To sell or Hand back our keys??

E

Earlydays

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Sorry in advance if I'm repeating a similar thread.

Ok so we have come to the conclusion that we can no longer go on with our mortgage due to job losses etc: ill outline our situation below:

Mortgage remainder: 220k
Arrears: 7k
On a restructure for nearly 3 years
Husband works 16 hours per week
I cannot work as I'd be only paying a child minder.
3 children.

We currently live in the back of beyond in a ghost estate which there are already about 6-7 houses for sale for 70k-100k & no sign of selling.
We want to move back to Dublin were we are originally from so I can look for work & have someone to Ming the children for free & I can start contributing to our debt again.
We have a meeting with PTSB on Friday & I've been trying to get as much info as possible from MABS & Citizensinformation & now you guys as we don't want to go in blind or be bullied.
So we were originally thinking of asking them can we sell the house ourselves & come to an agreement on the shortfall & get a letter off them to say the mortgage is unsustainable so we can go on the housing list in Dublin but after a lot of research the house is unlikely to sell within the next 2 years & I'm not willing to wait that long to move as my health is suffering as a result of the stress. So we are now thinking of going in & voluntarily surrendering the house to them but honor our debt once they have sold the house??
Can anyone give me any advice on the above in relation to voluntary surrender & looking for housing from the council/ rent allowance once this has been done?

*please note we 100% plan to honor our debt in the future & take full responsibility for the loan.
 
Sorry to hear about your predicament.
Its great credit to you that you are willing to take responsibility for paying back your debt however your first responsibility is to yourself and your family to make sure that your health and well being is not unduely affected during this debt "work out".

The main point here is that you don't wish to keep the house so I think the best thing to do is meet with the lender and either voluntarily surrender the house OR offer to put the house for sale.
You should stop repayments on the house immediately, move back to Dublin and get your life back on track.

There's no point in worrying about it any further. There's nothing else you can do.

If your preference was to remain in the house, then I think the response would be different.
 
I hve recently been a bit grumpy to those who are in mortgage arrears because I felt that they could try harder to pay off their loan -and that it was too soon to start talking about handing back the keys.

In your case, however, you have been honourable, and you are in a situation that has no solution unless you start doing what Dr Debt wisely suggests. Immediately.
 
Agree generally with the two replies.

You should try to sell it yourself as this will maximise the proceeds. If you abandon the house, it will probably be vandalised and completely unsellable.

I think you should open the meeting by telling them that you are leaving the house and returning to Dublin.
You will need some money to get a start in Dublin, so you will need to take a break from repayments for the moment.
You are happy to give them the keys if they wish to take over the house when you vacate it.
However, if they prefer, you will mind the house for them, keep it in good repair, and try to get a buyer.
In return, you would like them to write down the shortfall by 90%.
Alternatively, you will propose a Debt Settlement Arrangement under the Personal Insolvency Act or you will avail of bankruptcy.

Have you a cheap tracker? If so, you have a better case for getting the shortfall written off.

To show them that you are absolutely serious and determined, you should have a letter setting out all this ready. You should hand this over to them at the end of the meeting if it is appropriate.

Asking for the shortfall to be written off
Mortgage amount: €220k
Net proceeds - say: €70k
Shortfall: €150k

"We agree to repay €15k within 3 years.
Ptsb agrees that if we repay the €15k within 3 years, that ptsb will write off the remaining debt"

In other words, you are not asking them to write off the shortfall immediately. You are asking them to write it off in exchange for paying as much as possible within 3 years.

It seems to me that this is far more attractive to them than you simply giving them the keys.
 
That's a lot for the replies.Thanks Brendan for the detailed option which I think looks the best option for us.
We are hoping to move after our daughter finishes school. Our only problem is affording rent in Dublin??
 



But we really can't afford to rent in Dublin & from the research I've done the county council won't let us onto the housing list until our house is actually sold & our names are no longer attached to the property?? Plus we can't claim rent allowance if our names are not on the housing list!!! Any advice on this part?
 
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