My very first repossession - some help please!

[transparentspoon]

Hi All,

 

Can anyone offer me some practical (not legally binding!) advice on the following mess I've got myself into please:

 

I bought a house mid 2008 (100% LTV) for £180,000 and since then have lost my job and now have about 6 months of arrears and a final demand from the lender's solicitor.

 

At this time I still don't have a job and no money towards paying off any of the arrears. Another problem I had just after I moved in was that the roof was defective in part of the house (shoddy workmanship) which the insurance company wouldn't pay out for and the lender wouldn't accept any responsibility for even though they carried out the valuation and condition report. The roof lets in water and looks a mess and I don't think I'd be able to sell it for anything like the price I paid for it just because of the state of it, nor would the lender probably allow it.

 

What I'd look to know is:

 

- What happens if a money judgement is enforced against me and I have no money? I'm self-employed, BTW.

 

- Am I right in thinking that the eviction can happen no earlier than 28 days after the possession order has been granted?

 

- Do I have any claim against the lender in respect of the roof problem, and will the courts take any interest in this?

 

- Is there any benefit in voluntarily handing the property back to the lender?

 

I should add that I'd be very glad to see the property go as the whole thing has been a complete nightmare but I'm not sure what I should be doing at this time. I need to respond to the solicitor in the next couple of days so any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, sorry to hear you are in this position. However, if you read around the repossession forum you will see that you are not alone in this situation.

 

Are you claiming benefits since you became unemployed? and therefore are you eligible for mortgage interest relief from the DWP?

[transparentspoon]

Thank you for your support Ell-enn

 

Because I still have my business and have had small bits of work (not enough to really exist on but just enough to cover food, bills, etc.) I'm not technically unemployed and not claiming any benefits. I should also add that I've got a large amount of unsecured borrowings, although I do have a DMP in place (though I've had to knock this on the head for the moment as I can't afford the repayments).

 

I appreciate that some of the questions I'm asking have probably been covered in other topics but the problems other people are having are either a lot more complicated than my situation (basically, I just can't pay) or else they are a lot further along in the process.

 

What I really want is to try and limit the damage at this stage IE what can I do now to put myself in the best possible position before nasty letters start flying through the letterbox.

[jansus]

Have you been missing whole payments or paying what you can?

 

Do you have dependants living in the property with you?

 

Reference the roof its not straight forward - we would need to the type of report they did . unless it was a full structural report you may have some problems. If it was a scheme 1 valuatiion it is just that a valuation and they will not be liable.

 

Firstly I think you should concentrate on keeping the house - then tackle the roof problem.

Can you let out rooms or anything like that to help with payments?

[transparentspoon]

jansus, to answer your questions:

 

1. I've been missing whole payments - first one was missed in October '08, then I was paying again for the next couple of months then ever since been missing them.

 

2. No dependents.

 

3. The document I have is a "valuation and condition report" but wasn't a full structural survey. Looking back, I was naive about not getting the full report. One of the problems I had was that the lender changed their lending criteria (this was around the time of the big 'crash' back in mid last year) and was told that if I didn't take the mortgage offer up imminently they weren't going to renew it (in fact, they pulled the offer after exchange but my solicitor managed to get them to reinstate it). They took such a long time arranging the basic report that I figured they wouldn't get the full one done before the offer expired.

 

4. Thank you for the advice. I had considered letting a room out but didn't feel I could charge very much as the place got very damp and started to smell really awful. Also, one of the reasons for buying the place was to do it up and I ran out of money while in the middle of this - floors taken up, kitchen units removed, almost no appliances - which I didn't feel was very nice living standards for somebody else

 

One thing I will draw to their attention is the fact that I've had no information from them about the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme and they've never mentioned anything to me about it - if I could have applied for this earlier on the problem might not have got as bad as it has.

 

I'm going to write my letter to the solicitors tonight and send off tomorrow so will update on my progress as-and-when I get any.

 

Thanks!

[jansus]

this might be of interest.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/repossessions/191027-were-you-mis-sold.html

 

 

 

So you were self employed - they gave you a 100% mortgage on a property that needed basic repair work without a retention of funds or an undertaking to complete the works? they have probably been increasing your debt by adding arrears charges as well. Unbelievable.

 

This is not an easy one and I am not sure what help you are entitled to from the DWP if you are self employed.

 

Is your mortgage interest only?/fixed rate?

 

Sympathise about the state of the house - thats what happens when you run out of money when renovating - I know the feeling.

 

Who was your lender by the way?

[transparentspoon]

Thanks again for the advice and support again jansus - much appreciated

 

I don't think the mortgage was mis-sold as such although the broker did a pretty poor job in advising me to take out a fixed rather than variable product (this was back when the interest rate was 5.75%). This was fixed for one year at 6.69% then goes over to the SVR soon which is STILL 6.69% even though the interest rate has dropped by 5% in the interim. Ironically, my income was very good but I lost a big contract a week before the sale went through and this effectively halved my income overnight.

 

To avoid getting into a real mess I think I'm going to have to make an appointment with the job centre to see if they can offer me any financial assistance, but I think this means winding up my business - not that I have much of that at the moment Nevertheless, I shall be sad to see 10 glorious years of trading come to an end but the business was pretty much just me anyway so can always start up again if I get back on my feet.

 

The lender is C&G. The worst thing about that is that I have a credit card, loan and overdraft debt with Lloyds TSB so on one day last week I got hit with four nasty letters (including one from their 'pretend' debt collection agency BLS, which I surmised might be an acronym for B**LS***).

 

Sent the solicitor's letter off to today - made a point about them not informing me about my eligbility for the HMS scheme and also about the problems with the ceiling/roof.

 

Also had a good long think about the problem and came to the conclusion that it was better if everything hit the fan all at once then I can get it all out of the way sooner rather than later.

 

I shall keep you posted!

[Satoriea]

Hi transparentspoon,

 

Ive been repossed and it is not a nice thing although it came as a small relief. Any how's have you tried working tax credit. A lot of people dont realise that if your wages are low you ae entitled to working tax credit.

 

Give them a call today you maybe entilted if you are not earning much. You dont have to have kids to claim.

[transparentspoon]

Hi Satoriea,

 

Thank you for advice - I'm calling the job centre tomorrow to try and make an appointment but think (if I'm eligible) that I'll need to apply for JSA as I have no work at all at the moment. I did think that the tax credit was only available if you had kids (which is the way it's been advertised in the past, at least as I remember it) so thanks for this info. Because I'm self-employed I suspect they might have turned me down for this though as I've never really had any kind of consistent income. Another reason why I want to sign-on is that it at least gives me some proof to send to my creditors that I can't pay any money to them - they seem to be under the mistaken assumption that I'm spending all my money on champagne, helicopters and casinos in Monte Carlo

 

Thanks again!

[jansus]

I think one step at a time - see if you can get any help with your payments - and then if not you will have to re-assess your situation.

 

If you decide to sell - it is still best to keep control if at all possible - as even if there is negative equity you still have to minimise the loss as if in the future you do get back on your feet the lender can then still try and chase you for the balance owed.

 

I think you are right trying to face up to all this.

 

There are letters on here for loans and overdrafts explaining your situation and asking them to freeze interest and accept a lower payment.

 

Let us know how you get on with your benefits entitlements

[jansus]

Start Calculation

 

 

www.direct.gov.uk

 

 

a couple of useful sites for links to assistance .

Edited August 1, 2009 by jansus

[transparentspoon]

Thanks again jansus - it's people like you that give us all hope

 

The benefits calculator says that I might be entitled to £282.25 per week (woo hoo! I haven't earnt that much for years). Probably showing my age here but I seem to remember getting about £60 a week when I briefly signed-on before (though that was back in 1997). I've just responded to a couple of freelance vacancies so things might not be quite as desperate as I first thought. Speaking of which, in case anyone's interested I'm a brilliant and talented web developer that charges very reasonable rates if anyone needs a site. I'm also extremely modest, humble and self-deprecating with it

 

Will let you know how I get on anyway - hope you all have a good weekend!

[transparentspoon]

Just a quick update:

 

Had the repossession claim and money order come through today as well as a letter from the solicitors (which neglected to address any of the points I'd made). Solicitor is based in Bristol so with a bit of luck they might get lost on the way

 

I need to check that they have complied with the "Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims" and there looks like a rather specious claim in the "Further Information" section that I haven't contacted them (which of course I have).

 

Just a quick question at this stage - if I'm going to present any 'evidence' (letters or replies I've sent or had from them) - do I need to enclose copies when I return the form or is this something I would just present on the day.

 

Thanks!

Edited August 7, 2009 by transparentspoon
Added link for possession claims