Hi mondayblues.

The statement that you may need to pay £500 each at the end of the trust deeds if the property has increased seriously in value is pretty worrying.

That's just not how this all works, which makes me think the adviser either doesn't know what they are talking about or they are prepared to tell you pretty much anything to get you to go ahead and sign.

If your property had no equity at the start some firms would allow you to pay £500 (or £500 each) so that the property would not later be revalued. This would only follow a formal valuation of the property.

Lots of firms (including those represented by Kevin, Mark, Shona and Chris on here) would handle a property with no equity in the same way, but without that £500 charge (or £1000 as they seem to be telling you).

So either:
1 - There is equity now, in which case the £500 thing doesn't apply.
2 - There is no equity, in which case you could choose to find someone to pay this £1000, or simply use a different firm that would do the same thing with no extra charge at all.

I'm really surprised that you have been charged £100 for that desktop valuation as well. They cost a few quid, and most trust deed firms would do it for free for you anyway.

There's a lot here that just doesn't feel good or right.

If you have a read around the forum you'll quickly find some threads there the whole "equity" side of things hasn't been dealt with right at the start leading to much difficulty and stress later.

Please be careful. And please consider talking this through with another firm before in any way commiting yourself.

Thanks Trust Deed Asst, I am soo nervous now. I take on board your comments about seeking another firm's help and I might just do that. Not sure what the meeting this week entails and whether or not a piece of paper and a pen will be put down in front of us to sign! Feel out my depth with this one. And also feel like this has been going on since January, firstly admitting the fact we have a problem that needs a solution, then the phone calls to cccs/ndl and cab, then the meetings at cab who put us on to Council re: DAS, and now this! Honestly dont know how to sort this out, and who is there to help you and who is there to trap you!!! Sorry for my rant, just one step forward 2 back all the time these days!

Feel free to keep posting and talking on here mondayblues if it helps. I wouldn't be surprised if some members who have had similar experiences shared their thoughts with you later which might be a helpful extra perspective.

Taking a bit longer to find a firm that you trust, or to confirm that you have reason to trust the firm you are already speaking to, would be a wise time investment I think. Better to make the right decision than to jump into a decision you don't feel 100% sure about (especially as some of the info you've been given sounds a bit odd).

Just to put my tuppence worth in here mondayblues. I know it will sound easy to say, but I have been through it (just about- 1 payment left!) with ptds, but please don't worry too much. There are several reasons why this forum exists and why the experts put their input into it. For a potential client point of view, I see it at this. The four experts give their advice and put themselves up there for scrutiny. It would be professional suicide for them to feed anyone horses**t, therefore strongly consider them before signing with anyone. I'm not saying other firms won't do a job for you, but with these four, you have them on tap. You could even say to them what your username is, they note it down, and for the entire duration of your ptd, they can give you all the advice/ answers you desire.(If you forgotten anything before the signing) Where else would you get that level of service? No chain of command contacting a firm- you get direct advice throughout from the people who matter. I'm a client of one of the fab four, but take your pick. With them being as open as they clearly are, no filtering necessary. They are the good guys!

Hi Mondayblues,

fully support everyones comments regarding "caution" on the equity situation and the need to get a valuation completed which will be used in any calculation of equity prior to the signing of the Trust Deeds, if you decide to go ahead. Furthermore ensure that any discussions about what is expected in relation to the equity (if there is any) is fully documented and you have a copy for future reference.

Furthermore fully agree that 3 years is the norm for Trust Deeds, however consideration has to be given to ensuring that some creditors receive the value of dividend that they expect in Trust Deeds. (e.g Firms represented by the Insolvency Exchange requiring a minimum level of dividend or they will object to the Trust Deed).

Accordingly in some cases the Insolvency Practitioner may have this as a consideration rather than extracting further fees from the case. In this situation it would be advantageous if this could be explained so you (or the client, as appropriate)knew the reasoning behind the extension of the Trust Deed.

Thanks everyone, I will post in more detail later tonight, but in the meantime, before I go to this appointment today, could you give me an indication as to whether you would expect our level of debt/money available for creditors to be sufficient to be covered in 3 year trust deed?

32k combined debt (joint 8,600, me 13,000 and husband 9,000 - rough figures). Basic income take home pay combined 2351. Suggested by this company trust deed payment 345 x 4 years!????

p.s. Creditors are:

Santander joint loan
Barclaycard ÔÇô for each of us
Intelligent finance credit card ÔÇô me
Nationwide credit card ÔÇô husband
Next directory ÔÇô me
Very.co.uk ÔÇô me
BoS overdraft ÔÇô husband
Intelligent finance overdraft ÔÇô me
Santander overdraft ÔÇô me
Thanks?

Hi again Mondayblues

The important thing is why 4 years. If equity is "negative" as previously stated the firms on this site would not expect "the nominal sum" of £500. Therefore worth talking with someone else if that is the reason for the "extra" year. If to ensure fees paid - again sit down and see what another firm say. If to ensure peace of mind in paying the meeting the creditor dividend criteria then you may consider the "extra" year makes sense to get the Trust Deed Protected.

Chris

Hi mondayblues

Its difficult to comment without full inc/exp etc. That said, I would certainly be pushing for 3 years and not 4 years if possible. There should be no reason why a firm cant drop their fee to make it work, unlike some firms who charge a set fee and wont budge, thereby leaving the individual to pay more over a longer period.

Mark

Do you and your husband earn similar amounts mondayblues, or does one of you earn significantly more than the other?

Hi Mondayblues

Agree with Mark that some firms will look at dropping Fee to enable the 3 years to work and therefore worth looking at other firms should the current firm you have an appointment with maintain the 4 years Trust Deed option. Especially if there is negative equity in the property.

Chris

Just a quick note to welcome EdM to the forum.

I think you've already made friends in Chris, Mark, Kevin and Shona!

Thanks for sharing your views.

Thanks again all, am rushing around at the moment before i go to appt, but in answer to your question TDA my take home pay is £1050 and husband £1218 and Child Benefit £83. = £2351. Monthly household bills come to around 1225 then add groceries say 300, petrol 140, haircuts 23, and whatever else is included in an I&E. I so appreciate all the advice i've been given on here in the last 24 hours, will keep you posted and let you know how they answer my questions.

Thanks tda. I'm just biased towards this forum and can see the clear benefits of going with a representative firm from it. It's such a worthwhile place for advice and knowledge buildup. I also know what it's like pre-forum , pre-signing of a trust deed, and how daunting it all is, that's why I posted. Mondayblues' feelings right now are all too personal. I wish I have known about this forum before I signed on the dotted line. Thankfully (by luck) I picked a good firm.
I'm hoping to hear the best news myself this week. It's maybe a bit of a long shot, but fingers crossed!

HI there
It seems to me that there are a lot of firms out there conducting Trust Deeds and not being entirely reputable with it. My partner and I have finished paying off our trust deed in Nov last year. At the time of entering the trust deeds our property was in negative equity. We were both told we would have to pay £500 pounds each to buy off the interest in the property in case at closure of trust deed it accumulated equity and would then have to be released and taken into the trust deeds. We both paid £500 each at the end of our trust deeds as we did not have any money to pay upfront at start. Our property is still in negative equity so actually we paid £1000 between us for the pleasure of being in negative equity. We are also still waiting for discharge papers even though final payments of our trust deeds were made in Nov 2010. We had a lot of issues with the company who dealt with our trust deeds over the duration and i would certainly not recommend them to anyone. Needless to say they are not mentioned anywhere on this site as a company who provide good service for trust deeds. I am reluctant to name them for fear of retribution.