Stop House Repossessions

We explain the process of a house repossession below, including what happens, how long it takes and how to avoid repossession of your home.

If you're wanting to find out how to stop house repossessions, we've summarised the article very quickly for you below:

• Mortgage companies don't want to repossess your home, be clear and honest with them from the start.
• Typically repossession proceedings take place after three months arrears, but communicating clearly can buy you between 5 to 12 months.
• You can sell your house to clear your mortgage arrears

Our stop house repossessions page is quite long, so if you have a particular query, you can easily navigate to it using the questions below:

1. The house repossession process
2. How many missed payments before a house repossession?
3. How long does it take to have your house repossessed?
4. Steps to stop house repossessions
5. Stop house repossession advice
6. Can I sell my house with mortgage arrears?
7. What happens after a house repossession?
8. Act quickly with our sell house fast service
9. How much will we offer for your property?
10. Why choose us?
11. Can you trust The Property Buying Company?
12. Will I be able to get a mortgage after a repossession?
13. FAQs

The House Repossession Process

House repossession is a last resort, mortgage lenders are usually quite reluctant to do it as it costs them time and resources to take the property and sell it themselves, they would much rather you pay your mortgage and keep up with payments.

If you let your mortgage lender know you’re struggling, as soon as you possibly can they should be able to assist you in putting steps in place to get you back on track. Communication is key when it comes to keeping your home. Don’t ignore your lender. They will help you as long as they know the facts and this is by far the best way to stop house repossessions. Trying to pretend that your financial situation isn’t as bad as it is could result in legal action and you be subject to a house repossession.

How Many Missed Payments Before a House Repossession?

It's the last thing that mortgage companies want to do, they want you to be able to pay your mortgage back. It depends on your lender, but typically your lender will take action after three payments, although some may postpone this longer if you are clear about the situation. Stop house repossessions or at least delaying them always ties back to your communication with the mortgage company, being completely open and honest about your situation and trying to work out a way of getting back in the green.

If you want to find out more about how many missed payments you can expect before repossession, we've gone into much more detail on this topic in our How Many Months Before A Repossession post.

How Long Does It Take To Have Your House Repossessed?

As we've mentioned above lenders will typically take action after about three months of missing payments, but how long will it take before you actually lose your home? There's a lot of red tape for the lender to jump through before they can repossess your home but the truth is it depends on a variety of factors. The amount of time it takes to be repossessed will depend on the courts calendar and how fast it goes through, whether your lender has done everything to the letter of the law and your communication with your lender.

If you communicate and are clear with your lender it will buy you more time and help you, it can take anywhere from between 5 and 12 months, which is the time in which you should look into selling your house to stop house repossession, but once a court order is made that you have to move out you'll typically have between 28 and 56 days.

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Steps To Stop House Repossessions

If you’re struggling to make your mortgage payments and are falling into arrears there are a few things you can do to stop house repossession, or at least delay it and buy yourself some extra time.

We've detailed some of the ways for you below:

• Become stricter with your finances – you might feel that your money is all spoken for, everytime you get paid it just disappears, however if you make a list of your expenditures each month you may be surprised at some of the little non-essential items that you could really cut back on. Cut down on any of the luxuries and save the pennies and you may end up saving more than you then, over the course of a few months you’ll notice a difference. Any extra money you can pay to the mortgage company will help keep them at bay and understanding of your situation, making even smaller payments can help you buy time.
• Get expert advice –  although you won’t have additional money to pay for legal services, it is possible to get some advice for free from various experts. There are a few charities who can give you relevant information as well, Citizen Advice may even be able to help you. Depending on your situation, you also might be eligible for legal aid so look into that before considering any other options.
• Check if you’re entitled to benefits – if you’re struggling to re-pay your mortgage because you’ve lost your job or your health has affected it, then you may be entitled to certain benefits. Although the amount you’ll receive might not cover your mortgage re-payment, it will help to take a bit of the pressure off and it's always worth looking into to see if you can get a bit of extra help from the Government. It is worth noting that some benefits will qualify you for Support for Mortgage Interest (SME) which will help with your mortgage repayments.
• Talk to your lender – when you miss your first mortgage payment your lender will call you to try and figure out a bit more about what has happened. It is at this point that you should explain your situation and tell them that you’re struggling, don't try and hide the facts or not inform them as this will lead to more issues. If you are honest with them, it's likely they will work up a ‘payment arrangement’ between you and your creditor. The lender will only start legal proceedings if you fail to make any of the amended repayments for the next 3-6 months.
• Sell your house quickly – if your financial situation looks unlikely to improve then it might be worth considering selling your house quickly for a cash sum. Although this may not be ideal, it will enable you to receive a lump of money and you’ll stay in control of the sale. You can do this via a traditional estate agent, however this may take a long time. Alternatively, you can use a quick cash buyer like us as we can buy your house in as little as 7 days, which makes you able to stop house repossession before your lender takes further action. Although you’ll get slightly less than the market value of your property, you’ll receive a fair cash sum and we will work to your timescale, and are more than quick enough to help with repossession. In addition, all legal fees are included so it won’t cost you a thing, which is obviously extremely beneficial if you are strapped for cash. Provided you have equity in your property, the money you’ll receive from the sale will pay off your mortgage arrears and the rest is yours to keep.

Stop House Repossession Advice

Only seek legal advice to stop house repossessions from a professional, there are a lot of articles out there that you can find when researching that will provide you with mixed information, which could be more harmful than good. Although we are able to point you in the right direction, we would suggest that you do your research first in order to make the best decision for you.

You can get free advice on how to stop house repossessions or better manage your finance from several trust worthy places, here are some of the main services that can help you when you're in a tight situation:

• Citizens Advice
• National Debtline
• Shelter
• Your local council

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What Happens After a House Repossession?

If you've not managed to stop house repossession, after your home as been repossessed it doesn't neccesarily mean you're out of the woods, which is why it's really important to sell your own house whilst you still have control.

If the repossession goes through your lender will look to sell the property and recoup their loses on the mortgage, they will try and sell the property which they typically do by auction. In doing so they will incur legal fees, auction fees & lose money over the duration of the sale, all of which you will be liable to cover, and the amount of this can seriously rack up.

This can sometimes be covered by the equity you have in the property or if property prices have increased and they get a good price for it, but ultimately you need to repay what you owe the lender.

If you are in control of your own sale, it means that you won't have to cover all the fees the mortgage company would incur which will mean that you're likely to be left with a lot more of the equity to yourself.

Can I Sell My House With Mortgage Arrears?

Simply put the answer is yes, you can sell your house with mortgage arrears. If you're a homeowner that has unfortunately fallen into arrears then you will have an outstanding debt with the mortgage company, but selling your home can help with this and is one of the best ways to stop house repossessions. Selling your property is likely to release a significant sum of equity, as long as your property has risen in value or you've been making mortgage payments for months / years prior to the recent struggle, then the sale of your property should generate some extra money which can be used to clear any of the debt you have accumulated.

If you start to fall into arrears, selling your home can be a good way of paying this off, if you are unable to work something out with the mortgage company. It's best to act quickly before repossession proceedings begin, in order to give yourself enough time to sell your property, depending how long down the line you are with your arrears, you may need to seek a quick sale, which is something we can help with.

Act quickly with our sell house fast service

When you're at risk of a repossession, if you want to sell and rescue a bit of equity, then you need to act quite quickly. Unfortunately a traditional sale, or even a property auction, sometimes just isn't quick enough to sell your house in the 3 to 6 months required.

We can buy your house in as little as 7 days, quick enough to stop house repossessions, and we’re property buying experts who can help you throughout the whole process. We've dealt with hundreds of homeowners that have been at risk of repossession and managed to buy their house quick enough, whilst covering all their fees, for them to be able to repay their mortgage arrears and completely avoid the stressful situation of being repossessed.

How much will The Property Buying Company offer for your home?

We are as transparent as we can be from the start, we're clear in the fact that we are unable to offer you full market value. We offer a fast buying service that means we can purchase your property in as little as 7 days, with no estate agent fees, no mortgage involved, and no council tax or utility bills over the months you would typically be waiting to sell.

As a rule of thumb we typically offer around 80% of the market value of your home, but this depends as sometimes it can be more or less, it depends upon the condition of your property and its location. There's no obligation, so if you fill in an offer request by clicking a green 'get an offer' button we'll be able to provide you with an offer on your property.

Why choose us?

There are a lot of reasons that you should choose us, but we would say that wouldn't we! We're a reliable company with over 50 years combined experience in the property industry, and have dealt with customers who are in a variety of different circumstances, including at risk of repossession. We pride ourselves on being completely honest and transparent about our service, as well as the fact we handle absolutely everything for you, taking all the hassle out of a traditional sale.

If that hasn't quite convinced you enough, here are some of the benefits of our service:

• We can offer you a fair cash sum
• Complete in a timescale to suit you
• All legal fees are included in the service so there are no hidden costs
• You’ll rescue some equity from your property that won’t be taken by your lender
• We can help you move house - negotiating an onward purchase or rental on your behalf
• Our team of experts offer advice and support throughout the process

Can you trust The Property Buying Company?

We understand that selling your home is a big deal, and you need to ensure that whoever you are selling it to is trustworthy. You may feel at ease to know that we are part of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) which ensures that we operate to the highest standards and all home owners are treated fairly. We are dedicated to providing a quality and professional service throughout our whole process, but you don't have to just take our word for it. Read our reviews on TrustPilot and Reviews.co.uk.

Will I Be Able To Get a Mortgage After a Repossession?

If you don't get repossessed and manage to sell your property before having this mark on your credit file then yes of course it will be easier to get a mortgage than if you go through the repossession process. It isn't impossible to get a mortgage if you have had a previous repossession, it's just much harder.

It's important to understand before you apply for a mortgage how they will assess you after a repossession, some mortgage companies will be easier to get accepted for than others with stricter criteria. There are also a few factors that will affect how easy it is to get a mortgage after a repossession including:

• How long since the repossession: The longer it has been the more likely you are to get a mortgage, over time your credit score should hopefully improve.
• The amount of deposit you have: Lenders may expect you to have a much larger and significant deposit to put down if you've had a previous repossession, this minimises their risk in lending to you as it means there is a lot of equity they could recoup should you fall into mortgage arrears again.
• The amount of your repossession debt: If you where repossessed owing millions of pounds, then you are obviously going to be higher risk for a lender than someone who was repossessed based on just a few thousand. They'll look into this when deciding whether they should lend to you.
• Your current credit status: A repossession is likely to hit your credit file pretty hard, you need to work on building it back up. If you've had issues with a CCJ or IVA then this might also make things a lot harder, but the more years that pass the less of an effect they have.

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FAQs

1. What happens to my mortgage debt after repossession?
   
   Speak to your lender if you have any specific queries regarding your arrears. Each lender is different so they will be able to talk to you about your individual case. If you sell your house via a quick cash buyer then part of the lump sum you’ll receive will pay off your debt and the rest is yours to keep.
   
   
2. Does my house being repossessed impact my credit rating?
   
   Yes because you have defaulted on payments. You will have to work towards boosting your credit rating if you want to get a mortgage or loan again in the future.
   
   
3. How long does a house repossession take?
   
   Around 28 days, but the judge could stretch this to 56 days depending on your circumstances. The court order will let you know the exact date you are expected to leave the property, as decided by the judge. A possession order will be granted if the judge decides that your home should be repossessed.
   
   
4. Can I get my home back after a repossession?
   
   Well, technically you can buy the house back off the mortgage company who are selling it. You would however need to cover all the costs involved and incurred by the mortgage company during putting the house up for sale & also cover any of the arrears you are in.
   
   
5. Where should you look for advice on repossession?
   
   We've touched on this in a lot more detail in the article itself, but you should always seek advice from a professional. Some great free services that you can talk to are Citizens Advice, National Debtline, Shelter and even your local council.
   
   
6. How can I stop a house repossession?
   
   Well that's what this article is about! To summarise however, be clear and honest with your mortgage company from the get go, try and save any money you can to make scheduled repayments or look into selling your home before a repossession takes place.
   
   

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