Repossession Prevention Service
Our aim is to allow those threatened by repossession to retain ownership of their property. This is done by a financial review to maximise money available for mortgage payments and by legal representation to challenge court action by a lender.
Establishing the facts.
Firstly, we'll ask you about your mortgage, how your current difficulties arose, and where repossession proceedings have reached.
Then, we'll take a financial statement from you, detailing your income and outgoings to see if you can realistically afford your mortgage.
Can you afford mortgage payments each month?
There is often a blameless reason why people have fallen into arrears. Maybe now you're putting these troubles behind you. These circumstances we need to explain to the judge.
Prioritizing Mortgage Payments.
Many people we speak to have fallen into mortgage arrears as they are paying lower-priority debts at the expense of their mortgage. This is a classic mistake.
People tend to pay unsecured debts (ie overdraft, credit cards, etc) ahead of their mortgage because unsecured creditors shout sooner and louder when payments are missed. This is because they don't have the security of repossession to enforce payment.
If by reducing your unsecured loan repayments, you could afford your mortgage, and at least make some token arrears repayments, then this is a solution we may suggest. This is normally by means of a debt management programme, or possibly an IVA should your circumstances qualify.
How much must i pay towards the arrears ?
By law, you should given the opportunity to repay your arrears over the remaining period of your mortgage. You do not have to match the demands made by your mortgage provider. The judge will decide on a payment schedule that you can afford and that is also fair to your lender.
1st Hearing - Challenging the Repossession Order.
If you have a date for a repossession hearing, then we need to put in place a proposal detailing how you intend making regular mortgage payments and contributions towards arrears. Our solicitors will represent you in court to achieve this.
Don't, Call the Repossession Help line instead.
2nd Hearing - Stopping the repossession.
If your lender has been granted a repossession order, then we'll arrange for an emergency hearing at your local county court to get it stopped. This can be done even if you are due to be evicted the next day.
Being realistic
If you are clearly not able to make regular mortgage payments, and there is little chance of this changing in the foreseeable future, then you need to be realistic and consider selling your property. In these unfortunately circumstances, we urge you not to use the services of a sell and rent back operator. You're much better off selling your home and achieving the best possible price on the open market.
If Courts can see your are making every reasonable effort of sell the property at a realistic price, you should be allowed time to sell it yourself.
