House repossession

Re: House repossession

albatross — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:25:46 GMT

[quote user="loobylou"]She only earns £140 a week and apparently that is too much for her to be entitled to tax credits or a carers allowance for her dad who she sees for at least 2 hours everyday [/quote]

I have seen the film, got the t-shirt and read the book on benefits now......
carers allowance stops if you earn £95 a week - daft because you are still caring for the person but they think you don't need the money after that (and you have to have 35 hours a week caring so needs to be more than 2 hours a day anyway, but it most likely is if you take everything like shopping and sorting bills into account).
tax credits are only applicable if you work 16 hours a day if you have children or 30 if you don't (so for those over 22 you need to be on a minimum of £5.80 x 30!. And earning £140 a week I'd say she doesn't do 30 hours (daft because if you did more hours you wouldn't need so much help but their rule is " A about F"!). Get her to ask if she can top up her hours and then she may be able to claim.

Hopefully the mortgage company can help her with reducing or delaying payments, I'm sure they'd rather have some money than have the hassle.
Get her to quote the govenments theory that no-one forecloses for 6 months if people are in money trouble.

Re: House repossession

Debbie Summers — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:07:15 GMT

As an initial suggestion, I would say the Citizens Advice Bureau could be of assistance - and avoiding repossession at all costs! These days mortgage companies are usually amenable to a compromise, be that payment holidays or other arrangement, but repossession will not do any of the parties involved any good long term.....it will affect your parent in laws credit rating, and as Albatross has said, they could find there is nothing left for either of them, or that they still owe money if the property is sold for less than the mortgage remaining.

Obviously both parties will need legal advice and this would include disposal of assets, so a solicitor should be appointed as a matter of priority. Do you know why your father in law has decided to stop paying his share? It seems very odd after a year of this arrangement, but an expedient resolution to this break up sounds necessary to avoid further painful repurcussions.

I really hope you can help them sort this out - it is an awful situation.

Debbie

Re: House repossession

loobylou — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:01:55 GMT

They have an estate agent coming round tomorrow to value it and give us some more ideas. Luckily they have a small ish mortgage compared to the house as it was bought off the council after being rented. Think they owe £55,000 and the house is prob worth around £100,000 so hopefully there is some leeway in there.
Unfortunatel my FiL took a 6 month mortgage break without my MiL's knowledge last year before he left so he had some cash Dont think they are allowed another one so soon.
The relationship has broken down so much that all contact is now through a solicitor, its so sad.
I suggested switching the mortgage to interest free as this does bring the payments down and would free up some money, just not sure if its enough.
The situation is further complicated by the fact it was my two brother in laws (aged 18 and 22) who were paying their mums half of the mortgage, one has been made redundant and the other has had a row with his mum re an ex girlfriend and is refusing to pay anymore!
It seems there is very little help available to people in this situation, she hasnt even been able to get legal aid to contest the divorce.
She only earns £140 a week and apparently that is too much for her to be entitled to tax credits or a carers allowance for her dad who she sees for at least 2 hours everyday

Re: House repossession

albatross — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:53:32 GMT

usually the house is sold as quickly as possible (often at auction) and therefore often well under market value.
People sometimes find themselves still in debt and have to pay off the rest of the mortgage amount if the house didn't reach this sum.
They should visit the mortgage lender and perhaps agree a year long holiday from paying, and that might give time for a private sale.
As it's joint mortgage then both parties will need to agree to the disposal and it will depend on how lenient the mortgage company is on time to sell.
I'd also visit an estate agent to get the house valued, then put it on the market anyway (it might shake him up to do something himself to help raise cash to pay for it), then see a solicitor to draw up documents as to how any profit and bills would be split if the house sold.
Another thing to consider is another family member buying a share of the house and helping out with mortgage payments and to get a share when the house is eventually sold (but get legal documents if this is the way to go).

Not a nice time for them, hope it resolves itself quickly,