Very large debt help

enthusiasticsaver

I think you should investigate her taking over the mortgage then and put the house in her name if for no other reason than you must insure it or you are contravening the mortgage agreement. 

enthusiasticsaver

A full and final settlement is usually offered after the debt has been around for a while and only accepted if there is little likelihood of them getting more.  They may not like £100 per month and obviously it would take a long time to repay it but if that is all you can afford there is little they can do other than take you to court and they would only do that if there was a realistic expectation of them getting their money.  This is where the amount of equity comes in.  It makes no difference that your partner has been making payments from her income.  Legally you are responsible for the debt in the eyes of the lender but I am assuming you have not told them you are not working now? Is the unemployment likely to be temporary? 

enthusiasticsaver

How much is the house worth and what is the current mortgage outstanding?  

Hariba

I’m not unemployed, I’m raising a young family and they know this. This was the case when I took the policy out. The house is worth around 250 and the mortgage is 110

enthusiasticsaver

Hariba said:

I’m not unemployed, I’m raising a young family and they know this. This was the case when I took the policy out. The house is worth around 250 and the mortgage is 110

When you took the mortgage out you must have been working and receiving a salary? Obviously raising a family is hard work but it is not paid work in the eyes of lenders so you are technically unemployed.  I think we are getting confused here between what the insurance company knew and what the mortgage lenders knew.  You have £140k of equity so yes they may well consider it worth putting a charging order on. Have they already gone to court as I find it surprising the costs are so high unless they have already taken legal action? 

enthusiasticsaver

Assuming your partner earns minimum £25k or thereabouts then I suggest you speak to your mortgage lender and explain that you are not working and your partner is living in the house and paying the mortgage so you need to put her on the mortgage and deeds.  Technically as I say you are in breach of your mortgage by not insuring the property and putting the policy in your partners name will presumably make it more affordable given you have this outstanding debt.  You need to speak to a solicitor about transferring the property into joint names or ideally hers but this is a grey area and the courts may take a dim view of that in view of the fact you have this debt over your head so you need  legal advice on the best way of sorting that out.  I would say the critical issue though is the lack of insurance. 

Hariba

I see, I meant that I’m not unemployed as in I’m not looking for work and not claiming benefits. I was working when the mortgage was taken out but this was pre children. No there has been no court action or even agreement to pay as yet. All that’s happened is the financial ombudsman have reviewed the dispute and not decided in my favour. This has taken a year due to coronavirus. So I’m only now at the point of trying to work out how I can pay this. The costs are due to alternative accommodation when we were out of the home, loss adjuster fees, building surveyor fees and fees to a disaster restoration company. 

Billy_B_North

sourcrates said:

Billy_B_North said:

Hariba said:

sourcrates said:

First thing you need to do is get your name off the house deeds, once you've done that, you have no assets, or income, and no way to pay the debt, the creditor cannot do anything about it, its dead in the water basically.

Sure they may take you to court, once you say you have no income, case will be dropped.

If you don`t take these actions, then a CCJ and charging order are likely, and you will find yourself in front of a judge trying to persuade them why they should not grant an order for sale to the creditor.

You can avoid all this by signing the house over to your partner.

Is it legal to do this? I asked the debt advise service about bankruptcy and was told not to sign anything over. To be fair, it should be her house as she has paid the mortgage. 

No, and you could find yourself on the wrong end of a criminal prosecution if you do it

If the house was signed over to another party, and the creditor chose to make the OP bankrupt, the worst that could happen would be a bankruptcy restriction order (BRO) may be imposed on the OP, this is not a criminal offence, nor would they be subject to criminal charges.

That’s not correct. The transfer of the house could be unwound, and a confiscation for fraud could follow.

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/bankruptcy/hiding-property-assets.html

fatbelly

Posting links to US law isn't going to help the OP, unfortunately

sourcrates

Billy_B_North said:

sourcrates said:

Billy_B_North said:

Hariba said:

sourcrates said:

First thing you need to do is get your name off the house deeds, once you've done that, you have no assets, or income, and no way to pay the debt, the creditor cannot do anything about it, its dead in the water basically.

Sure they may take you to court, once you say you have no income, case will be dropped.

If you don`t take these actions, then a CCJ and charging order are likely, and you will find yourself in front of a judge trying to persuade them why they should not grant an order for sale to the creditor.

You can avoid all this by signing the house over to your partner.

Is it legal to do this? I asked the debt advise service about bankruptcy and was told not to sign anything over. To be fair, it should be her house as she has paid the mortgage. 

No, and you could find yourself on the wrong end of a criminal prosecution if you do it

If the house was signed over to another party, and the creditor chose to make the OP bankrupt, the worst that could happen would be a bankruptcy restriction order (BRO) may be imposed on the OP, this is not a criminal offence, nor would they be subject to criminal charges.

That’s not correct. The transfer of the house could be unwound, and a confiscation for fraud could follow.

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/bankruptcy/hiding-property-assets.html

That applies to the US only.