http://www.channel4.com/programmes/how-to-get-a-council-house

Unfortunately my wife and I have decided quite amicably to head our separate ways. Everything is very civil at the moment but one can't always count on that. We're not divorced yet and I'd rather not force that issue through for emotional reasons. My question: We have completely separate finances and if I buy a property now is there anyway I can protect myself in the unlikely event our relationship turns sour and she came after me for half of the property I would like to buy? (Not sure this is really a CAG question now I've typed it out - but you guys are so good at similar things your opinions would be greatly appreciated...)

Hi All Firstly , a little background history about my predicament.... I am heavily in debt, I have the following monthly outgoings: NRAM morgage on my 2 bed house £389 NRAM mortgage on mine and my estranged wifes house(with our 3 children) £675 Firstplus Secured Loan £383 Individual Voluntary Arrangement via Debt Free Direct £247 Food, fuel, gas , electric, living expenses approximately £300 TOTAL £1994 INCOME (depending on how much overtime I can get) £2000-£2150 As you can see, I am living on a knife edge financially. Now, during the middle of last year,I had a few large bills (boiler packed up), and the overtime dried up too, and as a result, I missed three/four mortgage payments on my house (£389p.m). The arrears stood at £1132 at the end of September 2013, but I was able start paying £450 a month which I did. So the repayments looked like this.. September 2013 £450 October 2013 £450 November 2013 £450 December 2013 £450 January 2013 £450 Febuary 2013 £500 Therefore, anyone with half a brain could see that the arrears were REDUCING ! But guess what? Despite constant phone calls from NRAM ( which don't create more money to pay them!), they still took me to court at the end of Febuary with the view to repossess. I only had £713 arrears left at the beggining of March and a court date for 2nd April 2014.... So I had to sell stuff and skip paying other debts in order to pay NRAM. So I paid £477 to NRAM on the 17th March 2014 and on the 27th March, I paid £624, clearing the arrears and making April's payment also..... And they STILL took me to court! By this time I was bricking it. So on the 2nd April , I went to court to face them alone. (I cannot afford a solicitor) But luckily one of the court duty scheme solicitors was available. So we went in and NRAM's solicitor just said " we seek an adjournment" and the Judge just asked me if things were going to improve financially.... I just said I hope so , and that I am trying to work as much overtime as possible to increase my income blah blah blah.... The judge just said that if I have arrears again in the next 12 months then I will end up in court again. So that was it, I just wanted to get out of there.... After reading some of the posts, I think the judge was more in favour of NRAM to be honest. On Monday , I am going to send NRAM a nice £10 present and a Subject Access Request so I can claim my penalty charges back..... I hope CAGgers in the same boat as I am realise it's not as bad as they think.... Now my question is: Can someone send me the template for the SAR and some advice on what do? Also do those that know, do you think I was treated fairly by the court and NRAM? Opinions please? Kind Regards Dick

I need some advice on a potential new living situation. My best friends boyfriend is due to be deployed to Afghanistan in the next couple of weeks and we've discussed her moving in with me for the period he's away (6-9 months). We've lived together before, and get on great, its more about me supporting her through a rough patch this year. I'm not asking her to pay anything towards the house, not the mortgage, bills or anything. Literally just her food, and I will monitor the bills, so if they go up, i might ask for a small amount in a few months time. My question is, do i have to notify anyone? My initial reaction would be the council for tax purposes, but she's not actually going to be classed as living there. All her post will still be directed to her parents, and her home address will still be listed as such. She already stays with me quite a lot, so just kind of making it a 6-9 month long sleepover almost. I want to do everything by the book, so if I have to notify anyone, i will. Any advice? Thanks.

Hi, just after a bit of advice. My house is up a lane about 50m from the road and until recently there has been no land to park outside the house. My neighbour has bought some land of the house in front and converted into a parking area solely to be used by them even though they have room for two cars beside their house. They have put up a sign saying parking for no1 only, (there is only two houses) what I want to know is what could they do if I parked on the land apart from ask me to move the car? And what could they do if I refused as it doesn't seem a very nice neighbourly thing to do. I haven't move in yet so iam hoping they will allow me to park but I think they had issues with the previous owners and that's why they are being a bit obstructive. Thanks for any advice any one can give.

This is a slightly odd one, so please bear with me! I live opposite a pair of semi-detatched houses. One of the houses (number 5) has just been sold by a local estate agent. The house it's attached to (number 7) is my friend's house. This morning, along with the post, a glossy marketing leaflet from the estate agent who sold number 5 has come through the door. It's got pictures of a number of local properties, with a slogan 'We've Sold All These Houses!'. My friend from number 7 has just been over brandishing a copy of the leaflet, very upset that right there on the front of the leaflet is a picture of number 5 and number 7 (obviously, they're semi-detached!) but she's annoyed that her house is being used on the leaflet even though it's not been sold (or even for sale) by the estate agent, and she's not given them permission to use a picture of her house. I've tried telling her it's fine and it's just not possible to show a picture of one half of a semi-detatched house without it looking silly, but she won't listen - she does not want her house used for marketing purposes. I suppose I can kind of see her point - it wouldn't bother me, personally, but it bothers her. She's not a CAG user, hence I'm posting here on her behalf - Does anyone know if the estate agent has done anything wrong by using a photo of someone's house on marketing material without the owner's permission? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I would love some advice. I moved into a new shared ownership house a year ago. The house is, somewhat ironically, called an ‘Eco-House’. The water pump from the rain water harvesting system is defective. This faulty pump, which is meant to take the rainwater through a pipe system to the upstairs lavatory and washing machine, is permanently on 24/7; that is, constantly operating, whether there is a demand from these appliances or not. These pumps range in power from 800w to over 1000w. Since I moved in and until this week (upon discovering the fault), my electric consumption has been around 20 kWh per day. This has now, since discovering the fault and, for safety reasons, having to switch the faulty pump unit off at the mains, dropped to approximately 8 kWh per day (roughly my consumption in my previous home). Also, of course, before the discovery of the defective pump, it was operating 24/7 for a year, and has had, therefore, the equivalent usage of a pump of 25 years old or so. Using an energy monitor I’m video recording how much this pump uses and I intend to use this as evidence if there is any dispute from the housing association or building contractor. Any other tips/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ianbrodski

Hi guys, I'm just trying to get a bit of advice for a friend of mine who's mother has recently passed away. He has lived with his mother all his life and has been her carer for the past few years. The house they live in was left in trust by his grandmother, his mother and one brother were named as trustees. The house was left for his mother to live in as long as she wanted, after this the will states that if the house is to be sold the monies are to be divided equally between all four of her children, or her children's children if their parents are deceased also. As it stands there is one surviving sibling, but both siblings that were named as trustees are now deceased. Two of the deceased siblings both had two children, my friend is the only son of the other sibling. The questions that I have are: 1, If the will was to be dealt with by the trustees are the siblings of the trustees now the ones responsible as the last remaining son was not named in the will as a trustee, only mentioned as to he should get a share of the estate. This son thinks that he should be the one to deal with it, but is this legally the case? 2, My friend is still living in the house it has been his family home for around 20 years, and he is entitled to a quarter share of the house as stated in the will. His remaining uncle is keen to force him out and sell the house. My friend wants to continue living in the house but where does he stand legally? Thanks

Hi, not sure whether this is in the right area.... My friend invested a third into purchasing a property with another couple. For a while they rented out the house and shared the income. The house was refurbished and put on the market for sale. The house sold with completion last month. She was hoping for her "share" this month, however the couple have stated that her money will only be available in April after his accounts has been finalized, income tax for the year. I assume he his self employed. From what she tells me, it seems she will be penalized for his tax deductions ? - which i find strange. He also stated that her name isn't on the deeds,being part of the reason he says?, however she has a signed declaration of any share. thanks, any advice grateful

Hi Any advice please. We recently looked to remortgage our house to get a better rate. We paid £300 for a survey. We had two options depending on how high the house was valued. The average price of houses sold on our street in the last 6 months is £170 k. If our house was valued at £165k we would get the best mortgage rate, if it came in as low as £155k we would get a slightly worse rate but still a better rate than our current one. Based on current sales on our street and the fact that, among other things, we have the largest plot on the whole street we felt this was a safe option and we paid the £300 survey fee. The surveyor valued the house at £143!!!!!! This meant we were left with no mortgage and were £300 worse off. We went back with a list of houses to prove what they are going for but they have sill not budged. The majority of comments the surveyor has given to back up his valuation are mainly personal opinion. eg preferable decor in other properties, approach to the drive is on an angle. He even turned our huge garden in to a negative by saying next doors was small and neat!! He also said that we needed to get a wooden floor specialist in because there was a small nick in the floor in the kitchen.....our kitchen floor is LAMINATE!! Can anyone offer any help or suggestions?? I have now gone to the financial ombudsman and they have taken the complaint on. The mortgage company now have 8 weeks to reply. I have since had my house valued by 2 estate agents and it has been valued at £165k and £160k. I know surveyors generally value less than an estate agent but £143 is a joke. Please help.... Thanks Vicki:-(

Hi, Stressing to bits here so hope someone can help me. I moved out of the family home 5th August 2012 with my daughter. Myt ex had made all mortgage payments and insisted on keeping the family home. It wasn't a good relationship, so I let him have the house and just left with a bag of clothes from me and my daughter. I contacted the council and was declared homeless, I moved in with my parents while we went through thge paperwork of finding me and my daughter a home. I lived with my parents for 6 months and eventually moved into a private rental. I was unemployed at the time, receiving full house benefit. I had to seek legal advice about my ex's access to my daughter, which is now resolved, housing options were discussed and I said , "he wants the house just let him have it". My solicitor wrote many times asking him to remove my name from the mortgage. Which he never did. It's took me a long time to get back on my feet, with the emotional support of my parents and friends, I am back on my feet and running a part time dog walking business. He found a new partner very quickly and moved in "offically" with her September 2013. Today I discovered that he has stopped paying the mortgage payments and they have possessed the house, (he was in Amsterdam celebrating his girlfriends birthday while they repossessed the house yesterday). I know nothing of any of this until today when I called on a friend, whom is a old neighbour, and there is an notice in the window giving us 7 days to remove belongings. My credit score is shot anyway as he left me in debts for other things in my name also. I am now self employed but earnings are low, I receive full housing benefit still. I understand I am still liable for the mortgage (it's a terrible Northen Rock together mortgage and in negative equity). But i have no spare cash at all to my name after I pay bills and feed and clothe our daughter. He is an assistant manager in a discount supermarket and on a very good wage, he has three holidays booked this year and his new partner has a very well paid job also. I cannot believe he has just stopped paying the mortgage on a house he insisted on keeping when I left. I need to know legally where I stand in all this. Plus what will happen next. Please help!

I would appreciate any advice that can be given, I have been in debt management plans for over a decade first with the cccs for six years where my debts steadily increased because they kept being sold on even though I paid consistenly then I had a break for a few years where I tried to manage them myself and finally with an IVA. I am now selling my house to finally pay off the IVA which I was unable to maintain mainly because I was not able in the last few years to get consistent employment and could not afford the payments and of course I have fallen behind on the mortgage. If I had maintained the IVA I would have paid another 25K as it is I have to pay 100% of my share of the equity which is around 42K. My one crumb of comfort is that I had emailed Payplan to ask that the estate agents fees and solicitors fees come out of my share rather than the wifes which they seemed to have agreed to. My solicitor had also agreed to this but has apparently now spoken with Payplan who say no such agreement is in place, even though I had previously emailed all the correspondence from Payplan to the solicitor. What the solicitor now wants is an email stating the agreement from Payplan rather than just the previous agreements to my sent email. The one good thing the solicitor has done is to get the restriction on the sale lifted and we have a buyer and all being well should complete in the next month. But it does seem a little unfair that although the sale is going through because of my debts my wife should be penalised I was wondering what the law is on this and whether the whole of the fees should not automatically come from my share. Also if I was to now not agree and let the IVA fail would all the money now automatically be credited to my account and the creditors have to make new agreements with me as the restriction has been lifted and they cannot presumably stop the sale. Any thoughts on this much appreciated

I got the terrible news on Tuesday that my brothers house has been repossesed. It is a long story but i will try to keep it short. He had moved out of london due to work and rented out the property. He then had problems with his tenant and fell into arrears which he came to and agreement with the Lender (GE Money) to pay back. Months later he had some money issues and defaulted again. During this period he had already put the property on the market and an apparent cash buyer was interested. His hope was that he would get to sell the property and pay all the arrears and use the balance to buy another in the area he now lives. unfortunately due to bad advice from the lawyer, who kept saying an exchange was imminent and that he should not worry he did not respond to the letter from the Lender and the house was repossesed on Tuesday. Is there any possible way he can get his house back? The warrant for the repossession was not sent to him at his current address. Can he use this as a reason for the court to set aside the order? Someone Please please help... Thanks

Hi everyone, My bad luck does not stop! I run a LTD company and we done a refurbishment project a good 6 months ago, the customer didnt pay in full and we were owed about £40k , one of the creditors (electricians) started proceedings against us...we were late in sending the response pack but explained with enough reason to their solicitor. We came to an agreement to pay 5 consecutive payments, 2 were paid and then we couldnt afford to pay the other 3 and explained the situation again. Out of the blue, we got a judgement for claim which goes onto say about the CCJ etc, that was received only 3 days ago. Today, we had a knock on the door (i work from home) and the guy shows his sherriff badge and explained what he is doing here, to chase the above debt....I explained its a LTD company and that the only asset the company has is a 10 year old PC, nothing else in the house is in the company name (i work from home as i mentioned but live with the parents!), he then asked to see proof of ownership for the car on the drive which i gave, he then goes onto say "Because i am in a good mood today, i wont call the team with a truck to empty your parents house" so he has given me 24 hours to come up with £5.5k which is IMPOSSIBLE. I think it's a bit much what he has done threatening to take everything in the house! What can they actually do? As i said its a LTD company that has no money in the account! Your urgent response is much appreciated.

hi im a bright house customer and I've been with them over a year never missed a payment but now im 3 weeks behind as had money stopped but now sorted is there and thing I can do as I can only afford weekly payments and not arrears

I recently left a house for various reasons, had trouble with landlady, solicitors involved etc etc. It has now come to my attention that one of the other tenants has sold some of my belongings left in the house as I was unable to move everything all in one go. Am I correct in thinking the landlady still has a duty of care for my belongings, and this is theft? I have had no contact with the landlady or other tenants aside from through the landladys solicitors. I have also discovered that the landlady has been discussing the matters between us with another tenant, such as her taking me to court (it was threatened but has since been resolved), me owing £2000 (not the case, and has also been resolved), my reason for leaving (bullying by tenant that has sold my belongings), and me breaking the tenancy agreement (not true and has been resolved). Does anyone have any advice on this situation??!!

Some house insurance policys have a degree of legal assistance. Does anyone know if this would run to supporting a PCN appeal?

Hi, We have a routine house inspection planned for this coming week which has happened every six months for the last 5 years. During the last inspection the estate agent said it is now part of their procedure to take pictures of every room, which they then forward onto the landlord to show them what their property is currently like to give an impression of the type of people living in it. We agreed because we felt very on the spot but rang up later to say we weren't happy & they said this is the case with many of their tenants and they will have to rethink. Now, they have hired an external agency called Pinstripe to carry out inspections. On their website it says they too take pictures of the house. We have rang them to say you can take as many pictures as you like of the walls/doors/curtains everything that belongs to the landlord & the landlord is welcome round in person anytime, but we don't want our personal possessions in the pictures. They said we (as tenants) have no choice that is what they do and we have no right to stop them. If we had young children would we have more rights? Or can random people come and take pictures of their bedrooms? We will have all of our electrical goods and personal items on display to a number of people who have access to our house! Please can someone provide any info on this subject and of any rights we do/don't have. Thank you

Hi, A close friend of mine has recently been burgled. Though distraught and stressful, the stolen items were minimal in comparison to what could have been taken. The assessor came round a few days after the event, took some details etc and said that the electrical claim will be passed to the 3rd Party Company. Part of the claim, there were 2 electrical items which were gifted to my friend, for which the full price has been offer (by way of vouchers). There are no receipts for these items. The 3rd item a camera, my friend has a receipt for £140. It is barely 15 months old. They have offered less than half the cost, £66 in vouchers or a different model and spec camera which is rubbish (we know as I have the cheaper spec camera). My friend purchased this model of camera after much deliberation, and as the policy is 'new for old' thinks that the camera should be replaced with a model with the same spec or at minimum vouchers to the cost he paid. This camera is now discontinued, and the new specification for the camera is £165 so obviously the insurance do not wish to replace the camera. The assessor viewed the receipt when he came round and said there shouldn't be a problem with replacing the camera. Can anyone advise if my friend can complain about this offer. He has stated he isn't happy but the 3rd party company are not budging. Also he has an old phone, unable to locate the box at the moment, which was used as a spare. It is still worth around £50. The 3rd party will not accept this as part of the claim as he doesn't have the IME numbers etc. The silly sod kept those details on the laptop which also got stolen! With no back up. So no IME number = no claim. The assessor again said there would be no problem with this item on his visit! They are also refusing to replace the laptop until he agrees with all of the offers made on the other items. Being without a laptop is proving an issue and wants this all sorted as quickly as possible. Is there anyone out there who knows his rights on having part of the claim completed whilst trying to 'sort out' the rest of the claim? We have read up on vouchers being offered instead of cash, on the FOS website. So we know they can offer vouchers, all very well, but they are only offering PCWorld/Currys/Argos - all the places you don't buy electrical's from! Luckily they have said they will replace the laptop, he just needs one asap. Thanks Me_too

Hi folks Can anyone advise. We have our house up for sale and we have just been told that the estate agent has accepted an offer on our property without informing us of it,until now. Is this legal? The offer is lower than the asking price ! He told us that it's a distressed sale so is lower!!! He also told us that the banks can force us to accept the offer? Below are my wife's comments! I rang and spoke with the agent – a piece of *****. I am delusional!!! I don’t realise the severity of the situation??? We are going to be repossessed, this is a distressed sale. The court case will only be adjourned for a few weeks, not suspended for 3 months or anywhere near that!!! (according to him). Any advice would be welcome? We have a court date of in Dec as our main mortgage is going for repossession. Doc

Hi We have recently (12 days ago) moved into a new (not brand new, 15 years old) house. There are numerous problems, including it just being really dirty but there are three problems I would really appreciate the forums thoughts upon. There are three radiators that just do not work. We have tried bleeding them but are resorting to get a plumber around as that has not worked. We have today found that the drain for one of the bathrooms is blocked and is overflowing on the patio. Lastly, there is a damp roof - we think from a bath overflow/shower leak rather than "damp" as such. I have just looked at the form the seller completed where they have said that they are not aware of any defects in the central heating system, that there are no drainage defects and that there is no damp. Appreciating Caveat Emptor, is there any comeback given they have issued signed statements on each of those matters? Cheers

Hi. New to the forum. I am currently trying to help my father through some serious debt problems and having been to the Citizens advice a couple of times bankruptcy is looking likely (although need to save enough money first). I have also discovered though that the mortgage company have been to court and been issued a possession order for his house. The date given on the court form says he should have been out on the 26th October. He has been ringing them weekly and paying something but still owes £500. He has sold most of his furniture and other belongings to try pay the arrears off but it's not enough. I was wondering if anyone knew since the court has already issued the possession order, whether the house is going to be repossessed regardless of what he pays now? They have told him it is in the hands of their solicitors. What happens next? He does have a permanent job but the pay is not great. had an IVA fail as unable to keep up payments. could probably pay off mortgage arrears if had no other debts to pay. also has CCJ and bailiffs coming to recoup another debt. lots going on here. Unfortunately I don't have anything spare to help him (married with two kids) He has accepted he can't keep the house but needs to find somewhere else to live before repossessed. The CAB has said the council are unlikely to re-house him and private landlords won't touch him. I'm unsure where else to go right now so would be grateful for any advice anyone has. Should he keep trying to pay the mortgage company or keep the money to save for bankruptcy?

Hi all, I'm looking for help, Last august (2012) my house was repossessed by Northern rock asset management (NRAM). After a very long fight over arrears Nram got the their repossession order enforced and my wife and 2 boys plus my self had to move out. this was the final nail in the coffin for my marriage and we moved to separate houses. after 2/3 months our house was sold by auction for £30000 less then the market value. Brings me to my help, we are now being pursued for £18694.18 and I would like some help fighting this. I know many people will say that its my debt and I should pay it back but if I'm honest I don't feel responsible for it and nram owe me not the other way round, We had our house on the market and had interest even a offer (although rediculas) which we was told by NRAM that it was not good enough as there would still be a shortfall of £2000- £3000. Now I know I am not going to ever see money back from nram but I want to fight the money they claim i owe them. What would be the steps I would have to take? Kindest regards.

Hi, I hope someone can help me. My son and his wife have separated. They have a joint mortgage and we and my mother gave them a lot of money towards their deposit on their house. My daughter in law wants to keep the house on, my son has moved out. She says that he cannot get any of this deposit back, that it is all hers to keep, is that right? There is little equity in the house as they only bought it two years ago and she says that all he is due is 50% of this equity. Without any of this deposit back he cannot afford to rent his own flat so is sleeping on friends' sofas. Surely he is due something back, we thought he would get half of it back? Help please, I would be very grateful.

I need to start divorce proceedings however i am concerned that i own a house that i no longer live in but is in negative equity and my ex doesn't earn enough on paper to carry on with the mortgage. I have made no financial contributions since we separated two and a half years ago. I would like to legally remove my name form the mortgage. Is it possible to do this during divorce proceedings? Or will I be legally responsible until the property is sold or my ex agrees to buy me out? We have a verbal agreement in place where he pays no maintenance and i no longer pay my half of the mortgage. I really need to move on but this is a massive sticking point - any help or guidance is grateful. Thanks for your help, I'm legally blonde ha ha!