and solicitor he dealt with are both bankrupt and no-where to be found, however they took more than the % remortgage he needed, by a lot.
I only just found out after a 10 min conversation so will get more facts but based on this information, is there anything we can do to try and have the bank not take his home?
He isn't trying to shirk responsibility of the £50k and of course, some interest/fees but if the police get the 2 men responsible for example, is this enough to have some fees waived at all or has this happened to anyone and they know the best plan forward?
As I said, this is all from a man not in the right frame of mind so please hold back from the judgmental posts. Thank you all in advance.
Not to give excuses but to explain a little:
My father in law and wife had a baby about 6 years ago, when the wife gave birth she was found to have terminal cancer and sadly passed away a month after giving birth. That caused my father in law to turn to drink - suddenly not working 14 hour shifts with his wife looking after bills and the kid as planned. (I know it isn't right that he was drinking but he is now 2 years sober and people were there with the child throughout).
Anyway, forward to 2 years after her passing, he took a £50k loan through what I think is a equity stripping scam - he was to rent back his house to cover the loan but I think he gave them the deeds (he kept it quiet, no idea why he did this). He was told by the company he took the loan through that they were bankrupt and to not pay the rent into their account as that would be taken (We know, obviously he should have looked into where he should pay it, or at least save it to show he wasn't NOT paying it but he's never been left with bills, his wife took care of it all & mixed with being an alcoholic it just didn't register).
So now, he has just admitted this to me and no-one else knows about it as yet - they are telling him he owes around £200k; for a £50k loan.
The company and solicitor he dealt with are both bankrupt and no-where to be found, however they took more than the % remortgage he needed, by a lot.
I only just found out after a 10 min conversation so will get more facts but based on this information, is there anything we can do to try and have the bank not take his home?
He isn't trying to shirk responsibility of the £50k and of course, some interest/fees but if the police get the 2 men responsible for example, is this enough to have some fees waived at all or has this happened to anyone and they know the best plan forward?
As I said, this is all from a man not in the right frame of mind so please hold back from the judgmental posts. Thank you all in advance.
0
Comments
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Clarity of the facts would be useful. If the lender holds the deeds then your father owns nothing.0
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Okay, I'll call him tonight and update anything I can tomorrow.
He has given conflicting comments; saying once that the lender had the deeds but then said he is now selling the house and will be keeping what's left after paying the bank back. So I will clarify and come back to you.
Thanks for your input.0 -
Get all the info you can and book him in to see a solicitor with you.
It looks like the first step will be to establish what has been done legally, or illegally, and what the 'legal' position actually is.I am a Mortgage Broker
You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Broker, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0
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