Repossession order granted to lender - what can I do to delay this?

[Needakickinthepants]

Hi

I have a flat that I took out a bridging loan on. The loan has eventually expired - it was rolled over a couple of times. I tried to sell the flat and had a number of potential buyers but each time they backed out because the landlord hadn't maintained the communal areas properly.

I eventually got two buyers. One backed out because (as far as I've been told) the previous estate agent talked her out of it, and the second backed out because of a damp problem caused by the landlord not maintaining the property.

I've now got another buyer who has negotiated a significant discount due to the damp and this transaction is still going through.

However, the lender has taken me to court despite knowing that I have a buyer who has an approved mortgage etc. The repossession date is 18 August. The lender's solicitors knew I had a buyer. This info was included in the papers they gave to the judge. I emailed the judge also as I was unable to get to the hearing in time. But it seems the judge has just disregarded this information and given them possession after 28 days from 21 July.

I am desperate to delay this so as not to lose my sale. Is there anything I can do? I am totally broke. The landlord applied to the lenders for unpaid maintenance fees which I refused to pay as he wasn't maintaining. I feel like giving up but I can't afford to. All I have ever worked for is in this flat and I won't be left with very much when it sells.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[wales01man]

Re: Repossession order granted to lender - what can I do to delay this?

Will know the sale complete before the Repossession date?
Do the lenders know you have a sale and have Your Solicitors informed them?
If the Solicitors can get the Lender to withdraw the order to allow a Sale you should be OK remember if it does not sell and you lose the Flat the Solicitors will still want paying.

You can apply to have the Repossesion stayed others on here will advise .

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Repossession order granted to lender - what can I do to delay this?

Shelter is the place to go for advice with this kind of situation: http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...sible_defences

Ask the court not to make a final decision yet if you:

• dispute the amount of the mortgage arrears that you owe
• are waiting for benefits payments that will significantly reduce or pay off the arrears
• will have money to clear the arrears soon
• are selling your home but you need more time to complete the sale

Tell the court if you want to sell your home

Tell the court if you have decided to sell your home to pay back your mortgage and mortgage arrears.
The court could postpone the case or suspend the repossession of your home to give you time to sell your home.
Show the court proof that you have had your home valued and that the sale will pay back everything you owe.

They have a free advice helpline. hone:
0808 800 4444

[Needakickinthepants]

Re: Repossession order granted to lender - what can I do to delay this?

Hi

thanks for your replies. I'm not living in the flat as a condition of the bridging loan - I bought it three years ago but since then my daughter has had two babies and the flat is way too small, hence we did it up and put it up for sale. So I've looked at Shelter website and it doesn't tell me very much neither does the Gov.uk site. Neither tell me what to do next. Shelter says approach the Council for housing but that doesn't apply in this case.

My 'solicitor' or Legal Executive whatever that is, doesn't seem very helpful at all. She knows the urgency but just seems to drag along. I will call her today and ask her to call them.

I will also call the lender's solicitors myself and try and appeal to their better nature but they want to nail this in terms of legalities so come 18 August I can't see them not going back to court for bailiffs.

The court/judge only seems to listen to solicitors and not people like me otherwise he would have realised there was a sale going through. Can I phone the judge?

I am starting to really panic now. I am one of these people that gets walked over repeatedly in life and I'm not sure of my rights and cannot afford to hire another solicitor or even pay for legal advice and my conveyancer isn't ever available to talk to me even though they want £1100 to do the work on this flat.

thanks

[Needakickinthepants]

Re: Repossession order granted to lender - what can I do to delay this?

I spoke with the lender's solicitors today and they asked that my solicitor call them. I spoke to her and she agreed to do that. I hope that will be enough to convince them to hold off for a while. I've been advised that exchange of contracts will probably be another 4-5 weeks.

If the lender's solicitor decides to be nasty, what should I do to stall them. I mean, can I apply to the court to have the repossession delayed another month or something?

thanks

Also, can I sue the landlord for the loss he's caused by not maintaining the building? The damp showed through eventually after he claimed he'd done all the repairs but the invoice he produced for the repairs I'm sure is a bit bogus. The roofer's secretary couldn't find any trace of it, but it's miraculously appeared at a value of £12k when secretary said the only one they had was for £3k.