Marital property has been repossessed

[HideNorHair]

Earlier this year, I posted for advice around enforcing a consent order. I managed to get the charging order (although I haven’t registered the final CO with Land Registry yet).

I was preparing to begin an application for an order for sale and discovered the property has been repossessed and the keys are with a local estate agent. After a bit of digging, it looks as if the mortgagor has repossessed the property. The EA couldn’t tell me anything about the property’s value or when it will be listed. I went up and the door handles have been smashed off and there’s loads of furniture and stuff lying around with a repossession notice in the window dated May.

I’ve asked the EA to notify me when the property is listed but is there anything I need to do in light of this info? My feeling is that this is a good development as it means I won’t have to initiate court proceedings. Will I be contacted about discharging the CO by the solicitor dealing with the sale when it comes to that or do I need to contact them?

If the mortgage company have repossessed the property because the mortgage wasn’t getting paid I doubt you will be getting any proceeds. Who was responsible for paying the mortgage?

Was your name on the mortgage? It will have a massive effect on your credit rating.

If your name was on the mortgage, then your screwed if you want to buy.

How much was left on the mortgage?

OP, isn't this actually a bad development? Assuming you were jointly on the mortgage it will mean that your credit rating is screwed. And you won't get any money from the sale as it will go towards paying off the mortgage.

Op I think you need to speak to a solicitor, but now it’s repossessed I don’t think there’s a lot that can be done

You will be lucky if you walk away from this with no debt and no impact on your ability to borrow for years to come. How do you see this as a good thing?

The mortgage was interest only, in his name and around £40k outstanding (I think, I need to dig out the divorce stuff from 2016).

He owes me around £70k including statutory interest but there are two previous COs - one from his solicitor so I guess max £30k and the other from the council so maybe £20-30k tops as it will be non payment of council tax since 2012.

a quick zoopla check shows the property worth between £175k and £260k so quite a wide difference although I could see it’s not in the best condition (his solicitor pressured me into accepting a valuation of £160k but apparently it had been valued at £190k in 2016). I’m hoping there will be enough to pay me out in full plus he is £15k in child maintenance arrears (hasn’t paid me anything in years and is self employed) so I’m hoping CMS can recoup arrears as well.

is there any way I can confirm any of these figures, from Land Registry for example?

I don't think this is a good development. I think you need some legal advice or to go to citizens advice.

The consent order I assume is a agreement as to how marital property will be split that was agreed as part of your divorce / financial settlement.

But as the house is repossessed, the lender has the right to sell the house to recoup the outstanding monies owing on the mortgage (plus I think interest and costs). So it sells, but is not incentivised to do more than get its own money back.

Once the lender has deducted what it is entitled to from the proceeds of sale, then the balance (if any - there might not be any /much) would be available to split between you and your ex per the ratio / terms agreed in the order.

But quite how that all works I am not sure...I do think you should get advice.

FYI posted last message without seeing figures as to what was owing on mortgage /value etc.

I was very fortunate to be able to buy a property before I was paid out my share of the marital property due to an inheritance I received after the divorce. As I’m not on the mortgage, does this mean my credit score will be unaffected?

I'm guessing the property is on the verge of being sold at this point. Does anyone have any idea about likely time scales? It could have taken a year or two and cost me loads to force the sale myself.

OP I'm not sure about the credit rating. You are linked by marriage so could still have an impact. Have you had a look at your credit report to see what your rating looks like?

In terms of the money owed to you, you say he was on an interest only mortgage. What is the capital that needs to be repaid?

If it's a repo it will probably be sold at auction.

I believe the capital is £40k but I realise the costs of the repossession and interest will need to be added.

is the property likely to be sold at auction even though a local estate agent has possession of the keys? They’re a national chain but don’t do auctions as far as I can tell.

how Much is owed to the bank?

they will sell it less then market value as all they want is their money back, a quick search says it’s usually about 25k less than market value, and all selling, legal and court fees will be taken by the bank as well.

I'm really confused about why he’s done this as he only had a small mortgage and was renting the property to his friends which would have easily covered the mortgage repayments. My suspicion is that he is purposefully diminishing the pot as a last ditch attempt at controlling the situation. Even so, there should still be enough to pay everyone owed (if my figures are correct) with enough for him to get a few grant too so he’s only doing himself out of the money.

Its also complicated by the fact that the marital property was my childhood home and I’m still emotionally attached to it so it’s sad to see it in its current state. I’d be tempted to buy it if I could but I wouldn’t want to live there now as I’m very happy in my new home.

It sounds like he’s just doing it to get at you which is a shame, sorry

my previous post should have said 25% and not 25k sorry

I called Land Registry today but they said they don’t hold information about the charging orders registered and I would need to deal with the charge holders directly. I’ve already tried that with his solicitor but he was unable to tell me anything, I assume it will be the same with the mortgage co. and the council. Is there any way I can find out this info?

I feel really anxious not knowing whether I will receive my share of the assets or when it’s likely to happen.

Hi OP, I thought Land Registry has a record of charging orders on a property but perhaps you have to be the property owner to see it?

It's hard to say how much if any of your money you will see a . Once the house is sold, they will take from the money the capital and interest owed, any penalties, estate agent fees, any repairs that need to be made to get it to sell etc. Then there's the other charges you mentioned - solicitor fees, council tax.

You haven't registered your CO yet with land registry, so I would do that ASAP.

@Asiama thats what I thought too but apparently they don’t hold that info according to the person I spoke to today.

My heart just sank. I’ve just clicked that interest based on the remaining term of the mortgage will be due from the proceeds of sale. I’ve just done a very basic calculation and it could be £75k or more. Plus the £40k capital, plus the estimated £50k for the other charging orders I’m probably not going to see anything of what I’m owed. Now I understand why he’s let this happen. I just thought it would be £40k plus any missed payments and interest to date.

Won't it go to auction? So it will be what people are willing to pay above starting price.

Why do you think interest from the remaining term of the mortgage would be payable? You don't pay interest on the remaining term of the mortgage when you sell the house. You only pay interest up to the date of the sale, plus any early repayment penalty. The same is true on repossession. Interest only continues if the sale price is insufficient to pay the debt in full. Even then, it would only be on the outstanding amount.

@prh47bridge, I searched ‘repossession’ on here and found a thread with that advice but I’m relieved to hear that’s not the case. Perhaps I will get something in that case but having googled the issue, in my region, the average sale price on a repossessed property is 52% - 63% although I’ve read some can go for as much as 95%. I’m not feeling very confident having started off thinking this might have been a blessing in disguise.

Seems unlikely you'll get any money, if there are two charges on it plus the mortgage company.

It seems I am nearing the end of this saga - the house completed last week but I have not been contacted by anyone about the CO. Does this mean there wasn’t enough equity to discharge the previous COs? I am struggling to find out what happened due to data protection but I’d just like to know for sure that I won’t receive any of the divorce settlement before I can move on. Is there any way I can find out this info please?

Hello @HideNorHair, have you contacted Land Registry? Perhaps they can give you further info to help.