The repossession process has various stages that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The timeline will depend on many variables which we will go into later.
Reasons why lenders/freeholders take repossession proceedings.
Most regulated lenders will prefer not to repossess you as this costs them money and time, also it portrays a negative image of the bank. However lenders have a legal right to repossess if you are in breach of your mortgage terms and conditions. The most common reason for repossession is mortgage arrears.
Freeholders can repossess if you fail to pay your ground rent and service charge.
Sometimes local authorities and public bodies can make a CPO (compulsory purchase order), this can happen if a major development such as housing or urban restructuring schemes take place.
The advice will be presented mainly around banks and lenders wince they are the most common group to repossess.
The repossession process
Lenders will start to take repossession proceedings normally after you are in two months of arrears.
If you fall into arrears lenders will contact you by letters and telephone call demanding payments. This is done either by their collection departments, or through solicitors. It advisable that you are upfront and honest about the situation and try to put the problem right. Try to keep a log of the dates/times and outcome of all the telephones call made between each other as this might be used in court later.
If you cannot come to a satisfactory arrangement with the lender or their solicitors then they can write to you demanding full payment and issue a warning of court proceeding.
The lender solicitors will put a summons claim in the court which is referred to as county court repossession proceedings.
You will be given a court date and will be asked to reply back to the court. It is very important that you reply back as this can harm your case moving forward. We recommend that you contact us straight away as we can help you fill in any forms and inform you of the process.
We can also come to court with you and negotiate with your lender and their solicitors on the matters, to try to find a suitable and sustainable solution for you.