Abbey - not looking good

[Massamum]

I have a mortgage with the abbey. Until recently it was being paid by a relative. That person sadly passed away in April and I haven’t been able to keep up the payments as I’m on benefits. Have been making very small token payments and partial help from DSS, but it isn't anywhere near even the interest. Abbey say my three months will be up in July and its likely that repossession proceedings will begin then. There is a huge amount of equity in the property so I doubt they'll hang about. I don’t know what to do, any help/guidance would be really appreciated folks. Thanks.

[42man]

Have you considered the possibility of selling the house yourself, as opposed to them reposessing it ? If they did go through this process then a possible forced sale would not realise as much as selling it on the open market and you would avoid their legal fees too. They may well allow you to do this over a certain period....

[Massamum]

Thanks for the response 42man. I have today put the house on the market and praying for a quick sale. Next payment is due soon and just hope I can secure a sale before they start any proceedings. The charges are stacking up in the meantime. It sickens me to think they could take all the equity for what is, in comparison, a small mortgage. You say they may allow me to do this over a certain period - how long would that be do you think?

[42man]

Jusy my opinion, but I would keep in contact with Abbey, make them aware of what you are doing stating that you are attempting to find a solution as opposed to creating more problems....

[Massamum]

excellent advice which I will follow. Many thanks 42man

[42man]

You may like to ring the National Debtline who I am sure will be able to give you some other possible options - National Debtline – Free, Confidential Debt Advice – Call 0808 808 4000

[AnimalMagic]

deleted incorrect info

Edited June 24, 2010 by AnimalMagic
Imcorrect info - my mistake!

[Massamum]

The house has been on the market but no luck unfortunately. I've had three viewings only when the house first went on the market but ever since then no interest whatsoever. As my agency contract has now expired I want to go with another agency. I've rung my current estate agents only to be told that I need to put it in writing to them and that they require two weeks notice!!! My question is, as I have never received a copy of the contract that I signed with them and wasn't aware that I had to give two weeks notice is there any kind of law that I can call them on to get out of the two weeks notice? They've been absolute rubbish and haven't done much at all for the last few weeks so highly unlikely that they will sell in the next two weeks. I just want rid of the house now as the Abbey are pestering me and due to my arrears it'll be passed on to solicitors very soon. Any advice gratefully received, thanks.

[crm84]

How much arrears is there?

 

Reason I ask is because in my experience with Abbey they only pass to litigation after being more than 1k in arrears thats what they told us that after 1k it goes automatically to litigation im sure it was they said,

 

I also found them very helpful to deal with in regards to paying arrears, advising them of selling the house etc so good luck! just be as truthful as possible.

 

You say that the mortgage payer has passed away is it there house and should that not be passed onto someone as part of thier estate being wound up? E.g left to you in their will or are you the owner of the house?

 

Was their a life insurance policy you could perhaps cash in to pay the arrears?

 

some of these options might not be appropriate but just thinking out loud

 

Hope that helps

[Massamum]

Thanks very much for your response crm, unfortunately the arrears are well over the £1k mark now and I’m just waiting to hear from their solicitors. Abbey have been very helpful, I explained that the house is on the market but they say there isn’t anything they can do and as there is no way I can pay the arrears (I’m on benefits) it will go to their sols.

 

The house (and mortgage) was in joint names and passed straight to me (we were “joint tenants”) and I now own the property outright. There was no life assurance and no estate to speak of. The property market seems to have slowed right down and I’m resigned to the inevitable happening

[crm84]

Thats not so good information,

 

I would have thought the house being up for sale would have been a way out for a few months as sureley they should see that you selling is a lot easier than them having to do it,

 

You say you are on benefits could you not use that as an excuse to buy more time?

 

Sorry I cant offer a more professional or rock solid advice, just trying to think what i would do really,

 

HTH

 

Craig

[AnimalMagic]

Don't know if this helps (from the Mortgage pre action protocol):

6.2 If a borrower can demonstrate that reasonable steps have been or will be taken to market the property at an appropriate price in accordance with reasonable professional advice, the lender should consider postponing starting a possession claim. The borrower must continue to take all reasonable steps actively to market the property where the lender has agreed to postpone starting a possession claim.

 

6.3

Where the lender has agreed to postpone starting a possession claim the borrower should provide the lender with a copy of the particulars of sale, the Home Information Pack and (where relevant) details of purchase offers received within a reasonable period of time specified by the lender. The borrower should give the lender details of the estate agent and the conveyancer instructed to deal with the sale. The borrower should also authorise the estate agent and the conveyancer to communicate with the lender about the progress of the sale and the borrower’s conduct during the process.

 

6.4 Where the lender decides not to postpone the start of a possession claim it should inform the borrower of the reasons for this decision at least 5 business days before starting proceedings.

Are there any arrears fees? If so, how much?

When was the mortgage taken out?

Who was the main borrower, you or your relative?

If it's not too personal, can you explain the circumstances of how you became joint mortgagee?

 

Regards

[Massamum]

Thanks for your support Craig and Animal Magic, I really appreciate it. I have told Abbey that I’m on benefits and the DWP also pay a small amount towards the mortgage so they are well aware of it. The house my mum and me shared was fully paid for but I took out a mortgage to pay for home improvements as the house was basically falling down around our ears (hence DWP only paying small proportion of mortgage and not all interest). At the time I took the mortgage on I was working full-time and couldn’t have seen what the future was to hold. My mum developed vascular dementia and I had to give up work to look after her 24/7. It wasn’t easy as her particular type of dementia made her behaviour extremely challenging, she was giving all her money away, would insist on the central heating being on full blast as well as the fire and then leaving all the doors open etc, the bills were astronomical and I ran up a lot of debts trying to keep the roof over our heads and support us both via my overdraft. When the overdraft was up to the limit I would transfer onto 0% cards (thinking I would worry about it later when I returned to work). However, I became broken from all the stress and am unable to work at all now. While my mum was alive, and as her name was also on the mortgage (and therefore jointly responsible), the payments were taken from her account - control of her account was taken away from her due to diminished capacity. Now my mum has passed away I cannot make the payments on my own.

 

I was relying on selling the house myself so that I could make offers of F&F’s to all my other creditors to get them off my back but no interest at all. Now Lloyds are taking me to court for another debt. Doesn’t rain, it pours ….

 

 

 

I don't know which way to turn and am grieving so badly and the thought of repossession is just too much.

[Massamum]

I've received a claim form for possession of my property. I've buried my head in the sand about this for over a week as I couldn't face up to it, I realise I have to acknowledge the claim now but I really have no idea of the best way to go about it and I don't want to fill it out in the wrong way and make things worse. There is a section on the form asking about my other debts - I have huge amount of debt but haven't acknowledged or paid anything to the creditors for a couple of years now. I don't know if its wrong to leave that part out or if I should put it in - help!!!

 

Any help would really be most appreciated please folks. Thanks in advance.

 

Background posts here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?263870-Abbey-not-looking-good&p=3090118&highlight=#post3090118

[sillygirl1]

I''ve alerted the site team to your post, and the expert we have on repossessions will be along at some point, remember it is Xmas and people are very busy....

[Massamum]

thanks for your response sillygirl, its most appreciated

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, what is the date of the possession hearing?

 

I assume you have received papers from your local court and the N11M defence form ? If the hearing is not until after the New Year then we have plenty of time to get a defence together.

 

Ell

[Massamum]

Hi Ell

Thanks for your response and reassurance. The possession hearing is on 18 Jan, I received the paperwork on 18 December and I’m really starting to panic. I have also received the defence form. I’m a bit concerned about acknowledging the claim and wasn’t sure how to do that. I’ve been online but its just bamboozled me! There doesn’t seem to be a specific place to acknowledge the claim, I wasn’t sure if I would have to fill out the whole thing or if I could go back and do it now and again???

 

Thanks very much for taking the time out to respond to me so near Christmas.

[maroondevo52]

Hi, Massamum.

 

The 'link' you posted seems to be a 'bad' one, I've merged your threads, please continue to post here with regards to this matter.

Ell-enn should be back shortly.

 

Thanks.

 

Scott.

[Ell-enn]

OK, don't fill out anything on line - you need to fill the form in and hand it in to the court. We can do a statement to go with the N11M defence form, I'll get back to you after the weekend and we can work on the form.

[newstarter]

Hi there im sorry to read about your situation,you do however have some options open to you.

 

You can argue in your defence that the property is up for sale and ask the judge to suspend possession proceedings,pending sale of the property,you would have to take all your paperwork to court in support of your case,ie proof that the house is on the market,this option takes the decision out of your lenders hands as i suspect from your previous posts they do not seem sympathetic to your present situation.I notice that you spoke to your lender regarding this option but had no joy a judge would probobly be more agreable,however although your lender is oblidged to act within the protocol they do not have to agree to pospone possession proceedings until a sale has been arranged,as it says above they should inform you 5 days before the hearing as to why they have refused the offer,or option that you have put forward,if you can show that you are making a determined effort to sell the property i think you will be ok and it should get suspended.The one problem i can see is if the house does not sell quickly you could be racking up a huge amount in charges and arrears and if this carried on for a lenghy period a judge would probobly grant the lender possession,and you have to keep in mind the state of the housing market at the moment,however there is another option you may not have thought of and this would help you particularly as you cannot work at the moment and have little in the way of income and thats the mortgage rescue scheme.

[newstarter]

The mortgage resue scheme works like this,your local council(or a registered social landlord) would buy your property,you would still be able to live there paying rent to the council which would be a much smaller amount than your mortgage and any equity after a sale was agreed would come to you to pay off your other debts.In most cases you also have the option to buy back at a later stage,in your case this might be the favourable option as it would allow you to clear your debts and stay in your home,and once the application was recieved by the council,this should put a temporary stay on court proceedings.Iknow its not ideal but it is worth thinking about.

[Massamum]

Thanks for merging my threads Scott. Also Newstarter for the advice and reassurance, I’ve spoken to CAB about the mortgage rescue scheme and various other options but I don’t qualify for any of them. Abbey started proceedings a little while ago but withdrew them when I produced proof that the house has been on the market for the last few months, they then gave me a further six weeks to sell – that time has now run out which is why they’ve started proceedings again. I just feel that because there’s no way I can maintain payments on the mortgage and the Abbey have given me extra time in which to sell, that the judge will find in their favour. And yes, I am racking up interest and costs at an alarming rate!

 

Thanks for the advice Ell, I’ll hold off on doing anything til I hear back from you.

Hope you’re all having a nice time over Christmas and again many, many thanks for taking the time to reply at this busy time.

[newstarter]

I was afraid you might say that,i detected from your previous posts that you may have explored options,however all is not lost,this hearing will probobly result in more time to sell the house,Ell-enn will put your defence statement together,you should be ok for a while yet.Dont loose heart you will be fine.

[Massamum]

Thanks so much for that Newstarter, I hope you’re right about getting more time to sell. Such a relief to know I have help from you all.