Lender won't consider shortfall repayment

csgohan4

sheff6107 wrote: »

Do a cheap patch up job on the damp and rent it out.

I'd rather rent it out and not tell my mortgage company instead of going into arrears personally.

What a terrible idea to get someone to commit mortgage fraud. If you get caught you will find it very difficult to get a mortgage in future or any kind of credit for that matter.

tiredandconfused

Just feel so tired over all this. I just want to do the right thing. It's not like I'm trying to escape my debts. But the lender would rather push me down the negative route than assist in any way.

thesaint

Would Halifax give you consent to let the property?

AdrianC

"Specialist replastering" won't sort genuine "rising damp" (if such a thing exists...)

All that will do is slow the moisture coming out of the walls and into the interior of the property. A far better option is to sort the reason why the moisture's getting INTO the walls in the first place. There are very few reasons, and they're mostly basic common sense.

TBH, I'd agree that - in your very specific circumstances - your best bet is to just shrug and say to the lender "Well, if you're going to be like that, here's the keys. You sort it."

If you think your UK credit rating is something that's important to you in the longer term, or if you think there may be repercussions onto your credit rating where you now live and work, then you may be better off realising what's currently just a notional loss, and putting the house up for sale as-is. I can't see any issues selling it, assuming you're realistic about the sale price - as you appear to be - and then deal with the lender on sorting the debt arising from any shortfall.

tiredandconfused

thesaint wrote: »

Would Halifax give you consent to let the property?

Possibly. But I'd still need to fix the damp problem, and that's what I don't have the cash for. It's why I'd rather sell for less now and shortfall things, than inject money (that I don't have) into a property that might not even sell!

tiredandconfused

AdrianC wrote: »

"Specialist replastering" won't sort genuine "rising damp" (if such a thing exists...)
All that will do is slow the moisture coming out of the walls and into the interior of the property. A far better option is to sort the reason why the moisture's getting INTO the walls in the first place. There are very few reasons, and they're mostly basic common sense.

It's actually a combo of rising damp due to a broken and ancient (long past guarantee) DPC and water in the chimney causing the flue salt debris to wick water into the walls. The plastering is because water is wicking out of the flue salts and needs special backing to prevent it just soaking into the plaster again. The DPC component is only about 3k - it's the plastering that will likely make up the rest.

AdrianC wrote: »

I can't see any issues selling it, assuming you're realistic about the sale price - as you appear to be - and then deal with the lender on sorting the debt arising from any shortfall.

Yeah, that's the problem though - I can't sell without their agreement. I always assumed that I could sell for whatever amount and I'd then owe them the difference - repayment would be worked out then. I never thought that they'd say "no" to a realistic plan for getting them their money back.

xylophone

Has the cause of the damp been found and remedied, even if the re-plastering has not been done?

AdrianC

tiredandconfused wrote: »

It's actually a combo of rising damp due to a broken and ancient (long past guarantee) DPC and water in the chimney causing the flue salt debris to wick water into the walls. The plastering is because water is wicking out of the flue salts and needs special backing to prevent it just soaking into the plaster again. The DPC component is only about 3k - it's the plastering that will likely make up the rest.

I'd be questioning what's apparently caused the DPC to "fail". A far more likely cause of ingress is the usual breaching of the DPC by high ground levels or foliage, perhaps damaged render. They're all very cheap and easy to sort.

Once you've stopped water getting in, you really only need to replace damaged plaster. Materials are cheap. Ever fancied learning to plaster? It's not THAT hard...

Yeah, that's the problem though - I can't sell without their agreement. I always assumed that I could sell for whatever amount and I'd then owe them the difference - repayment would be worked out then. I never thought that they'd say "no" to a realistic plan for getting them their money back.

The problem is that, at the moment, the negative equity is purely theoretical. You think the house is worth less than the outstanding mortgage. But, since you're keeping up with the mortgage happily, it's all a bit irrelevant, really, to them.

As soon as you sell the place, that loss is realised - and you now owe them a good chunk of money, but they have no security. And, if you're not even in the country...

If you can sort the water ingress for £3-5k, then do so now in any way you can - the sooner, the better, because summer's coming to an end... Then let the place dry out, sort any immediate decor problems, and sell it. That few grand will be the best investment you've ever made.

xylophone

I see that the question has been answered.

Dird

If you have no plans to return in the next few years I'd just get a family member to hand over a letter with keys to Halifax.
- You're already getting nothing back from a sale
- Your ex isn't contributing anything towards the debt
- You're out the country so it'd make a remortgage difficult
- You're out the country so forget about your bad credit score
- They'll come after your ex for half the debt, stick it to him
- Don't think they can/would chase you internationally for your half of the debt