Selling at a loss v Repossession?

[revshelp]

Hi, its come to the point were I realise that can no longer keep up mortgage repayment and service charges on my flat. I no longer have any desire to hang onto the property as its feels like a millstone around my neck. I'm considering all my options, but as the market is depressed and i'm in negative equity (unless I hang on for 5-10 years) its seems to come down to one-of-two choices.

 

1. Sell my property via Auction.
   
2. Hand the keys back to the lender (even though everything I read says not to do this) as I see very little point dragging out the repossession process if I can't sell or keep up payments.
   

 

Either way there's likely to be a short-fall to repay. If i choose the Auction will I need the lenders consent? If they don't agree, can I force the sale through below the mortgage value?

 

Any comments or advice most welcome. Thanks.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, are you in arrears with the morgage at the moment? Who is the lender?

[revshelp]

Hi

Hi there, are you in arrears with the morgage at the moment? Who is the lender?

I'm a month in arrears at the moment and could probably just about catch up, its been a huge struggle the last five years and now with £10k+ negative equity its crunch time.

 

The lender is GMAC, I've read they were fined for mis selling would that have any impact on how to proceed (or is that something to consider separately)?

 

I want to take control of the situation at an early stage, I hear certain lenders offer Assisted Voluntary Sale (AVS) schemes, are these any good?

[B-B]

Hi,

 

If you are certain the mortgage is unsustainable then it is obviously in your interest to select the exit route most advantageous to you.

 

This is unlikely to be an auction sale and for any sale to proceed at a sum less than that owed to your lender,"short sale", would require the consent of the lender.

 

Dependent upon the circumstances consent can be obtained if packaged correctly.

 

Unless you are bankrupt, It is almost always better to engage with the lender's loss mitigation depth as early as possible, or better still engage the services of an asset manager/loss mitigation service yourself. They will assist with exiting in a better position and will often convince the lender to cover their costs.

 

Never bury your head though.

 

B