Unable to meet mortgage repayments

[raguvun]

If under the present climate one finds that he/she can no longer meet the mortgage payments and having gone through all the various options of paying mortgage has to call it a day and hand over the keys of the house back to the bank. What happens to his/her financial status for the future. I take it it that one is just a step short of becoming bankrupt. Will it be ever possible to get a loan in the future and if it is possible then how long will it take before one could apply again.

[CheekyChops]

Can't you sell the house yourself?

The lender will sell the house and if they sell it for less than the outstanding mortgage, you will be liable for the shortfall. You will have a repossession recorded on your credit file which will subsequently be trashed for 6 years.

If there is a shortfall, the Bank can chase you for the debt for up to 12 years.

[dot.hawkes]

If you hand the keys back to the mortgage company surely that is not the same as being repossessed?

[legend.isgod]

Dot i think the house is still on a mortgage and the difference betwen whgat was borrorowed and what its sold for would still be owed by the person.unless its sold for the outstanding amount which is rare i believe.
Thing is you dont ever own the house only the mortgage and until the final payment is paid on it its the building societys property


better to contact the society for info on your specific case

[DaisyMae]

I think you'll find that it is essentially the same. In both cases you are unable to fulfil your contractual obligations and the mortgagor is left with the expense of selling the house and recouping any difference from the mortgagee. So it is likely that the bank or building society would class them as the same and you would suffer the same loss of status in the long run.

You could try to negotiate a settlement with the bank or building society in which you either take a mortgage holiday and lengthen the timescale of the mortgage, or you could agree to pay only the interest for a set number of years, or you could enquire about selling your house to a company who will let it back to you for a rent which is lower than your present mortgate repayments. However, it would be remiss of me not to point out that there are more cowboys in that field than in almost any other and unless you get some really good advice you could be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.