Just had a letter from mortgage company. terrified please help.

1stlifeline · 6th August 2007, 11:40

We are in arrears with the mortgage. 2 months, but because of the added charges going on each month they say we now owe £2100. If we cant find it in 7 days they begin court proceedings. Of course we cant find it and when I last spoke to the Abbey she told me that if we made a payment of £400, which we did it would not go to litigation last month and then if we pay £500 by the 13th of this month it would not go to litigation this month. We havnt got to the 13th yet and I have got the letter this morning. It says not to contact them but to wait for another letter. Im terrified of losing my home and dont know what the next step should be as I cant find £2000 in 7 days. I start a new job in 3 weeks and was hoping we could hold them off until then. Can anyone advise please.

1stlifeline · 6th August 2007, 11:43

I should also add that I was hoping I would have £1300 in reclaimed charges from the Halifax but they took it all the way to the court stage and would not make me an offer and I couldnt afford the £120 to file at court

1stlifeline · 6th August 2007, 11:50

I did post this on one of the other threads but think I put it on the wrong one.

We are in arrears with the mortgage. 2 months, but because of the added charges going on each month they say we now owe £2100. If we cant find it in 7 days they begin court proceedings. Of course we cant find it and when I last spoke to the Abbey she told me that if we made a payment of £400, which we did it would not go to litigation last month and then if we pay £500 by the 13th of this month it would not go to litigation this month. We havnt got to the 13th yet and I have got the letter this morning. It says not to contact them but to wait for another letter. Im terrified of losing my home and dont know what the next step should be as I cant find £2000 in 7 days. I start a new job in 3 weeks and was hoping we could hold them off until then. Can anyone advise please.

gizmo111 · 6th August 2007, 11:55

7 days is the 13th
When you made the arrangement to pay were you able to afford it?
Can you realistically afford to pay extra each mnth to clear the arrears?
If it goes to court you will most likely get a suspended possesion order, as long as you can show the judge that you can clear the arrears over a period of time, and you will be able to keep your home.
Have you considered asking BS to accept interst only payments for a short period in order for you to pay off the arrears?
It is very important that you act upon any legal docs you receive now.
We will help as much as we can but it may be in your best interest to see a solicitor if there is one in your area that canoffer you a free consultation for half hour.

sequenci · 6th August 2007, 11:57

hello there.

although it feels like you're about to lose your home, it may not be the case at all. if you *are* taken to court a judge would only grant repossession if it is reasonable for them to do so usually a court will agree a Suspended Possession Order so long as you can meet the usual mortgage payment plus a bit towards the arrears each month. It was found in Cheltenham & Gloucester V Norgan that a reasonable amount of time to clear the arrears would be the remainder of the term although usually a judge would much prefer the arrears to be cleared over a year or two.

in the first instance i would like you to have a read of the following, once you've done that if you have any questions reply on here. This is a really good few pages all about mortgage arrears.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/en...ge_arrears.pdf

gizmo111 · 6th August 2007, 12:07

2 threads merged

1stlifeline · 6th August 2007, 12:18

Thank you for the help and for the link. Sorry for posting on 2 threads, my mistake! When we made the offer to pay we knew we were scrimping to raise it. I havnt worked for the last 3 months because of a broken hand so we have had very little coming in. Once I start the new job we will be able to afford the payments easily. Its just that I wont have an income for another 4 weeks.

Hopeful1 · 7th August 2007, 20:15

Hi 1stlifeline.

I just wanted to offer some moral support. I too have mortgage arrears and have a court date set for the 20th.

The mortgage lenders have agreed to an arrangement and i've ensured i've stuck to it. One lesson i've learnt when i make repayment offers is to actually offer slightly less than i know i can afford - just in case! I said i would pay more whenever possible, which i have done. They are at least pleased that i have paid more than i offered. They are applying for a suspended possession order.

Support from this site, including those that have offered you support, have helped me put things into perspective. The link posted by Sequenci is excellent and a good guide to use.

Best wishes to you and your family. Let us know how you get on

pfens · 7th August 2007, 21:06

Having been in this situation i know it can be very worrying.I suggest that if you do end up with a court date please please attend. When this happened to me there were two other people who were suppsed to attend and they did not turn up (judge was not amused). At the time my arrears were £1500 but it was explained to me that the mortgage companys were striking earlier in order that large amounts of arrears did not build up. In my case I was able to raise one third of the arrears and I had to agree to pay extra on top of the normal mortgage payments. I was also advised that if I did not pay then the court order for re-possession would be instigated. Once the arrears are paid off then the suspended repo order will be cancelled. However do not panic because after any court appearance (in this instance) you should receive official paperwork informing you of the date you have to leave the premises by. DO NOT WORRY this will only be acted upon if you default just once. All of this shouls be explained clearly to you by either your solicitor (if you have one) or as in my case the prosecuting solictor who was very nice and helpful. Sorry this appears to be an essay but I hope I have been some help to you. Do let us know how you get on and keep your chin up

Hopeful1 · 7th August 2007, 21:49

Sorry, 1stlifeline, can i just briefly hijack your thread (on same topic though)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfens

Having been in this situation i know it can be very worrying.I suggest that if you do end up with a court date please please attend. When this happened to me there were two other people who were suppsed to attend and they did not turn up (judge was not amused).

I would prefer my husband not to attend, if we wrote to explain he won't be coming (for starters, he will not be paid for day off as self employed - part of reason in mess) would the judge accept this? Obviously i'd be going!

Once the arrears are paid off then the suspended repo order will be cancelled. However do not panic because after any court appearance (in this instance) you should receive official paperwork informing you of the date you have to leave the premises by. DO NOT WORRY this will only be acted upon if you default just once.

I had wondered about that. Wasn't sure if order would stay with you for term of mortgage.

Thanks Pfen, it's always good to hear from someone who's been in the situation already

pfens · 7th August 2007, 22:10

Sorry didn't make myself clear when I said thee were two other people who were supposed to attend. I meant to say that there were two other cases apart from mine. None of the people relating to those cases turned up. Sorry for any confusion, but I can't stress hard enough how important it is to attend any court hearing (even though you can't be jailed in this case) it can go in your favour as you are seen to be actively trying to sort out the situation.
Hopeful1 so long as one of you turns up at court that will be sufficient (as it was in my case)

gizmo111 · 7th August 2007, 23:11

Quote:

I would prefer my husband not to attend, if we wrote to explain he won't be coming (for starters, he will not be paid for day off as self employed - part of reason in mess) would the judge accept this? Obviously i'd be going!

As long as you are on the mortgage I cannot see it being a problem, and in fact would show your willingness to sort out the problem, by not increasing your debts

The Lantana · 8th August 2007, 18:34

Sorry to hear of your situation 1stlife.

In my experience they will only go to court if you are over 2 months in arrears. It is vital therefor if at all possible to pay an amount that brings the account below the 2 month threshold - if you can. Then ensure (if you can) that the account is maintained below the 2 month level.

Also, you must explain that you are starting a new job almost immediately and this will resolve the problem. If it does go to court bring details of your new job along to show their Lordships, also ensure you have already informed Abbey of this.

If their Lordships can see you will have the means to pay going forward they will likely grant a suspended possession order and the onus is on you to stick with it.

So....

1) Inform Abbey of your new job and start date - in writing.

2) Bring the account below 2 months if you can, this will likely avoid court as Abbey are likely to seek an adjournment.

3) If it does go to court, bring details of your new job to show their Lordships.

4) In my experience it takes about 8 weeks from the lenders initial application to get a date in court. It is usually 4 weeks lead time for subsequent applications, where they've been previously granted an adjournment.

If your new job really will sort out your cash flow problem, you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck.

Regards

Lantana

PriorityOne · 9th August 2007, 20:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stlifeline

We are in arrears with the mortgage. 2 months, but because of the added charges going on each month they say we now owe £2100. If we cant find it in 7 days they begin court proceedings. Of course we cant find it and when I last spoke to the Abbey she told me that if we made a payment of £400, which we did it would not go to litigation last month and then if we pay £500 by the 13th of this month it would not go to litigation this month. We havnt got to the 13th yet and I have got the letter this morning. It says not to contact them but to wait for another letter. Im terrified of losing my home and dont know what the next step should be as I cant find £2000 in 7 days. I start a new job in 3 weeks and was hoping we could hold them off until then. Can anyone advise please.

This may be an obvious question, but have you told them that you are starting a new job in 3 weeks ? Under the circumstances, they may be willing to grant you a "payment holiday". I had one for 3 months some years ago.... and the payments were added to the outstanding mortgage. It got me out of a mess at the time... Worth a shot, seeing as court proceedings have not yet begun.

When they say that it's going to litigation, what they usually mean is that it will be going to that Department.... who may contact you first anyway.

Put everything in writing, as advised earlier.

Hopeful1 · 9th August 2007, 20:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lantana

4) In my experience it takes about 8 weeks from the lenders initial application to get a date in court. It is usually 4 weeks lead time for subsequent applications, where they've been previously granted an adjournment.

This is a good point. When i received the court papers, it said i had until 5 days prior to that date to pay so as to avoid action. When i spoke to my mortgage company, i was told i actually had up until the day before for them to have the cleared funds in the account.

Hope you're ok.

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