| Stories |
|
Story 1
Question
Recently I am having difficulty in paying my mortgage. I have 3 children, and my husband has walked out on me and is not paying any money towards my children’s living expenses. I am pretty much desperately scraping together savings and taking personal loans and do not know what to do. Can you offer any help ? |
|
Sam’s advice
My advice to you is to firstly see what help you can get from the housing department. You can call them on 020 7944 4400 (08:30-17:30 Mon-Fri) or visit their website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/
I think your main concern would be not to get your property repossessed. If you require further advice on your rights and what you should do please contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau who will offer you free advice. You can call them on 020 7833 2181 or visit their website on http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/cabdir.ihtml |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Story 2
Question
I am 40 years old and I decided to go back to college as I did not have a very well paid job. I am currently in my 3rd year of studying law. My husband and I bought a 3 bedroom house about 3 and a half years ago which at the time we got a 95% mortgage. Now with the current credit crunch we cannot afford our payments on my husband's wages alone even though I have a part time job. Do I have to quit my studies after working so hard for more than 2 years ?
Judy |
|
Sam’s advice
My advice to you would be not to give up your studying as that is something which you will benefit from in the future. I don’t know if you have any kids, but I would suggest that you consider renting a room or two in your house. Depending on the size of the room you could earn around £300 per room. I am sure this would go a long way to alleviate your financial difficulty. You can contact a local letting agent who could help you find a suitable tenant or place an ad in the local newspaper. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Story 3
Question
I have been renting property for a year and my tenant used to always pay the rent on time but recently he has lost his job and says that he is unable to pay the rent. He has told me that he has applied for housing benefit, but his rent is in arrears of 4 months now. I am having difficulty in paying for my mortgage as a result. I have spoken to a solicitor but was not satisfied with his advice. They wanted to charge me £90 per hour and there is no guarantee how long it will take to resolve. I don’t really want to make matters worse by spending more money without knowing what the result will be ?
Susan |
|
Sam’s advice
My advice would be firstly to contact the housing office to see if they have received the housing benefit application from your client. If it has been submitted you may also enquire how long they expect it to take and if they are likely to back date the claim four months.
If your tenant has not filed his application as he says he has, then you can file charges against him in a small claims court. The cost will depend on the amount of the claim so you will have to enquire about this. The way you handle this is very tricky however so I advise you to not rush into anything, and look at all of your options before making a decision. If you require further assistance then please email me on enquiries@sambains.com. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Story 4
Question
I rented a property with two friends of mine and we signed a 1 year lease. I have been in the house for 7 months now and one of my friends has decided to move out. This has left two of us paying the full rent. Do I have any rights or options where we can make the third person responsible for his share and other bills he has left unpaid ?
Tom |
|
Sam’s advice
Firstly, if you have signed an assured short hold tenancy agreement even if one person leaves the others automatically become responsible. Unless your agent or landlord has taken personal guarantors for all three of you which if that is the case then you may be able to take some action. You could also take your friend to a small claims court, but that will take time and you will initially have to pay out more money.
If you require further assistance then feel free to email me enquiries@sambains.com. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Story 5
Question
I am living with my parents and I have recently bought a 2 bedroom flat in Luton. My mortgage has become quite high and I am afraid that I won’t be able to keep up my payments and bills. Also, I have recently decorated it and was planning to move in soon, but I am unsure so to what I should do. If I sell it I will not get what I paid for it, can you advise ?
Mark |
|
Sam’s advice
My advice to you would be definitely not to sell yet as you will lose out on the value. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Seeking Property Services Click here |
|
