Home Repossession is a difficult time for any family or individual to experience. There are many reasons why you could find yourself in this position and we are not here to judge. In many cases we have helped people avoid repossession by providing general advice or purchasing their property. We are unable to offer buy and rent back agreements however, we do have many properties available to rent and can usually relocate sellers near to their home. In many cases we know people simply want some general advice when facing repossession and we offer this at no cost, below is a description of the repossession process which answers most of the questions we are asked
The repossession process
Your lender will usually contact you if you miss one payment and in most cases will discuss why this payment was missed and when it will be paid. If you miss more than 2 months of mortgage payments then your mortgage provider may start the repossession process. Some lender may still take a soft approach at this stage however, they are legally entitled to start the process.
After 2 months of missing payments or if alternative agreements have been breached then the mortgage provider will write a warning of legal action letter, they will then apply to the court for a repossession order.
The court will make a summons, which is where the court will “summon” you to court, providing a date and time for your hearing. At this point you should contact a legal professional and reply to the court as it may harm your case if you don’t.
The next stage of the process is for you to attend the hearings, if you fail to do so, the judge will more than likely award the possession order against you as you have failed to give evidence. When you go to your hearing the judge will listen to evidence from both you and your mortgage lender and the make a decision on an outcome. These are the following possibilities.
Case dismissed – This will happen if the outstanding payments have been made.
Case adjourned – This will be a temporary measure and a new date will be set
Suspended Possession Order – The judge can suspend the possession (meaning you keep your house) if he believes you will make future payments and an agreed amount over these payments to clear the missed payments. If you default on this agreement then the lender can seek possession by eviction or possession warrant without a further hearing.
Possession order – This allows the lender to take possession of your property after the possession order date. This result usually comes about if the judge finds out you haven’t contacted the lender or the court, or if he believes you cannot afford the payments you have agreed to.
If you don’t make the payments agreed to in the Suspended possession order or you have not moved out after the possession order date, the lender can apply for a warrant of eviction notice. This means you will get a letter telling you, that you have 7 or 14 days to leave the property. On the date you are meant to leave a bailiff will arrive to take possession.
At this point many people are tempted to trash the property however, you should always remember that the lender have an obligation to attempt to achieve the highest possible price for the property and that any surplus money once the debt is repaid is paid to you.
It’s always best to avoid to pain of repossession and take control and choose when to leave your property. For help with this decision give us a call or complete the contact us form.