Housing Options After Repossession

If your home has been repossessed then of course you will be faced with finding new accommodation. When it comes to this there are a few options such as renting from a private landlord, the council or if your finances are back on track considering taking out another mortgage and buying again.

Your local council is available to offer help and advice when it comes to you being homeless after repossession and can offer accommodation for rent based on a short or long term basis. There is some legal duty on the council’s behalf and the amount will depend on your situation but overall they must do everything possible to give you advice and find you shelter. If you are in doubt about how to proceed or believe that they are treating you unfairly then you should seek advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

A private landlord will usually ask for a large deposit upfront when it comes to renting and depending on where you live the weekly/monthly rent can be expensive. You will also face the task of finding a landlord that is willing to take a chance on you as the majority will run a credit check and this will reveal that your home was repossessed. Some help can be found for those who qualify such as a loan to cover the deposit and rent in advance and again you should check with the Citizens Advice who is able to point out any schemes available in your area.

It is sometimes possible to get back into the home that you have been evicted from but in this case you would have to work quickly to take out what is called an injunction. This is taken out to stop the lender selling your home while have the chance to make suitable arrangements. However in order to do this you must of course be able to get the funds needed to pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible after you have been evicted. If you leave these proceedings too late and the lender has already put the property up for sale, found a buyer and has set out contracts, then it is too late and there is no way that you are able to stop the sale from going through.

If you are in a position to buy a new home then this is one option available when it comes to housing. However in this case you have to make sure that all outstanding debt has been fully cleared, if it has not then your previous lender may be able to attach an order on your new home. This means that if you should sell it then they would be entitled to claim some of the proceeds of the sale to cover the outstanding debt you have and clear it.

When it comes to securing a mortgage then you have to tell lenders with whom you apply that you have had a repossession order against you. Due to this fact you will probably find that the criteria for borrowing is stricter and the interest rates you are offered could be higher than those who have no convictions against them and in the worst case you could be turned down. However there are some specialist lenders who will offer mortgages to those whose circumstances are less than favourable.