I want to put a Charge against a neighbour's property

[chapette]

Last year I foolishly lent a debt-ridden neighbour �4,300, to give her time to clean up her home & either sell it or get equity release. I kept photocopies of the cheques I wrote on her behalf & got her to countersign these copies. After several months it finally dawned on me that she wasn't willing - or possibly able, given her alcoholism - to do any of what she'd talked about.

In Dec 06 I threatened to take her to the Small Claims Court. To avoid this, she confirmed to me in writing both that she owed me this money and that she'd pay me �20 pm as a repayment. I accepted this amount as an interim gesture as she said she was still working on getting equity release. She has �800pm income & owns her home, but she's now very overdrawn again & debtors are circling for payment.

At the current rate she's repaying me it'll take 17 years to pay me back! She refuses to answer her door so I sent her a letter this month asking for �50pm. Her reaction was not to pay me at all. I suspect she now considers me another of her debtors whom she's ignoring, but I can't be certain yet that she's defaulting.

In summary, I want out of this drip-feed of tiny repayments so I can move on with my own life. Not least I want to move out of the area, and I can't see her sending me cash in the post each month (I won't take cheques from her as I know they'd bounce). Once I move I won't know if she's died or sold up, and I can see me never getting my money back as the estate would be settled without my knowledge.

I'd like to go to the Small Claims Court and get a charge put against her property, but I don't know if I've shot myself in the foot on this by previously agreeing to take �20pm as an acceptable repayment. I'm also anxious that the court might note her alcoholism & find in her favour. I'll talk to the CAB but I'd be grateful for the opinions of the wise heads here. Thanks for listening to my woes!

[innocenti]

You had an agreement and she has failed to pay. By her agreeing to pay you �20 a month she has admitted the debt.

Your next step is the small claims court to obtain a judgement against her. Once she has defaulted on the CCJ you can apply for a Charging Order on her house. You need to get your skates on as if she sells the house before you take her to court you could end up with nothing.