Paying off dad's mortgage before he loses his home?

badmemory

Please don't take offence at what I am about to say.  Do you think he may be suffering from early onset dementia?  Probably not but it is something that needs thinking about as he does seem to have some issues.  You will know more when you have seen the property.  But him living in a flat things may be causing issues with his neighbours.

charley1

badmemory said:

Please don't take offence at what I am about to say.  Do you think he may be suffering from early onset dementia?  Probably not but it is something that needs thinking about as he does seem to have some issues.  You will know more when you have seen the property.  But him living in a flat things may be causing issues with his neighbours.

No offence taken at all, it's not something that had crossed my mind to be honest, he has never been good with money and keeping on top of things, but has definitely got worse, I do believe he is depressed and probably has been for some time, and has withdrawn from me and my brother over recent years, today was the first time I have been able to have a real conversation with him in what feels like a very long time, him finally admitting he needs help to get sorted is a massive step forward though. It's definitely something I will keep in mind though so thank you. 

RAS

charley1 said:

RAS said:

charley1 said:

RAS said:

Think you need to start with facts, not emotions. 

What is the current value, value after lease extension and value with essential repairs?

What is the mortgage, how much other debt is secured on the property (that would probably have to be cleared before any property ownership change), any debts to the freeholder or management company, cost of lease extension, and cost of essential repairs?

Start by getting the deeds from the Land Registry (£3) to check for secured debt, and spend £7 on the lease?

What's dad's situation regarding state pension? Any other pension(s)?

I have already purchased the deeds from land registry, no secured debt showing other than the mortgage, his credit report shows the ccjs - how much etc and they have been added to the mortgage amount (4 separate ccjs over 4 years) so I can only presume these ccj debts were owed to the freeholder /property management company?  As the debt is being added to the mortgage? Please correct me if thats not necessarily the case it's just my assumption. 

Err.....no.

It is really important that you understand that the CCJs remain unsecured, and that neither you or dad contact the creditors.

If they don't enforce the CCJ within 6 years, it becomes unenforceable. So you can forget about them.

However, if these CCJs have been issued by the freeholder or property management company, you need more specialist advice. There should be a court reference? It's likely to be Northampton Court if it's consumer credit. Ask them for details of the case.

Yes there are case numbers against the ccjs and they come under civil national business centre, after a quick Google is Northampton court. The amounts the ccjs show seem to be added to his mortgage amount and have for the last 4 years which is why I presumed they were freehold /management company. I am going to see if I can find out what they are for certain. Thanks again. 

OK. In which case, I'd suggest you do get the lease from the Land Registry, £7 in writing, as you need to know what exactly the responsibilities of the LL, and leasee are. You can't be repairing the flat unless you know what's allowed and what is the leasor's responsibility etc.

You will probably need to sit with dad on the phone, preferably his, get him to speak to Northants and give permission for you to continue asking questions. And if possible speak to the freeholder and management company, if there is one. If only to intercept any further action.

As I understand it, you won't to do anything about charges on the property, or transfers of equity or lease extension without clearing any debts to the freeholder or MC. So that has higher priority than the mortgage.

NameUnavailable

Another option might be to sell the flat at auction as it is (with some work to get the electrics working and a general tidy up) and let someone else deal with the lease extension and modernisation to sell it on.

This is if the balance after paying off the mortgage etc. will be enought to buy somewhere else, or with help and appropriate security against it.

Maybe a new place would help with his other issues, a new start as it were?

charley1

RAS said:

charley1 said:

RAS said:

charley1 said:

RAS said:

Think you need to start with facts, not emotions. 

What is the current value, value after lease extension and value with essential repairs?

What is the mortgage, how much other debt is secured on the property (that would probably have to be cleared before any property ownership change), any debts to the freeholder or management company, cost of lease extension, and cost of essential repairs?

Start by getting the deeds from the Land Registry (£3) to check for secured debt, and spend £7 on the lease?

What's dad's situation regarding state pension? Any other pension(s)?

I have already purchased the deeds from land registry, no secured debt showing other than the mortgage, his credit report shows the ccjs - how much etc and they have been added to the mortgage amount (4 separate ccjs over 4 years) so I can only presume these ccj debts were owed to the freeholder /property management company?  As the debt is being added to the mortgage? Please correct me if thats not necessarily the case it's just my assumption. 

Err.....no.

It is really important that you understand that the CCJs remain unsecured, and that neither you or dad contact the creditors.

If they don't enforce the CCJ within 6 years, it becomes unenforceable. So you can forget about them.

However, if these CCJs have been issued by the freeholder or property management company, you need more specialist advice. There should be a court reference? It's likely to be Northampton Court if it's consumer credit. Ask them for details of the case.

Yes there are case numbers against the ccjs and they come under civil national business centre, after a quick Google is Northampton court. The amounts the ccjs show seem to be added to his mortgage amount and have for the last 4 years which is why I presumed they were freehold /management company. I am going to see if I can find out what they are for certain. Thanks again. 

OK. In which case, I'd suggest you do get the lease from the Land Registry, £7 in writing, as you need to know what exactly the responsibilities of the LL, and leasee are. You can't be repairing the flat unless you know what's allowed and what is the leasor's responsibility etc.

You will probably need to sit with dad on the phone, preferably his, get him to speak to Northants and give permission for you to continue asking questions. And if possible speak to the freeholder and management company, if there is one. If only to intercept any further action.

As I understand it, you won't to do anything about charges on the property, or transfers of equity or lease extension without clearing any debts to the freeholder or MC. So that has higher priority than the mortgage.

Great advice thank you, I will request the lease from land registry this week so I know where he stands, a call to Northampton this week is a great place to start so thank you, you've been so helpful today. 

charley1

NameUnavailable said:

Another option might be to sell the flat at auction as it is (with some work to get the electrics working and a general tidy up) and let someone else deal with the lease extension and modernisation to sell it on.

This is if the balance after paying off the mortgage etc. will be enought to buy somewhere else, or with help and appropriate security against it.

Maybe a new place would help with his other issues, a new start as it were?

He definitely wouldn't have anywhere near enough money left after selling to buy anything in our area (Hertfordshire) but selling at auction could definitely be the way forward If I can't realistically pay off his mortgage and ccjs, hopefully the local council would be able to help in this case as he is definitely vulnerable and at 65 his working years are definitely limited. Thank you for your reply. 

Bonniepurple

OP I feel for you.  My Dad wasn’t looking after his house at all towards the end (think maggots on plates, food waste bags placed on the table to take out - in biodegradable bags, chips left for weeks in the oven because he couldn’t figure out how to work it).  Thankfully he had money, but he didn’t check subscriptions so he was paying for insurance on obsolete computer equipment and even insurance on my late mother’s hearing aid 6 years after she died.

You’ve been given some good advice already, but I will add to make sure you check the fuse box.  I have managed to save my mother in law a huge sum of money by discovering that it wasn’t her tumble dryer at fault but a tripped fuse. I would also suggest that you consider what is likely to be the situation in a couple of years if you sort the place out now.  Will it go back to how it is now?

We were lucky.  My brother and I were faced with my Dad being forced to move, losing his driving licence and becoming a shadow of his former self.  He decided to make it easy for us and died.  It was a huge relief as he would have hated his loss of independence and the ability to go where he wanted, when he wanted.  Whether he should have been driving is another matter!

charley1

Bonniepurple said:

OP I feel for you.  My Dad wasn’t looking after his house at all towards the end (think maggots on plates, food waste bags placed on the table to take out - in biodegradable bags, chips left for weeks in the oven because he couldn’t figure out how to work it).  Thankfully he had money, but he didn’t check subscriptions so he was paying for insurance on obsolete computer equipment and even insurance on my late mother’s hearing aid 6 years after she died.

You’ve been given some good advice already, but I will add to make sure you check the fuse box.  I have managed to save my mother in law a huge sum of money by discovering that it wasn’t her tumble dryer at fault but a tripped fuse. I would also suggest that you consider what is likely to be the situation in a couple of years if you sort the place out now.  Will it go back to how it is now?

We were lucky.  My brother and I were faced with my Dad being forced to move, losing his driving licence and becoming a shadow of his former self.  He decided to make it easy for us and died.  It was a huge relief as he would have hated his loss of independence and the ability to go where he wanted, when he wanted.  Whether he should have been driving is another matter!

I fear his flat will be similar to what you describe, he has been paying the same provider for his internet for years (it also hasn't worked for years 😂) but he continues to pay it. It's stuff like this I have been trying to help him with but until now has refused. It's so difficult to see him like this, when we were kids he was such a fun dad - still useless with money but everyone loved him, he has a heart of gold in there somewhere and would do anything for anyone but has neglected himself massively over the years. It's why I want to help him so much now, just want his remaining years to be as easy and stress free as possible and maybe just maybe a part of my dad from years ago will come back. 

kimwp

As a side note, if you haven't already, it sounds like a good point to sort out power of attorney.

badmemory

It sounds like he has been in a vicious circle of something going wrong & not being able to sort it followed by something else & not being able to face it.