Still on the mortgage and credit reference agency !!

ceborame

Could anybody offer any advice or experience on the following, I'd be most grateful;

Made bankrupt 10 years ago by a creditor, at the same time the marriage fell apart, we had a joint interest only mortgage, the house was not repossessed because of a bit of negative equity.

We divorced 6 years ago and I have not lived in the house for 10 years. I paid child maintenance, the ex paid the small mortgage.

Fast forward to now and I have kept my affairs in order and I want to buy my own house. I have discovered that there are 4k of mortgage arrears, and the mortgage company have trashed my credit rating with experian. I received my credit report the other day and everything is in order apart from the mortgage.

I have sought legal advice and because the ex would almost certainly not be able to get another mortgage in order to remove me ( I want no financial gain, after all she has paid the mortgage for 10 years) the only way will be spending upwards of 5k to get a financial order that would finally sort this mess out.

My gripe is that as the mortgage company cannot pursue me for any arrears or shortfall if repossessed what is the point of them blackening my name with experian, they have nothing to gain from doing this, they are preventing me from moving my life forward and getting back on my feet again. My ex is happy to sit in the house forever she has nothing to lose, but I feel I am completely stuck and the bankruptcy has not abled me to make a fresh start in life, my past financial affairs are still holding me back.

Any thoughts on this are most welcome

Thanks

foxy-stoat

The bankruptcy has allowed you to clear all the other debts - the mortgage lender will hold you both jointly liable for the debt so of course they are not going to remove your name as they will lose another way to get the mortgage payments.

Surely your ex has the house to lose? You need to get your name off the mortgage and deeds to move on, how you do that has probably already been explained by your solicitor.

National_Debtline

Hi ceborame


Secured debts are not included in bankruptcy, which means unfortunately you are liable for the mortgage arrears and they can be recorded on your credit file. However should the house ever be sold or repossessed in the future any debt will become unsecured and can be included in your bankruptcy.


I can understand your frustration that the debt is still affecting you, and you are in a difficult position. Do you know if the house is still in negative equity? Although a lender is less likely to take repossession action when there is negative equity, there could still come a point where they decide it's best to recover what they can from the sale of the property. Is this something you have discussed with them?


Susie
@natdebtline