Repossession shortfall

Legacy_user

Hi guys

I had a property that was bought for £81500 back in 2006 by myself and my now ex. We borrowed £97000 on a Northern Rock together mortgage.

Anyway, I moved out in 2007 and my ex decided we wouldn't be selling as he wanted to keep the place. He always paid the mortgage because my wage was poor.

He paid it until about 2011 and then he was only paying large sums off at silly intervals (private security guard in afghan so had the money). Anyway, he met someone and eventually married her and moved to America.

Long story short is that I found out last feb that the place was repo'd in the feb. nothing was sent to me even though NR have my address. All the letters and then court papers were sent to the house that was sat empty as I wasn't allowed there by him and he wasn't even in the country.

NR only contacted me by phone in the August of 2014 to say they wanted £53,000 from me. They aren't chasing him because he lives in America so I am 100% responsible. We have a child together and I haven't heard from him since our son was 18months old, he's 7 now. They asked me to contact him which I can't as I don't even know where in America he is. I've had 2 other calls from them but the answering message said they were calling from Another banking company and I told them I didn't have anything with them.

Yesterday I received a letter stating my account has been passed to Allied debt recovery. I don't have any money. I live in my mothers house with her and my son. I earn under £10,000 year. Northern Rock sold the property for £37000. It was originally put on the market by them for £50,000, 2 days later it was dropped to £45,000 and they were offered £37000 which they accepted. I found this out by searching Right Moves history for the property.

Can anyone tell me where to go from here?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Mistermeaner

How do you buy a property for 81k on a 97k mortgage which then sells for 37k?

Did you ever get your name removed from the mortgage?

No expert but I think you tell them to get lost as the shortfall is their risk upon repossession, why on earth did they loan so much against something worth so little

Ps doesn't help but your ex sounds like a !!!!!!. Chin up you'll be ok

stator

ggb1979 wrote: »

No expert but I think you tell them to get lost as the shortfall is their risk upon repossession,

Incorrect. The old mortgage holders are responsible for the shortfall

Technically yes you do owe them money, but since you have no money it doesn't really matter. They can come chasing but if you're on 10k salary there is no chance of them getting anything even if they take you to court.

lonestar1

Can you go bankrupt ?

Xbigman

Try posting this on the debtfreewannabe board as well as this board. Posters on debtfreewannabe are more used to dealing with debt collectors/solicitors than this board.

I'm no expert but I'd start by disputing the repossession. Its too late to get anywhere with that but the fact you were not sent court documents and had no chance to defend the action weakens any case brought against you. You say they had your address, do you have any correspondence from the lender with your current address on? That would prove that they could contact you and if your name was on the mortgage they should have been providing statements on a regular basis.
I'd also ask the current debt holder for a full statement of costs and for the details of any offers made. Ask for everything you can think of. Check any information they send for accuracy, dates etc. Anything that you think should have been copied to you you should ask why it wasn't. You are trying to build up a good file of correspondence and demonstrate that you are not a pushover.
Also do some research and find out what properties like yours were selling for because you will want plenty of ammunition to challenge the sale price, and thus the amount of any alleged debt that could result. This could be a long process but that should give you an idea of how to get going.

General advice is to only deal with anyone in writing. Never phone.
Never admit the debt, always refer to it as the alleged debt.
Also don't discuss your personal circumstances with them yet. Only earning 10k a year doesn't sound like much but if you have no rent or possibly bills to pay you might find a court sees you as having a surprisingly big disposable income.

Bankruptcy could be a way out for you in your circumstances but it's a big step and requires a lot of thought. For one thing it would leave you living with your mother for an extended period. Even if you get on now that could change. BR is the last resort.

Now post on the DFW board.




Darren