Hi, I thought I should add an update to this post to close the chapter so to speak. He did lose the house. He did get all of his possessions back thanks to us knowing our legal position (as detailed in this thread). They have not chased him for any of his outstanding debts but this is probably due to them not knowing where he lives. He did get a job working for me but due to various factors (the main one being a possessive girlfriend who he ended up putting before his job) it only lasted 5 months and with it the best opportunity he will ever have for a well paid job (he would have done £40-£50K in his first year) He still owes me £1000's and he isn't even keeping up with the £50/Wk he agreed to pay - I probably see him once per month if I'm lucky, the rest of the time he is in the pub or working on a farm Anyway, on his behalf I would like to thank everyone who gave their time to respond to the thread. Regards Mark

Thank you for your reply. Here is an update on the situation: We have spoken to the mortgage company and they were adamant that they would not give the property back even if the arrears were paid. I spoke to three people regarding this decision the final one being a senior manager who eventually said that it could be done if certain criteria was met (I explained that without the house my friend has nothing to lose by going bankrupt, while this did not phase the lady on the phone I further explained that the property is in negative equity to at least £35,000 so do think carefully before being inflexible!) Terms of possession: £7000 areas paid Proof of employment (signed contract) Permission to contact new employer Mortgage to increase to cover costs Following this I then took the unpleasant task of informing his parents to let them know what had happened (they put the deposit down for the house) and further explain his predicament including all other know debts (Circa. £30K). While myself and his parents are/were prepared to cover the arrears and I could sort the employment issue out we made the decision that the house was not worth saving due to the negative equity aspect. We had a valuation done by the people who sold the house to my friend (it was a new build) and they came back with £130K Vs the £152K he bought it for. Our next move is to get his property out of the flat and get him a job. We will then go through the process of making him bankrupt and once he is on his feet again he can make the decision on whether he honours his moral obligation to replay certain debt. Question: The agents dealing with his flat/repossession have given us until the 1st Dec to arrange a time to get his possessions back (they "had no one free to assist" us entry last week) - However they have stated that no one is allowed inside the property or on the drive way and we are to provide a list of what he wants to remove and they will remove it. We want EVERYTHING out of there, do we have this right? If so can anyone advise us what statue we should reference? Many thanks Mark PS. On a positive note, my friend is now on day 6 of being 'dry' and is attending AA meetings every evening.

Hi, I've jus found out that my best friends house was repossessed yesterday. I'm still waiting to get to the bottom of the issue but the following is what I know: Mortgage is with Skipptons He has missed the last 4 consecutive payments He had missed payments before and caught up He has missed payments, been to court and was grated a stay order if he payed a set amount which he did His mortgage payments were £600 but after the court stay order they increased them to £800 (not sure why yet) He had plenty of notice that this was going to happen but dug his head in the sand, didn't ask for help, didn't speak to the Mortgage company and tried to resolve his issues with beer He is currently unemployed (own farming business recently failed) He has just got divorced but has joint custody of his 18 month old daughter for 3 days/2 nights per week All of his possessions are still in his house and there is a notice on the door saying he has 7 days from yesterday to contact them to arrange removal of his possessions Council have said there is nothing they can do for him as the child care allowance for his daughter is not in his name Couple of key questions: If he grants me authority to speak to his mortgage company do you think there is any hope of getting him back in his house if I pay the outstanding arrears? Has anyone ever managed to get back in their home after the house has been repossessed? I'm pretty savvy with financial matters but this is an area that I really don't know much about (and I hope that I never have to learn for myself! - off to touch some wood). Any suggestions or ideas would be very much appreciated! Thanks M