Advice on voluntary repossession

Smiddy20

If i rented somewere from august and stop paying my mortgage and put up for sale when The house is empty how long would i have before the bank takes over and repossses the property.

Naomim

I think it's a few months generally but at the moment I believe banks aren't allowed to foreclose on property.  

But, how will you rent? You'll never get past the credit checks with your volume of debt.   

Naomim 

Smiddy20

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻                       

ohdearhowdidthathappen

I'm sorry if my brother's story was depressing, I just wanted you to realise that there's no security in renting and there's a lot to be said for keeping your home.
Why don't you contact one of the charities that deal with DMPs... get started with dealing with your debt and go from there. 
Have you checked to see if you're entitled to anymore benefits?
Could you tackle one room in your house at a time?  You couldn't do electrics/plumbing yourself, but a lot of other stuff can be self taught.  Whether for yourself or for future sale, would be worthwhile chipping away at it.  Do you know anyone in the trades, do you have skills you could exchange for work on the house?
Could you or your OH get more work to top up your income?  Evenings and weekends etc
I think you've got yourself into a negative mindset and I'm sure there's an answer that could stop you losing your home

enthusiasticsaver

ohshithowdidthathappen said:

My brother did exactly what you're talking about.... he handed the keys back and went bankrupt.  He had lined up a private rental beforehand and thought he was sorted.  6 months later, the landlord gave him notice and he lost his rental.  Because he had been made bankrupt noone would rent to him, he was days away from being homeless.  The council wouldn't help him and he and his wife were at risk of having their kids taken into care because they couldn't provide a safe environment for them.  The only thing that saved him was that I 'loaned' him 12 months rent in advance (£12000!!) as that was the only way a landlord would rent to them.  I say 'loaned' as 10 years later and I've not seen a penny back.  This irritates me hugely, but I resigned myself to it at the time and did it for my nieces rather than my brother. They then saved what they would have paid in rent and paid the next year in advance themselves, he had to do that for the full 6 years of his bankruptcy.
Even now, they're still not back on the property ladder.  If he'd held onto that original house, it would now be worth double and he'd have been debt free with a nice amount of equity.  It was such a HUGE mistake and he regrets it massively.

Goodness that is a cautionary tale but exactly what why I advise against voluntary repossession. You are no longer in control of where you live. Annoying you never got the money back from your DB. 

zwilcoxen

While it may not be ideal and your neighbors may be a pain most household work can be fixed yourself. Filler round window cracks and extra loft insulation can go a long way to warm a house up. Most jobs round a house can be done with a little time and youtube.  While you can't do some electrical stuff jobs like chasing cable runs in walls and running the right cable ect if done yourself can lower the cost of labour for repairs.  

As for the here and now. Tackle the store cards and loans.
You will feel better with less debt.
Try to see if you can save on the groceries by switching to lidl or aldi and using own brand.

Also try to speak with your parents and see if you can have a "payment holiday" from them while you get things sorted.
It is going to be worth looking into a second job. Would mean less time at home dealing with the neighbours and more cash.

Finally as everyone else here has said unless your combined income can increase the lifestyle is going to have to change to fix this. I get that seeing everyone else on nice holidays in new houses is annoying but in a few years time when you are debt free and the house prices have gone up again you will be in a much better place. 

The other option is (and I do not advocate this) can you do the house up to "look good" like the last guy did for you and then look to sell it on?. at least this way you may be able to get some of your money back, Just be sure to use this either for another deposit or to pay back some of the debts.

fatbelly

Smiddy20 said:

If i rented somewere from august and stop paying my mortgage and put up for sale when The house is empty how long would i have before the bank takes over and repossess the property.

It's a very long process - ending with court hearing, possession order (default is a 28-day order) and then a bailiff warrant. I would say 8-12 months in normal times. We're not in normal times.

During that time you would be perfectly entitled to continue living there so paying rent elsewhere seems a bit of a waste of money.

You would still be liable for council tax until the house was sold and  that may take a further 6-12 months after the repossession in normal times), though you can apply for an  exemption under Class L from the date of repossession

A 'rule of thumb is that a repossessed property sells at 15% below the price that an owner-occupier would get.'

enthusiasticsaver

Smiddy20 said:

If i rented somewere from august and stop paying my mortgage and put up for sale when The house is empty how long would i have before the bank takes over and repossses the property.

A long time in normal circumstances and these are not normal and in the meantime the debt would rise. Also as I and others have said the bank will take any price for it and you will be responsible for the shortfall. I get that you don't like living there but there is no easy way out from your situation.  Sell it at a discount if you are determined to leave but at least that does not trash your credit record and you are in charge. 
Maybe make a list of essential jobs which will make it as appealing as possible and do work yourself where you can or get quotes from trades people from others.  If you are determined to leave it asap don't spend a fortune.  Maybe take a mortgage payment holiday if your bank is offering that or do a second job, sell stuff or ask your parents to let you off the family loan for a few months. Then get a few valuations and put it up for sale.  In the meantime save what you can , start a DMP for the other debt which should not stop you renting. 

Smiddy20

Hi ive literally no money but as fat belly sed its waste to rent somewere else
just buy then ill have  loads of missed payments and defaults on my credit file so will make renting harder i assume.
Were the house we have seen for rent is
its just round corner from parents so just makes life so much easier also.

[Deleted User]

Do you have the money to pay the bankruptcy fee ?
How will you pay for the deposit and 1st rent payment ?
You have no money, why does living somewhere different change that ?
How will you feel if the neighbours next your rented house are obnoxious to you ?
Are your parents/in-laws going to help with the new living costs ?

There are sooooo many expenses that will be incurred during the next 2 or 3 months and then you'll be thinking about christmas....... outgoings never stop, if you're struggling now, as a homeowner, you'll still be struggling as a tenant.

Snap out of this, running away, mindset and read the posts of some of the people here that don't have the luxury of being a homeowner; yes, you're on a big downer at the moment but you have the ability, and potential, to turn this bad period around and this time next year you would be in a better position.

If you don't want your home any more let one of the people you read about it in the other threads, here, have it, they would be more than willing to scrimp and save to have your cast-offs.

Edit:
A lot of us, members, have been in your shoes (or something very similar) and we just put our head down, threw ourself into work, saved our hard earned money, and eventually dragged ourself out of the sh*t.
It's hard, bl@@dy hard, but you have to do it if you're going to survive in this world.