Received Repossession Order?

First of all - why do you need our help? Have you had informal threats from your lender stating that if you do not clear your mortgage arrears then they will instigate repossession proceedings.

Obviously this is the very early stages of the repossession process and should not be ignored. Remember when the mortgage lender calls you, they have systems that record times, dates and content of the conversation and they WILL use this in the court. So you need to keep a log of the conversations yourself.

On a more practical point, take the opportunity to offer the mortgage lender a compromise, so they are less likely to take any action at this point. However do not agree to anything that you cannot afford or stick to as this will lead to a failure to maintain an agreement which will count against you in the court. You are always better to make some contribution rather than nothing at all.

If you have large mortgage arrears obviously the courts are more likely to grant a repossession order, however if you can convince the judge that the reason for the mortgage arrears have now passed and you anticipate no further problems, then he has sufficient reason to allow a repossession suspension order to be placed. However, the mortgage lender will argue this, and the end result should be a compromise where the monthly mortgage payments are increased to reduce the mortgage arrears balance over time.

Another option you have, again depending on your circumstances, is to ask to make reduced mortgage payments for a period of time. This could be for child birth for example, and you could demonstrate to the mortgage lender that this would be a short period of time until you start back to work on a full-time basis.

If you are on a repayment mortgage, you could request to go onto an interest only mortgage for a period, which is a good idea as it would reduce your monthly mortgage payments and they will not be classed as missed. It is important to remember that when you look for finance, a new mortgage lender will be looking at the mortgage payment history from at least the last 12 months, and you could pay more money long term if you couldn't maintain an extra payment.

Some mortgage lenders actually offer mortgage payment holidays. Again, a very good idea, but get the permission form the mortgage lender in writing and ask how this would be viewed if you were to refinance in the future. After all, if they going to be classed as missed mortgage payments what is the point!

Professional coaching

If you are going to court, please give us a call and we can help you out with what to say. If we have sufficient time, we can send a letter to the court on your behalf to support your application. However, bear in mind that you would have had to complete an N224 form.