Preparing for your home Repossession or Eviction court hearing?

A lot of mortgagees come to us when they are at risk of either home repossession or even worse, home eviction. A general pattern we see trending is that most people in mortgage arrears leave it (literally) till the last minute to reach out for help and sadly for most, it is too late!

I have spoken with people who have been in fear of opening a letter they know is from their lender, or a solicitor acting on behalf of their lender and they just don’t realise that this is the worst thing to do. We always suggest that if you are in arrears and you are receiving letters from your lender, that you get in touch with them and open a dialogue and try to seek a solution.

For those that are beyond the letter stage and have been given a court hearing date, we strongly suggest that they turn up for the hearing and by not doing so, the judge really only gets to hear one side of the story (that of the lenders) and really only has one option and that is to rule in favour of the lender.

Not only do we STRONGLY suggest that you appear at the hearing, but we also suggest that you prepare for your day in court by doing the following:

Preparation

Make sure your paperwork is in order and have 3 copies

One for you

One for the magistrate

One for the lender’s solicitor

Go with a plan that you have decided best suits you.

Speak to the Duty Solicitor, arrive in time to run your plan by him/her and get a feel for what they think of it but make sure you are not drawn into changing it, this is your plan and only you know it inside out. Remember, you are just after a feel for what the duty solicitor thinks.

Address the Magistrate either Sir or Madam

Stick to the facts when presenting your plan.

Accept liability BUT, present your reasons.

DON’T GET FIRED UP!

Being prepared tells the judge that you are taking your situation seriously and having a plan that you can present and be confident in delivering, also shows that you are trying to find a solution.

In short, appearing at your hearing and being prepared can go a long way when it comes to a judge considering your repossession or eviction case.

If your mortgage is in arrears and you are facing repossession or even home eviction and feel you need help, you may want to consider www.repossessionhelp.net .