started tumbling

[vespasian]

Well we are on the slippery slope, and i'm kind of relieved TBH.

Had a house extention 5 years ago, had saved like mad for the previous 5 years and finally went ahead in June 2003.

June 2003 i was paid off from my job which i earned 35k per annum from, my OH was self employed and worked part time hours so things were tight, very tight.

April 2004 i managed to get myself back on the career ladder but had used all our savings and on bills/living costs etc so had to take out a remortgage to pay for the extention.

June 2007, had managed to bimble along, no holidays, kids and myself with our argos DIY clippers, OH loreal grey cover once a month...so no excess's at all.
We decided to sell as we wanted to move nearer the OH's parents who live on a sunny island in the channel.....i managed to get a job which paid 5k less but my wifes buisness was doing a lot better as she had went full time.
March 2008, i've been away 3 months and the O/H's buisness has taken a severe down turn so i'm supplementing her income.
June 2008 my O/H's mum passes away, two days later we decided enough was enough we had been struggling for 4 years and are finally beat as my O/H is now down to a meagre income plus the job loss 5 years ago had finally taken it's toll.

So we didn't pay Junes mortgage or our secured loan, we are not paying July's, i've secured us a rental property near the father in law and we leave at the begining of August.

I know they will come after us for the shortfall after the auction sale, but i have balanced that off against the fact my family will be together my wife will be near her dad and our expenditure drops on a mortgage v's rental by £450....we will send the keys back and just move out, i will not be giving them any forwarding details

[tiglet]

Oh honey - you need to do what's best for you, but haven't you considered putting the house on the market of your own free will and telling the mortgage/loan people what is going on?

[karenjen]

I feel for you, trust me i and many others on this site have been through or is going through similar difficulties. You must do what is right for you and your family but with the knowledge that 'they' will catch up with you. I believe that if you were comfortable with your decision you would not have posted on this site. There is lots of support and advice here. Whatever path you choose I wish you well but don't make a knee jerk decision just think about the options available. Best wishes

[Bona]

You could try renting yours to get some income to the mortgage while you sell I now how you feel but a litle thought now might make a great deal of difference latter

[vespasian]

Was put on last year with a local estate agent...1 viewing in 8 months...put with another 3 months ago and again 1 viewing even though we have dropped it by £25k...also put on with a local letting agent a month ago and nothing from them.....

We have a mortgage of 121k and a secured loan of 28K house up for 175K, if i sold to one of the home buying companies and i could clear my mortgage, could i still pay the secured loan seperate, or would their charge on the property have to be settled when house sold.

I do feel comfortable with walking away, i've never been the worrying type, because i think they can't have what i haven't got.....thanks for the replies, i know i'm not the only one and any advice will be greatly appreciated

[tiglet]

Well, I can't give you any advice, really, as I haven't been in the situation, but you've certainly got my support.

[elizabeth1]

Originally Posted by vespasian

Was put on last year with a local estate agent...1 viewing in 8 months...put with another 3 months ago and again 1 viewing even though we have dropped it by £25k...also put on with a local letting agent a month ago and nothing from them.....

We have a mortgage of 121k and a secured loan of 28K house up for 175K, if i sold to one of the home buying companies and i could clear my mortgage, could i still pay the secured loan seperate, or would their charge on the property have to be settled when house sold.

I do feel comfortable with walking away, i've never been the worrying type, because i think they can't have what i haven't got.....thanks for the replies, i know i'm not the only one and any advice will be greatly appreciated

I really feel for your situation - sometimes things do seem impossible - I wish you well and hope you can work things out.

You don't say whether you are on a repayment or interest only type mortgage - would swapping to an interest only mortgage help you to lessen outgoings? Sometime lenders will swap mortgages onto repayment only to help out.

This is just a thought - BUT ...
Have you approached you local Council or Housing associations? (social housing organisations within your area?) I'm thinking that many Councils are actually short of "family homes" to place people in etc.. and they do pay rents for private rented property etc.. (with this credit crunch it is going to get worse too)

The Council might be looking for homes for famillies who have been made homeless etc.. - Councils have "Homelessness Officers" - who work with people/famillies who are on council housing lists etc. (or maybe try social services dept perhaps) they are often screaming out for good homes for people to live in.

What I am thinking is making a few enquiries to these organisations might pay dividends and if you are successful you can then approach your lender to swap mortgage over onto a buy to let type of mortgage etc.. and repayments will be made regularly. If the property is then rented out to cover mortgage - if rent likely to be achieved is lower - then maybe a interest only type mortgage would be fine until the housing market improves. Property will remain yours to sell later on when market improves. (I'm thinking maybe you could negotiate with lender to cover the secured loan into this mortgage maybe)

Often Councils and Social Housing Associations are actively looking for good priced homes within areas for housing people within - so maybe you could enquire as to whether they'd be interested in renting or buying your property. I am thinking that where I live the council are buying local homes for housing their tenants in etc.. so I am sure other Local Authorities are doing similar. (you can easily try see what rents are achieved in your area for similar properties by looking on Rightmove.co.uk and use your postcode to view what is going on around where you live - this way you'll be able to establish whether renting house out

Seems odd the letting agency haven't found tenants. I'd be tempted to run a few adverts in local free newspapers, supermarket advert boards, shop windows etc.. the kind of places where people look etc..

Not sure whether any of this is food for thought and will help you.