Mortgage Term Expired - Possession Order Granted - GE Money/Eversheds

[mugwump99]

Hi Folks, (Sorry this is a bit long!)

 

I have trawled through several of the Forum posts relating to Possession Orders on here

and on other sites but our case seems to be different (The story of my life!)

Our INTEREST ONLY Mortgage with GE Money expired in Jan 2012 with a balance outstanding of approx £62k which we were unable to pay.

We have since made interest payments of over £15.5k at a rate of 8.44% which hasn't

changed since 2009 although we are meant to be on a variable rate.

There are no arrears and we have OVERPAID approx. £740-00 to date.

We made a written offer to GEM to repay the outstanding balance over 5 years at their

Base Rate of 4% but this was declined.

We had a remortgage offer last year but this fell through as there are other charges on

the property and we ran out of time to sort them out.

 

We went to court in September armed with 11 pages of defence as GEM's solicitors had

got most of the details wrong but the judge ignored this and said he had no option

other than to issue a possession order as we were in default (Expiry Jan 2012).

We have until Nov 25th and have been looking at all the options.

 

These are:

1 Cash Sale (Approx 84% of value)

2 Auction Sale (Estimated 88% of value)

3 Remortgage at 2.5% over 11 years to cover outstanding Mortgage and Charges.

(We are currently in a joint mortgage but would have to transfer ownership to my

partner due to my age!)

4 Bridging Loan over 1 year whilst we sort out the charges with a view to putting the

property up for sale.

 

Everybody and his dog keeps telling me we haven't got much time!

Been to CAB, 2 solicitors (£75 costs), about 20 websites, zillions of e-mails, etc! (Not much help really, especially the cAB and solicitors who seemed to tell me what I'd already told them!)

 

The judge said we would have to have tangible evidence of either a sale or a remortgage

going through - not sure if an offer document would be enough.

 

By the way GEM's solicitors (Eversheds) sent us a wad of documents dated a week before the hearing but we received them at 10am the day of the hearing - which nearly made us late!

 

GEM have since written to confirm they have a 'Absolute Possession Order' which becomes enforceable on 25th Nov 2014 and stating: "We are still, however, prepared to provide you with a further opportunity to repay the balance of your loan within a reasonable period of time".

I phoned them and was advised to put in a better proposal, shorter than the 5 years

that I had previously offered. (I have been advised that GEM send these letters out

automatically just to comply with regulations)

 

My questions are:

1 Can I appeal on the grounds that GEM's solicitors had most of the facts wrong in their application?

2 As the judge said we are in breach of our agreement should we have continued paying interest or can this be claimed as capital?

3 GEM took over our account from FN Finance/Abbey National - is this legit as other sites suggest an agreement isn't legal unless both parties have signed it (Or is that just in the USA)?

4 I have sent letters/e-mails/phone calls to the 5 parties with outstanding charges against our property, with a view to them accepting reduced settlements but have only received 1 reply to date! Would GEM or the court be liable to grant further time whilst these are sorted?

5 Does anyone know of a solicitor that can be relied upon to carry out the work in a short time?

 

I think that covers about everything for now - I'll just add that I'm reluctant to pay out fees up front with no guarantees as most of our money is still going to GEM to repay interest.

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. I hope the forum guys will be along with advice for you.

 

In the meantime, Ive added a bit to your thread title to try and get it some more attention.

 

My best, HB

[mugwump99]

Thanks Honeybee13, I'm looking forward to some replies! (I seem to be the only one on here that isn't in arrears but who's mortgage has actually expired!)

[theoldrouge]

you mention that youy have looked at the possibility of remortgaging

 

are you in a position as regards equity in your property and credit status to do this?

 

what ages are you, and what would be the loan to value?

[mugwump99]

you mention that youy have looked at the possibility of remortgaging

 

are you in a position as regards equity in your property and credit status to do this?

 

what ages are you, and what would be the loan to value?

 

 

Hi theoldrouge,

 

Property valued at £250k (Net) recently.

Outstanding Mortgage £62k and Charges £30k to £64k (Negotiating).

Credit reports ok.

Ages 59 (Female) and 68 (Male)

Ideally looking for £100k remortgage to cover all outstanding charges. So LTV = 40%.

Edited October 29, 2014 by mugwump99
Added name at top

[theoldrouge]

if your income meets the criteria, there are still remortgages available to age 80 with an LTV upto 60%

 

may be worth talking to a good broker specialising in whole of market

 

have a read here

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/jul/11/fixed-mortgage-deal-homeowners-80

[mugwump99]

Hi theoldrouge,

 

Thanks, I'll take a look

[Lea_HTH]

My questions are:

1 Can I appeal on the grounds that GEM's solicitors had most of the facts wrong in their application?

2 As the judge said we are in breach of our agreement should we have continued paying interest or can this be claimed as capital?

3 GEM took over our account from FN Finance/Abbey National - is this legit as other sites suggest an agreement isn't legal unless both parties have signed it (Or is that just in the USA)?

4 I have sent letters/e-mails/phone calls to the 5 parties with outstanding charges against our property, with a view to them accepting reduced settlements but have only received 1 reply to date! Would GEM or the court be liable to grant further time whilst these are sorted?

5 Does anyone know of a solicitor that can be relied upon to carry out the work in a short time?

 

1. No. The actual fact they were relying on is correct: the loan term is over.

 

2. You have to continue paying interest - your loan term is over, you have not paid the outstanding balance, ergo there is still interest accruing on the debt.

 

3. It's hot air from other sites. Totally irrelevant.

 

4. Most of them won't agree to a reduced payment for one reason: you have LOTS of equity in their property, and they will get the full amount of your debt to them even if the property is repossessed and sold at a lower market value. Your best bet is to remortgage (if you can) and resolve matters that way - it puts you in a stronger position for negotiating lower payments and getting the charges removed. Whilst the charges remain, and a possession order has been granted, the chargees have no concerns over whether they'll get their money or not (they will).

 

5. There isn't, to be honest, any actual work for a solicitor to do at this stage - this is more about you being proactive to find yourself another mortgage (if you can), sell (if you can), and obtain any relevant documentation that will be persuasive to a judge to stop any warrant of execution being carried out (which is what has to occur after the possession order date passes).

 

Forgot to add that GE Money have a thing (which they never disclose) that allows them to accept repayment over a period of two years beyond the term of the loan. Unfortunately you seem to be past that two years, otherwise you could have offered them payment terms that clear the loan in that time.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Lea_HTH
Forgot to add...

[mugwump99]

Thanks Lea_HTH you have been very helpful!

 

I had come to most of the conclusions that you state but trying to get sensible and correct information is not easy as I'm sure you know!

 

We have been offered a remortgage in my partners name only (As she is younger at 59) but the problem seems to be cache 22 as the charges need to be removed before any remortgage can go ahead.

 

I have been offered a 1 year Bridging Loan but this would cost a fortune. (I'm sending a PM also.) Thanks again.

[mugwump99]

Thanks Lea_HTH you have been very helpful!

 

I had come to most of the conclusions that you state but trying to get sensible and correct information is not easy as I'm sure you know!

 

We have been offered a remortgage in my partners name only (As she is younger at 59) but the problem seems to be cache 22 as the charges need to be removed before any remortgage can go ahead.

 

I have been offered a 1 year Bridging Loan but this would cost a fortune. (I'm sending a PM also.) Thanks again.

 

Sorry Lea_HTH I tried to send a PM but unable due to lack of posts!

I didn't want to put company names on the main forum but I've been in touch with

a company and they say they can stop this but they haven't put anything in writing to date.

 

One possibility I have been considering is if we can raise the £62k to clear GEM, we

then have plenty of time to get a remortgage or sell at our leisure.

I'm not sure if this can only be done through an expensive bridging loan or if we can

get an agreement for a 3rd party to buy the property with a proviso that we have the

option to buy it back within a certain time-scale for a set price including the 3rd

parties fee - obviously this would have to be drawn up properly via a solicitor.

 

Thanks again for your help (Message truncated to avoid names!)

Edited October 30, 2014 by mugwump99
spelling

[Lea_HTH]

If your partner has been offered a remortgage, does this take account of repaying the charges? If yes, then it would just seem to be an issue in informing the chargees that the monies will be repaid via the remortgage. The remortgage should not be dependent on the charges being removed, since you need the remortgage precisely for that purpose! It would be self-defeating. If, however, the mortgage is certain, and the bridging loan (used to pay off the charges) will be paid off before its interest rates leap, then by all means use the bridging loan...but only if you are certain the remortgage will be complete in time to repay the bridging loan in good time.

 

I don't give advice in PM - it is my policy that any advice I give should be on the forum for others in similar circumstances to benefit from. Otherwise I'd expect to be paid (being a lawyer!).

[mugwump99]

Thanks again, The only reason I tried to PM you was that I am reluctant to put too much information on here regarding specific companies whose adverts appear on various site's - I realise the site's don't necessarily endorse the ad's.!

The remortgage would cover all outstanding charges if the charge holders agree to discounts which 1 has and 1 other did recently (June 2014) - 3 to go!

The bridging loan we have been offered would last one year and cost about 30k+ which I think is excessive.

[caro]

Sorry Lea_HTH I tried to send a PM but unable due to lack of posts!

I didn't want to put company names on the main forum but I've been in touch with

a company and they say they can stop this but they haven't put anything in writing to date.

 

 

Help with what? Stopping the possession or getting a loan? What can they do that you can't do yourself? Can you just give an overview of what they say they can do for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One possibility I have been considering is if we can raise the £62k to clear GEM, we

then have plenty of time to get a remortgage or sell at our leisure.

I'm not sure if this can only be done through an expensive bridging loan or if we can

get an agreement for a 3rd party to buy the property with a proviso that we have the

option to buy it back within a certain time-scale for a set price including the 3rd

parties fee - obviously this would have to be drawn up properly via a solicitor.

 

Thanks again for your help (Message truncated to avoid names!)

 

 

Please be very cautious about any schemes.

 

 

Although time is short I would suggest that you send a SAR just to check that there weren't any charges.

 

 

Forgive me if I've missed this, but is your house on the market? If not then I would get it on as a matter of urgency as you'll do better if you can control the sale yourself.

[caro]

Any update mugwump?

[mugwump99]

Not really! I'm still trying to obtain a remortgage offer. I have had offers from 2 cash buyers but we are trying to raise at least the 62k to get GEM off our backs and give more time.

Found another bridging source that was much cheaper than the first but the problem is we have to have an exit route.

I did attempt to reply to your previous points but my reply appears to have got lost in transit!

I'n not sure why you suggested sending a SAR as we have over 40 pages of statements from GEM rec'd in August 2014!

If we can't progress on the remortgage offer we will have to go ahead with the cash buyer by the end of the week to give enough time for the solicitors.

We are reluctant to sell as we won't have enough cash to buy anything within about 100 miles of here and my partners work and church are nearby.

We will probably end up renting a one bed flat and that will cost about £850 a month in this area - about the same, or more than a remortgage.

[caro]

I mention the sar in case there may be charges that you can reclaim as although not in arrears now I don't know if you may have been in the past. Obviously it won't solve the immediate problem but may get you some money back at a later date.

 

I hope you find a solution that suits you. Let us know how it goes or if you have any other questions you know where we are. Good luck.

[mugwump99]

Thanks, there are a couple of £40 charges I'm questioning - I did manage to get 2 or 3 removed previously for late payment (A few days!)

I was intending to argue the balances after we've secured a remortgage and through a solicitor

I'm still trawling through the over 40 pages of statements!

Thanks again for your help, I'll let you know what happens.

best regards, mugwump99

[caro]

When you claim them you want the interest on them too. You don't need a solicitor, but obviously you have other priorities at the moment.