House Reposession

[mjl7972]

We had a house repossesed in Aug 2003, we had the mortgage since Feb 2001 it was for 65k after much messing about from the lender the house sold for 105k in Oct 2005 after recieving several statements from the lender and querying the costs involed which they just added to the interest on the mortgage the say we owe the 1.5k although in a telephone coversation with the person dealing with it we were told that we should expect about 15k to come to us.

How can I get the figures checked I am still in the same situation as before and cant afford any legal advice.

Thanks in advance for you Help.

[Killerschick]

There is a company called Mortgagechek who audit mortgage accounts to check for overcharging. They commonly act as expert witnesses in litigation over mortgages and frequently achieve savings for their customers. They are not cheap, we're talking hundreds of pounds for a report and as to whether they will save you that much will depend on your mortgage lender.

High Street lenders are more likely to have made legitimate charges and tried to do their best to achieve a good sale price in a reasonable time period. They are concerned about negative publicity as it affects the perception of their brand.

Sub prime/alternative lenders are more likely to overcharge as their products are sold almost exclusively through brokers so they do not have a brand image to worry about. Their customers are also less likely to challenge them as they expect to get charged more.

The website for Mortgagechek is www.Mortgagechek.co.uk but I've had trouble with it so their postal address & phone no are:-

8 Brunswick Square, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7LW. 01768 892084.

As money is tight you could call them to see whether they'll give you a quote before you instruct them. You will need absolutely all your paperwork inc the original application form, terms & conditions etc plus full statements since.

If all this sounds too expensive you could try your local CAB who might have a specialist money/debt adviser who can give your paperwork the once over.

[buildersmate]

Good advice above. You need a detailed statement of the charges - interest charges and the costs incurred in selling the house. Then go to CAB.

At a very crude and approximate level this doesn't sound right. You've had 4.5 years of interest to pay on �65k. At an average interest rate of 6%, this is �4k per year, or �18k total interest charges. There's �40k of your equity in the property to come back to you, less the �18k, leaves �22k. They maintain you owe them �1.5k, which means they have spent �23.5k in estate agent, legal costs in sellingup. Sounds a lot.