Will bank deal with me if i get offer on house

[johnpdolan]

I have been in trouble with my mortgage for a while now and i am in arrears. I have kept contact with the bank and recently i asked if they would take the house from me and let me move on. Now things have changed. I have an offer on the house, it is well below what i owe but a definite offer. My question is will the bank deal with me, surely some money is better than none to them and they can write off the debt, i need to act quick on this and am unsure what way to approach the bank? I have been phoneing them keeping them updated on my situation so they can never say i have been ignoring the problem, i really want rid of this house so i can start a life again, can someone advise please what is best to do??

 

[Brendan Burgess]

surely some money is better than none to them and they can write off the debt,

They will probably give you permission to sell the house, but they are very unlikely to write off the debt.

Without knowing your overall circumstances, you may be better off just selling the house and accepting for the moment that you are liable for the shortfall. You may be able to get it written off when the banks implement the new Personal Insolvency Bill.

But from a planning point of view, you should assume that you will still owe the shortfall.

In terms of acting quickly, your solicitor will have to get the bank's written permission to sell at that price. Unfortunately, it won't happen quickly.

 

[johnpdolan]

Why will it not happen quickly and why would i need a letter

 

[LDFerguson]

Because if you're in negative equity, the bank owns the house. You cannot sell something without the written permission of the owner. I'd agree with Brendan that it won't happen quickly. My experience of dealing with banks' solicitors is that they take a long time to respond to such requests, presumably because they're very busy at present.