Re-mortgage hell URGENT HELP REQUIRED

MWOOLY10

I really feel for you.. You have been as someone has already said shafted.. It just seems to be happening more and more the more they try to compete with each other

There is one idea nobody has mentioned but as you say you have 3 kids i doubt that it would be an ideal solution for you.. But if you had brothers or sisters you could stay with or your parents on a short term basis until you got back on your feet,You could think about selling the property and clearing most of the debts secured on it.. least that would dramatically reduce your outgoings(as you say you cant pull out of your business to get a paying job) Then in say 6 mths you may have things on a more even keal and sort of start again
Probably not the best suggestion in the world but possibly better than your house being reposessed and them selling it for less than its worth at auction and you having no home but still having to pay whats left of the mortgage.. and probably more so save you losing you business as well by going bankcrupt

I wish you well in how ever you turn things round

fc123

Kemp1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. Cant come away from the business as its too far down the line, I've got a five year lease on the office and I would let down too many people, so need to find a way of making some cash on top.
Try to offload this lease.

The business is breaking even, just no wages for me and no further cut backs I can make. Ive applied for tax credits for the first time as well, which might help (no news on that yet though). For it to survive, you will have make cutbacks from somewhere.


The letter I had yesterday was dated March 5th, it said I had seven days to pay off the arrears and to phone them immediately. I phoned them this morning and have been told that nobody can talk to me until Wednesday - (after the 7 days have passed! ) What's that all about!? They wouldnt speak to me. I phoned the adjudicator at the Ombudsman to say what had happened and he said he couldnt get involved but could only speak to the banks complaints handler to say I'd been in touch. There is no address on the letter to say where to write, just the telephone number that I phoned. It's as though they are trying to get it to look like I'm ignoring their 7 day warning. It's all so depressing.A post on DFW board about mortgage arrears...you don't have to type all this out again...put a link to this thread and you will get advice from those that have had theses letters, call[/quote]

I was unsure whether to post or not as I remember being in situations where I felt I 'couldn't' cut back on business exps, would let people down and waited for extra profits to come in to balance the budget.
The last time (3 yrs back) I had to bite the bullet (otherwise we could have gone under) and, looking back, it wasn't so bad...in fact I wish I'd done all the changes much sooner.

If this venture is going to survive you are going to have to make some tough decisions. You have some turnover coming in. You are going to have manage the current ammount of turnover (ignore projected) and try and squeeze an income from it to pay your mortgage.
If you cannot, you may have to close it down before it comes good as you will have the choice removed from you.

I don't know the size of the business but...

1; leased office...continue with that overhead and you can't pay mortgage. Do you have personal guarantees on the lease? I know leases are as bad as mortgages in terms of liability (if not worse) but, get shot of the office, sleep in lounge and convert your bedroom to temp office......you will draw that ammount from the business for you.

2; any staff? Non negotiable..they have to be laid off (and I do not type this out lightly...worse thing I ever had to do was to lay off long serving, good staff).....but I had to cover my wage 1st.
I now also do the job that I once employed 5 people to do.

3; letting people down...well, your priority at the mo is keeping your home. Good people will understand. Those that don't...well.......

4; I am no expert on mortgages etc but when you speak to them on Weds. keep calm, explain that you have income issues but they are temporary.

A post on the DFW board to formulate an SOA would help in deciding what you can offer them off the arrears...assuming you can convert some of the turnover currently going out on overheads , into income...then Tax credits etc...I have no idea how long they take to kick in....could be a while....again DFW board or benefits board may help.

Beyond that, as I know no further detail, I can't post further, but could it be salvaged?...only you know the figures for the current state of the business.

Anyway...keep posting if you want to chew anything over. Also, sometimes these things written down come over more 'blunt' than if spoken, so don't stress if my words come over like that....it's not intended.



PS;
My BIL invested his lifesavings (£100k) in an add on to his business 2 years ago. It was a great concept and would have worked in time...but, after 1 year it was still losing money...then it started to drain the funds of the core business (my business also experienced this 3 yrs back).....he had to make the decision of propping it up further by using debt or closing it down.

It was an agonising decision as he had put thousands of hours into it plus the savings.

He closed it down but will probably try it again at some point when the timing is better.

Dick_here

I'm sorry but I can't read this, it makes my eyes go blurry. Please learn to write in paragraphs.

fc123

!!!!!!_here wrote: »

I'm sorry but I can't read this, it makes my eyes go blurry. Please learn to write in paragraphs.

So what? OP has bigger concerns than paragraphing. And you can think it, but posting it on a thread that contains so much distress...well:rolleyes:

fc123

Kemp...If you want to send a PM..feel free.
I can only give opinion but I understand about running a start-up / small business + am only a bit older than you with 2 kids....hope you are ok.
Clare

chivers1977

OP just to let you know that if you have any fight left in you, you can ask THE Ombudsman to review your case as you have only been at the adjudicator stage so far

Kemp1

Thanks for the continued advice, it REALLY is appreciated. I sat down at the weekend to pen an appeal which took over four hours and several pages even though I was only summarising (well it has been getting on for 9 months!). You'll be pleased to hear I even wrote in paragraphs!!!

You were absolutely right, my case was only at adjudicator stage and I have now been advised that the file is being prepared in order to be passed over to an Ombudsman. I'm not sure how long this takes but I'm obviously grateful that it's not been completely written off. I'm keeping everything crossed.

Conrad

Kemp, I think you have good grounds and should win your case (based upon the info you have given here).

Here is my summary of your case against N West;

1) Nat West have a duty of care to ensure the mortgage you buy is suitable for your needs and aims (THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL POINT)

2) By bringing about the new mortgage you have been left in a worse postion than had the deal not been bought about

3) The deal is not suitable given your budget and needs

4) They have a duty to ensure ALL processes meet with TREATING CUSTOMERS FAIRLY doctrine. It looks like the process did not give you all the info you required, in particular you didnt expect the mortgage to fully complete when it did

Conrad

PS - I would avoid long letters if I were you, they are a real hinderance.

Short precise bullet points are usually the best ploy.

homer_j_3

I agree with conrad and that is the advice that the fsa give on their literature.

You need to keep it very brief and remove all emotion from it. If you are struggling, maybe you could get someone else to look at the letter and help word it for you.

Do you have a copy of the key facts document (otherwise known as an Initial Disclosure document) which tells you about the services that they offer? If so, in section 3 does it tell you whether they offer an advice and recommendation service or that they will help you narrow down your choices?

I would also look to pull the Key Features Illustration document - This again has the key facts sign on it but will have about 12 sections to it and is specifically about the product that you are on. As it was a remortgage, I fail to see how solicitors could not have been instructed and that if they were free as part of the deal, then I am sure that the same duty of care still exists. If not, I still fail to see how you can sign a mortgage offer before it has even been issued.

Ultimately, you need to get your letter to a 1 or 2 page clearly pointed letter. I am not sure if there are people out there that will help you write these letters - I presume CAB and the likes may help but you need to level the playing field.

My only concern is that if they did not provide advice, then you are responsible for the choices that you made and albeit, you should still have a cause for complaint, you cannot complain about the advice as none has officially been given. It is for this reason, you should probably get someone to put a fresh pair of eyes on it who can relate to the FSA rules and put the focus on the right bits of your grievances.