Welcome to the forum BOOM.

I always feel a little apprehensive about answering this type of question.

Of course everything should have been made clear to you about the equity in your home and how that would work. I think there should also be clarity about whether a loan is secured or not before you become committed.

The problem is however if that equity is there your trustee has no option other than to deal with it for the benefit of your creditors.

Do you consider the valuation used to be accurate?

No not accurate valuation at time of signing 65k confirmed now 70k and no recent valuation done. I feel i will come out the other end of trust deed after 3 years owing 5k more than i went in to it as i went in.. Where is the trust in Trust deed? Should have made arrangements with creditors myself! GUTTED HERE!

Hi Boom, the equity of £5k does sound dubious to be honest. To get equity released, means remortgaging or selling. Both cost money to do and by that I mean professional fees, which would be around £3,000 - £4,000k. This would mean the cost of pursuing the equity to be a non-viable option.

I would start with asking your Trustee where they have got the £70k valuation from and how they propose to realising the equity and proposed cost.

Kinda looks like they wanna sell house now for 70k , we thought we owed 45k going into the trust and 20k in secured loan hence 65k would have meant no equity, but after two and a half years we have found out 11k in mortgage was unsecured and taken off mortgage so total equity is 16k they now want 8k each.Before trust deed ends in June . No way can i raise this with credit rating now!!

From what I have read on other posts, the usual solution is to extend the TD to take care of the equity. As I said earlier, selling means fees which eat into the equity that is there.

One of the Trustees might be able to answer but I think a forced sale is unlikely. Extending the TD by a few more years is likely though.

Appreciated CIF . Just really thought debt free after 3 years!! So sorry i trusteded trust deed !

Hi BOOM.

You can ask for a copy of the valuation. You could also source your own valuation if you want to challenge the figure that is being used.

Were you unaware that part of your "mortgage" was in fact an unsecured loan when you signed the trust deed? Who is the mortgage with?

Hi BOOM

It is always disheartening to hear when things don't turn out as expected. It must have been a bit of a shock to find the goalposts changing at such a late stage.

I would be surprised if a compromise could not be reached with your trustee that will mean your house not having to be sold. Forcing a sale costs a lot of money and is always very much a last resort.

At least your secured debt will be reduced - though I imagine this will not feel like much of a silver lining at present

quote:

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Originally posted by Trust Deed Assistant

Hi BOOM.

You can ask for a copy of the valuation. You could also source your own valuation if you want to challenge the figure that is being used.

Were you unaware that part of your "mortgage" was in fact an unsecured loan when you signed the trust deed? Who is the mortgage with?

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I have email confirmation on valuation @65k
Which should be accepted.
11k loan taken against mortgage was found by trustee to be unsecurd.
This came as a surprise to us. we came about this information when trustee informed us they claimed ££ in ppi against that amount.
What annoys me is when we started proceedings in January the then trustee checked all finances and 6 months later we were accepted into trust deed. I feel the onus was on them to do the maths and advise us before commiting to TD

That's a difficult one BOOM.

Your trustee may take the view that they advised you on the basis of the information that you provided to them. They may also feel that it's reasonable to expect you to know that part of your "mortgage" wasn't in fact a mortgage and to advise them of that.

I tend to agree with you that there is some responsibility for them to confirm this in advance, perhaps by insisting upon reviewing some mortgage documentation for example, but the responsibilities here do appear to be divided somehow amongst the parties.

This issue is however a bit of a red herring now. Whatever the rights and wrongs, when you signed the trust deeds the equity "vested" in your trustee. This placed a legal obligation upon your trustee to deal with that equity for the benefit of your creditors. Even if there were fault on their side at the start of the process it isn't going to change their responsibilities and your obligations now. I'm sorry if that sounds a bit blunt, but it's probably best at this stage to be upfront about that with you and try to help you find a way forwards from here.

If the valuation has been increased I think you should ask for evidence to support that increase. You may also wish to consider getting your own valuation if you wish to challenge the amount of the valuation that they are now relying upon. Keeping the valuation used down at a lower level will make any future arrangement to deal with the equity more manageable.

You may also wish to ask if an allowance can be made for "selling costs". Some firms, as CIF has mentioned, will allow a few thousand pounds from the valuation to cover selling costs (as if the property actually had to be sold). This again could make a future arrangement more manageable.

If your priority is to stay in the home it may then be possible for you to arrange what would effectively be an extension to your trust deeds. This might enable you to pay over the equity in monthly instalments.

Alternatively, if you're lucky enough to know someone that could help, your trustee might accept a lump sum offer against the equity.

Forcing the sale of your home would always be a last resort.

Thanks for that advice!
Seems like doom n gloom this xmas lol
The firm origionaly in charge have been taken over and by all accounts left a messy trail.
However what will be will be!
Thanks again for taking the time in advising me. This is much appreciated.