Outright Possession Order - Repossesion Prevention Fund Information - Pregnant!!

[pubman1]

Do you know if you will have the option to buy back your house at a later date if your circumstances change? Yes, it's now called the right to aquire and would apply in 5 or 6 years time.

 

Is it looking like your rent payment will be a lot cheaper than your mortgage? We have the original mortgage and a secured firstplus loan. original is £200 per month andFirstplus was £800, but have just won PPI battle with them so waiting for them to re write the loan. Rent likely to be around £360 per month.

 

And finally, do you have a lot of other personal debt? Yes, but making token payments to all of £1 per month, organised this ourselves. Once they had I&E statement showing mortgages they didn't really have a choice.

One other thing - our house is in negative equity so if the council were to buy at market rate there would be a shortfall on the mortgage payment of about £20k. Do the council and mortgage lender negotiate to ensure this doesn't come back as a debt to you? We are also -ve equity. The council housing dept negociate with the shortfall lender, in our case Firstplus. The negociation on the shortfall should go along the lines of either being written off, reduced or at the least no further interest added.

[littlemonstersmum]

Thanks Newstarter.

 

You are so right about one thing at a time

 

We had a talk from Christians Against Poverty at our church last week. They were there to get people on board to help with what they do and also to give donations towards the charity. It is a new group to our town and already they have 14 clients which is apparently the quickest take up ever known for them. The talk upset me a lot as it brought it all home to me. However, it also made me think and i did come to the conclusion that we have to look after our house first and not try to fight too many battles. Being 29 weeks pregnant does not help with confused thinking and hormones that make you snap or cry at the drop of a hat . We have an appointment with them but it isn't until the middle of July. We had asked to bring it forward but i am now thinking i will leave it as it is and see what happens over the next 6 weeks or so.

 

We have made payments towards unsecured debts - up until recently via DMPs with CCCS. So the statute barred idea is not relevant right now but i guess if people don't chase then we don't pay We are 'lucky' in that we only have a very small amount of joint debt so if we really did feel everything was impossible one of us (probably my husband as he is the one who has the business debts that have become personal due to his guarantees) could go bankrupt and the other take on the beneficial interest in the house. We still hope to avoid this but the level of debts we have is such that we'd need a huge increase in income to go back to making full payments. I guess an IVA is another idea but right now i am just going to worry about the mortgage...

 

I really do appreciate your comments and as you've been through it - and come out the other side by the looks of things - you (and the others who have helped) know what you're talking about. In due course i hope to be able to do the same!

[newstarter]

You have the right idea littlemonstermum and a group like the one mentioned above is a good idea,there are to few of them at the moment.Yes we did come out the other side,the house is ours,the bills are sorted but it just takes time and patience,take my word for it watch what your doing and you will be fine.

[littlemonstersmum]

Thanks for the extra info Pubman1. I have mentioned this idea to my husband and at the moment he wants to try and see if we can manage by keeping the mortgage and offering £1 payments to everyone else.

 

It is good to know that it is always an option.

 

Just want to stop having to worry about this all the time

 

Things are at least looking a bit clearer though and it is great to know there is loads of info, advice and support on here

[littlemonstersmum]

While we wait for our cheque to clear so we can make a payment towards our arrears i have put together a letter to send to BOS.

 

I would appreciate it if someone could spend a few minutes and look over it to see 1) if it is too long/too much info and/or 2) if i have missed anything out.

 

If i can work out how to remove personal details i will post the letter we had from BOS in response to the one sent by our 'advisor'. I only have a scanned copy and last time i tried to cover over personal details it looked fine on my computer but as soon as i checked it from another one (on the forum i had posted it to) i realised the 'cover up' hadn't worked and all my details were still visible

 

The history is on the attachment i will send with the letter so it should be self explanatory but then it is my info so of course i understand it all anyway!!

 

All advice/criticism will be gratefully received.

BOS extra info lmm.pdf

BOS letter lmm.pdf

[ettubrute]

Hi littlemonstersmum

 

It's not too long, and contains plenty of info for them to digest. I have one piece of advice for you, if they do not accept your offer of the lump sum £2.5k, by all means make the application. But when doing so, make sure you make "an application to vary the original order", it will bide you more time, and if you make the payment before the application hearing and can afford to maintain the monthly payments plus something towards the arrears there isn't a District Judge that I've met who wouldn't side with you.

 

The history I have had a look at, the problem with the pre-action protocol and the requirements on lenders is it sounds good when the government introduced it, but it doesn't work. BOS probably won't let you change products because you are in a fixed rate, so a redemption penalty will apply, which unfortunately you can't afford. Extending the term on an interest only mortgage will have no benefit, you still have to pay the same amount of interest each month. The government schemes are a good time saver though, the MRS and HMS schemes are 2 different things, both of which are worth looking into. Would you be entitled to any assistance from the DWP for the interest on the mortgage?

 

Ettubrute

 

 

While we wait for our cheque to clear so we can make a payment towards our arrears i have put together a letter to send to BOS.

 

I would appreciate it if someone could spend a few minutes and look over it to see 1) if it is too long/too much info and/or 2) if i have missed anything out.

 

If i can work out how to remove personal details i will post the letter we had from BOS in response to the one sent by our 'advisor'. I only have a scanned copy and last time i tried to cover over personal details it looked fine on my computer but as soon as i checked it from another one (on the forum i had posted it to) i realised the 'cover up' hadn't worked and all my details were still visible

 

The history is on the attachment i will send with the letter so it should be self explanatory but then it is my info so of course i understand it all anyway!!

 

All advice/criticism will be gratefully received.

[littlemonstersmum]

Thanks for the advice. If it comes to it we will certianly apply for a variation.

 

From what i can make out the 'pre-action protocols' look quite strict but when it comes down to it they will somehow be able to prove that they have done what they're meant to do.

 

Hadn't thought about the interest only bit like that. Still not fully sure i understand but i think it makes sense

 

I know the difference between the HMS and MRS but BOS seem to have got them mixed up. For us the MRS is not something we had looked into seriously but it certainly might be an option. We did ask about the HMS but BOS just kept dismissing it as too much like hard work. The scheme i cannot find anything about it the local authority repossession prevention fund which is an interest free loan of up to £5k which can be used towards mortgage arrears. Apparently the money comes from the same fund as MRS but is a different way of helping. I haven't managed to find anyone who has made a successful application to their local authority and ours certainly expects you to jump through a million hoops (well it feels that way!).

 

My husband is working and i'm now on maternity leave so we wouldn't be entitled to anything from DWP towards the mortgage interest.

 

Think i've answered all your questions!

 

We've been trying to get through to BOS to put a proposal to them verbally since last Wed and just get passed from pillar to post. Going to try one more time tomorrow and if we get no joy will just put the letter in the post!

[ettubrute]

I work in the industry and it passes some people by that increasing the term on the mortgage only reduces payments if the mortgage is on capital repayment, it just reduces the amount of capital you would repay.

 

I think you should really kick a stink up about being unable to make an application under HMS and being unable to contact them. The application for HMS and the interest free loan fund look to have the same way of applying. If you contact someone and you get a similar response to previously, complain. Then ring again later to make sure your complaint has been logged. If it does come to complaining, explain proceedings were taken when you had requested access to HMS but were denied. Most reputable lenders (which I would include BOS) will be quick to right their wrongs if they do find they've made a mistake. If they look into it and realise they've breached the pre-action protocol, I would imagine they would restart everything from the beginning for fear of going back to court and having a worse result when you tell a judge.

 

Telling BOS that you want to make an application to HMS again, should by itself put any further action on hold. Are they taking action through a solicitors firm? If so which firm? I think when you try to contact BOS again, refuse to speak to anyone other than the head of mortgage arrears. That may help.

 

By the sounds of it, your situation will improve within a 2 year period, so you are one of the few that will really benefit from HMS.

 

If you do have any problems, I'm more than happy to help.

[littlemonstersmum]

Thanks! The bit about the capital repayment/interest option makes sense now! No-one has bothered to explain this before and i'm sure i'm not the only person who mis-understood.

 

We are going to call again this morning and fingers crossed will actually speak to someone today. My husband has now got a direct number that he thinks isn't going through a call centre. Obviously we will follow up the call with a letter (one mistake we have made up until now).

 

I agree i think BOS are a reputable lender and they haven't been as bad as some of the lenders i have read about on here. Having said that they have not behaved as they should and we certainly feel they haven't followed every part of the pre-action protocol. Unfortunately the court was very busy the day we went (we were told by our council they see a maximum of 4 cases and there were 12!) and apart from 2 everyone wanted to see the duty solicitor who was there to help the defendants. We also had taken some wrong advice and presented our income and expenditure poorly so the duty solicitor just said she felt we couldn't afford to resume payments and make an offer towards the arrears. We have looked at the figures again and reduced some of our outgoings (without leaving ourselves short) so the I&E looks much better now.

 

We do indeed epxect our situation to improve in the next two years and are actually much better off than we were even a couple of months ago.

 

I will let you know how we get on with calling them later!

[littlemonstersmum]

Ooops forgot to add, yes BOS are working through a solicitor - Shoosmiths.

 

This has been another problem for us - when we called BOS before the court case they said we needed to speak to Shoosmiths and when we called Shoosmiths they said we had to call BOS! Nothing like going round and round in circles!!

 

At least now BOS seem prepared to talk to us even though it is impossible to get through!!

[littlemonstersmum]

Finally some good news!!!

 

Today my husband has got through to someone helpful at Bank of Scotland and they have accepted our offer of full payments from June, £2.5k towards the arrears and an extra £30 a month!

 

They have also emailed confirmation of the conversation and are putting a letter in the post tonight.

 

Provided we have the letter tomrrow or Friday we will call and make the payment agreed with them. Our standing order has already been changed by them so now we just have to make sure the funds are in our account to pay the full amount next month!

 

We are still going to try and apply for the repossession prevention fund loan as this would be interest free but if we don't get it at least we know the court action is going to be suspended.

 

Such a relief!! Still got to complain about their general behaviour but for now i think i will just breathe a sigh of relief

 

Thanks everyone for your support and advice so far.

[Ell-enn]

Great news - keep the confirmation email and letter in a VERY safe place - you never know when you might need to produce it.

 

Hope everything goes well for you now.

[littlemonstersmum]

Thank you!

 

We certainly will keep the letter and email. Fingers crossed we will never need them but from now on i am going to be organised with everything like this!

[littlemonstersmum]

Just a quick update

 

We have paid the £2500 we agreed with lender + the remaining payment for May. Standing order is now set up for June onwards.

 

We have also still been in talks with the council and CAB with regards to the Repossession Prevention Fund Loan. We went to the CAB a couple of weeks ago and spoke to a lady who was useless and left us feeling very dispondant. I went back to the council and the lady we had been speaking to there referred us to the CAB debt advisor (who we did ask to see when we first went in to the CAB but were told it wasn't possible ).

 

We had an appointment with the debt advisor yesterday and although initially she seemed fairly unapproachable once we'd got the hostility out of the way (have to admit i went in expecting nothing so was probably on my guard from the outset) she was fantastic . I think it helped that she saw i was actually organised and had put all our papers in a folder and everything was in order so easy for her to find all the info she needed!

 

We went through income and expenditure and talked about how we shouldn't have concentrated on paying our non priority debts while struggling with the mortgage. Now we have stopped being scared of unsecured creditors and their threats it is much easier to just ignore their phone calls and letters. The lady admitted the council and CAB had not done one of these Repossession Prevention Fund Loans before so none of them really knew much about it. That said, she took all the information and said she thought we had a good chance of getting it . Now we're not in such a panic about everything it is much easier to see things more rationally and even if we don't get it we know that the lender has agreed to a payment towards the arrears so it is a win win situation.

 

We are still making the application for the repossession prevention fund loan because it is interest free and would mean our arrears would be cleared completely giving us enormous peace of mind. No arrears, no possession order! I also feel it is something more people should be able to apply for so IF we do get it i certainly will post as much information as i can. I will update as soon as i have any further information!

[men1]

Do you know if you will have the option to buy back your house at a later date if your circumstances change? Yes, it's now called the right to aquire and would apply in 5 or 6 years time.

 

Is it looking like your rent payment will be a lot cheaper than your mortgage? We have the original mortgage and a secured firstplus loan. original is £200 per month andFirstplus was £800, but have just won PPI battle with them so waiting for them to re write the loan. Rent likely to be around £360 per month.

 

And finally, do you have a lot of other personal debt? Yes, but making token payments to all of £1 per month, organised this ourselves. Once they had I&E statement showing mortgages they didn't really have a choice.

 

One other thing - our house is in negative equity so if the council were to buy at market rate there would be a shortfall on the mortgage payment of about £20k. Do the council and mortgage lender negotiate to ensure this doesn't come back as a debt to you? We are also -ve equity. The council housing dept negociate with the shortfall lender, in our case Firstplus. The negociation on the shortfall should go along the lines of either being written off, reduced or at the least no further interest added.

pubman my problem with firstplus is same as yours i wonder finally firstplus allow to go mortage rescus schem

[men1]

pubman

i want to know finally first plus allow to go you to mortage rescue scheme

[littlemonstersmum]

Seeing an update to a previous post earlier today i thought i'd update my personal situation! Firstly our baby girl arrived on 27th July, one week before her due date. She is a very happy calm baby and has put all our personal issues into perspective.

 

We also managed to put something towards our arrears and will this month have made 6 consecutive payments at full rate plus something towards the arrears. We are now hoping to get our arrears capitalised over the remaining mortgage term.

 

We are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination but things are getting better and this site proved invaluable in supporting me and giving advice during the worst moments.

[newstarter]

Fantastic glad things are ok with you,nice to hear you doing ok.

[Ell-enn]

Congratulations - a lovely wee girl !

 

I'm so glad to hear things been better for you

[littlemonstersmum]

It's been a little while since i've had the need for advice on here but i can't seem to find the answer i am looking for going through other threads! I'm sure it is around but i haven't found it yet & as every case is different i thought i'd ask myself!

 

On a positive note we have now made our mortgage payments in full since the date of the possession order. We also have had the arrears capitalised and are paying an extra £20 a month on our mortgage to cover this.

 

Although not ideal, i have decided it is time to declare myself bankrupt. I feel for me this is a positive thing as it draws a line under past events and really is the only way out of my current financial situation. There are no debts secured on our property and the house is in negative equity. I believe my husband will be able to buy the 'beneficial interest' in the property so we are able to keep our home.

 

My question is, now that our arrears are cleared, is the possession order still valid, and if yes, can we get it removed and assumiong we can, how do we go about this?

[Ell-enn]

You can apply to the court to have the suspended possession order cancelled. As you have made consistent payments for quite some time the lender should agree.

[littlemonstersmum]

Thank you Ell-enn

 

Which form do we use? Would you suggest we approach the lender first or just apply to the court?

[Ell-enn]

It will be an N244 form, unfortunately there is a fee of £80 to pay to the court when you enter the form.

n244_0400[1].pdf

[littlemonstersmum]

Thank you! Has the fee gone up? I was expecting around £30!! It is worth paying though to avoid the risk of our lender trying to act on the order once i do petition for bankruptcy. I would imagine as it is in joint names they couldn't get the house anyway but i'm not taking any risks having gone through a lot to keep the house in the first place.

[Ell-enn]

The fee used to be £75 - £35 if you were defending an eviction order - they've gone up by £5