Help please! Questions about bankruptcy [sad]

[mustsleep]

Hi

Right this will be long so please bear with me
My husband and myself are terrible with cash, we both had a fair bit of debt when we got together and have never managed to clear it etc, we have always made the payments on everything on time etc though but have had to gowithout things like cars and holidays etc so we can afford to pay all this out and look after the kids

Right anyway dh is self employed and since all this credit crunch crap the people he works for have cut his wage in two! We are struggling to make ends meet, I work also but am on mat leave at the moment, but I can't wotk any more than I do due to childcare costs being too high

So now it looks like we are not going to have enough money to pay everything if things keep going the way they are and I am looking into what we could/ might have to do

Bankruptcy is the last option but I just wanted to know that if dh goes bankrupt will we lose the house?
If he signs it over to me, can he no longer be named on the mortgage and would we still lose it if it was in my name?
Could we sign it over to my parents and say we are renting it from them?

Don't care about tellys, and other things but would hate to lose the house for the kid's sake!

We have no debts secured on the house and have the mortgage payment insurance for if dh is out of work, but no loan insurance etc

We tried last year to get a further advance to pay the debt down, but couldn't as the house prices had dropped so low
We can't a get a loan to consolodate it all as nowhere will give us one due to affordability even though it would be about a third less than we are paying out now!

Has anyone any experience of this I mean we are just struggling along at the moment robbing Peter to pay paul but eventually we will have to do something

Get to the CAB now before anything gets messy-I don't know much about this, but please go and talk to the CAB.

Do you know if I can email them?

I do voluntary work with an organisation where we see an awful lot of people in uncontolled debt.

I strongly recommend getting all your bills, debts and bank account balances together on the kitchen table.

Work out an honest itemised budget and then make an appointment with CAB. If you go with a wel worked out budget and a real total of what you owe thay will be able to help you quicker.

There are many ways through this - its not just a question of bankruptcy.

Transferirng the house to you and then having yur husband go bankrupt will not work. Creditors will ask the judge to ignore that transfer.

You need a lot of detailed advice and a public forum like mumsnet is not the right place.

Final question you should ask about your house. Is it really worth more than the mortgage? If not - is it worth worrying about losing? If it is worth more than teh mortgege then just sell it and pay off your debts and rent.

Do not be temptd to sell it at a discount to one of those 'sale and rent back' companies. Sell it to a private buyer and just go and rent another house you can afford.

Whatever you do - never just hand back the keys to the bank. Wait to be repossessed. The banks are doing this as a last resort and more importantly if you just make yourself homeless by voluntarily leaving your house then the council will not help to rehouse you.

go insolvent their sort your debts and give u a sum u can aford

thanks

we can't do an iva as dh is self employed and for some strange reason this is not an option open to self employed

we know exactly what we owe out and that and have all the paperwork etc

the house is not worth more than the mortgage but we aren't able to borrow more on to it

whatever happens we will pay the mortgage just might not be able to pay the credit cards and loans what would happen then? we would be able to pay something off them but we have to live (buy food, clothes for the kids etc)

plus my husband's visa is with yorkshire bank and the minimum payment on £2500 is £66 but then it says that if we just pay the minimum payment that the estimated interest on the next bill will be £55!!

does this seem like a lot of interest to anyone else, I'm sure my credit card doesn't have that much interest each month!

He is going to see if he can transfer the balance to a 0% one

Not looking at bankruptcy as a solution but sometimes it feelslikeit would be easier than struggling all the time!

If we were bankrupt though and wanted to rent would we get anywhere cos tey credit check you now don't they lol

You can't sign over the house as they will look into recent transactions to "hide" assets. You need proper advice from CAB or one of many government back free debt management charities (not the companies who advertise on tv though as they will use it as an opportunity to make money themselves). There are options be they holding off creditors and paying back at a low amount to keep going, IVA or bankruptcy but you need help to choose the route best for you long term.

If you pay the mortgage then your house couldn't be reposessed could it?

The CAB offer good advice so definitely go to see them as another poster said.
Also, could you talk to your creditors individually and maybe work out a plan to pay back less at least in the short term. If you explain your current circumstances then maybe they could help you?

If the worst comes to the worst and you do lose you house you will find that the children care about it a LOT less than you think.
Children don't equate a house with security imho they would rather have a happy mum and dad

Seek proper advice and if it is too stressful accept that bankruptcy is absolutely not the end of the world.

Good luck

mustsleep.

Did you say your house is worth less than your mortgage - i.e you are in negative equity?

If you are in negative equity I strongly advise prioritising your debt and pay your mortgage only when your other debt is totally cleared off.

Paying down the most expensive debt on the overdraft, CC, paying council tax, utilities and living costs should be your top priority.

Your bank will be less keen to repossess your house if it is worth less than the mortgage so may be more amenable to negotiate lower payments until you can get your finances sorted out.

Other creditors wil move much more quickly against you and you might well get CCJs and baliffs round which kids wil find very very upsetting.

You must got talk to CAB though. Do not just take my advice or anyone elses. Do it quickly.

mustsleep, I would have thought an IVA would be a good option, particularly if you want to keep the house and are in negative equity. Are you able to show a regular income, notwithstanding your dh is on half wage at the moment? Half wage is still a wage.

As for not being able to use an IVA as a self-employed person, definitely doublecheck this with CAB.

i have read it on the internet and one of his friends has recently looked into doing an iva and was told he could not as he was self employed

No the house it worth exactly the same as the mortgage, if we lose the house I will have to change the kids schools there are no empty council houses round here

We will just have to keep doing what we are doing and hope that we come into some cash

If there is no equity in the house you will not lose it if you can afford your monthly payments. Don't bother transferring it over though.

It sounds like it's a very good option for you. Apart from advice at www.cccs.co.uk try the bankruptcy board on www.debtquestions.co.uk - you go to the main page and on the right it has forums.

Good luck

Although bankruptcy doesn't have the stigma that it used to, it should be a last resort-a really good source of advice can be found at www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk