Bank Account/House Equity

Scared_witless

Hi everyone, Apologies for babbling but I am very nervous and its the first time i have ever used a site like this aswell!
After many months of worry, we've decided that nows the time to take the plunge and BR is definately our only option. I have many worries which I want to clear up with your help but one of them is: My husband & me have a joint Flex account with Nationwide, we dont owe them any money and both our wages get paid in weekly and our DDs come out of that A/c for our mortgage & bills. What will happen to this account and if it gets closed down how will we get to our wages to pay our bills as we are upto date with mortgage and council tax etc etc.

Another big worry is we dont think we have any equity in our house or if we have it is very little. I think that my brother may be able to raise this small amount so that he can buy our beneficial interest but how do we get it valued, who sorts all that out and how hard is it to sort out. We have reduced our mortgage payments to interest only so I doubt if the equity would rise quickly but never the less I would like to sort it out quickly as its a family home.

Richard_S

Hi Scared witless,

If you don't owe the Nationwide anything you shouldn't have any problems. The Flex account is an account that is available to bankrupts although their policy over recent months hasn't been consistent.

The O.R will notify the bank of your bankruptcy and it's the bank's decisions as to whether to allow you to carry on using it. If it's frozen the O.R will instruct them to allow you access to the funds to pay your bills and other essential expenditure until such time as you can make other provisions.

As for assessing the B.I the O.R is usually happy for you to have it valued by a local estate agent. If they think you've grossly undervalued it then they may have their own valuation carried out; not at your expense I might add.

When anybody posts for the first time I always include the follwoing given that most of us on here are not trained advisors:

Your first port of call should be to contact one of the Debt Charities; see links below. Their services are free; they have no vested interest to serve; their advisors are professionally trained and the advice they give will be objective and in your best interests only. CCCS operate a system of telephone appointments that are designed to be flexible and don’t require you to attend an office based interview. At the CAB you will need to make an appointment with a specialist Financial Advisor; other advisors may not have the specialist knowledge you’ll need.

http://www.cccs.co.uk/

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index.htm

If you’re advised that bankruptcy is the most suitable solution to your financial problems then we can offer the best support and anecdotal advice that you’ll find anywhere on the Web.

For more specific advice and support, in an environment that is managed by people with first hand experience of bankruptcy, and moderated to ensure that no deliberately inflammatory or abusive posts are made then please visit:

http://bankruptcysupportersclub.co.uk/default.aspx

Just remember, as desperate as you may feel at the moment, we have all experienced what you are going through at the moment and with the right support and advice things will improve. It’s not an easy route to take but it is a route that will put you back in control of your life rather than just reacting to events.

This is a pro forma response but it's an essential starting point.

Any other questions please post again,

Kind regards

Richard

Scared_witless

Thanks for that Richard, obviously at a time like this knowing and understanding really helps a lot.

Richard_S

Scared_witless wrote: »

Thanks for that Richard, obviously at a time like this knowing and understanding really helps a lot.

Hi Scared,

I do appreciate that's the case. Once you've been through the whole process you tend to look back and wonder why the hell you worried so much, but I know only too well how daunting, if not terrifying it can be when you initially confront your problems.

Richard

Scared_witless

Another question I have is what will happen to our cars? We both need a car for work, one is paid for and worth approx 2500 the other is on finance, and we probably owe more than the cars worth as we only bought it in february when my husband got a new job. we are not behind with the payments for it. Will we just have to give it back and if so how would my husband be able to work he needs to travel around whilst at work (so do I).