my solicitor is taking me to court for unpaid fees can i lose my home?

[fizz]

it's been to court once already and he demanded i pay £200 per month which i responded to by in way of letter offering £150per month in which he declined,it went to court again and he never showed up! now i have a charge against my home and a court date in which i believe is no point my being there as i am not allowed to speak!i have missed the 14day period in which i can i contest so feel awful as it seems i have no leg to stand on!it seeems me and the kids will be given 28days from the court date to move out ,all seems a bit much for a few grand,but has he got the right to do this ias my kids r both under 18. i believe that if the properrty is sold my ex will get his part and mine will be held untill his fees r cleared,
cany any on ehelp

[redcrx]

if there is a charge against the house then yes, i believe he can force the sale to recoup his money. Not only that but you will be getting additional fees charged every time he goes to court.

Is there no way that you can raise any funds to pay him off. Your home is at risk.

[ummmm]

As far as I'm aware the charge on your house is only paid when the house is sold.

There was a charge on my house that I didn't know about (my ex and a CC bill) from years previous. They took their money from his share of the equity when we sold it.

[ummmm]

Red....I was lucky then.

[dotty.]

Hang on, he can't have you evicted from your home, unless he is your mortgae company too, even then they first have to apply to the county court for possession, arrange an appointment with the Citizens Advice Bureau, if you can't get through on the phone email them and they will get back to you,
I think you have got yourself confused,

[redcrx]

well i know someone who has just lost her family home due to unpaid debts that were charged onto it.

[RATTER15]

Im with Dotty on this one.

[ummmm]

Red...but she was left that house in a will wasn't she?

[redcrx]

its not common for a sale to be forced but it can be, it doesnt have to be the mortgage provider.

And if a charge is placed then this will accrue interest. My friends was a £20k debt, which is now at £78k or something ridiculous

fizz, speak to the CAB about what your options are

[redcrx]

she was, but it still became a forced sale. Plus i have seen other examples on net, it does happen even if not common.

[dotty.]

Have you had the paperwork from the Land Registry telling you the charge has been recieved by them? If you have, then that's it, nothing else should happen now until you sell, then the chare will be cleared before any residue after mortgage settlement is paid to you.

[boxtops]

Sorry, how come you missed the 14-day contest period? You could have surely stated your case there, that you can afford £150 but not £200? Are you paying anything at the moment, to show that there is goodwill on your part?

[ummmm]

Red...are you sure you have all the facts?

When a charge is put on a property interest on the debt stops....usually, interest on the debt has stopped long before that.

[redcrx]

yes ummm, that is how quite a few read, interest added and that is why many creditors dont bother with the forcing of sale, because they are earning interest and can wait for their money and interest.

[redcrx]

tbh if the OP can afford to offer £

[redcrx]

fizz, if you can afford £150 a month (you dont say how much you owe so not sure what difference it makes to how long it would take to repay) then go to the court hearing, you should be allowed to speak, and tell them that you can pay that much.

[dotty.]

The solicitor may have refused to accept the offer of £150.00 a month, but I don't understand why the District Judge seemingly didn't consider it a reasonable offer and make an order for that amount. The solicitor can refuse all he likes but the Judge makes the order,

[ummmm]

Red...It cost ex 1k to have the charge put on. He owed 6k on a credit card. Sold the house app 6 years later and the charge was 7k.

[themas]

fizz - a lot of these answers are no help to you at all.

I'm not sure from what you say what stage the process has reached. There are 2 possibilities:

1. A charging order is a 2 stage procedure - first an interim order is made (normally without any Court hearing) & then a final order is made - which has to be after a Court hearing.

If the final order has not yet been made you MUST attend the Court hearing at which is will be considered. I don't know why you say you are not allowed to speak - if you are representing yourself (in other words, if you don't have a solicitor to represent you) you HAVE to be allowed to speak. You must tell the Court what your financial circumstances are and ask them to put a condition on the final charging order (it is almost certain they will make the order) that the creditor cannot go back to Court to apply for an Order for Sale provided you keep up without fail with whatever monthly instalments the Court orders.

2. If the final charging order has already been made then the upcoming Court date will (I assume) be on an application for an Order for Sale. Again, it is vital you attend. If you do not the judge will assume you have no objection and make the order. You will then lose your home. You must explain the situation to the judge and ask that the order is not made - but you must make sure that you keep up with whatever instalment payments the Court orders. Note that the Courts are far less willing to grant Orders for Sale than they are to grant Charging Orders, but the judge can only refuse to grant the Order if he/she has the relevant information from you - you MUST be there and give your family details as well as your financial ones.

3. The above is an outline of the procedure, but there can be various quirks. If you possibly can, get some help from the local CAB or any local law advice centre. It is possible they may be able to provide someone to be

[themas]

AB just cut off the last few words with no warning!

....provide someone to be at Court to help you.