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Original poster

So scared ... it looks likely that my home will be repossessed before Christmas

36 replies

jellyjem · 23/10/2013 21:26

I am so worried, its looking very likely that we will loose our home by Christmas.

My DH was made redundant 18 months ago and despite applying for hundreds of jobs he has been unable to find work, he is 47 so I think his age is against him on the jobs market. He is trying to earn money selling cosmetics on a market stall but it is very slow and hard work.

Our mortgage company agreed that we could pay interest only for 6 months but this agreement runs out next month and they have informed me that they will not grant another interest only period and expect us to go back to our full payments plus a bit extra to catch up on the payments we have missed. There is no way we can do this. DH is hardly earning anything and I only work part time.

I think we really need to go bankrupt to clear our debts and start again with a clean slate as I just cannot see how we will ever clear our credit cards and loans, we are being chased for payments we cannot afford. I have stopped paying our unsecured debt and already have 2 CCJ's which are obviously also going to show up on any credit searches a letting agent would do if we had the house repossessed and tried to rent somewhere.

I have never rented before. Will we be able to rent a house with CCJ's, repossession and possibly bankrupcy too. I never thought this would happen to me. I can't sleep or think about anything else, I feel like I have failed my little girl and we are all going to end up homeless.

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 23/10/2013 21:33

You have not failed your little girl.

You can sort this out.

Firstly, you could try to remortgage, and find a lender who will be happy for interest only long term.

Secondly, you could sell and rent. (you will be able to rent if you find a guarantor, if you can't pay six months rent up front)

Thirdly, you could go bankrupt. This doesn't necessarily mean you will lose your house, if it is in negative equity, and you can afford re-payments (which you, can't with current mortgage - see first point).

You have your health and your DH and your DD. Those are the important things in life. Together you will get through this.

LynetteScavo · 23/10/2013 21:44

I'm not sure what they are..but there are websites which offer advice to people in your situation, maybe someone can link....

Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 21:57

Thank you, I just wish I could stop regretting our past mistakes but we both worked full time when we took the credit out and thought our salaries would always be ale to pay everything off. Te situation is just awful and I feel like I am going round in circles. I even broke down at work today sitting right in front of my MD just because he told me my salary would stay the same this year. I dont know who was more embarrased, him or me.

No one would remorgage us with CCJ's would they? How do guarantors work? My MIL would probably do this for us if she did not have to contribute anything financially but she is 82 so has no income, would they accept this do you think?

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MaccaPaccaismyNemesis · 23/10/2013 22:02

You can rent privately and avoid agents and therefore credit checks. I have an old ccj which would prevent me letting through an agency. Gumtree and adverts in shops are how i've doing housing. Also saves money as no 'referencing and credit check fees'. Also, no/little house checks and IMO jobs get done quicker and easier. Also easier to decorate and make the house a home.

LynetteScavo · 23/10/2013 22:16

I all honesty, I think putting your house on the market/filing for bankruptcy is the way to go....doing nothing will be the worst thing.

If you are employed, try to get all the debts in to your DH's name, then if he goes bankrupt you will be able to rent in your name, based on your wages.

Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 22:25

Thank you both, you have given me a glimmer of hope. Me and DH have a lot of hard decissions to make.

I have found the details for Step Change online and will ring them Friday when I am off work for some more advice on what to do. Do either of you know if I am likely to find somewhere to rent with a pet, we have a Jack Russell cross and he is part of our family.

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sydlexic · 23/10/2013 22:25

Phone national debt line, they will be able to advise you more accurately as you will be able to give them more information.

Don't worry yourself sick, you will find that if it it happens it won't be as bad as the worrying beforehand was.

We lost our house and business 20 years ago. I now own 4 houses. You can recover.

keli5325 · 23/10/2013 22:25

Do not feel like you have failed your little girl, she would rather have a lovely happy mummy than all the money in the world :-)

Can you tell me if you have any equity in your house?

How much debt you have?

How much you can afford to pay towards your debts? if anything?

If you have had an arrangement in place the mortgage lender will not be able to repossess and evict you before Christmas unless they have already started proceedings against you. england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repossession/steps_before_court_action

palecheeks · 23/10/2013 22:33

I have gone bankrupt this year, but I don't own my house so I don't know all the details about that. I used the Stepchange charity (website and phone line) for advice, they were brilliant and explained everything and I'd really recommend them. The Moneysavingexpert forum on bankruptcy is also good, there are some professionals who post on that board who'd be able to explain what would happen to your home. In some circumstances people have been able to keep their owned homes. I think that in cases when you are going to rent, it is better to go bankrupt first because it does come up on credit checks.

Are you claiming everything you're entitled to? E.g. working/child tax credits? You might also get housing benefit if you rented so that might suit you better instead of a mortgage anyway (although many landlords won't rent to people on HB).

Get advice before transferring things into one person's name, I'm not sure about debts but I know that moving assets into one spouse's name is frowned upon.

You could also consider an IVA which I think usually allows you to keep assets like a property, but you have to have a certain amount of disposable income to repay creditors, and it lasts longer than bankruptcy and still damages your credit rating.

MaccaPaccaismyNemesis · 23/10/2013 22:52

I have 2 cats so pets are again easier in private rental. Grin

Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 22:52

Thanks everyone. We have a mortgage and a secured loan (stupid I know) I think we would probably have about £15,000 in equity after these were both paid off. Our other debts probably amount to about £20,000 this includes council tax arrears, gas and electricity arrears, credit cards and a car loan.

We started to struggle with our debts when I had our daughter and switched to part time but we managed as my DH was working at the time.

I have checked and we are claiming everything we are entitled to so no help there.

We don't have enough money to cover our outgoings once the mortgage returns to the full payment plus some which it will net month so I don't think an IVA would help.

I have been reading the money saving expert boards but have not had the nerve to post there yet. I think I am only just starting to face up to this as I always thought things would get better, my DH has tried so hard to earn so money but its just not happening.

I have not admitted any of this to anyone in real life and its going to be horrible telling our friends and family. I feel like such a looser, I'm in my mid 40's and worse off than I have ever been, just cant see how we are going to come back from this.

OP posts:
Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 22:57

forgot to say Keli- is repossession a long process then, I am sure our mortgage company have not started any proceddings yet as they have been working with us until now.

OP posts:
iheartdusty · 23/10/2013 23:00

even if the mortgage company mades a court claim for repossession, you won't lose your home before Christmas.

The court has to give you 28 days notice before the hearing; if a possession order is made, it will give you another 28 days; and there is a general 'amnesty' over Christmas (no evictions); and the courts will be closed for a few days anyway.

Worst scenario - you would have until end of January early February.

you have time to:

  • put house on market
- search for a second job for you (Dh to do childcare)
  • renegotiate loan payments (stepchange can help)
keli5325 · 23/10/2013 23:02

hi jellyjem it does take a good few months.
i will post the process in the morning but if you time it right you will have sufficient time to find a rented property xx
I post on mse and you will get good advice on the forum so dont be worried about posting!
try not to worry, i know its easy to say but i have never seen a debt problem that cant be solved.

QuintessentialFucker · 23/10/2013 23:04

Can you find full time work if your husband is not earning much?

QuintessentialFucker · 23/10/2013 23:05

Also, can you see if you can find any 0% finance deals on credit cards, so you can move your balance over?

Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 23:12

Thanks xx. If we cant sell the house (market is pretty stagnant here) is it better to have the house repossessed, find somewhere to rent and then go bankrupt or does it not make much difference which order you do things in. Oh that whole sentence sounds so daunting and scary.

I will ring Step Change on Friday but a few answers now might give me a better nights sleep. I keep waking at 3am with panic attacks and acid indigestion.

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keli5325 · 23/10/2013 23:14

i am in bed thinking of options for you Grin
You could consider putting the house on the market and using some of the proceeds for a bond and few months rent and the remainder being used for a full and final settlement iva?
You might need to spk to the mortgage company but i am sure they would prefer that than incur legal fees and you would be in control

onlyfortonight · 23/10/2013 23:17

Keep paying what you can afford to your mortgage company, no matter what they ask for. They will eventually take you to court. Go along to the hearing and explain to the judge what you are doing to pay back the money, and what your outgoings are. The judge will almost certainly expect the mortgage company to accept your terms, (and indeed they are usually happy to agree to a reduced amount, since repossession and forced sale will cost them more money!)

Keep on fighting! Often houses are repossessed just because the householder doesn't turn up to the hearing - they have given up the fight. In fact, the lawyer representing the bank often has quite considerable leeway to negotiate a settlement.

keli5325 · 23/10/2013 23:18

our posts crossed!
You can stop paying the mortgage and save some money for a bond then move into rented and allow them to repo the house.
Bankruptcy will cost you £750 each and you can petition for bankruptcy before or after you move it is really up to you x

palecheeks · 23/10/2013 23:19

Use the online debt remedy on Stepchange, it will help gather all the information you need before you call them (though it sounds like you know all your figures so that is good). It sounds like you actually only have a shortfall of £5k though which isn't a huge amount to go bankrupt over. It may mean you could get a debt relief order instead - cheaper than bankruptcy, though you need to have assets of less than £300 so it would only be relevant if you no longer had the house.

You don't have to tell anyone you don't want to about bankruptcy, though if you have to move I'm sure some will suspect. But I told very few people, it's not really public these days although it's listed on some websites, but most people won't be aware unless you tell them or they actively search under your name.

Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 23:19

Quin - I have tried to get more hours at work but was turned down as the company I work for is also struggling, hundreds of people apply for every job where I live and I don't hold much hope of either of us finding anything better soon to be honest.

We would not get a credit card because of the CCJ's

OP posts:
QuintessentialFucker · 23/10/2013 23:20

Can you take on additional work? Cleaning jobs? Ironing? Evening babysitting?

onlyfortonight · 23/10/2013 23:21

Sorry, I forgot to say...

...Good Luck...you will get though this one way or another, and bankruptcy or IVA are not as bad as they once were, so forgive yourself if you have to go down that route. The truth is none of us are anymore than 3-6 months from bankruptcy ourselves, no matter what we currently earn or how good we are with money. Life happens...Thanks

Original poster
jellyjem · 23/10/2013 23:28

Thank you all. I am going to bed now but you have given me lots to think about, I do feel a bit less like I am spinning round in circles with no answers or hope now.

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