Mortgage short fall write off puzzle

[manyaqeustion]

This one is weird. My mortgage statement from Dec 2013 shows NRAM have written off a mortgage shortfall off approx £590k (yes, £590,000). I do not have a statement for Dec 2014.

 

I am not sure if this is a true 'write off' or whether it is just transferred to a suspense account or the like. The property was repossessed by NRAM in August 2012 after a long long fight. The mortgage was almost £1.1m with all costs and charges and arrears etc and the property had been worth £1.2m.

 

Before repo we had offers of around £900k but could not sell as it would not clear the mortgage and NRAM are the most unreasonable company I have ever had to deal with. The property was repossessed and the same agent who was marketing it and had said it was worth around £1.2m plus then 're assessed it' for NRAM at about £650k, yes £650k and they continued to market it at a much lower price.

 

The buyers at 900 magically disappeared. It didnt sell even then and was gradually reduced during 2013 until an offer for around £570k must have been made. We only knew this as I saw it on a different agents web site and decided to try and stop the sale as an under value sale. We even went to court for an injunction to stop the sale but lost although a potential case for an undersell is still possible.

 

I feel very strongly that there was an arrangement for the agent to get it to sell as low as possible for his own personal reasons (we had known him for 10 years and he said this was one of his op 5 houses in the town). There was something just not right about the process although I cant prove that.

 

The sale went ahead in Aug 2013 and the only thing we heard from NRAM was when a statement arrived in Jan 2014. It shows the proceeds of the sale £540k plus various other smaller amounts, agents costs etc and then it says Repo Writ-Off Cred ....... £590k. This takes the mortgage account down to zero, exactly. A cheque refund of £1500 is then ADDED which takes the balance owed to £1500 (no idea what the cheque refund is).

 

Anyone reading this statement would say our mortgage balance is £1500. It is not a sales statement, it is our annual mortgage statement. Recently we were contacted by letter from PRA formerly those monsters Mackenzie Hall. It gives little detail accept our mortgage ref which is why I know its connected. I do not want to contact them or NRAM yet.

 

NRAM know that if they chase us for shortfall they have a fight for undervalue so is it possible that bearing in mind what the statement says, does this look like they have unilaterally written off the debt.

 

It is possible the PRA contact is only for the £1500 and not £590k. Not sure PRA would deal with this high value shortfall. We have had no letters assigning any debt either. We have a great deal of other debt but with a few things that are happening that debt might be manageable, the NRAM debt would be a big problem.

 

The other weird thing is that the sale is not registered with Land Registry from July 2013. I cannot find any sale of our property registered anywhere apart from our own purchase in 1999. i have searched numerous websites including land registry which list all sales in a road/post code for many years back. I have not paid for a title check.

Edited July 26, 2015 by maroondevo52
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[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome,

 

I've moved this thread to the appropriate Forum, hopefully you will get some advice shortly, though it can be quiet over the weekend.

 

Regards,

 

Scott.

[dx100uk]

Well whatever happens

Get an sar off to nram.

 

If what you say is true

There will be £1000's of penalty arrears letters phonecalls debt aadvise and. All manner of fees you can reclaim at their interest rate

 

And I suspect a whole bag of worms damaging to their actions in the whole debacle

 

Go get that sar running

 

As for PRA as with all you debts where necessary fire off a CCA request

You have of course already done this rather than blindly paying debts off to powerless dca's

 

They are not bailliff s and have no such legal powers

 

DX

[unclebulgaria67]

If you live nearby, you could always visit and see if anyone is living there. Knock on the door and ask whether they are the owners or tenants.

 

Could Northern Rock have kept the property as an asset and they have let it out ? Could this be why sale is not registered ?

[manyaqeustion]

Thanks, I will start doing something once i have a bit more info. If they have written this £590k off (literally 6 days after they received the sale proceeds) and I can be certain of it (preferably without contacting them) I'm content with that. The PRA **** I can deal with but it would be useful to know if they are simply referring to the £1500 ie the £590k was written off and the £1500 has now been sold on in a bundle.

[manyaqeustion]

Dont think so, there are new owners as they put in extensive planning apps around July 2013. Its not a major issue and if I pay landregistry it will probbly show up.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks, I will start doing something once i have a bit more info. If they have written this £590k off (literally 6 days after they received the sale proceeds) and I can be certain of it (preferably without contacting them) I'm content with that. The PRA **** I can deal with but it would be useful to know if they are simply referring to the £1500 ie the £590k was written off and the £1500 has now been sold on in a bundle.

 

You need to know the full extent of debt. Bankruptcy may be something to look into. Mortgage debts statute of limitations periods is 12 years and creditors have a habit of waiting years before chasing, in the hope that the debtors finances have improved.