Welcome to the forum xxciaraxx.

How much debt do each of you have individually?

Is the £180 a total payment for both of you? Does it feel affordable after you have covered all of your other bills and expenses?

Are you property owners (or do you own any other significant assets - like a car worth more than £3000 for example)?

I have heard of the firm that you mention. We usually advise people to speak with a couple of firms before making any final decisions - the choice of firm is a very important one.

All trust deed providers charge fees. They're taken from the contributions that you make into your trust deed rather than being an extra sum of money that you have to find. You'll have to agree to the level of fees, and your creditors will have the opportunity to review them before agreeing (or otherwise) to your trust deed becoming protected.

Hi thanks for your quick reply,

All of the unsecured debt is mine, my Fiance only has a £300 overdraft.

The £180 feels affordable and yes it is for both of us, we are paying out around £600 at the moment towards our debts so that would be a significant saving!

We are property owners, although we have only owned our home since February this year. We have a car but it is not worth £3,000 or anywhere near that.

I just don't know where to start really or who to trust, I don't want to just jump in.

Thanks

Hi again xxciaraxx.

When you purchased your home how much did you put down as a deposit?

If your fianc?® only owes £300 they will not be entering into a trust deed. The minimum is £5000 for this to happen.

It's important to understand that there is no such thing as a joint trust deed - where a couple both enter this option it's two separate cases rather than one joint one.

we put down a £12,000 deposit (our parents gave us this, we are paying them back). Our Mortgage was for £71,000 and we have £69,000 left on it.

I can't remember if the girl said it was joint, I don't think she did though as I mentioned his overdraft and she said that that wouldn't be included. I had to talk quickly as I was at work so the conversation was a bit of a blur! but she is phoning me back at 1pm to chat more.

I just don't know where to start really, although I think this could be a good move for us, I just hope I choose the right Company

Hello.

I think you're going to need to be very careful regarding your property.

From the information provided I think it might be worth around £83,000?

it was valued at £85,000 although we purchased it for £82,500.

I had a call back from them. There is no set up fee and the Trust Deed would be in my name only. The girl said that We have no equity on our house because we only recently moved in so our house wouldn't be at risk although it may need to be valued (at their expense).

All in all, she seemed very helpful. £180 for 4 years and she said our situation is really straight forward.

We have a meeting booked for Monday at 7:30 for an initial chat.

I think it all sounds pretty legit but it's hard to know for sure.

The comment on the house may need to be valued is warning enough in my opinion.

If you proceed, there should be no doubt about equity and it's not something to leave to chance. Most IP firms will carry out a valuation and check this against the redemption figure, that way there is no confusion or doubt.

Nothing should be left to chance.

Mark

Hi xxciaraxx.

Hopefully it was clearly explained to you that your equity in your home (the value minus the current mortgage balance) will "vest" in your trustee if you sign a trust deed?

The term "vest" means that your trustee would be obligated to recover it from you, in addition to the monthly payments agreed.

Much depends upon the valuation here and you'll want to proceed with great caution.

ok thanks, I'm so confused though. When you say that the Trustee would be obligated to recover it from me, does that mean that the house can be taken away from me? and why would it be taken away? if I defaulted on payments etc?

Would I actually have any equity in my home at the moment? we only moved in in February and have only made 8 mortgage payments.

Hi xxciaraxx.

You've mentioned that your home might be worth £85,000.

Your mortgage balance is £69,000.

That means there could, depending upon the valuation produced, be £16,000 of equity there.

If it's jointly owned half of that belongs to each of you. You'd have £8,000 of equity.

You'd pay the contribution agreed every month for 4 years. You'd then have to deal with the equity as well. The options might include:
1 - Someone you know handing over the £8,000.
2 - Extending your monthly payments for extra years until an extra £8,000 had been paid over.
3 - Selling the home to raise your share of the equity.

If a trustee values the home at a lot less than £85,000 then you might not have this problem. Until the valuation is actually done you cannot know and I would caution you against signing a trust deed.

ok thank you, I didn't know about the equity. The property was valued at £85,000 when we purchased although we paid £82,500 for it.

Do all Trust Deeds take into account the equity? does this always have to be paid back at the end of every trust deed?

Hello.

Yes, assets that you own (or come to own) of significant value will vest in your trustee.

It's not always any kind of issue, but homeowners in particular need to be careful.

This is really important information that firms you approach should go through in detail before you become committed.

It's best, in my view, to speak with someone who can properly assist you in finding a solution to your problem.
I would be wary of anyone who provides an estimate of your contribution without going into some detail of your financial position.
There are guidelines to be followed, before and during your Trust Deed.
If you get good advice initially, it can save you Time, Money and give you Peace of mind.
My suggestion is to have a look through the forum, and seek advice from one of the experts who are involved.
There is a lot of positive feedback re the experts here, and they will deal with you directly. No Middlemen ! Do it soon. You will be surprised how quickly things can progress and you can gain some control over your finances.

Hi ciara,

As others have said when it comes to your property you need to be 100% sure that you understand everything and that the equity has been verified by a valuation and redemption figure and it's then confirmed in writing exactly how this will be dealt with in a Trust Deed.

I'm a little disappointed that over 2 calls with the company you have been speaking with and their advisor it seems like they haven't been able to confirm all of this for you as it really is the most important part.

When looking at a Trust Deed or any option I would always suggest a face to face meeting with the advisor and company which are going to be setting up your Trust Deed. You may even like to speak with a couple of advisors from different companies to gauge the advice you are receiving and exactly how each company will deal with the equity as this can vary from firm to firm. You also want to ensure that you receive advice on your alternative options and not just a Trust Deed as there are other plans available to help you become debt free. As silly as this might sound it's almost like shopping around.

If set up correctly at the start then a Trust Deed does provide the debt relief that it was designed for.

Don't feel pressured or feel the need to rush into anything. Take your time, do a little research, ask loads of questions on the forum if you need to and things should run smoothly and without any complications that way.