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Your account with your lender is “in arrears” when you have missed some mortgage payments for whatever reason. Once you are in arrears, having missed payments for a couple of months or more, your lender is likely to seek court action in order to take steps to regain ownership or “repossess” your property. If you fail to contact your lender and try to reach agreement, the lenders only option to get their money back is to take control of your property and sell it. They must do this through the courts.

Although repossession should be taken seriously, the fact that a lender is taking court action doesn’t mean that its time to throw in the towel. You do have some options but the main thing is to take some action and act quickly. Options to consider include refinancing your property, selling your home or borrowing the money from friends or family to clear the arrears.

Before you decide any drastic measures, the most important thing to do is to talk with your lender. Some lenders are more helpful than others, but help may include extending the term of the mortgage, switching to interest only from a repayment mortgage, or rescheduling the debt in another way. This may prevent the need to go to court. However, even if you can’t agree a suitable solution with the lender, the judge at court is more likely to sympathise if you can show you have tried to solve the situation and not hide from it.

Assuming you do have to go to court, then its worth noting that although serious, its far less formal than you may think. Possession hearings are held in the county court and are in private rooms. The lender is likely to be represented by a legal clerk. You, the lender and the judge will all be seated at a table and generally hearings only last ten minutes. Its your opportunity to explain what’s happened and aim to reach agreement on clearing the debt so you can keep your home.

The best solution at a hearing is to come up with the arrears. This clears your account and removes any need for the lender to seek possession of your property. Alternatively, if you can show that you can meet future monthly payments and pay a sum towards the arrears each month, then the judge may grant a suspended possession order. This means you can stay in your home provided you meet this commitment each month. If you decide to refinance or sell your home, the judge is only likely to grant extra time if you can show that your chosen option has been progressed and can be finalised in 28 days.

When considering selling or refinancing your home as options to remove the threat of repossession, it’s important to consider that the element of control you have over them. With repossession looming, the amount of time available is short and therefore the more control you have the better. Refinancing will rely on the speed of a broker. Therefore shop around and get recommendations for a broker used to acting quickly for people in your situation. Selling your home will rely on a good estate agent that prices your property realistically and markets it well. You’ll also want them to check out the buyers financial situation before accepting an offer to reduce risk of the transaction falling through.

At the court hearing the judge may allow you to keep your home via a suspended possession order. For example, if the judge thinks you are able to meet future monthly payments in full, plus a contribution towards arrears. This will mean you must follow this plan and failure to do so will allow the lender to gain possession without the further need for a court hearing (though in practice you could request one). If you present options such as selling your home or refinancing it, then the judge will want to see evidence that this is happening and that things are progressing and that the lender will get the money due to them within 28 days.

Repossession is a worrying time, but the key is to get as much information and advice as possible. There are a variety of voluntary and charitable organisations available to you free of charge to guide you through the process, answer your questions and discuss your options with you. Such organisations include your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter and National Debtline.

Finances

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