ARTICLES!
QUICK PROPERTY BUYERS?
- What Is The Best Way To Sell My Property?
- How to sell your house quickly?
- How can I tell if a cash buyer is trustworthy?
- What will a property buyer offer for my home?
- Different ways of selling your home quickly
- Houses bought for cash: does this really happen?
- How much will it cost to sell my home?
- Quick house sales and where to get them
- Sell my house fast: here are a few options
- Will anyone buy my home?
ESTATE AGENTS?
- Recommended Estate Agents
- 10 things you must know about Estate Agents
- Shall I choose the cheapest Estate Agent?
- Do I need a Rightmove Estate Agent?
- Can I trust an Estate Agent's valuation of my property?
- Are there any good online Estate Agents?
- Choosing an asking price that draws in buyers
- Do I need an EPC to sell my property?
- Does my Estate Agent need to advertise my property for sale in the local newspapers?
- Do I need to use a local Estate Agent to sell my house?
- Finding the best Estate Agent
- How do I choose the best Estate agent to sell my home?
- Shall I sell my home privately or sell using an Estate Agent?
PROPERTY VALUATION?
- Free online house valuation
- How to add value to your home
- How to value your property
- How you can use house price data to accurately value your home
CONVEYANCING?
- What is property conveyancing?
- Property conveyancing process for a house seller
- Property conveyancing process for a house buyer
- What about DIY conveyancing?
- How do I go about choosing the best conveyancer?
- Property conveyancing glossary: A guide to the commonly used terms in conveyancing
HOUSE REPOSSESSION
- Repossession process explained
- Ways to stop a repossession
- Where you can get help if you're facing repossession
- Mortgage Rescue Scheme
The Repossession Process Explained
The Repossession Process Explained
If you are worried that your home is going to be repossessed, then understandably you will be anxious and upset. Many people find the whole repossession process a complete nightmare and at the same time a complete mystery and often they may fear that their home is going to be repossessed when in fact they are a long way away from repossession. Even if repossession is looming there is still action that can be taken!
Legal Reasons For Repossession
If your home is going to be repossessed then there has to be a bona fide legal reason to repossess it. The mortgage lender cannot simply decide that it is going to seize possession. It can only do so with a justifiable legal reason. That may well be because you have fallen into arrears with your mortgage payments and as such you can be viewed as having defaulted on your mortgage and because you home acts as security this can be a legal reason to repossess your home.
Since the financial crisis of 2008 more and more repossessions have happened and the most common reason is in fact mortgage arrears. However even if you have fallen into mortgage arrears it is still possible to avoid repossession if you contact your mortgage company and agree a payment schedule.
Initially when you fall into arrears then the mortgage company will write to you and say that you either need to pay the arrears or they need to arrange a pay back schedule with you, so that you can repay the arrears over a certain length of time. It is vital that you respond to this letter because if you don’t then they will reply; telling you that they are going to go to court. This letter is titled the Notice of Intended Prosecution and after they have sent this, they can then apply to the court for a possession order. A court hearing will follow if you do nothing.
Thus it really is critical that you reply to any arrears letters. The mortgage lender will not want to repossess you - it is in their interests to ensure that you can continue to pay the debt (the mortgage). But you need to work with them!
At this stage you should think about whether or not you can pay, or whether or not you want to sell the home, just get rid and clear the majority of your debts.
A Court Hearing
Even if you are in arrears with your mortgage then the mortgage company cannot simply decide that it has had enough and that it is going to repossess your home. It actually has to apply for a court hearing and only a judge is able to decide whether or not your home will be repossessed.
The court hearing may think it is not in the best interests of all parties to have you evicted and if you have offered to pay back the outstanding arrears over a reasonable period, then the hearing may not result in an eviction date being agreed. So don’t assume that just because you have a court hearing, you will face eviction; there is still action that you can take to avoid this. Try to enter into dialogue with the mortgage lender or consider a quick sale to simply get shot of the debt!