Repossession Order

If you have tried to negotiate a payment plan with your current lender to clear the mortgage arrears and they will not accept your offer or you have defaulted on previous agreements the lender will commence legal proceedings and you will receive a repossession order. You will have a hearing at a local County Court. This may sound very daunting and although it is not a pleasant experience it is better described as a formal meeting. There will be a solicitor who will represent the lender and a Judge. The hearing is heard in court chambers and not a large court room with a judge and a jury. When you get to the Court you will need to let the Court Usher know that you have arrived, at this point you may find that the lender's solicitor will approach you and may try and resolve the matter before you go into the hearing. They are aware that the Court is likely to suspend the repossession order so they may make an arrangement with you prior to the hearing to save time for all parties. The solicitor acting for the lender is likely to speclialise in this type of hearing and will likely be acting for an agency that deals with repossession orders for many lenders. Most Courts have a specific day of the week when they deal with repossession orders.

At the hearing, the lenders solicitor will make their case and will generally ask for possession of the property due to the mortgage arrears unless you have spoken to them prior to the hearing, you will then be able to explain why you fell into arrears and what intentions you have to repay them, these are the usual ways of clearing the mortgage arrears:

• You have additional income and can now make an additional extra payment
• You have taken out a homeowner loan which will consolidate the arrears
• You are remortgaging which will redeem your current mortgage in full
• Your home is on the market and will be sold in the near future
• You have an investment that you can draw on shortly to draw the arrears

With each of these options it is important to mention the following:

If you have fallen into arrears as a result of sickness or unemployment and are now back at work, make sure the additional payment is affordable. So that the Judge provides you with an affordable payment take an income and expenditure statement with you which will show the amount of disposable income available to you. The Judge will make sure that the amount you overpay is affordable wherever possible.

If you are taking out a homeowner loan to clear the mortgage arrears it is important that you can demonstrate that you are not increasing your debt liability and monthly commitments. It is usually a good idea to take out a homeowner loan when you can consolidate other debts such as expensive unsecured loans and credit cards so you can demonstrate to the Judge you are reducing your monthly financial commitments.

If you are taking out a new mortgage the Judge does not want to see you back in 6 months time in arrears with your new mortgage lender. It is important that you demonstrate that the new mortgage is more affordable. In general if you can find a mortgage taking into account that you are in arrears with your current mortgage, you will be paying a premium for this mortgage. A new mortgage is usually only of a financial benefit to you if you are consolidating other more expensive commitments such as secured loans and other unsecured debt.

If your home is on the market, make sure you take along the property particulars and highlight the amount of equity there is in your home. The Judge will expect you to make your mortgage payments until your home is sold.

If you have an investment that is shortly going to mature it goes without saying that you are best to take along proof of this.

FREE CREDIT REPORT!! - Now more than ever it is important to know what your credit report looks like and how you can improve your credit file! Please click on the banner to get your free credit report, you will need to enter a few details to sign up but please take the time to do this! If you could email your report over to us, this should also make it easier for us to find the right financial product for you first time!