Threat of Reposession from First Plus Solicitors **SUSPENDED**

[Worried6]

I would appreciate any input on what I should do next.

This is the sorry story:

We have a secured loan from Firstplus and have fallen into arrears.

The loan is in two names Firstplus insisted on this when the it was taken out even though my husband was on benefits then (and still is).

The main mortgage is up to date and is in my name only. (My maiden name as it happens).

We both received letters on Thursday night - 29th July from a local solicitor demanding payment of the full arrears amount by 5pm on Wednesday 4th August otherwise they will commence proceedings for possession of the property.

They state that it is not too late to prevent this and that we should put forward any proposal to pay the arrears by instalments over a period of time. They provided an I&E Form to be completed and another form to insert our payment proposal and a date payments will start. It also asks for reasons for the arrears.

They say if the proposal is acceptable to Firstplus they will let us know! This proposal should be supplied to them by the same date.

Apparently Firstplus will insist that any payment arrangement is secured by a suspended possession order made through the courts. I don't know what that means.

They also say they will request the title deeds from Firstplus and debit a fee to the account. They do not have the title deeds - these are with the main mortgage holder.

They also attached a formal Notice to Quit and state that in the event of no payment being received or no agreement to pay reached we must vacate the premises within 7 days of the document date. It is dated 28th July so 7 days takes us to the same date i.e. 4th August.

We only received these letters on Thursday night. We have been working hard to try and get money from somewhere but the arrears amount is almost £10k so we cannot raise anything like that. Possibly £1000 - £2000 max.

I am in a well paid job now and will be able to restart the normal payments.

We had already decided that the pressure of this loan and the arrears was too great and the house will be put up for sale anyway. It will be on the market within 2 weeks. Should I tell the solicitor this?

I have spoken with Estate Agents and there is sufficient equity to repay the main mortgage and the Firstplus loan though I am worried about how the arrears figure has been worked out. There is no breakdown of the figures provided.

What would they consider a reasonable offer I feel so vulnerable as the timescales they have given us is so tight and then any offer could be refused on the day and where does that leave us? Surely a court needs to be involved to get us to leave our house.

Also my husband is ill so even though he knows there are problems he will not be able to deal with this in court I have to be able to do this myself.

 

This is a summary of the situation. I have read some other threads but I am so panicked I am not digesting the information properly. I would really appreciate some advice.

 

Thanks a lot

W6

[Worried6]

I would appreciate any input on what I should do next.

This is the sorry story:

We have a secured loan from Firstplus and have fallen into arrears.

The loan is in two names Firstplus insisted on this when the it was taken out even though my husband was on benefits then (and still is).

The main mortgage is up to date and is in my name only. (My maiden name as it happens).

We both received letters on Thursday night - 29th July from a local solicitor demanding payment of the full arrears amount by 5pm on Wednesday 4th August otherwise they will commence proceedings for possession of the property.

They state that it is not too late to prevent this and that we should put forward any proposal to pay the arrears by instalments over a period of time. They provided an I&E Form to be completed and another form to insert our payment proposal and a date payments will start. It also asks for reasons for the arrears.

They say if the proposal is acceptable to Firstplus they will let us know! This proposal should be supplied to them by the same date.

Apparently Firstplus will insist that any payment arrangement is secured by a suspended possession order made through the courts. I don't know what that means.

They also say they will request the title deeds from Firstplus and debit a fee to the account. They do not have the title deeds - these are with the main mortgage holder.

They also attached a formal Notice to Quit and state that in the event of no payment being received or no agreement to pay reached we must vacate the premises within 7 days of the document date. It is dated 28th July so 7 days takes us to the same date i.e. 4th August.

We only received these letters on Thursday night. We have been working hard to try and get money from somewhere but the arrears amount is almost £10k so we cannot raise anything like that. Possibly £1000 - £2000 max.

I am in a well paid job now and will be able to restart the normal payments.

We had already decided that the pressure of this loan and the arrears was too great and the house will be put up for sale anyway. It will be on the market within 2 weeks. Should I tell the solicitor this?

I have spoken with Estate Agents and there is sufficient equity to repay the main mortgage and the Firstplus loan though I am worried about how the arrears figure has been worked out. There is no breakdown of the figures provided.

What would they consider a reasonable offer I feel so vulnerable as the timescales they have given us is so tight and then any offer could be refused on the day and where does that leave us? Surely a court needs to be involved to get us to leave our house.

Also my husband is ill so even though he knows there are problems he will not be able to deal with this in court I have to be able to do this myself.

 

This is a summary of the situation. I have read some other threads but I am so panicked I am not digesting the information properly. I would really appreciate some advice.

 

Thanks a lot

W6

[newstarter]

Hi there worried 6 The first thing to do is calm down a little and start thinking straight.I know its not easy,believe me i have been there and done it and got the t shirt so i do understand what your going through.Right,firstly you say that they want full payment of arrears or a payment plan to pay of the arrears by the 4th of August,arrears amounts to 10,000.The first thing you need to do is get your proposal back to them,with your income/expenditure sheet A.S.A.P.If First Plus agree to the plan they say they will apply for a suspended possession order,this means that should you keep up with the payments you have offered there would not be a problem but if you default on your agreement,thenFirst Plus can apply to the court directly for an eviction order but it sounds to me like they are offering you this payment proposal option,as this way everyones a winner,you get to keep your home,they get their money.

[newstarter]

Hi there worried 6 The first thing to do is calm down a little and start thinking straight.I know its not easy,believe me i have been there and done it and got the t shirt so i do understand what your going through.Right,firstly you say that they want full payment of arrears or a payment plan to pay of the arrears by the 4th of August,arrears amounts to 10,000.The first thing you need to do is get your proposal back to them,with your income/expenditure sheet A.S.A.P.If First Plus agree to the plan they say they will apply for a suspended possession order,this means that should you keep up with the payments you have offered there would not be a problem but if you default on your agreement,thenFirst Plus can apply to the court directly for an eviction order but it sounds to me like they are offering you this payment proposal option,as this way everyones a winner,you get to keep your home,they get their money.

[newstarter]

Now,to explain the possession order.First Plus want to apply through the court for a possession order for your property,a judge will decide whether to grant their application.On a straight forward order First Plus would then be the owners and as such would be able to apply for an eviction order to evict you on a given date,in your case what firt plus are doing is seeking a suspended order,which means they are looking for a possession order suspended as long as you keep up with your proposed payment plan.

[newstarter]

Now,to explain the possession order.First Plus want to apply through the court for a possession order for your property,a judge will decide whether to grant their application.On a straight forward order First Plus would then be the owners and as such would be able to apply for an eviction order to evict you on a given date,in your case what firt plus are doing is seeking a suspended order,which means they are looking for a possession order suspended as long as you keep up with your proposed payment plan.

[newstarter]

At the moment First Plus seem to be calling all the shots,try not to worry to much i cannot see this going any further than a payment agreement between you and first plus,however you may find it in best intrest to turn the tables a little.I will wait for your reply first before i go on further.

[newstarter]

At the moment First Plus seem to be calling all the shots,try not to worry to much i cannot see this going any further than a payment agreement between you and first plus,however you may find it in best intrest to turn the tables a little.I will wait for your reply first before i go on further.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, as you now have a new job and can make payments towards the arrears I'm sure the judge will not grant possession. Also, if you are putting the house on the market and can provide documentation from the estate agent that will help your case.

 

The first thing you need to do is write with a proposal to pay something towards the arrears each month - I have affixed the budget sheet we use, it's more detailed than the ones the lenders send out .

 

If you need help with a letter I can let you have one to send with the budget sheet.

 

In the figure of £10,000 do you think there are any arrears charges added in to it? if so, that is another thing we can use to strengthen your case.

Budget Sheet.xls

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, as you now have a new job and can make payments towards the arrears I'm sure the judge will not grant possession. Also, if you are putting the house on the market and can provide documentation from the estate agent that will help your case.

 

The first thing you need to do is write with a proposal to pay something towards the arrears each month - I have affixed the budget sheet we use, it's more detailed than the ones the lenders send out .

 

If you need help with a letter I can let you have one to send with the budget sheet.

 

In the figure of £10,000 do you think there are any arrears charges added in to it? if so, that is another thing we can use to strengthen your case.

Budget Sheet.xls

[newstarter]

Just one more thing,i would be thinking twice before putting property on the market in the current climate,this situation may seem terrible but i would be inclined to work at this as all is not lost.

[newstarter]

Just one more thing,i would be thinking twice before putting property on the market in the current climate,this situation may seem terrible but i would be inclined to work at this as all is not lost.

[Worried6]

Thankyou so much for coming back to me.

Yes you have the gist of this FirstPlus will decide if my proposal is acceptable and if so then they will apply for the suspended possession order.

Is there a rule of thumb about what is acceptable or not. I think I could pay and additional £100 per month over the normal payment which is currently £747.03. I have to work through the budget though as I don't want to fail in my attempt to pay.

I have copied down Ell-Enn's form and will read shortly. I would really appreciate a draft letter to accompany it as my brain is collapsing.

Do either of you think I should I try and get a lump sum together as well?

I believe there are charges added intio the arrears amount but have no breakdown of the figure.

 

Thanks again.

W6

[Worried6]

Thankyou so much for coming back to me.

Yes you have the gist of this FirstPlus will decide if my proposal is acceptable and if so then they will apply for the suspended possession order.

Is there a rule of thumb about what is acceptable or not. I think I could pay and additional £100 per month over the normal payment which is currently £747.03. I have to work through the budget though as I don't want to fail in my attempt to pay.

I have copied down Ell-Enn's form and will read shortly. I would really appreciate a draft letter to accompany it as my brain is collapsing.

Do either of you think I should I try and get a lump sum together as well?

I believe there are charges added intio the arrears amount but have no breakdown of the figure.

 

Thanks again.

W6

[Ell-enn]

I'll post the letter on here shortly.

[Ell-enn]

I'll post the letter on here shortly.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, letter affixed, you will need to replace the XXX's in the letter with figures. Page 2 of the document is the covering letter to the solicitors (you will need to affix a copy of the letter and budget sheet sent to FP).

 

Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and budget sheet in case you need to produce it in a possession hearing. Send by special delivery (to both FP and solicitors) and check on the royal mail website in a few days to print off the signature receipt. Keep all in a safe place.

Woried 6 letter.doc

[Ell-enn]

Hi, letter affixed, you will need to replace the XXX's in the letter with figures. Page 2 of the document is the covering letter to the solicitors (you will need to affix a copy of the letter and budget sheet sent to FP).

 

Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and budget sheet in case you need to produce it in a possession hearing. Send by special delivery (to both FP and solicitors) and check on the royal mail website in a few days to print off the signature receipt. Keep all in a safe place.

Woried 6 letter.doc

[Worried6]

Thanks. I'll keep an eye the thread.

Just thought I should mention this case will be heard in N Ireland. Firstplus dealt with the loan application in the standard way though just the Legal Charge form was replaced by one for Land Registry form.

I hope this doesn't make a difference.

 

Regards

W6

[Worried6]

Thanks. I'll keep an eye the thread.

Just thought I should mention this case will be heard in N Ireland. Firstplus dealt with the loan application in the standard way though just the Legal Charge form was replaced by one for Land Registry form.

I hope this doesn't make a difference.

 

Regards

W6

[Worried6]

Hi Ell-enn

 

Thanks for the documents.

I forgot to say earlier that the solicitors actually stated in their letter that I should direct my responses to them not FP unless it was a payment which should go directly to FP. Is that normal practice?

I will keep copies of everything and use special delivery.

 

It feels better to get doing something. I really appreciate this help from you all.

 

Regards

W6

[Worried6]

Hi Ell-enn

 

Thanks for the documents.

I forgot to say earlier that the solicitors actually stated in their letter that I should direct my responses to them not FP unless it was a payment which should go directly to FP. Is that normal practice?

I will keep copies of everything and use special delivery.

 

It feels better to get doing something. I really appreciate this help from you all.

 

Regards

W6

[Worried6]

Does anyone think I should offer a lump sum as well as a monthly payment on my proposal. £10k is a big amount and I suppose I am frightened they will turn me down and then we are on the Wednesday deadline and I have no scope to negotiate. I seem to remember reading that some companies have a formula to decide how long it will take for your debt to be paid and thats what they use to decide if your payment is sufficient.

I haven't slept a wink and then the home pc went down so scrambled to work this morning to get back on line.

Sorry for the ramble I am not usually like this.

 

Thanks in advance

W6

[Worried6]

Does anyone think I should offer a lump sum as well as a monthly payment on my proposal. £10k is a big amount and I suppose I am frightened they will turn me down and then we are on the Wednesday deadline and I have no scope to negotiate. I seem to remember reading that some companies have a formula to decide how long it will take for your debt to be paid and thats what they use to decide if your payment is sufficient.

I haven't slept a wink and then the home pc went down so scrambled to work this morning to get back on line.

Sorry for the ramble I am not usually like this.

 

Thanks in advance

W6

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, it depends whether you can afford a lump sum? it's not up to the lender to decide whether your offer is reasonable - it's the judge who will decide that and he has the power to say how long the arrears repayment term should be. In any case, it's unlikely that you do owe £10k as there will have been charges added in. You won't know how much till you get the statement you have asked for in the letter.