Does anyone have examples of a '..required phrase or clause' (repossession page) that would turn a shortfall debt into a speciality debt from a mortgage deed. BB HSE are chasing me for shortfall from a mortgage taken out in 1988 and claim they have 12 years to pursue from reposession (1991) but won't let me se the mortgage deeds ("Contact the Land Registry"!!). I'd like to show what should be present in the wording for them to legally persue and compare that with what is actually in the wording if I can ever get sight of the MD.

-- Rob Mason (masonrns@ntlworld.com), May 06, 2002

Answers

I have a contact who has been talking with the barrister who first spotted this issue of the wording of the contract - I will ask him for more info for you.

Note that the time-limit for receiving a response to a SARN is 40 days not seven. Therefore do not impose or apply a seven day time- limit - as given in the post below - to SARN requests.

You may be able to impose a seven day time limit as part of discovery/disclosure but I think that is more often done by setting a mutually agreed date to exchange documents.

You may impose a seven day limit if you are requesting copies of docs as part of negotiations that are taking place before anyone has issued a court claim (formerly called a writ).

Lee

-- Lee (repossession@home-repo.org), May 06, 2002.

Don't get too distracted ....Keep to the facts, you should not be proving anything!!They should provide you with information that they will have to provide if the matter goes to court.If you have documents asking politely that they issue you with a certified copy of the mortgage deed (not to be muddled up with the land registery deed) so that you may see the terms and conditions of the original mortgage contract, that you had signed with them, this will be in your favour. State in your letter that you require this information within 7 days (give a date) and that they return your letter by recorded delivery. Send the letter first-class,recorded. I also included in my letter that I wished to make an appointment for myself and my Counsel at the BS Head Office, in order to view that document and take a certified copy. Their solicitors wrote back saying that there was no original mortgage deed i.e. no contract upon which to base their claim. Some weeKs later they wrote saying they would not pursue any shortfall claim against me.....

I believe that too many of these documents are missing and went through nearly 2 1/4 years of heartache before their claim was dropped....

good lucK nodeedsnoclaim

-- (nomortgagedeeds@aol.com), May 06, 2002.

my posting above refers only to normal correspondence with the lenders solicitors...the normal confusion of saying the Land Registry has the deed... etc.I am sure you have served a SARN and the response there should be received within 40 days. I refer only to the situation where it seems a catch 22, when the solicitors will not provide the necessary information. This method of asking for a direct answer worked for me. A time limit given by me for their responses worked to secure an immediate answer,rather than wait weeks worrying about it. Each individual must make their own choice.... good luck nodeedsnoclaim

-- (nomortgagedeeds@aol.com), May 06, 2002.