Help on Mortgage debt for Child

concernedparent13

Hi there,

One of my kids is in the middle of a particularly messy separation that has been going on for three years now and delaying tactics have meant that they are only going to court now to get agreement on access and custody over their children.

However, in the meantime, there is debt accruing on the mortgage and i will just detail the circumstance now which will probably give better understanding on why advice is required.

• the relationship had run its course three years ago.
  
• My daughter was effectively forced out of the house (which is in joint names) with the kids.
  
• Her ex made intimidatory threats about ever going back to the house so most of her stuff remains there. He changed the locks nearly two years ago.
• He has lived in the house a handful of times and instead stays with his parents
• He pays her no money for the upkeep of the kids
• She now has her own place and supports the kids as best she can in the new flat.
• She was paying her half of the mortgage until she got the new place and now cannot afford it
• She works with NHS on a temp contract as and when she can but only up to a minimal amount as any additional above this comes straight of her benefits and she could have to pay for childcare meaning she would be worse off.
• He ex has paid some of the payments on his own, but the mortgage is still considerably behind.
• The Bank that the mortgage is with are saying all the right things but have indicated that she is jointly responsible to pay her half - which she cannot afford to do or 'the family' would suffer.
• It has taken three years to get to the point of court for an access agreement, and it is likely that the delaying tactics will be used such that the forcing of the sale of the house will be years away.

Hopefully that covers the story.

So, looking for advice on what she can possibly do to a) force the sale b) try and safeguard any credit history she can salvage. She would have had the house sold years ago but her ex partner refuses so she is effectively been put into a bad credit situation by the actions of someone else.

Any thoughts?

K_S

@concernedparent13 I'm sorry to hear about the trouble your child has had.

With respect to the mortgage, you may have misunderstood what the lender told you. Normally, on mortgages that were taken out as joint applicants, your daughter (and her ex) would be responsible for the whole of the mortgage payment, not just her/his "half".

Unfortunately, that being the case, the arrears on the account will also show the same way on both your daughter's and her ex's credit files. Until the house is sold off, the arrears paid off and the mortgage account closed, that is likely to continue to be the case. 

I don't know anything about the legalities of forcing a sale or forcing a repossession, so can't add anything useful on that front. 

concernedparent13

K_S said:

@concernedparent13 I'm sorry to hear about the trouble your child has had.

With respect to the mortgage, you may have misunderstood what the lender told you. Normally, on mortgages that were taken out as joint applicants, your daughter (and her ex) would be responsible for the whole of the mortgage payment, not just her/his "half".

Unfortunately, that being the case, the arrears on the account will also show the same way on both your daughter's and her ex's credit files. Until the house is sold off, the arrears paid off and the mortgage account closed, that is likely to continue to be the case. 

I don't know anything about the legalities of forcing a sale or forcing a repossession, so can't add anything useful on that front. 

Nah, i am aware of the responsibility towards the whole payment. The issue is that she does not have access, cannot force the sale without years of stress but will have an impact to her credit history. This is a situation where her credit history is partially beyond her control and seems unfair that she would have to pay towards the mortgage when she does not have any access to the house - safely.

I can imagine that this is not the only such instance in the country, so was hoping for any practical (or even regulatory advice from someone within the industry) advice on how to deal with this. To me the bank are exacerbating this by allowing the mortgage to carry on as the original mortgage criteria are not being met in terms of earnings / situation....i guess they are still getting their money though, eh?

Many thanks for your response...cross the fingers to see if there are any more nuggets of wisdom that could help.

impoverishedtraveller

Only nugget of information that could be of any use in this situation is to engage the services of a solicitor.

They can apply for a court order to force the sale. Sooner that process starts, sooner it ends.

No need to focus on credit history - nothing is going to change the outcome in regards to that.

concernedparent13

impoverishedtraveller said:

Only nugget of information that could be of any use in this situation is to engage the services of a solicitor.

They can apply for a court order to force the sale. Sooner that process starts, sooner it ends.

No need to focus on credit history - nothing is going to change the outcome in regards to that.

Already started two years ago.....the access agreement has been pushed back and back (initially 'due to covid' - i use that term cautiously) and that is obviously the priority. getting people into court is not as easy as one would seem.

This whole situation is a cautionary tale of the issues that can happen in a separation when dealing with people with sub optimal morals and that is being kind.

again, thanks for your responses.

sourcrates

Its likely the decision will be taken out of their hands, as the mortgage provider will not accept missed payments forever, eventually the lender will default the account, and most likely start re-possession proceedings.

That will entail the house being sold at auction, and if any shortfall debt remains, they will both be jointly and severely liable for the full amount of that shortfall.

The good news, if there is any, is that those kind of debts are usually several thousand pounds, and lenders are very aware that someone whose house has recently been subject to re-possession, is unlikely to have that kind of money to hand, so collection activity is normally delayed, sometimes for several years, and when recommenced, they are not chased that actively.

concernedparent13

sourcrates said:

Its likely the decision will be taken out of their hands, as the mortgage provider will not accept missed payments forever, eventually the lender will default the account, and most likely start re-possession proceedings.

That will entail the house being sold at auction, and if any shortfall debt remains, they will both be jointly and severely liable for the full amount of that shortfall.

The good news, if there is any, is that those kind of debts are usually several thousand pounds, and lenders are very aware that someone whose house has recently been subject to re-possession, is unlikely to have that kind of money to hand, so collection activity is normally delayed, sometimes for several years, and when recommenced, they are not chased that actively.

there's probably about £50k capital in it which she really needs half of :-(

MEM62

concernedparent13 said:

sourcrates said:

Its likely the decision will be taken out of their hands, as the mortgage provider will not accept missed payments forever, eventually the lender will default the account, and most likely start re-possession proceedings.

That will entail the house being sold at auction, and if any shortfall debt remains, they will both be jointly and severely liable for the full amount of that shortfall.

The good news, if there is any, is that those kind of debts are usually several thousand pounds, and lenders are very aware that someone whose house has recently been subject to re-possession, is unlikely to have that kind of money to hand, so collection activity is normally delayed, sometimes for several years, and when recommenced, they are not chased that actively.

there's probably about £50k capital in it which she really needs half of :-(

If that is all the equity there is unlikely to be anything left after an auction sale and repossession costs.    

concernedparent13

MEM62 said:

concernedparent13 said:

sourcrates said:

Its likely the decision will be taken out of their hands, as the mortgage provider will not accept missed payments forever, eventually the lender will default the account, and most likely start re-possession proceedings.

That will entail the house being sold at auction, and if any shortfall debt remains, they will both be jointly and severely liable for the full amount of that shortfall.

The good news, if there is any, is that those kind of debts are usually several thousand pounds, and lenders are very aware that someone whose house has recently been subject to re-possession, is unlikely to have that kind of money to hand, so collection activity is normally delayed, sometimes for several years, and when recommenced, they are not chased that actively.

there's probably about £50k capital in it which she really needs half of :-(

If that is all the equity there is unlikely to be anything left after an auction sale and repossession costs.    

which is why it is in both of their interests to get this property sold of their own volition rather than let it get that far.

Unfortunately this ties back to the original problem.....intransigence / obstinance has set in from her ex partner and she is suffering from it. She has spoken to her Lawyer again this morning so things will be moving towards Court with some pace.

I find it unusual in this age of empathy / understanding on the subject of 'Financial Control by a Partner' that there is no protection regarding anyones Credit History as a result of this type of behaviour. Going to Court is expensive / stressful / time consuming and can be beyond someone's reach for various reasons. I do wonder where this sits relative to a banks ethical policies....maybe i should ask them directly...they certainly know the backdrop to this story but are doing nothing.

thanks for your response.

MEM62

concernedparent13 said:

MEM62 said:

concernedparent13 said:

sourcrates said:

Its likely the decision will be taken out of their hands, as the mortgage provider will not accept missed payments forever, eventually the lender will default the account, and most likely start re-possession proceedings.

That will entail the house being sold at auction, and if any shortfall debt remains, they will both be jointly and severely liable for the full amount of that shortfall.

The good news, if there is any, is that those kind of debts are usually several thousand pounds, and lenders are very aware that someone whose house has recently been subject to re-possession, is unlikely to have that kind of money to hand, so collection activity is normally delayed, sometimes for several years, and when recommenced, they are not chased that actively.

there's probably about £50k capital in it which she really needs half of :-(

If that is all the equity there is unlikely to be anything left after an auction sale and repossession costs.    

I do wonder where this sits relative to a banks ethical policies....maybe i should ask them directly...they certainly know the backdrop to this story but are doing nothing.

It has little to do with ethics.  The banks wiggle room will be limited as they are bound by the mortgage agreement as are your daughter and her ex.  It would be difficult (and unfair) for the bank to justify favoring one side or the other based on what one side is telling them.  It is not a judgement call they should be making.  In these cases perhaps the legal / court systems should have something better in place.  At least making judgements is actually within their remit.  

penners324

Get her to contact the bank and tell the mortgage company to start repossession proceedings immediately