Getting help if your home is repossessed...
Consumer Credit Counselling Service (0800 138 1111) Ring for advice or use the web-based CCCS Debt Remedy counselling service 24/7.
National Debtline (0808 808 4000)
Citizens Advice Go to the website or check the local phone book for your nearest office. You can download a useful fact sheet on mortgage arrears.
If you haven't been able to come to an agreement with your mortgage lender, the court will probably allow them to press on with a repossession order. The lender will usually sell your property at auction as quickly as possible. If the sale price doesn't cover the mortgage, you will still be liable for the remainder. So it's often better to sell the property yourself. You're likely to get a better price than letting the lender repossess it and sell it in haste.
Never just hand back the keys to your mortgage lender and walk away unless you've sold the property or there is a court order to evict you. You will still be responsible for mortgage payments and buildings insurance, etc, until the property is sold.
Get advice before signing up to sale-and-rent back scheme. A growing number of property companies are targeting overstretched homeowners, buying their homes for knockdown prices then renting them back to them. There is no statutory regulation of this sector. You could end up paying very high rent or even being evicted. Two voluntary codes are currently being developed.
Seek immediate specialist advice, if you are in arrears on a second mortgage or secured loan on your home, the lender will usually push for its sale.
Never pay for debt advice. Sometimes it's hard to tell the free, independent debt advice services from the privately run, profit-making debt advice companies advertising in the phone book or on the high street. Call one of the helplines above.
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The views represented in this article are those of the author and not of Channel 4. The purpose of the article is to provide general information only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal or other advice.You should not rely on any information provided in this article and you should always seek out independent professional advice relevant to your own particular circumstances.
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