Mortgage shortfall

[Stressed76]

Afternoon folks, just had a lovely letter from NRAM requesting £52,000 for a mortgage shortfall on a property i jointly owned with my ex wife 11 years ago. I believe the house was sold at a loss but haven’t heard anything up until now. I wondered is there any way to fight this or am i up the creek with no paddle and a hole in my boat ?

[The Tech Clerk]

nearing the 12 year time limit for them,somebody will pop in here I am sure who knows more about that area???

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

had a lovely letter from NRAM requesting £52,000 for a mortgage shortfall on a property i jointly owned with my ex wife 11 years ago. I believe the house was sold at a loss but haven’t heard anything up until now. I wondered is there any way to fight this or am i up the creek with no paddle and a hole in my boat ?

There may be a way, but first some questions to get the background

Was this a Northern Rock Together mortgage? If so how much was the unsecured loan part?

Do you know whether your ex-wife has made any payments since the repossession in 2008? Shall I assume you've not made any payments since then (repossession)?

Was the Possession Order just for possession of the property, or was it a money judgment in the County Court for any arrears that there may have been at the time? Obviously the shortfall wouldn't have been known then.

Was this a case of voluntary possession where you, or your then wife, handed back the keys and possibly signed to say you would be responsible for any potential shortfall?

Is it NRAM who are chasing you now, or has the shortfall be assigned by them to to another business such as Landmark, Whistletree or Kent Reliance etc.?

Did you have a MIG (Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee) where the borrower pays the insurance premium, but the lender gets the cover? In the event of a property shortfall the lender claims off the insurer who then pursues the borrower.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders expects it's members to start legal proceedings within 6 years not 12 years under their Code of Practice >; https://www.cml.org.uk/consumers/pay...session-occur/

When you divorced your wife was there a formal financial order stating who would be responsible for what?

Sorry for all the questions but it makes sense to have all the information before answering your question.

I look forward to helping you.

Di

[Stressed76]

Hi,
Thank you for your swift response, errrm where to begin.
I was the last to leave the property, i had stopped paying the mortgage around September 2008. Unbeknownst to me the house was put on the market for sale (i presume my ex did that but i’m not entirely sure if i signed something i really can’t remember sorry) I walked away from the property in December without it having been sold or handing any keys in.

The property developers paid the deposit on the mortgage from what i can recall, and we were paying interest only as that’s all we could afford. The name of it escapes me and unfortunately i have no paperwork whatsoever.

My ex wouldn’t have paid any further money on the mortgage since september 2008 i’m pretty confident of that.

No possession order was made, no ccj or anything of such like to my knowledge.

The letter is headed as from NRAM, previously they’ve suggested they may pass this on to a collection agency.

We did have insurance with legal & general, what it entailed unfortunately i couldn’t tell you. I had to stop paying the insurance in september also as i couldn’t afford it any longer.

lastly there wasn’t any formal financial arrangement in the divorce, the one thing i am sure of

Thank you in advance for all your help and advice,

Stressed76

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Well Northern Rock/NRAM couldn't sell your home if they didn't legally own it which would require a Possession Order, unless it was an unregulated commercial loan like a Buy To Let mortgage when they could send in the LPA Receivers.

Could the Legal and General Insurance have been an endowment policy? They were often missold.

I'll take another look at your post for further clues.

What is the current situation with NRAM such as any threat of legal proceedings?

Di

[Stressed76]

Hi Di,

The house was sold through an estate agents after i had vacated the property so i have no idea who authorised it wether or not i had signed something or not i’m sorry i genuinely cannot remember. I don’t believe i did so could my ex wife have authorised the sale in my absence?

I don’t know what the policy was with legal and general unfortunately, my memory is slightly better than a goldfish but not by much.

Yes NRAM have given me 60 days to reply or they will actively pursue, CCJ, wages order or proceed with making me bankrupt. Unfortunately i can’t tell you the precise content of the letter as i’m at work.

Im so sorry i can’t remember much.

I will however copy out the letter word for word when i get home around midnight tonight if that would help ?

Thanks again Di, your help is appreciated.

Stressed76

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

The house was sold through an estate agents after i had vacated the property so i have no idea who authorised it wether or not i had signed something or not i’m sorry i genuinely cannot remember. I don’t believe i did so could my ex wife have authorised the sale in my absence?

I don’t know what the policy was with legal and general unfortunately, my memory is slightly better than a goldfish but not by much.

Yes NRAM have given me 60 days to reply or they will actively pursue, CCJ, wages order or proceed with making me bankrupt. Unfortunately i can’t tell you the precise content of the letter as i’m at work.

Im so sorry i can’t remember much.

I will however copy out the letter word for word when i get home around midnight tonight if that would help ?

You probably can't remember because you chose to forget these things after the end of your marriage eleven years ago. That's normal

I tend to look for all possible errors made along the line.

If your name was on the deeds then I would think the property couldn't be sold without your permission unless the lender had already acquired possession.

This all needs investigating.

May I ask delicately whether you are still in touch (if need be) with your ex-wife?

You're welcome to email me a copy of NRAM's letter in preference to posting the full information on a public forum. Use di@joannaconnollysolicitors.co.uk.

Di

[Stressed76]

Thanks Di,

I’ll drop you an email later this evening.
I have friends who are still in touch with her so contact would be possible via a 3rd party.

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Thanks Di,

I’ll drop you an email later this evening.
I have friends who are still in touch with her so contact would be possible via a 3rd party.

I've received your emails and replied

Di

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Has there been any further activity on this issue since NRAM's approach in September?

I'm assuming 'no news is good news' unless you email me again to say different

Di