Mortgagee enforces Power of Sale – Help!
I have a client who has today received a letter from his mortgagee stating they are enforcing power of sale on his buy to let flats as he has breached his mortgage conditions.
The breaches it appears have been caused by non payment of service charge which were being disputed and more bizarrely by the fact that he used a third party to pay a mortgage – the lender then repaid this to the third party who refused to pay it back to him so the mortgage had some arrears.
He has offered to clear these account arrears one per month over a period of months as well as making his contractual monthly payment.
His lender has said even if he pays off one account they will not stop the enforcement of sale and so he doesn’t know what to do. He is looking at potentially going bankrupt because of this.
Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated
Adrian
Comments
Have Your Say
Every day, landlords who want to influence policy and share real-world experience add their voice here. Your perspective helps keep the debate balanced.
Not a member yet? Join In Seconds
Login with
Member Since February 2011 - Comments: 3453 - Articles: 286
10:33 AM, 3rd October 2016, About 10 years ago
Hi Adrian,
Unfortunately this is all too common a story on Property118 especially if the lender is Mortgage Express.
Peter Fisher is a lawyer and Property118 member who specialises in this area and it may be worth making contact with him via his members profile >> https://www.property118.com/member/?id=10845
It may be worth settling the service charge depending on how much the dispute is for asap to put the lender’s mind at rest. What they are concerned about is potentially forfeiting the lease and losing their security .
Member Since August 2014 - Comments: 81
3:41 PM, 3rd October 2016, About 10 years ago
Hi Adrian. Under section 36 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 the county court has a range of powers to postpone possession, or adjourn court proceedings where it thinks that a debtor under the mortgage needs a reasonable time to pay, or, in any other case, to remedy any breach of the mortgage conditions. This may well help your client. The rules can apply rather differently for All Monies Charges, and although much can depend on the pesky small print, if this is a standard BTL the likelihood is that the mortgage lender is exhibiting classically thuggish bullying lender behaviour, and that they can be swatted away with a firmly worded letter. Best of luck
Comments: 6
4:22 PM, 3rd October 2016, About 10 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Charles King – Barrister-At-Law” at “03/10/2016 – 15:41“:
Hi Charles
Would you like to contact me with regards to this on 07900081468
I will be free tomorrow
Kind Regards
Adrian
Member Since August 2015 - Comments: 287
11:29 AM, 4th October 2016, About 10 years ago
ME’s stated remit is to close / dispose of its mortgage book. That being the case, anyone with an ME loan is well advised to study every detail of the T&C’s of said loan and be sure to aim to fully comply
Beyond that, there is plenty of evidence out there already that it (ME) is, as Charles outlines, pushing the boundaries somewhat in its quest to achieve its primary objectives
Charles’ advice will be better and more comprehensive than mine, but in the first instance, I echo Neil’s recommendation: consider making the necessary payments to bring the mortgage back within terms (if you want to keep it).