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HOUSE REPOSSESSION

Ways To Stop A Repossession

Ways To Stop A Repossession

If you  have got into arrears with your mortgage, especially if you have over 3 months of arrears, then you may well be worried that your home will be repossessed.  Well that could happen, but on the other hand, if you take action now, then you can very often stop a repossession.  It will not happen without your actions, so the quicker that you can act the better, but remember you should do something or else events may take over, instead of you being in control!

Pay Off The Mortgage Arrears

If you can, the most obvious to stop a repossession happening is pay all the outstanding arrears.   Sometimes the problem may have been caused by switching bank accounts etc, so if there is a problem like that, make sure that when the problem is rectified, you pay off the arrears in full.

Make A Repayment Schedule Offer

If you are not able to pay off all the arrears, then work out what you can afford to pay and contact your lender.  Tell them that in addition to your monthly mortgage payments you will be able to pay X amount extra until you clear the arrears.  Note that you will still have to pay your monthly mortgage payments, so this is only an option if you still have an income.

Pay Something

Often when you are behind with your mortgage and cannot meet the monthly payments it is easy to almost give in and not pay anything off the mortgage.  This is a mistake, try to pay as much as you can each month, it may not be the full mortgage amount, but every little bit that you can pay will help.  Remember that your home is at risk and that your mortgage should be your number one priority.  Other debts can be dealt with after; for now get your home sorted.

Sell and Buy or Sell and Rent

If you don’t have negative equity ie if your house is worth more than you paid for it, or even just more than your mortgage, then you ought to sell your home quickly and buy one that is cheaper, so that you can have a much smaller mortgage or no mortgage at all if you rent a home.

Sell and Rent It Back

In many ways this is a really great idea.  You approach a company, they buy your house, then you can rent it back, so you can continue to live there.  Plus, if you cannot afford the rent, then you will get help with the rent (probably) through Housing Benefit. 

Remortgage Your Home

Of all the choices this is perhaps the most risky.  If you choose to try and remortgage using an interest free mortgage or a mortgage that is ‘riskier’ then this can be like adding fuel to the fire and you can end up getting deeper and deeper in debt.  So be very careful of this option.

Sell The Conventional Way

If you feel that your home will sell quickly, you can go through an Estate Agent, but be warned, even when you find a buyer, using the traditional method, it can literally take months to make the house sale go through, especially if there is a long and complex chain involved.  So this may not be as good an option as some of the others!