If all efforts fail and a possession order has been granted or, if you have broken the terms of a suspended possession order, the lenders will apply to the court for a bailiff's warrant, and you will be notified of an eviction date. Unless you have successfully applied for a suspension of the eviction warrant (see previous section ) the Court will then appoint a bailiff to carry out the eviction.

The Court Bailiff has the power to force his/her way into the property if you do not agree to leave voluntarily.

Once the lender has obtained possession of the property they will arrange for it to be sold either by their agent or at public auction. From the sale proceeds the lenders will deduct the total amount owed under the mortgage (including the arrears), the lender's legal costs, any money the lenders have spent on essential repairs and any amounts which are outstanding on other mortgages which are secured on the property. If, after these deductions, there is still money remaining from the sale the lenders will return the balance of any sale proceeds to you. If you are evicted, it is important to advise the lender of your forwarding address.

Remember that a forced sale by the lender is likely to produce a lower price than if you had sold the property yourself.

Mortgage Shortfall Debts
Even after a property has been repossessed or voluntarily surrendered by the owner, the mortgage debt will continue to increase until the property has been sold by the lender. In many cases after a sale has taken place there will still be a shortfall between the amount raised from the sale and the total amount owed under the mortgage agreement.

The loss of your home may not necessarily be the end of the story as you will also be liable to pay off any shortfall debts following the sale of the property.

Many lenders will not take any action immediately after the repossession when a borrower may still be suffering severe financial hardship. However, lenders may have up to 12 years in which to seek recovery of a shortfall debt and may seek to recover some or all of the debt at a later stage, particularly if a borrower's financial circumstances improve. Shortfall debts can also be sold on to other companies which specialise in debt recovery. The outstanding mortgage debt will be registered at the County Court and this will have an effect on your ability to obtain credit in the future

It is important therefore that after a property as been either voluntarily surrendered, sold or, has been repossessed, the borrower contacts the lender to establish what their policy will be in terms of recovering any shortfall debts which still remain owing following the sale of the property.

Borrowers should also check with the lender to ensure that they have followed the correct procedure when disposing of the property and that they have tried to obtain a reasonable sale price for the property given the prevailing market conditions.

You should also check to ensure that, before the property was sold by the lenders, only those repairs which were reasonably required have been carried out by the lender, as the cost of these repair works will be added to the overall amount which you will owe to the lender.

In terms of dealing with the mortgage shortfall debt there are a number of options available. The most common of these are listed below.

* Agreeing a programme with the lender to repay the whole debt at an acceptable rate over a specific period of time (this will obviously depend to a large extent on the borrowers disposable income following the sale of the property).

* Asking the mortgage lender to accept a single lump sum payment of part of the mortgage shortfall debt as full and final settlement for the whole of the debt. This will involve part of the debt being written off and this is best done by way of a formal written agreement.

* Asking the mortgage lender to write off the whole of the debt. Again this is usually done by way of a formal written agreement ( a lender is more likely to agree to this if you can establish that your financial circumstances are unlikely ever to improve to the point where you can repay any of the debt. )

However, before deciding on which option to pursue you should seek advice.

Getting Rehoused

You should remember that you will not automatically be rehoused by the Council just because you have been evicted by your mortgage lender and are homeless. It is therefore, advisable to Contact the Council at least 28 days before any proposed eviction date and advise them that you are threatened with homelessness.

You can ask your local Council to carry out an assessment to determine if you will qualify for rehousing.

If you do not qualify for Council accommodation you will then need to think about renting accommodation from a private landlord and if necessary, apply to the Council for Housing Benefit to assist you with the cost of your rent.

Further Advice and Assistance
If you require further advice or assistance regarding your mortgage arrears difficulties contact us.