RE-Charge on house URGENT REPLIES NEEDED

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A very good friend of mine reversed his partners car from thier drive[whilst uninsured]and hit a motor bike driver who then took him to court for damages,as he was not insured and lost the case a charge was put on his half of the house,how will that work with regards to his partner obviously you cant sell half a house so will they make them sell the whole house or could they get a 2nd mortgage on what is owed and keep the house or will the charge stop this any advice would be appreciated.

-- Christine Smith (riellysmith@hotmail.com), October 03, 2002

Answers

My understanding is that a charge in and of itself does not force a sale - rather that when the house is eventually sold, for whatever reason, the charge applies and the required amount of money must be handed over out of any equity.

Your friend & his partner really do need legal advice on this, and proper financial advice about taking out a second mortgage to attempt to pay off the charge, and so the Citizens' Advice Bureau, a legal centre or an access point is the next obvious point of call.

By the way, driving uninsured is a serious offence so presumably your friend was prosecuted for this and received some legal representation and advice at the time? Perhaps it might make sense to consult the same solicitor who knows the case to ask for further advice. Just a thought.

-- Eleanor Scott (eleanor.scott@btinternet.com), October 05, 2002.


Only consideration to mention, which sounds a little cruel to the bike rider.

Has the court demanded that the rider be paid now?

If no time limit has been set, then taking out a second mortgage would mean your friends are paying interest!, would a monthly payment to the rider not be a better method thus avoiding interest and therefore more saving money?

As the previous advice says they need to seek legal advice.

Good luck to your friends.

Paul

-- Paul Adamson (paul.adamson@btclick.com), October 11, 2002.


Found out

the rider is entitled to 2% per year, but only for those losses relating to their "pain and suffering" and inability to carry out day to day tasks or hobbies. ONLY in special circumstances is a court able to award more than 2%.

2% is much better than any current mortgage rates!

Furthermore arranging finance with this charge in place is not going to be mainstream highstreet lending business and in general will need a sub prime lender, undoubtedly making mortgage rates even less attractive.

Tell your friends to seek legal advice.

Paul

-- Paul Adamson (paul.adamson@btclick.com), October 12, 2002.


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