Has a secured loan been put on my parents house?

onlyashrew

Hi,

I am just wondering if I could get a bit of advice. My mum is part owner of her late parents house; her brother currently lives in it and I fear has got himself into some financial difficulty. Upon inheriting there was no mortgage / loans on the house. Is there any way to tell if he has got any secured loans against the property? I’m trying desperately to protect everyone by seeing the size of the problem and sensibly working through it, but as the truth doesn’t seem to be forthcoming so I’m now trying to find out by other means. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

MovingForwards

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry

Obtain a copy of the title deeds, costs £3.

onlyashrew

Oh my goodness, thank you so much. Really grateful for your help, I’m really out of my depth and trying desperately to just get to the true starting point of where things lay. 

sourcrates

Any particular reason why you think he may have borrowed against the house ?

onlyashrew

I suppose my thoughts, rightly or wrongly, are to ensure his half of the house doesn’t get repossessed (if that’s possible) which would not only impact mum but also him as he needs somewhere familiar to live (mental health challenges off and on for years). So I’m working worse case scenario. If he has secured loans then he needs to be repaying them - very poor at that. Having evidence of there being loans would make the uncomfortable ‘money’ conversation evidenced, hopefully cutting through untruths and getting us on the road to of recovery. 

I ‘believe’ he can’t get a credit card - but that’s from my mums narrative so who knows if that’s right or not. Possibly wishful thinking, possibly a bit of denial of any issue. I understand that he’s struggling for money so wondering what he’s been living on. 

Mum just gets angry, so I can understand his not disclosing. I’m hoping a bit of knowing where ‘we’ stand can let his burden be lessened by making the best possible decisions with the help of independent financial services. It’s awful to think of him (or anyone) struggling alone with such a situation and possibly making poor decisions through lack of input. 

I’m assuming I’m correct in thinking that secured loans could jeopardise the house? - I’m flying blind here and just been made aware of the situation at midday today. 

MovingForwards

Your uncle couldn't get a secured loan as your mom would have to agree to it, due to both owning the house.

Before letting your head run off with ideas, have you checked the title deed yet?

onlyashrew

Thank you so much for your input. I really didn’t know that - feel a little bit alone with it all and at a bit of a loss. My head is def getting carried away with it all, desperately trying to make everything all right I suppose. I’m just looking at all the forms on the site ensuring I click the correct one ‘title deed’ one. 

MovingForwards

That's the one you need.

onlyashrew

Right. There’s no lending against the house - I’m assuming that’s all lending (secured loans/mortgage)? I’m really not sure how this all works. That’s a start if that is the case. I suppose I now need to try to discover what he owes and to who. I know he needs money as called me in a state, I tried to just get an idea of how much he needed and he hung up on me.

Is there anything anyone would suggest to discover the enormity (or not) of the situation? I’m guessing the ball is very much in his court now. I sent him the telephone number of Step Change and CAB and said I’m willing to listen and to help him mange the situation But I do feel it important that he takes responsibility for his debts...with support of course. 

MinuteNoodles

Yes it's all lending. Any mortgages or secured loans would show a charge.

Unless he volunteers the information you have absolutely no way to know how much he owes and you also have no right to know either.

As the property is in joint ownership your mum's portion of the house is safe. At worst he goes bankrupt and the official receiver orders a sale of the property which leaves your mum with two options:

1) She gets paid her share of the house when it sells

2) She raises the funds to buy out the official receivers interest which if the split is say 50/50 is half the amount the property is valued at plus the official receivers legal fees which are similar to what they normally are when buying a house. Once that is completed then she would become the sole owner of the property.

onlyashrew

That’s handy to know. Bankruptcy is potentially a possibility if he’s not paying his debts and in financial difficulties. I of course, absolutely have no right to know, as I bailed him out before I feel I would like just a little inkling of what I/we will need to pay this next time round. Purely for my own budgeting plans and sanity. His social worker and mental health team have, understandably, not been as present during this covid crisis, it may be that once they are a little more present (assuming he will allow them to re-enter his life) that a little more information may come to light - or even better that they help him manage it without our input... Fingers crossed, I remain ever hopeful.