If you find yourself unable to clear account arrears or persistently falling behind with payments it is likely that your lender will file a repossession order with the court. You will then receive a letter from the judge, setting a hearing date which you are required to attend.

During the hearing the judge will decide whether or not they believe you can repay your mortgage, if this is not the case they will recommend reviewing the loan terms and duration to allow you to do so. The judge is there to act as an intermediary between yourself and your mortgage provider, giving you the best chance possible of repaying the arrears – repossession will be used as a last resort after all alternatives have been considered.

It is common place for court hearings to be adjourned (postponed) to a later date in order to allow more information to be collected. If this is the case you will then be provided with a further court date, which you must also attend.

However, if a revised payment schedule can be agreed upon then a suspension order will be issued, meaning that the repossession will be temporarily placed on hold. If after all of that you are unable to keep up to date with the new payment schedule the lender will be able to issue an eviction order without further involvement from the court.

If the Judge comes to the decision that you cannot pay off the arrears and/or you will not be able to afford the ongoing mortgage repayments then he/she will set a date for you to vacate the property. The eviction order will be executed by a team of bailiffs at a designated time. It is likely that an Estate Agent will also be present to put your house on the market.

If you are still inside the property when the bailiffs arrive they will usually give you around 10 minutes to gather your belongings before they will escort you from the premises. The locks will then be changed. However, if you are not at the property at the requested time the bailiff has the right to break into the property in order to gain entry.

Approximately 2 weeks later you will be allowed to revisit the property under supervision to remove the rest of your possessions. Bailiffs will not be flexible, nor will they negotiate with you. They are simply there to do their job and evict you.

Prevent your home from being repossessed
To get help and FREE advice now, call Jemima Poppy on 01908 232 879 anytime.