Repossession: A Practical Guide

Norman1982

Hi thanks for questions

I think he thought he could get the house back.

As I said above I only found out about the repossession 2 weeks ago. I think he has been in continuous contact with lender since eviction trying to work matters out and raise money by chasing invoices.

Lender said if he paid £9k in fees and 3 months upfront mortgage (the arrears of £3k were paid off) they’d consider the matter. He had to submit bank statements and income and expenditure form.

I sat in on call to lender on Wednesday and they said decision stood (to repossess house). He had started a new company in June and there was no guarantee he could pay mortgage going forward. Sound reason.

I have no complaint with the lender at all.

On the call with the lender when we found out the decision stood I asked about removing belongings and next steps but was told to phone the Property Section.

My brother called the lender today and I’m waiting to hear outcome from him.

Norman1982

Also - no letters from lender as brother has had no fixed address since eviction so nowhere for them to send correspondence to. They won’t email - security reasons. All been by phone to date.

Have now given parents address as c/o address.

He is self employed and travels around UK carrying out different contracts so he stays away mainly during the week so hasn’t been homeless. He’s lucky he can stay with parents when home.

Norman1980

Hi

A brief update (in case it helps anyone)

Spoke to the property repossession section of the mortgage company and they informed me:

A person is usually given 14 days to remove their furniture and belongings from date of eviction. It was 58 days here because there had been discussion of a possible handover.

The furniture has however been stacked by the agent for removal.

We could book a day for £200 to collect belongings.

Other costs charged before sells - interest (obviously on mortgage), gardening at £60 a month and repairs

I asked why an estate agent had been chosen who is located anywhere near the property. They said that the only minimum they had to fulfil was to advertise the house on rightmove. Apparently they only get 1% commission and therefore a lot of estate agents aren’t interested for paper work and maintenance.

The mortgage company told me that a number of estate agents are approached and asked for valuations. An independent RICS surveyor also gives a valuation (this is the valuation they’ve gone for). Worryingly the other two were £40k-£60k lower. I asked why the disparity. He said some estate agents start low to get interest going and a bidding war and eventually they end up at current price but mortgage company doesn’t have time for this.

He said they don’t auction and the bad days of the 80s have gone where houses were sold low to friends...

He said after 4 weeks the house will be revalued and number of viewings and offers examined. If little interest they drop by £5k. I asked if dropped by £5k every 4 weeks and he said no - they not drop below £10-£15k

I said what is not to stop estate agent making it difficult to view so price does drop - he said they carry out checks to ensure doesn’t happen.

When I checked rightmove on
Monday they’d used photos from when house was up for sale a couple of years ago by a different estate agent. House looked spotless and really well. Photos of each room from different angles.

Looked at it tonight and those photos have been removed. There are now only a few of photos showing an empty house. Kitchen, living room, bathroom. It doesn’t look a patch on other photos. Maybe previous estate agent saw photos and claimed copyright - I don’t know but seems weird to remove photos which showed a property in a really good light to ones which look crap.

Foxcore

Norman1982 wrote: »

My brother’s house was repossessed 6 weeks ago. Lender confirmed yesterday that only offer they’d accept to allow house to be reclaimed would be full redemption of mortgage and this is not an option.

Family didn’t know about repossession until last week.

I’m trying at this stage to salvage something from all this. My brother defaulted so yes I agree he should’ve had property repossessed it just seems that now it has happened there is very little information given about what happens now.

Is it a case of interest and other charges will escalate and an estate agent is likely to market house relatively low and accept offer to a regular buyer for a kick back? So basically any equity in property likely to be eliminated?

From the little bit of research I’ve carried out it seems generally vulnerable people end up in this position and there is no protection to stop them getting taken advantage of by estate agents and lenders. Everything appears not transparent.

So what now.

1. I need (with brother) to confirm with Property section of Lender when he can pick up belongings.

2. Does my brother have a right to know when house will be marketed for sale?

3. How long is house usually marketed for? Will he be advised of the various viewings of the house and offers? Does he have a right to this information?

4. After how long does a lender decide to go to auction?

5. Will my brother be advised about repairs and maintenance costs to house?

6. Should he keep paying interest on mortgage which will continue to accrue? Or will this ultimately be a waste of time and he’ll end up with very little at end?

7. Should the family instruct a surveyor to value the property now independently so if estate agent’s value is very low it can be challenged?

8. Should we arrange viewings to ensure the estate agent is accepting viewings and not making things difficult?

Thanks in advance

We had the exact same situation last Monday. We receicved a frantic call from our Daughter in Law in the morning, saying the lender had turned up with a couple of henchmen.
They told her she had 2 hours to either settle the mortage entirely or she would be turfed out.

How anyone is expected to find £100k+ in 2 hours I've no idea. This was the first she knew about it, apparently. And they'd only accept cash or debit/credit card payments.

So she took what she could in the short time available, constrained by what she could physically carry in her hands.

During this time, they were busy changing the locks and applying the relevant notices to all property, for all the neighbours to see.

We did take the opportunity to ask a few questions, similar to those you now ask, and these were the responses.

1. We were told we had 14 days to arrange collection of any outstanding goods she owned. Anything left after 14 days it said may be disposed of ... and she may be charged for such disposal. Full details were provided on the notices attached to the property and clearly viewable to all from the outside.

2. No, the house now belongs to the lender.

3. Normally the property is given to a local estate agent who then sells it quickly to a family member at a knock down price, and quickly flipped for a quick profit. No info will be given as to viewings etc as it is no longer her house; it belongs to the lender.

4. It only goes to auction if the condition or location of the property is so awlful, that the estate agent cannot offload it quickly to one of their family members. In our case, we were told it should be no issue with the estate agent finding a buyer, but the state agent can usually advise as soon as they view it. We know from the neighbours that the estate agent has already been round.

5. No, as the house now belongs to the lender. There shouldn't be any repairs and maintenance costs, as the property will be 'sold as seen', but if they are, the cost will be added to the mortgage owed.

6. All mortage paymenst need to continue to be paid until the mortage account is settled in full. If not, then the amount together with the extortionate missed payment fees will all be added to the mortagea ccount, and accrue interest until they are paid.

7. No. The house now belongs to the lender. No access is permitted as per the notices attached, and any attempt to do so will be be a crime and the police informed accordingly.
Also, it will be sold at whatever price the estate agent's family member is prepared to pay. This is called a distress sale and so will be sold cheap for the rapidness expected by the lender. The quicker it is sold, the less interest will accrue on the amount owed on the mortgage.
So too late now. We were told we should have done this, and possibly sold the property ourselves, before they arrived to repossess. But how she to know when they just turned up without notice and threw her out with 2 hours notice?

8. Again, no that cannot be done. The property is now owned by the lender and any attempt to access it will result in the police being called.
The estate agent will not make things difficult. Either he will sell it quickly at a cut-price to a family member, or advise it should go to auction, which the lender will agree to so that it is sold without delay.

BoGoF

Foxcore wrote: »

This was the first she knew about it, apparently. And they'd only accept cash or debit/credit card payments.

That is utter nonsence for a start. It takes many months of letters and serving of court papers for it to get to reposession stage.

Foxcore

Norman1982 wrote: »

...

Family didn’t know about repossession until last week.

...

Apparently, so I am informed, that is utter nonsence for a start. It takes many months of letters and serving of court papers for it to get to reposession stage.

I am grateful to MSE user BoGoF for this clarification

p00hsticks

Foxcore wrote: »

Apparently, so I am informed, that is utter nonsence for a start.

The OP was in the position where the brother had had his house repossessed -and was in discussion with the mortgage company about it - but didn't tell his family living elsewhere (including the OP) until after the repossession happened.

This sounds different from your case where your DIL is presumably the owner and actually living in the property and so will have been given plenty of warning of a forthcoming repossession (unless her husband has been hiding things from her ?)

Foxcore

p00hsticks wrote: »

The OP was in the position where the brother had had his house repossessed -and was in discussion with the mortgage company about it - but didn't tell his family living elsewhere (including the OP) until after the repossession happened.

This sounds different from your case where your DIL is presumably the owner and actually living in the property and so will have been given plenty of warning of a forthcoming repossession (unless her husband has been hiding things from her ?)

It's not really that different.
I can only post what I know to be correct.

Yes, my DiL was living in the property throughout, until it was repossessed.
I do not live with her, as inferred by the fact I said she phoned me when the guys arrived to turf her out.
She told me that this was the first she knew about it. I did include the word "apparently" as I too was sceptical, but it's not for me to judge.

However, she is a lying cow according to my son, hence why he no longer lives with her, and doesn't even speak with her any more except through solicitors.
Fortunately for my son, he already had legally had his name removed from the property, and is financially disassociated from her.

As I understand the situation here, you are correct that the OP was not living with his brother at the property. But as I understood it, the OP's brother was living there until it was repossessed 6 weeks ago, and the OP found out about this 4 weeks later. i.e 2 weeks ago (from date of start of thread)
At least my DiL phoned me as soon as the bailiffs arrived. But that is the only difference as I see it.

KittyHawk

Christ on a bike. The point being made is that it is entirely plausible that the OP mightn't know about their brother's financial dire straits: my siblings (whom I am fond, but not particularly close to) live several counties away and, while I assume they're comfortably off, I don't know for certain - learning of a repossession, for example, would be the first intimation. That's very seldom the case if you actually *live* in the repossessed property, even if your partner is particularly skilled at subterfuge. That *can't* have been the case for your DiL, surely?

DCFC79

maggiecat1 wrote: »

Hope it all works out ok for him

For who Maggiecat ?