Writing to mortgage providers?

Submitted by SMadden on 13 November, 2009 - 10:52
in

Hi

I work for Derby City Council's Empty Homes Service, and we are currently reviewing our procedures with regards to contacting empty property owners.

I was wondering if anyone is writing to mortgage providers of landlords who own empty properties? The aim would be to contact the mortgage providers, and make them aware that their mortgage holder is in breach of mortgage conditions - by leaving the property empty for a significant amount of time.  It would be interesting to see any letters drafted for this purpose. If you do have any that you are using currenty, I would be grateful if you could email me a copy at:

Samragi.Madden@derby.gov.uk.

Regards

Samragi Madden
Derby City Council - Empty Homes Service

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Hi Samragi, I work for

Submitted by DThorning on 13 November, 2009 - 12:45.

Hi Samragi,

I work for Plymouth's Empty Homes Team and I have just enquired whether Plymouth contact mortgage companies re empty home owners. The EH Manager has informed me that we tried contacting mortage companies in the past but they didn't seem interested and thus we don't bother.

If anyone has any advise for Samragi I would appreciate being copied in at daniel.thorning@plymouth.gov.uk. 

Regards

Daniel Thorning

Mortgage Providers

Submitted by MSmith on 16 November, 2009 - 08:51.

Yes here in Birmingham we are   although we dont ahve a standared letter we have "some " success. It can be aminefield depending on who answers the phone etc  and vert frustrating when after 2 weeks some write back and ask for a mortgage account number whioch we obviously dont have The one tip i do have is to include a photo of the house  which does the trick.

If you combine your letter

Submitted by Graham Everett on 16 November, 2009 - 10:51.

If you combine your letter with a notice under section 235 of the Housing Act 2004, you can learn the state of the mortgage account:  an important factor when considering an EDMO.   If no response to notice, the lender's company secretary is your contact point.

Graham Everett

235 Notice

Submitted by SMadden on 30 November, 2009 - 12:38.

Hi Graham

Thanks for sharing this - it sounds like a very useful tool.

If you do have a 235 notice currently in use, and any covering letters you send with it - could you please send me a copy at Samragi.Madden@derby.gov.uk.

Many thanks

Samragi

Writing to mortgage providers

Submitted by keithshields on 30 November, 2009 - 12:40.

Hello

We serve a Local Government (|Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 Section 16 Notice. Request for Information, on the mortgage providers. They respond with the information about owners etc. However they won't formally give info about the state of the mortgage arrear etc.Generally they are not interested in the state of the property. It help to get a name at the provider to discuss matters. 

 

Writing to mortgage providers?

Submitted by wasylw on 30 November, 2009 - 12:44.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but aren't mortgage providers the owners of a mortgaged property until the mortgage is paid off?  Once the mortgage is paid only then does the mortgagee own the property. With this in mind would it not make sense for us officers to send any enforcement notices, WID etc to the mortgage company too? It would be interesting to see how banks and building societies respond to any action.

Wasyl Wolczuk Empty Property Team Environmental Health Service

Gloucester City Council Herbert Warehouse The Docks

T 01452 396554

F 01452 396340

E wasylw@gloucester.gov.uk

Wasyl Wolczuk
Empty Property Team
Environmental Health Service
__________________________________________________
Gloucester City Council T 01452 396554
Herbert Warehouse F 01452 396340
The Docks E wasylw@gloucester.g

We have used this approach

Submitted by KWhitehead on 30 November, 2009 - 12:45.

We have used this approach just once (Cheshire East Council), but with a very positive outcome. Initial letters, serving s235 notices etc had no response, so we sent photos of the property and informed the mortgage company that we were considering an enforced sale. They stepped in immediately and repossessed the property.  Sold at auction and now back in use.

I definitely recommend the use of photos becuase they don't always appreciate whats happening to their properties.

Writing to mortgage providers

Submitted by Nick P-G on 30 November, 2009 - 12:47.

If we have a charge on a property, I'll use the phone first. It takes time and bloody mindedness. It is highly likely that your client is in arrears, so ask for "Arrears", "Mortgage recovery" "Impaired Assets", Asset Recovery" Team etc.

Open up with talk about the charge and how you are about to register that charge against the Title. Mention s103 Law of Property Act and they should escalate it. Politely ask them if they are going to do something about the property OR do they want us to enforce the charge. Remind them that as our charges are Statutory they have primacy over their charge.

Ask anyone you speak to you for their direct line/fax/e-mail and their manager's name. If you ask the first person you speak to call you back so you can prove you're Council, you might even get their phone no off your own phone. Get the Co Sec. details and say they can do this the easy way or the Notice way. I often ask them to e-mail our Head of Legal to open discussions. This proves the quickest way to get the key person in the firm to give over their contact details. 

Make sure they know that their asset is insecure and the subject of ASB.

Ask them if they have instructed a solicitor to act for them.

Ask them if they would be willing to settle the charge. We are having some joy with this. We used to be crap at recovery of debt from WiD, but are now getting more out of mortgagees.

With the market the way it is at the moment, and the mess that Banks got into during boom time, it's all about encouraging them to minimise their loss on a property.

I had one where I suggested to the Mortgagee that if their client had a history of arrears that were paid off on an ad hoc basis, they have a problem. I advised them of live charges, next enforcement steps and the possibility of a Charging Order for C Tax liability. I was trying to get them to prioritise the client by recognising he was a liability across the board. 3 days later, there was a 7-day Repo Notice on the door.

If you have no charges on the property, tell them about the enforcement action/charges/LPA 1925 angle, also that the home is in a squatter hotspot! And that they will be getting s235 and s16 Notices.

Non-stop bloody-mindedness, keep calling/writing/faxing until they realise that they have a problem.

Your main weapon is the threat of debt recovery at their expense.

 

Nick P-G - Reading BC

Nick P-G

Reading BC

01189373091