Although my IP acted througout as an "honest broker", he made clear at the outset that he always worked towards safeguarding homes as a key part of the PTD process. So having that addressed at the outset of the process, and being told that I did have equity and what would need to be shared amongst my creditors, we all knew where we stood. I can only sympathise with those whose IPs are not as forthcoming/pro-active as mine were. I could not get through my (now completed) PTD period without knowing that my IP was a phone call/e-mail away when the (infrequent) bump in the road appeared.

The fact that so many posters come on the forum asking what happens now as they have made 36 payments and the TD firm now want £XXXX from the equity please help,means that its possibly one of the least understood,or explained parts of the process.

Hopefully we can do a job and save some from making any mistakes when starting down the PTD road.

Paul

Getting things right from the start regarding equity is incredibly important. Things going wrong on this side of things has led to some of the most distressing posts that we've seen on this forum over the years.

I would say that the frequency of these posts has declined over time.

Before the credit crunch there was an assumption that you could just easily mortgage equity out of a home to deal with equity. Not an unfair assumption as this had been the case for several years.

When that changed many people who had signed trust deeds in this previous climate found themselves in an extremely difficult position. It was difficult for trust deed firms as well due to the fact that they were legally obligated to obtain the value of the equity for creditors even though these mortgages couldn't be obtained. A very sad situation for those people who were affected.

We've heard this much less recently, I think because people coming up to the end of their trust deeds started them in the period after these mortgages stopped being available.

People must be very careful though. Clarifying the position regarding equity before signing, getting a written confirmation as to how equity will be dealt with, and having a plan to deal with the equity if it exists are all very important things that can save a lot of pain and trouble later.