Being faced with the prospect of losing your home is extremely stressful, so here are some tips on how to stop house repossession.

Do not ignore any communication from your lender.  Failure to respond to communication will go against you in any court hearing, that said it does not mean all is lost.

After failing to reach a solution with your lender they will apply to the courts.  The first stage is a court hearing to listen to the case from both borrower and lender.  At this first hearing the borrower has the opportunity to explain how they can repay the mortgage arrears and meet future mortgage payments.  Presenting your case will will buy you more time. possibly 4 to 6 weeks.

If you do not meet the promises made in the first court hearing the lender will again apply to the courts, you will then have a second hearing.  You will now require a very compelling case to win more time to resolve the mortgage arrears.  Failure to provide a compelling case will result in the court giving the lender the order for repossession.

Once a court provides a repossession order you will have about 2 weeks, some time a little more or less.  This time is given for the borrower to make arrangements to move out of their home.

So, in total, you could be looking at anything from 2 to 4 months from the first court hearing before actual repossession takes place.  Key throughout is communication (do not ignore letters) and action, you need to follow up on any promises made to the court.

Apart from paying off the debt and demonstrating the ability to pay mortgage interest going forward, the next most powerful argument for a borrower is to demonstrate that they have a buyer for their property. 

At anytime during the court process, if a property buyer is found,  an urgent hearing can be requested using an N244 form (obtained form the courts).  This should only be used when you have sufficient evidence to resolve the mortgage debt issue – e.g. a property buyer.

Once a court accepts that a property buyer has been found they will allow the borrower a period, normally 4 to 6 weeks, to complete an exchange of contracts.  Once contracts have been exchanged (with a defined completion date), the lenders right to repossess is virtually eliminated.

so, that is a very brief overview of how to stop repossession.  If you would like to find a property buyer you can contact RM Property buyers.