Steps to Avoid House Repossession

By: Mark Jenkins

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the number of cases in arrears at the end of September 2008 was 168,000 – 8pc higher than the 155,600 in arrears at the end of June. They are expecting up to 170,000 arrears by the end of the year.

The CML also said that 11,300, houses were repossessed – 12pc higher than the 10,100 in the second quarter of 2008. The CML expects a massive 45,000 repossessions by the end of the year.

Granite, a part of Northern Rock, disclosed that mortgage customers were 90 days or more behind with their payments on more than 2pc of £35.5bn of mortgages. That compares with less than 0.5 per cent of mortgages that were 90 days in arrears in mid 2007.

If you are in financial difficulty here are some useful steps to help you avoid house repossession.

1) WHAT DEBTS DO YOU HAVE – Write them down in full detail.

You need a clear idea of your own financial situation, write down all your debts, using software such as Microsoft Excel can be useful to help include the interest you are paying and prioritise the debts. Make sure this figure covers everything, food, fuel, gas, clothing, loans, council tax etc. Then add 5% to this figure just to be safe!

2) TALK WITH YOUR LENDER

As soon as you miss a payment on a loan, what ever the type, mortgage, credit card or car loan this will trigger the lender to automatically start sending out letters to help resolve this problem. DON’T bury your head in the sand and think that this will all go away, it won’t until you have sorted it out with your lender… to their satisfaction.

Open up a dialog with your lender, make sure that you record all the conversations you have with them (on paper, not audio) take down the date, time, name of the person you are talking with, their position, location and extension number. This is crucial information. Tracking the efforts you have made to fix this problem can be crucial if it is ever taken to court, track every conversation.

Ask your lender for a payment holiday, switch to an interest only loan instead of paying the interest and capital or you can try to extend the life of the loan thus bringing the payments down.

Offer to pay what you can each month, even if it is just a small amount. Be seen to be committed to solving this problem as we have mentioned. A new part time job, recording conversations on paper outlining your calls and letters to the lender will all be favourable for you in a court.

3) TAKE A SECOND JOB – You probably need more money coming in.

At this point we suggest taking up a second job if you think you are going backwards financially, even if its 1 night a week stacking shelves at the local supermarket that money will add up and could be exactly what you need to fix this problem sooner than later. It is also a great piece of evidence in court and with your lender to prove that you are trying to fix the issue yourself.

4) COUNTY COURT JUDGMENTS – Abide by them and have an easier life.

The day you miss a mortgage payment, credit card or loan payment will be the day that the financial institution connected to that loan will come looking for answers. Often their first point of call is to work out a payment plan. The payment plan will take into consideration your financial circumstances from which a suitable payment plan will be agreed to between yourself and the lender. Make sure that you really can afford to follow the payment plan otherwise if you break that, well, that’s when a county court judgment against you probably will be taken out.

5) NEGATIVE EQUITY – Its not as bad as it sounds.

Ok… its not great, but all it means is that you bought a house for £100,000 with a 90% Loan to Value (LTV) so you put £10,000 in as a deposit and the bank put in £90,000. The day that your house or investment is worth less than £90,000 then you are in negative equity, the bank is owed more than the house is worth. Lenders don’t like this position. Clearly those home owners who borrowed at 100% have a greater likelihood of falling into negative equity than those who borrowed at an LTV of 75%.

As house prices slip more and more borrowers are being hit with negative equity. If possible, try and keep up repayments and ride out the storm until house prices increase again. They will come back up at some point but to meet the highs of summer 2007 this could be 3 to 5 years time. However, history shows that property prices do rise over the long time.

6) USE YOUR MORTAGE INSURANCE POLICY

Many people will have insurance on their mortgages or sometimes through their work. Usually a product which is sold at the same time as your mortgage and which will pay your mortgage for you (usually after 3 months) if you have been made redundant or can not work due to illness. Read your policy carefully and explain to your lender that you do hold such a policy and that money will be on its way shortly. The lender will usually prefer to wait for this than repossess your home. Lenders don’t want to have to sell your home, it costs them money and time and they would simply prefer the mortgage to be paid off.

7) SEEK INDEPENDENT ADVICE – Much of this can be got for free

There are a number of very useful and free services for people in financial difficulties. Again, keep positive, act fast and call or make an appointment with Citizens Advice and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Sometimes they will negotiate with lenders on your behalf and in all cases they know how the system works a lot better than the average man, which in its self can save you a lot of time and hassle.

Due to an increase in repossessions and financial difficulties getting help from some organisations has been increasingly difficult. So once again, act fast so you are first in the queue.

Other information to consider, when facing house repossession:

A house repossession will seriously damage your credit rating, making it difficult for you to get credit cards or loans in future.

If it actually comes down to a repossession there are better ways of selling your property than through a bank.

OPEN MARKET SALE

Banks simply take your property to an auction house like Allsop, the bank receives what ever is the top bid, they then remove their own “handling fees” and then if there is anything left after your debts have been removed you will usually receive this amount. The problem is that houses sold at these auctions are usually sold at a bare minimum price compared to what you could sell your house for on the open market given suitable marketing by a reputable agency. Its best to be realistic on prices, speak to local agents and see what they really think they could sell your house for, actually sell it for, not what they will market it for. Make sure you understand the time frames involved and look at the market with your own eyes, ask the agent what recent sales they know of in the area similar to your house. Don’t expect to get more, in fact in this climate think less!

SALE AND RENT BACK

Another method which has been used more and more is selling your property and then renting it back. Simply put, you agree to sell you property to a “sale and rent back” company usually at 80% to 90% of its open market value. You get to stay in your house but now as a renter.

Usually you will agree with the purchasing company to rent for a set period at a set rent, most likely 1 or 2 years and at a rent slightly higher than market. The advantage is that you and your family will not have to move, no county court judgements will be brought against you affecting your credit, the bank is paid off and life continues on… well that’s the plan. We would suggest that you look at these offers very carefully. read all the fine print and make sure you understand every line of it, exactly what is being offered by the contract. What are their fees? What rent are you required to pay? What are the time frames? Guarantees? Can you break the rental contract? Is this offer fair or would it be better just to accept repossession via the bank at auction? When you sell your house and rent it back will all your debts and the mortgage be paid out or will you still be left with money owed? Sell and rent back can work very well, but it can also be a disaster. Tread carefully!

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/family/article_2857.shtml

Party Locations for Your Celebrations

By: John Smith

When you’re hosting a special party celebration, there’s always so much to plan and think about. Firstly you need to know what sort of event you’ll be holding… everything from the ages of your guests and how many there’ll be – to whether it’s a classy sit down affair or a raucous outdoor bonanza… whether you’ll be serving finger food, a sit down meal, or simply plenty of cocktails…and of course where you will be holding it!

The old mantra has always been ‘location, location, location’ and it’s exactly the same when you’re planning parties! You’ll need to consider firstly whether it will be indoors or outdoors, whether it will be held at your house – or whether you’d like to hire a venue. There are plenty of pros and cons to each. For example, if you hold a party at your house, you will have everything at your disposal, feel comfortable with the location, have the ability to control it easily and create the atmosphere you wish – and perhaps most importantly, keep costs under control! However on the downside, there’s a real risk that over enthusiastic (or well lubricated!) guests may accidently damage your home by breaking something valuable or spilling drinks over the carpet… there may not be enough space, and you may not be able to escape for a quiet five minutes in the middle of proceedings! Plus anyone who’s had to turf sleeping guests out from under tables and living room corners after particularly lively dos may well feel that it’s well worth the money to have someone else take on the responsibility and stress of hosting the party!

There are a huge range of locations to choose from for your party, and again it depends on budget, guests and type of celebration. You can also consider whether you wish to simply hire a venue – for example a local hall – or go the whole way, say for a wedding or engagement party, and hire a beautiful country house or hotel function room along with the services of professional party planners! Getting in the pros is a fantastic step if you can afford it for really special parties where you need everything to run perfectly and with lots of pizzazz – for example a party to entertain clients, a special engagement party with a lot of guests, or a wedding party.

For kids, off site parties are good options too for your sanity! The old favourites such as fast food restaurants or child-friendly restaurants with play areas are great ideas – for a cost effective budget you can feed, water and entertain the little angels all in one place and with the help of other adult supervisors! Other places such as theme parks, zoos, go karting or bowling alleys are also good locations for children and even teenagers. Of course you may even wish to go for something extremely unusual for a truly unforgettable party – parties on boats are really good fun for a large group of adults, or hiring a cottage is great for a weekend of celebrations! Or go ‘retro’ and enjoy an 80s party in the local church hall or social club, complete with mobile disco, cheese and pineapple on sticks and plenty of competitive dancing competitions and retro cocktails – get all your guests to arrive in their 80′s finest and you’ll be guaranteed a really fun theme night!

Another important aspect of organising a party is all the planning – right down to the tiny details. The good news is that there are good supplies of things to help you on your way – for example you can get party plans which are beautiful to look at and a great keepsake. There’s a version with a funky design and with record cards and useful pockets inside to store cards, clippings, RSVPs and various lists for menus, guests, phone numbers etc. You can plan your guest list inside, as well as your drinks list, party decorations and themes and the food you’ll plan to serve. The pack even prompts you for things to think about, and it’s a great idea if you’re planning a particularly special party. It will also stop you from making various lists on bits of paper which you promptly go and lose in your bag – and you might even want to organise your party outfit at the same time by looking for inspiration in your favourite magazines and using the cuttings to pull together your look…

Regardless of what you choose for your party location, theme and type, just make sure you take some time away from all the organising and stress and simply enjoy yourself – remember, it’s your party too!

For further information, please visit http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/family/article_2909.shtml

Shopping on a Budget

By: Laura Taff

Shopping for clothing, accessories, shoes and more can be tight on a family’s budget no matter what the national economic situation is. Even when times are great, its a good idea to get more for your money. I used to just go shop right off of the racks, whatever was available that I liked. After being chided by friends repeatedly, I finally started to understand what they meant. Let’s say I had $60-$70 to spend. We all know that isn’t going to buy very much. Depending on where I choose to spend it, I may get an outfit out of that. Sometimes that won’t buy just a pair of jeans or a skirtLet’s imagine I spend that same $60-$70 with a plan in mind, and don’t mind bargain hunting to get the best deal. In that case, I honestly could get two or three outfits for that. Once, on a bargain hunt, I got a nice dress, two blouses, and a pair of shorts for $25. That’s right, I said $25! So how did I do it?

I think everyone is pretty aware of clearance racks at stores, but how much attention do you pay to them? I found an end of season clearance sale at a major department store and practically the entire store was on clearance. The great thing is, I live in an area where it stays warm longer than the official end of summer, so I was able to wear those great finds for several months before the actual end of the season. So, yes, the clearance rack is a great way to save on shopping. But, what if you don’t live in an area where it stays warm longer than the season? You can still take advantage of these deals, it just takes some planning ahead. Seriously, if you can get all of that for $25, grab it for next season and just wait. That’s a great way to save on Halloween costumes as well. Shop the clearance when the season is over, and you’ve got next year’s outfit. Just don’t forget to buy it in a size bigger, because obviously your child will have grown by the next year.

There are some other ways besides clearance racks that a shopper can find a bargain. One is to realize that shops try to create urgency to get get you to buy now. They make those sales end at a certain time on purpose! They want you to feel like you’re going to miss it. So the best way to combat that is planning ahead, and not being in a hurry. Be willing to walk away from a sale if need be. Chances are, that sale will end and that item will end up on the clearance rack marked down further than the sale. Of course, this is a risky strategy if you fall in love with a certain item. There is also the chance that someone else will grab up the deal or beat you to the clearance and you won’t get the item. So try not to get too attached to one thing. Pick out several items you’d like to have and don’t freak out if one of them isn’t there when it finally gets marked down. But think of the benefits. In one case, I saw a great dress on the clearance rack, but I had already picked out other items that used up my $25 budget for the day. So, even though I tried it on and it looked fabulous, I left it on the rack. Not to mention it was $22 and would have been my only purchase for the day. Anyway, a week or two later, I was back in the same store and the dress was still there, only this time it was $7! At that point I was glad I had walked away. I still got the dress and for $15 less!

Thrift stores are another way a bargain shopper can make their money stretch further. A lot of people find it embarrassing to shop at a thrift store, but there’s no need to. You have to be willing to look through the racks, but you can find things that people obviously bought and wore once (or not at all) before they donated. If you live in an area where the donations are not as nice, maybe thrift stores are not right for you, but you should at least check it out. If there’s not a thrift store near you, or the donations are not as nice, look for outlets. They can be a money saver too. It is still brand new items, they just never sold off of the original rack and had to be moved out.

Don’t forget shopping online. If you’ve never tried it, shopping online can be a great way to find the best bargains. You can find items that aren’t available in stores, and possibly even get free shipping. Look for online coupon codes to your favorite stores, and try to combine offers when possible. For instance, if there is a minimum purchase requirement for free shipping, and that same store has a coupon code, and has sale items, you could shop the sale items, use the coupon code, and get free shipping. If you are having trouble meeting the minimum order requirement you could get together with a friend and make a purchase together and both reap the benefits. Often times online coupon codes last longer than regular ones, so find out when it expires and don’t worry about waiting to use it at a more convenient time if necessary.

Whatever you do, have a game plan before you shop. Set a limit of spending and stick to it, even if that means walking away (or clicking away in the case of internet shopping). This can make shopping a fund experience rather than a stressful one. You’re on a treasure hunt! So, enjoy yourself and reap the rewards.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/family/article_3118.shtml