Help Needed for Repossession!

[podperson]

Hi all,

 

I am hoping someone on here might be able to offer some advice so please bear with the long post.

 

I have a mortgage with Birmingham Midshires for a property that I haven't lived in for a year now. We had to move in a hurry due to personal reasons (very long story!) and I was still trying to sell/rent out the property when we moved. Long story short it was broken into very shortly after we moved, quite a bit of damage caused that the insurance wouldn't cover and that I couldn't afford to get repaired. Have been trying to sell it for a year now and had no success, I have been unable to make the mortgage payments and the lender has been unhelpful to say the least (I have offered partial payments which they have refused, I wasn't allowed to go onto interest only, etc.).

 

They sent me a letter a few months ago saying that they were considering court action so I contacted them again and said that since I was struggling to sell it and couldn't afford the arrears I would give the property back to them and at least avoid the court costs. I assumed they would sell it at auction but they advised me that they put it with an estate agent and I would still be liable until it sold with them. Now I have been trying to sell through various estate agents for a year now so didn't see what they were going to do differently and didn't want to be stuck paying for it for another year.

 

I spoke to one of the online estate agents and he suggested entering an auction they do with a reserve price. I contacted Birmingham Midshires and asked if they would agree to this and if it didn't sell then I would go back to the voluntary surrender. They asked me to send them confirmation forms from the estate agent, which I have been trying to get hold of for the last week. Now I have a letter through today saying they are taking me to court for repossession on 6th October, at the court near where the property is, which is 200 miles away from my current address, and charging me court costs of £150.

 

I'm really annoyed with this as I had told them that they could have the property back without going to court so I wouldn't be stuck with costs on top of everything else and they seemed happy to let me put it for auction. I don't know if it's worth me trying to defend this as I don't want to keep the property but they have been so unreasonable and unhelpful throughout the process. Is there any chance of asking a court to make the lender sell it at auction so I don't get stuck with it while they try and sell through an estate agent? I really don't know what to do with it anymore!

[Debvfm]

Hi

 

I am no expert and this is only my opinion but I think it has to go to Court for the lender to get a repossession order.

 

You could try ringing the court and then putting your offer in writing explaining that you feel that you have exhausted every avenue in trying to sell it yourself.

 

Mortgage Lenders are only interested in the money and do not care of the heartache they cause.

 

Good luck