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How To Save Your Home From Repossession

by: JamesBailey
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For any homeowner, the threat of repossession is a real worry. Many people live day to day earning enough to meet their bills. Then something changes, and all of a sudden mortgage payments start to be missed. When payments are missed, your account with your lender is said to be "in arrears". Often after two or three missed payments, lenders will start to take action with the intention of regaining ownership of the property and sell it in order to recover the debt.

The important thing to recognise as a homeowner threatened with repossession is that there are options to consider. If a lender takes action through the courts it does not mean that you will definitely lose your home. Refinancing your home may help, or you could always sell. Getting friends of family to help with the arrears is a further consideration.

Talking to your lender is the first step you should take, before looking at other options. Your lender may be able to provide some solutions to help you resolve the situation and bring your account up to date. This may include switching your mortgage to interest only, extending the mortgage term or putting a new payment plan in place. Whether your lender can help or not, it is important to be able to show a judge you have made efforts to communicate.

Assuming you do have to go to court, then its worth noting that although serious, its far less formal than you may think. Possession hearings are held in the county court and are in private rooms. The lender is likely to be represented by a legal clerk. You, the lender and the judge will all be seated at a table and generally hearings only last ten minutes. Its your opportunity to explain what's happened and aim to reach agreement on clearing the debt so you can keep your home.

At the hearing the judge will be looking to identify what you can do to pay off the arrears and meet your commitment for the normal monthly payment. You could offer to pay off all or a significant sum towards the arrears. Clearing the arrears will mean the lender has no reason to possess the property. Another option is to offer to meet further monthly payments in full, with a contribution towards the arrears. In this case the judge may grant a suspended possession order allowing you to keep your home provided you meet this commitment. Whether the judge is likely to grant extra time for options such as refinancing or selling your home will be dependent on how far these have progressed.

When considering selling or refinancing your home as options to remove the threat of repossession, it's important to consider that the element of control you have over them. With repossession looming, the amount of time available is short and therefore the more control you have the better. Refinancing will rely on the speed of a broker. Therefore shop around and get recommendations for a broker used to acting quickly for people in your situation. Selling your home will rely on a good estate agent that prices your property realistically and markets it well. You'll also want them to check out the buyers financial situation before accepting an offer to reduce risk of the transaction falling through.

At the court hearing the judge may allow you to keep your home via a suspended possession order. For example, if the judge thinks you are able to meet future monthly payments in full, plus a contribution towards arrears. This will mean you must follow this plan and failure to do so will allow the lender to gain possession without the further need for a court hearing (though in practice you could request one). If you present options such as selling your home or refinancing it, then the judge will want to see evidence that this is happening and that things are progressing and that the lender will get the money due to them within 28 days.

Repossession is a worrying time, but the key is to get as much information and advice as possible. There are a variety of voluntary and charitable organisations available to you free of charge to guide you through the process, answer your questions and discuss your options with you. Such organisations include your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter and National Debtline.

About the Author

Author James Bailey has a good working knowledge of the repossession process and has helped numerous people save their home in the UK. See more information, articles and obtain a full report on the repossession process at www.repossessionhelp.info

How To Save Your Home From Repossession

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