HELP PLEASE - Possession Claim recieved

[debtfree1day?]

I have received a possession claim form issued to me by The Royal Bank Of Scotland, who are my mortgage lenders.

 

Before receiving these forms in the post I did speak with someone on the telephone at RBS, who informed me that providing I pay £475 per month then they would still go ahead with the court claim but would not act on eviciting me; they also said that the possession order will last the lifetime of the mortgage - is this correct?

 

I have not been able to pay the £475 this month but will be able to pay it next month, my court date is the 5th August, given that there is no order currently in place could me not making the payment this month affect the outcome of the court hearing, will they be likely to try and evict me from the property?

 

The current arrears is £5300.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, have you sent back the N11M defence form to the court? It's important that you do and also you must attend the hearing. The most important part of the N11M is Q.27 and I can help you with that.

 

As long as you can show the judge that you are able to make payments towards the arrears each month you won't lose your home.

 

Ell-enn

[debtfree1day?]

Hi -Thanks for your reply, I have not yet sent back the forms - I was going to wait until next month so that I could put on the form that a payment has been made since the forms were issued - is there any mileage in doing that or am I better sending the forms straight back with no payment details?

 

I am in professional secure employment, but with regards to Q27 there are no events or circumstances as listed which apply to me, it has been a case of outgoings higher than incomings and those who shouted the loudest got paid!

[Ell-enn]

Hi, there's no problem in waiting until you have made payment before sending in the forms. Courts usually accept defence forms up to 14 days before the hearing (in reality you can probably get away with 7 days).

 

What date are you making the next payment?

 

Re Q.27 - you can quote the Norgan case law which allows judges to order repayment of the arrears over a longer period of time (the remaining term of the mortgage, if need be in cases of very large arrears).

 

How much is your normal payment (roughly) - did you offer the amount of extra payment towards the arrears or did RBS tell you what they expected?

 

Also, within the £5.3k arrears figure, are there any arrears monthly charges?

[debtfree1day?]

Hi - the payment to them will be made on the 17th July.

 

The mortgage is interest only - which the interest being added monthly at the moment is around £280, so there will be just short of £200 going towards the arrears. RBS told me that they expected £475.

 

They have not added charges to the account other than the interest.

[Ell-enn]

Are you confident you can maintain an extra £200 towards the arrears? When you send your defence papers in you can put in your statement that £100 per month (or whatever you're comfortable with) is more affordable. You would then show in the financial part of the defence form that you only have £100 to spare - the judge will only order you to pay what you can afford - it's his decision not the lender's, so it doesn't matter what they "expect" they will only get what you can afford.

[debtfree1day?]

I am hoping that I will be able to pay at least £150 towards the arrears, I need to go through my figures! But I am also concious that the interest could increase. Is it right that a possession order lasts for the lifetime of the mortgage and not the lifetime of the arrears?

[Ell-enn]

You can ask the court for the suspended order to be lifted once all the arrears are paid.

 

You are right to consider that the interest rate could increase, also you have to allow for unexpected household repairs. You should only offer what you can comfortably afford going forward. There is no point in offering what you think the lender wants to hear - if you can't keep up the payments you will end up having to defend an eviction order (it can be done, but you don't need the aggro).

[debtfree1day?]

Thanks so much for your time and very helpful posts.

[Ell-enn]

You're very welcome:) Post back on this thread when you have made the payment and we can work on your defence statement.

 

Ell