Advice needed on where to seek free or low cost help

Posted some time ago in regards our unsustainable mortgage and it has now got to a stage where lender has sent us a letter outlining our options as follows: Vol sale, vol surrender, assisted sale, mortgage to rent. It says no further alternative arrangement is being offered and will start repossession proceedings with 3 months.
We have had house up for sale for almost a year and it had not sold so our options are to let them sell it and have no control over it or when it will sell or be viewed etc, something I know I couldn't stomach or we voluntarily surrender. We have already accepted we were going to lose our home and at this point just want to end the agony.
But the lender is adding more misery upon us. Having received this letter we are aware that we will be homeless shortly. We are advised to apply for social housing at the moment you are sure that will happen. The letter cannot be accepted by the council as it does not state in black and white that the mortgage is unsustainable. Clearly it is or they would not have issued the letter in the first place but council and FLAC and everything else I an reading re code of conduct states that the lender either offers us an alternative arrangement which they are refusing to do and is in writing on letter OR declare the mortgage unsustainable. Obviously I have been back onto the lender and they have agai declined my request to add in the necessary sentence as it is "not their policy".
How can a bank behave this way and where do I go from here? I be tried Keepingyourhome, Central Bank and FLAC. I have a TD and Focus Ireland and Mabs working on this who ALL agree the bank is in the wrong but no one seems to know what to do next.
I could refuse to deal with them in future till they repossess but that is only adding time, arrears and interest that I dont feel is fair I should pay just because bank are not playing fair. Also if we engage a PIP down the road, not engaging with lender could go against us!! I lose every which way here.
Anyone any suggestions-and any idea why they don't want to say mortgage is unsustainable? Are other banks at this craic or have other Ulster Bank customers endured the same crap?
I'm being told to to Joe Duffy but again, why should I have to have my business aired on national radio just to shame them into doing something they should have done as per MARP code of conduct that they signed up to? So angry abd frustrated.

Hi Ellen
Really sorry to read about your troubles and i totally sympathize with you, the bank are being horrible here,, I'm sure some of the experts here will chime in tomorrow.
Regarding the banks letter ,What does the mortgage to rent option entail ?
DOnt know if something like this might apply to you, but I personally know a lad who could not get rent allowance because he owed a few properties (all of which in dire NE), once he sent the bank a letter declaring voluntary surrender of the properties he was able to obtain rent allowance from welfare as he didn't own the properties anymore.

Have the council told you in writing that you are not eligible?

What is the mortgage to rent scheme, if it means you stay in your home, would that not be a good idea?

Bronte said:

Have the council told you in writing that you are not eligible?

What is the mortgage to rent scheme, if it means you stay in your home, would that not be a good idea?

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The mortgage to rent scheme means that a housing association buys your property from the bank and rents it back to you at an affordable rate. You first agree to voluntarily surrender your property to the ban for the the purpose of them selling it on to the association. The association takes care of any refurbishment and maintainence.
There is certain criteria, your house must be valued below €220,000 (I think), appropiate for your needs, demand for social housing in your area and you must be eligble for social housing ie Income levels etc..

It sounds like a great idea, seemingly in the first year they hoped to get 250 people onto it but only 10 or so completed due to delays. I suppose with anything that involves so many stakeholders it will take time to get going.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/e...mortgage_arrears/mortgage_to_rent_scheme.html

pat2 said:

. I suppose with anything that involves so many stakeholders it will take time to get going.

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Indeed, so many schemes, so many stakeholders and so few solutions.

Ellen, that sounds like terrible behavior on UB's behalf.
On what basis are they offering you the sale options?

I received a similar letter recently but it clearly stated the mortage was unsustainable. If they have offered you mortgage to rent and you would like to be considered for it then you need to ask your lender to include you on the scheme. They will then decide if you are suitable and if they say no you have a right to appeal.
You have 3 months from the end of MARP till they even start proceedings against you. Take a breather, even worst case scenario, if they went for a repossession it's likely that you'll still be in your house until well after next Christmas.

I'm starting a blog about my experiences, it's in its infancy but I have a list of some resources that I've used for information and help. Don't forget your lender will pay for you to get independent financial advice also.

[broken link removed]

Maybe try the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, they are dealing with many lenders and will know whats the norm for your lender. Fill in the initial contact form on their website and they'll contact you shortly with a detailed questionnaire to assess your situation.

Bronte said:

Indeed, so many schemes, so many stakeholders and so few solutions.

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I think it's a great solution for those who fit the bill. Granted you are giving up possesion of your home but it's really a last chance salon anyway.
You get to stay in your community, pay a rent you can afford, bank gets close to market value for the house without the costs of repossesion, families don't join the long list awaiting a small pool of existing social housing and you can buy the house back in 5 years at it's then current market value. In 5 years the value will probably have risen, Housing association makes a profit and has received rent for 5 years.
It seems most of the delays are not caused by the bank. There are 2 significant cooling off periods for the mortgagee in the process, up to a few months I beleive. Also the negotiating process is a little strange. Seemingly the HA assess the current market value, gets a 5% discount and then deducts the price of any refurbishments needed to bring the house up to their standard. Surely the market value is what the house is worth in it's current state taking into account repairs.

Thanks all for advice so far. Whether we choose vol surrender or mortgage to rent scheme we would still require the correct letter from the lender. Rule 39 and 40 in CBCC states that the lender either offers us an alternative arrangement or deems the mortgage unsustainable. The letter we got says they are not offering us an alternative arrangement but does not say its unsustainabale. The council said they cant look at social housing or mortgage to rent scheme unless it says mortgage is unsustainable as that is what they have been told by Dept of Environment.
However today MABS advised me that its not just UB who are refusing to issue to correct letter to customers. EBS and Perm TSB are apparantly doing the same and the councils are being more lenient because it is becoming a bigger problem. Any idea why they banks cant or wont issue the wording stating its unsustainable? Obviously must interfere with stats to government or for legal reasons?
So we are feeling more positive that things will get sorted out. They have to.
We also got word today that someone has made an offer on the house. Im sceptical-have been told this before. No deposit paid. What do we do in this case? We had gotten to the point where we had decided vol surrender was our only option-mortgage to rent does not suit us. Do we HAVE to accept an offer or at least allow the bank to consider it? Or could we just take house off the market and just go ahead with handing back the keys?
We are afraid that a sale could take 6 months or more. ANyone any idea how long these things take if bank accept the offer? It leaves the house in NE but if I were the bank Id be taking the hand off whoever these people are. We'd still owe €60k of a €200k tracker mortgage where nothing has been paid in a year and only some payments made for 6 months before that. However my experience with our lender has not been positive and they have made some really weird and strange decisions over the years, I wouldn't put anything past them. Arrears almost €6k and we are not in a position to clear them. Are bank likely to let us sell with those still outstanding? APparantly its a cash buyer from UK. They havent paid a deposit though so I wont be doing anything until that happens. Or any advice?

If the house is sold and there is a shortfall on the mortgage what do you expect to happen with that. Do you have the ability to repay that or will the bank have to write it off.

Aside from that issue I think that you are in an excellent position. You are living rent free in the property. Why not fight the bank all the way on the repossession.

In particular why not write to them and say, that as they have not confirmed that the mortgage is unsustainable, you will rely on this in court to fight any application for repossession.

cremeegg;

If he goes down the (forced) repo route., I would not write and tell Bank mortgage is unsustainable , why tell them and show your hand ? If Bank have flawed in Law . let the Court judge. If Bank have flawed in Law it will meanRepo does not happen that day.

Ellenb. From what I see Ulster are in a mess, some of their (decisions) have anything but sense written over them. I am not atall sure they have a Plan atall !!

Be careful in voluntarily surrendering your home. To be eligble for social housing you must of been made homeless involuntarliy. I'm not sure how your scenario would sit with the council.
Deal with everybody by email or letter. Get written confirmation that you will be eligble for social housing from the council. If the TD that you have on the case isn't getting answers then find another, they're the public representatives and they need to be fighting your corner.

Regarding the house sale, mine was up for sale voluntarily last year after I was given 10 days to pay the mortgage in full or vacate. House was on market for ages, numerous price drops. Eventually a real offer came in, bank wouldn't entertain it until they received a full report from the Estate Agent regarding viewings, daft stats, local prices etc and confirmation of booking deposit paid. After a few weeks they sent me a letter saying they were refusing offer. I found myself back in MARP and negotiating again.