3rd eviction order

[slights32]

Hi guys maybe you can help me out with what seems a hopeless situation

 

The house was bought in August 2007 so it's been roughly 5 years, in 2009 the first court order was suspended and payments were kept until then, and then following payment problems in 2011 the next eviction order came through in December 2011. This one was suspended following a hearing and we realised we're on thin ice but following recent problems with me losing my job due to health problems and delays in processing the mortgage help from Income Support Allowance we are behind £500 on May and a further £1000 for June, which resulted in a court order being served. I have three kids who are all dependent on me and the mortgage is in my wife's name.

 

We have kept in touch with Hamlins who are the solicitors representing Abbey (now Santander), and their advice was to explain these problems in the witness statement. What worries me is the fact that it's the third time and the court isn't going to be as lenient, what are our options?

 

Thanks in advance.

[MARTIN3030]

Welcome to the site.

Someone should be along soon to give some thoughts.

[Ell-enn]

Is the problem with the income support allowance resolved now?

[slights32]

Is the problem with the income support allowance resolved now?

 

Hi, yes that was sorted only very recently after the eviction notice was served and will be covering about 70% of the mortgage, in addition I'll be able to pay roughly £1500 towards the arrears soon. The total amount of arrears is just over £6000.

[Ell-enn]

Are you able to make up the other 30% plus a little towards the arrears each month?

[slights32]

Are you able to make up the other 30% plus a little towards the arrears each month?

 

Right now we will be able to afford it and although it isn't certain we should be able to pay off the arrears in lump sums of around 1000 pounds too. The eviction date is for 16th August, so we're hoping to go to the court in the next few days if possible. I've already obtained paper copies of the N244 form and I'd find any help with Q.10 very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to help.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, I'm happy to help with a statement for Q10 of the N244 - in the meantime, have a look here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...r-repossession there are examples of how to fill in the N244 and also the statement for Q10.

[slights32]

Thank you, I'll fill out the form and get started on a draft for Q.10 which you can hopefully look over.

[slights32]

Hi Ell-enn, I have a rough draft of the statement prepared, should I post it here for you to read?

[Ell-enn]

Yes, that's fine - I'll take a look:)

[slights32]

Thank you,

 

 

STATEMENT

I am the defendant in this case and respectfully request the court to consider the

following information when hearing my application:

 The arrears arose due to the fact that my husband has been too ill to continue work in recent months, in the form of severe back and shoulder pain. Consequently he has applied for Income Support Allowance which will also assist with the mortgage, however there was a delay in the processing of this application which took up time and made it hard for us to stay on target with payments.

 Despite this we kept in contact with the Claimant in order to demonstrate our willingness to pay and we kept the Claimant advised of the situation at all times. We made an offer to repay the arrears but they have refused to negotiate and demanded the full arrears to be paid in order to stop eviction.

 However, our situation has improved as my husband’s Income Support Allowance application has now been approved and will cover some of the cost of the mortgage. The enclosed income and expenditure sheet demonstrates that I will be comfortably able to afford the rest as well as any arrears payments on top of the mortgage. Please see affixed income and expenditure

statement – Appendix 1 (AFFIX COMPLETED BUDGET SHEET – WRITE THE CLAIM NUMBER ON

THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER OF IT AND APPENDIX 1 ON THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER)

Therefore I respectfully ask the court to take into account the case of Cheltenham and

Gloucester v Norgan when considering my offer of payment and also s.36 of the

Administration of Justice Act 1970.

• There are 3 dependent children resident in the property, aged 19, 18 and 7. It would not be ideal for me to vacate my property as my youngest child would have to relocate to another school which would be stressful and uncomfortable for him as well as disrupting his learning, and my second child suffers from Ulcerative Colitis for which he is receiving ongoing treatment; the additional stress of leaving his home may excarbate his condition.

 I assure the court that I am deeply committed to clearing the arrears and respectfully

ask that eviction is suspended in order to avoid the expensive and unnecessary costs which

would undoubtedly arise following repossession in the current property climate.

I believe the above to be true and factual.

[barbershop0]

Hi Ell-enn is the expert on these. You say that you can pay the monthly payment on time each month in the future. Have you thought of a value that you can afford each month to go towards the arrears, rather than in random lumps of £1000?

[slights32]

Yes we can probably provide an extra £100 or so towards the arrears along with the monthly payments.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, a few suggestions:

 

STATEMENT

I am the defendant in this case and respectfully request the court to consider the following information when hearing my application:

 

• The arrears arose due to the fact that my husband has been too ill to continue work in recent months, in the form of severe back and shoulder pain. Consequently he has applied for Income Support Allowance which will also assist with the mortgage, however there was a delay in the processing of this application which took up time and made it hard for us to stay on target with payments.
  

 

• Despite this we kept in contact with the Claimant in order to demonstrate our willingness to pay and we kept the Claimant advised of the situation at all times. We made an offer to repay the arrears but they have refused to negotiate and demanded the full arrears to be paid in order to stop eviction.
  

 

• However, our situation has improved as my husband’s Income Support Allowance application has now been approved and will cover some of the cost of the mortgage Please see Appendix 1 affixed. (Affix confirmation of the approval).
  

 

• I am confident I can maintain payments of £100 per month in addition to the normal monthly payment - Please see income and expenditure sheet - Appendix 2 affixed.
  

Therefore I respectfully ask the court to take into account the case of Cheltenham and Gloucester v Norgan when considering my offer of payment and also s.36 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970.

• There are 3 dependent children resident in the property, aged 19, 18 and 7.

To

vacate

the

property

would mean

my youngest child would have to relocate to another school which would be stressful and uncomfortable for him as well as disrupting his learning, and my second child suffers from Ulcerative Colitis for which he is receiving ongoing treatment; the additional stress of leaving his home may excarbate his condition.

I assure the court that I am firmly committed to clearing the arrears and respectfully ask that eviction is suspended in order for me to provide a stable honme for my children and to avoid the expensive and unnecessary costs which would undoubtedly arise following repossession in the current property climate.

 

I believe the above to be true and factual.

 

 

 

Are you ok with setting out the statement in the correct format? Also don't forget to write the Claim number and Appendix number on the documents you are affixing.

[slights32]

Thanks so much for that. I don't have a printer so I'll be writing it to a sheet of lined paper and sign it at the bottom, is that OK? Also I assume it is meant to be written in continuous prose and not bullet points, so I'll change that too. How good do you think our chances are to get the order suspended again? Thanks again.

[Ell-enn]

You neede to keep the bullet points, it makes it easier for the judge to read and as he only has around 5 minutes to do so you need to keep it as clear as possible.

 

You will also need to photocopy the N244 form and the statement and appendices, so you have the originals to hand into court and a set for you to refer to in the hearing (make sure you staple the form and attachments securely together before handing in to the court). You will need to pay a fee of £40 at the court and it will need to be in cash.

 

Does your local library have internet access and printer? most of them do - you can pay to access CAG online and then print the statement to their printer, you should also be able to photocopy there. Remember to put the case number, your names and the lenders names at the top of the statement as shown in the examples in the guide.

 

If you can show you are able to reduce the arrears by £100 per month then I don't think you should have a problem getting the eviction stopped. When you hand in the N244 at the court ask if there are any duty legal advisers in attendance on the day of your hearing, lots of courts have them now and they can accompany you into the court and support your case.

[slights32]

Okay, I've realised a little mistake as I'm actually paying £150 towards arrears each month right now anyway, so I can say I am going to continue the same payments can't I? Over £150 would be a struggle. If I remember correctly last time they requested triplicate so I'll get 3 copies of everything and type the statement out with bullet points then print 3 copies too. I'll also fill out an income/expenditure sheet and include that with the ISA approval. Thanks a lot for your help and I'll keep the forum posted with any developments!

[Ell-enn]

Do you have an income and expenditure sheet? I have affixed the one we normally use in these cases (it calculates automatically as you fill it in, so you can adjust the figures to give the right balance).

 

You don't need 3 copies, just one set to hand in to the court and one set for you to refer to in the hearing - the court will send a copy to the mortgage company after you've handed it in.

[slights32]

Hi yes I have the Budget Sheet spreadsheet which I will be working on overnight and it looks like it is in a nice format that allows it to be printed on one side of A4 too.

[Ell-enn]

Any news ?

[slights32]

Any news ?

 

Hi Ell-enn, we've submitted the papers but the hearing isn't till the 14th August, which is only two days before the eviction date. Is there anything else we can do to prepare for the hearinh in the meantime?

[Ell-enn]

The only thing you can do in the meantime is make a payment if it it due before the hearing

[slights32]

Hi Ell-enn, the judge has suspended the warrant based on the evidence provided. Thanks so much for your help and this website's dedication to its work.

[Ell-enn]

Excellent! Well done