IP obstructing Beneficial Interest purchase

Jools2901

My husband was offered to buy the Beneficial Interest in our home after my bankruptcy in March 2012. He accepted the offer and my IP (Trustee in Bankruptcy) sent a surveyor to value the home. The value was too high @ £275,000 & we disputed it. The IP suggested we obtain 2 local estate agents' valuations which we did. The IP rejected the valuations, so we obtained a 3rd local agent's valuation. All 3 valued the house at £245,000 - £250,000. The 3rd valuation was also rejected & at the request of the IP we instructed a RICS Surveyor to write a Report to determine the value. The RICS Report agreed with the 3 agent's valuations @ £250,000. In May 2013, the IP informed us that they would revert to their own Surveyor & were awaiting his comment but would not negotiate nor accept our valuations, stating,"for the sake of clarity, the Trustee does not accept your valuations and believes the house is worth £275,000 and stated the price they would accept for the purchase of the Beneficial Interest. We wrote several letters over the next 11 months trying to negotiate to progress the purchase of the BI. We did not have any further communication about our RICS Report nor the IP's valuation other than to reiterate that the house was worth £275,000 and asking my husband to increase his offer. My husband referred to his 4 valuations of £250,000 but was ignored for 10 months. We believed the reason for the silence from the IP was that there would be a sudden flurry of negotiations at the very last stages of the 3 year time limit for the Trustee to "use of lose" our home. However, in February 2015, just one month before the 3 year expiry time, the IP has suddenly applied to the Court to take possession of our home. Citing the reason as, "The IP believes that Mr & Mrs ............. are either unwilling or unable to purchase the Beneficial Interest in the property". This is a gross distortion of the facts. My husband has complied with everything asked of him. Importantly, the guidelines in the Government's Insolvency organisation's help book, advice the partner of the bankrupt who wishes to purchase the BI to follow their guidelines to do so. We have complied with guidelines advice & complied precisely as the Trustee instructed but now at this eleventh hour, they seek to take our home. We attended Court for Judge's Directions on April 9th but the Judge did not really understand the issues regarding the purchase of the Beneficial Interest and has ordered another RICS Report and that we must pay half the cost. The real sting in the tail is that the paperwork submitted to Court by the IP in their evidence, revealed that one month after we supplied our valuations of £250,000, the IP had a "revised valuation" that agreed with our 4 valuations at £250,000. So it appears that the IP and their solicitor concealed their valuation from us in order to obstruct the purchase of the Beneficial Interest. In the same evidence bundle of paperwork are their letters stating our house is worth £275,000 as recently as February this year. Yet they held a revised valuation of £250,000 since July 2013.
Has anyone heard of this kind of skulduggery by a Trustee/IP before?
I understand that the Trustee can simply hang on to a property for 3 years in case it gains value but this was not the case, the Trustee had commenced the selling of the Beneficial Interest but negotiations could not progress because the starting price was £30,000 over the established value of the property. Is this ethical to withhold the true value, whilst threatening to possess quoting an over valued price and then make representations to the Court that we are unwilling or unable to purchase the BI when we have made every effort to do so? If this kind of behaviour is standard, it makes a complete nonsense of the Government's own Insolvency advice guidelines.
Anyone got any suggestions please? I fear we are in real danger of losing our home because the Judge simply doesn't understand the evidence in front of him.

CKhalvashi

You need to explain the four valuations for £250k, and the one outlier in the situation in court.

Any reasonable judge will see that you're being ripped off here. Is it Moon Beever, by any chance?

debt_doctor

Hi,


IP's disgraceful behaviour in all sorts of ways is standard in bankruptcy I'm afraid.
However, you do need to convince the District Judge of the argument you have laid out to the IP. A higher beneficial interest equals more money for the IP's fees, which is their primary focus.


I didn't catch from your post (but may have missed it) - If your valuations were held as correct, do you have the funds available to purchase the beneficial interest from the IP?


DD

Jools2901

I'll try & help the Judge grasp the point but he's focused on establishing the current value of the property & told me he's "wearing blinkers to anything else". The point is that an established value was obtained already in 2013 by way of 3 estate agents & 2 RICS reports that all agreed with a value of £250,000 but since then every communication from the IP stated the value was £275,000 & only on that basis would they discuss a price for the purchase of the BI. It has made a farce of the Government's own guidelines.

Johno100

£250,000 or £275,000, but how much equity is in there in the property and have you provided any evidence to your Trustee that your husband has the resources to acquire the beneficial interest? Has he actually made an offer?

In your OP you seem surprised that the IP applied to court for an order of possession and sale, you do realise that this would have been done solely to protect the interest in the property due to the 3 year rule and doesn't necessarily mean the property will be sold or that he/she isn't still open to negotiation re the sale of the beneficial interest.

Jools2901

The £250,000 is the value. Yes there's equity. Yes he's made an offer based on the value of £250,000. The IP advised that he'd accept 41,000 but that was based upon his valuation which is £30,000 over valued. My husband tried to negotiate based on a value of £250,000 but the IP insisted our valuation was wrong, despite having a valuation of his own that agreed with our 4 valuations. Don't know how to negotiate with the IP when the starting point is £30,000 over value. You're right, I am surprised that guidelines & advice for steps to purchase the BI appear to be disregarded at will.

Jools2901

Sorry I didn't finish my reply to your question in full. Yes he had the funds, the correct valuation but the IP wouldn't respond after we'd obtained & given him the RICS valuation in June 2013. They obtained their own revised valuation of £250,000 in July 2013 but didn't reveal it until now but continued to use their original value of £275,000 to base figures for the sale of the BI.

andyfromotley

Its all somewhat irrelevant tbh, the judge has made his intentions pretty crystal clear, he will be using the value from the new valuations. You can (and should) make all of the points that you have so far, but trust me that judge will not be moved from the new valuation!! Hopefully it comes back at £250k and all will be sorted.

debt_doctor

I think that is probably correct. Also the trustee can wait until 3 years (for a value to rise - or not).


I hope it goes well for you.


DD