Hi goneunder.

What a horrible position to be in.

Your trustee has no option other than to ensure that the terms of your trust deed are met, but that doesn't mean there isn't any scope for negotiation if something can be done that's in your creditors interests.

You mention a reduced amount. Other than a remortgage, are you able to raise a reduced lump sum now?

How much do you think your home is worth? How much remains owing on the mortgage?

Hi goneunder,

I'm really sorry to hear that you are facing the threat of losing your home. I can't begin to imagine how you must be feeling.

As TDA has advised the Trustee has to try and stick to the original proposal which was made to creditors which was the realisation of £22,000 of equity. Back around the time and earlier when you entered your Trust Deed is was common for people to enter a Trust Deed with a view to securing a remortgage at the end. Unfortunately due to the massive change in the financial market it meant that this option wasn't available any longer.

You may have room to negotiate with the Trustee depending on a number of factors.

Do you know if your Trustee has carried out a recent valuation of your property and obtained a redemption figure to calculate the available equity at the present date?

When you say you have 14 days to save your house, has the Trustee instructed a solicitor to raise legal action against you? I suspect the Trustee may have provided you with 14 days to come up with a proposal to try and move things forward.

Also, do you live in the property yourself or do you have a family i.e. Children living in it?

Hi GoneUnder

I had a similar position at that time due to drastic change in the market. I explained there was no way of achieving the value and the house had dropped so I was in negative equity. I offered to get an independent survey on the house and the Trustee agreed so long as it was an independent and reputable company. it cost me £160 if I remember correctly. The survey was accepted and I did not have to pay the amount.

I had sourced adverts and house sale prices for houses in our street/area in order to support the survey.

I do appreciate that it is the trustee's job to achieve the agreement, however, it may be that your Trustee would accept a professional survey. I think offering to pay for it myself meant the Trustee had nothing to lose and the supporting adverts showed there was substance to my situation.

Just a thought since you seem down to the wire.

Good luck. I know how worrying a situation it is.

Thanks for responding
Yes I have been told in writing that my house will be put to market if I don't pay the equity. The house hasn't been revalued since the start but I know from my area that the prices have dropped and the market hasn't recovered in that area as houses that were snapped up in a week are not selling at all. Lying on the market for three years etc
I guess I should gather some evidence on prices and get a valuation done . Again over the 7 year period there has been basic maintenance and it now needs totally upgrading .
I will also try to borrow from my bank as it's the same one as my mortgage lender . Who knows as I do have a decent salary.
Don't want to start trawling the loan sites as I am terrified of borrowing money after this experience .
But just in case does anyone know of any reputable lenders who may be able to help ?
Thanks for taking the time

I live with my husband. He is not on the mortgage and is currently a student . He says he refuses to leave if it is to be sold . Can he do this ?

Hi goneunder.

Resistance to leave might elongate the process and make it more expensive for the trustee (and therefore the creditors).

It's something that a properly executed legal process could overcome however.

Hi goneunder,

Firewalker has given some really good advice on what you could do to be able to negotiate with your Trustee.

The simple fact is that if based on an independent valuation by a suitably qualified person your property does not have any available equity i.e. the valuation is less than the mortgage then I can't see how the property could be sold. If however you establish that your property does have a suitable amount of equity available then unfortunately your Trustee will be looking for as much of this sum as possible to be paid over or they will need to consider the sale of the property if this cannot be achieved.

The first thing I would do is speak with your Trustee about arranging an up to date valuation. If they are not prepared to do this then as Firewalker has suggested you can do this yourself. You will then be in a better position to understand how much equity your property has and can then negotiate with your Trustee. If you are going to request your own valuation then I would try and stick with a known firm of Chartered Surveyors. If you don't know where to start in this regard let me know and I can recommend a couple of firms that you could speak with.

To consider the sale of a property the Trustee needs to be confident that they can achieve a suitable amount of equity to cover the sale costs i.e. marketing, home reports, solicitor fees and any additional costs such as locksmiths, gardeners etc. They also need to be confident that they can cover their own costs for the time it would take to sell a property. To cover all of this and provide a return for creditors there needs to be a sufficient amount of equity.

Speak with your Trustee about establishing the current equity position and let us know how you get on.

Thanks david for the advice . Could you please recommend some chartered surveyors
Thanks

Hi goneunder,

We use DM Hall, Graham & Sibbald and Shepherds for any valuations that we require in cases. They are all large reputable firms and I'm sure your Trustee wouldn't argue with a valuation from one of them.

You could contact all three of them and ask for a quote regarding a valuation of your property. You will be able to find their contact details on the internet.

I would speak with your Trustee before arranging the valuation to see what type of valuation they will be happy with i.e. a drive past or if they will require an internal valuation to be done. There can be a difference in price for different types of valuations and you don't want to have to pay for an expensive one when your Trustee will be happy to accept a valuation which isn't as expensive.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

Hi Goneunder

Just to support what David said. I used Shepherd.
I paid £160 for internal survey which allowed them to see that I had not been able to afford to upgrade the areas which would have given me a higher sale price (bathrooms, kitchens etc.)or made a sale more likely.

It also allowed me to discuss the situation with the surveyor and show him the previous adverts. (I know they can check sale records).

I paid the money from the first month without a TD payment.

Good luck.

Thanks again for the advice . An internal valuation would be best as it would show that there has been no essential maintenance over seven years.
I have found that the proposed dividend to creditors was 22.8p in the £. I have an anticipated dividend of 20.8p.
To achieve the proposed dividend I would need to contribute just under £2000.
Do you think this could be accepted rather than £15000 ?
Ever hopeful !

It doesn't really work like that I'm afraid, goneunder. The trustee has a duty to gather in as much as possible including the equity position that was agreed at the start.

Having said that, it may help in coming to some sort of compromise in the middle, once they weigh up the costs of forcing a sale vs a reasonable offer from you...

Thanks again for the advice but having great difficulty coming up with funds to suggest a compromise . Feel that trawling the internet for lenders is going to lead me back into a financial mess with someone able to take my home after all these years.
My husband thinks I should fight it based on the fact I was given poor advice at the start by the trustee who led me to believe I would have no problem getting a remortgage !
What do you think ?

Hi goneunder.

The issue with that approach is that, even if you were to win, it probably wouldn't help you to resolve the main problem.

This article may help to explain further:

(Blog removed from site September 2015)

The following section from the article underlines the issue at stake:

"This is where it starts to get complicated. If FOS believe that your complaint is within their jurisdiction, justified, and that they therefore wish to see you put back in the position you were in previously, there is one massive obstacle standing in the way. The clock cannot be turned back and your trust deed unsigned. Once it's signed that's it it cannot be unwound. So even if you should never have been advised to start a protected trust deed, and FOS agree, it will not get you out of the trust deed and you'll remain subject to the agreement that was made when you signed.

It gets more complicated from here though. You may not be able to exit the trust deed, but if FOS believe that you have been disadvantaged unfairly they may still try to put you back in the position you were before anyway. So let's say they think the poor advice before your trust deed can be seen to have unfairly cost you £10000, they can order your Trustee to put you back in the position you were in before, by paying you the £10000.

More complication follows. You're in a Scottish trust deed, so the £10000 almost certainly then has to be paid into your protected trust deed for the benefit of your creditors, as it is ÔÇ£acquirendaÔÇØ (a windfall). You aren't going to get the money".