Repossession Advice Needed - Complicated Estate Inheritance

[UpIsDown]

Hi all. I'm writing as I have quite an unusual case and am looking to see if anyone has any advice on my best chances of success.

 

I've inherited a property from my deceased Mother through obtaining Letters of Administration.

 

Her mortgage lender took me to court without informing me of the date. I didn't get a summons from court either. The repossession hearing occurred on September 3rd and the Judge granted an Order for Repossession dated October 29th.

 

Since finding out about this I have found a solicitor who filed an appeal for me (the N244 form) and I now have an appeal hearing scheduled for November 8th.

 

Me and my Partner are currently in the process of a mortgage application and are nearing the final stages. But as is usual with these things I can't be sure that we will get the "final offer" by November 8th.

 

Also, the house has been up for sale on the market since Late August. However it is a Leasehold property and I do not currently have the funds to obtain Freehold. As there aren't many years left on the lease it's been very hard to find a buyer.

 

I am just wondering whether the Lender can apply for a Warrant of Possession before I even get to my November 8th court date. I am also wondering whether I would be allowed more time by the Judge to obtain a mortgage or sell the house. Or what else could happen at the court date.

 

The arrears currently stand at £8,500. The Lender has made me an offer, to freeze the mortgage for 90 days if I pay the £8,500 and two months mortgage upfront (£9,400 in total).

 

I am currently on Universal Credit and am looking hard for any job that has contracted hours in order to show the Judge that I can pay the mortgage + a portion of the arrears each month going forward until I either have obtained the mortgage, or sold the house.

 

I'll have £1,400 (mostly borrowed from friends) that I can offer on November 8th as an upfront payment. I'm hoping if I've found a permanent contract job with enough hours by then I can offer £450 for the mortgage payment per month. Plus, £350-£400 to go towards the arrears. 

 

The only problem I can see is that the Lender has said numerous times they wouldn't let me pay the same mortgage terms as my Mother as it was her mortgage. Which is why I've already applied for a new mortgage. But it's just cutting so close to the court date, I don't think I'll have a "final offer" until the week after at the earliest.

 

My back-up plan, if it all goes wrong on November 8th, is to appeal the Warrant of Possession upon receiving an Eviction Date. I am hoping, if not by November 8th, then definitely by the time I get an eviction date I'll either have obtained a mortgage, made a sale on the house, or found a job with enough contracted hours to prove I can afford to pay them monthly for the time being. I'm wondering, how long after the Order for Repossession date does the Eviction Notice come? 

 

The whole mortgage stands at £42,500. Arrears at £8,500. The house has been valued at £170,000. So there is a lot of equity in the property. However, I have been told by the Lenders Legal Team that if they successfully repossess I stand to earn nothing as it's my Mother's estate. (Even though I've gone through Letters of Administration) So I am willing to sell the house fast through some "webuyanyhome" site if I'm desperate.

 

Sorry for the long post. It's all very confusing. Thank you for taking the time to read. 

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. I expect people will be along to advise later.

 

I have one question please. Why do the lender say you won't see anything from the sale? Are you the sole beneficiary of your mother's estate?

 

Maybe you could also tell us who the lender is.

 

Best, HB

[UpIsDown]

Hi there. Yes I am the sole beneficiary of my Mother’s estate. She passed without a will unfortunately but I’ve now obtained Letters of Administration.

 

The Lender is the Halifax and it is their legal team Ascent who have said if they repossess the house then after the sale I stand to inherit nothing as it’s my Mother’s Estate.

 

They were initially unwilling to deal with anyone but my Mother but after a lot of pressure from my Partner have since made the offer that if I pay all the arrears plus 2 months mortgage I’ll get a 90-day freeze in order to sell the house.

Edited October 26, 2019 by UpIsDown
Typo

[Ethel Street]

2 hours ago, UpIsDown said:

However, I have been told by the Lenders Legal Team that if they successfully repossess I stand to earn nothing as it's my Mother's estate. (Even though I've gone through Letters of Administration) 

 

 

Sorry to hear about your mother's death. I can't help you with your questions about repossession orders, not my field, but re your mother's Estate may I comment? 

 

The lender's legal team are correct to say that the house, and whatever money is left if they repossess and sell it, do not go to you personally. The funds after any sale are part of your late mother's Estate. She died Intestate, without a Will, and I'm sure that as you have a solicitor, and have been granted Letters of Administration, you are aware who can inherit Intestate Estates. My understanding is that, as the Administrator, you cannot pass on the house to anyone yet , not even yourself, until you have free title to it. You don't at the moment because of the unpaid mortgage.

 

If you can do a deal with the Halifax all well and good. But otherwise the default is that Halifax repossess and sell and whatever cash is left at the end of that goes into your late mother's Estate for you, as Administrator, to distribute according to Intestacy rules. 

[UpIsDown]

Thank you for your response Ethel. That makes a lot more sense to me now. 

 

Under Intestacy Laws I am the only person entitled to inherit her estate as I am her only child and she has been divorced from my Father since 2001. So once the mortgage is paid off (either through Halifax repossessing and selling the house, or myself getting that new mortgage) I will be able to (as Administrator) distribute the remainder of my Mother’s estate to myself. Am I understanding that correctly? 

[unclebulgaria67]

Try to put a fund together to offer the Mortgage company a lump sum and regular payments,  so this can be presented to the Court.  See if you can suspend the repossession process for a year, while you attempt to sell the property, so the mortgage can be repaid and any money released to those who are entitled to inherit.

 

I would have thought that there was a legal way of securing the property, while the transfer of any equity ownership was resolved.  

[UpIsDown]

I’m the only person who will stand to inherit from the Estate. I’ve got together £1,400 that I can offer upfront. I’ve applied for dozens of contracted hour jobs so I’m hoping to be able to go into court and offer to pay the £1,400 upfront and then £450/month mortgage fee, plus £400 of the arrears for each month going forward while I try to sell the house.

 

My ideal scenario would be a suspended possession order as I’m in the late stages of a mortgage application at the moment, and if all goes well, I should have a final offer by mid-November.

 

I’m taking out a mortgage of more than the full sum of the remaining Halifax mortgage so I can pay off the entire mortgage.

 

I’m wondering would it be possible to seek an adjournment on November 8th as I feel the mortgage offer will come through by mid-November. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by UpIsDown

[UpIsDown]

Great news! Had the hearing today and they accepted my offer of Mortgage + £200 a month for a suspended possession order! Started a new job this week so I have the funds to pay each month now until I sell this house.

 

I know I haven’t posted much but I must say a huge thank you to everyone on this forum. Reading old cases and seeing all the advice and knowing what to expect helped so much.

 

If I hadn’t read about the Norgen Case I don’t think it would have gone well at all. It’s such a relief. I feel like I can finally breathe now.

 

Once again a huge thank you to all of you posting advice. I’m just so glad I found this forum and so grateful to everyone using your free time to post on here. And I’m happy to return the favour if anyone’s going through the same thing and wishes to message me.

 

What a load off!

[Ethel Street]

That's good to hear. I hope it all works out well for the future.

[honeybee13]

That's excellent news, well done.

 

HB