Hi Guys, I have finally sold my house after being on the market for a year. My mortgage is really expensive and I have been paying just the interest for the past 12 months. I owe about £212000 and I have just agreed a sale at £189950 leaving me £23k upside down plus almost £5k for estate agents and solicitors fees.
I am 3 years in to an IVA and I had a variation agreed last year to go over an extra year and take an approximate £21000 of my negative equity shortfall in to the IVA and take it over a further year.
As my lender was a party to that meeting and the variation was agreed, I assumed that when I sold my house the solicitors would pay themselves, pay the estate agents and then pay everything else to the mortgage lender and then I could get another variation to my IVA for the exact amount of the shortfall.
I have just received particulars from the solicitors and they state that they can't exchange contracts if I am in negative equity! Neither my estate agent or my IVA company told me this and they both knew I was in serious negative equity.
It is obviously in the interests of my mortgage lender for me to sell rather than for me to allow them to repossess and sell as they will receive more money.
I can't call anyone now until Tuesday and this is going to worry me all weekend...surely if my lender has agreed the variation in my IVA to get some of the shortfall back they won't cause a problem with my sale?
Has anyone had experience of this situation? What do you advise please?
Sorry to hear of your predicament....unfortunately I cannot advise you on this and the people you need to speak to is your IVA company - people on the forum will only be able to give general advice but your set of circumstances are unique to you and you will need to speak your IP to resolve this matter.
I would like to think this can be resolved for you to be able to progress with the sale of your house.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Hi, it sounds like you need to find out why your solicitors won't act for you first. It could be that the lender gets first dibs on money from the sale and they won't get paid. Have you checked your mortgage contract to see what happens if you sell in negative equity or even if you can sell? I don't think your estate agent or IP would be in a position to advise. x
Having read the original post again I would think that the mortgage company would be paid first as BOL says. If the solicitors think that they're not going to get their share that may be why they have stopped the sale.
I think you're going to have to sort this on Tuesday when the solicitors open again.
Yes, on the face of it the mortgage company will have first charge and so, in this case, would be entitled to all of the proceeds, leaving nothing for the legal and estate agents fees .... and it would be them having to be varied into an IVA !
The only way around this is for your solicitors to speak to your lenders direct to agree that the fees take precedence over the charge, and therefore the shortfsll on the mortgage falls into the IVA variation.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
