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mortgaged house

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W.LOVELL | 18:52 Mon 02nd Feb 2009 | Home & Garden
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i have a mortgage house, because of my wifes illness we are being offered a council bungalow, if i cancel the mortgage & let the house be repossessed, ?? would i get anything back eventually??
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That rather depends on the amount of equity you hold in the property - i.e. what it might sell for less what the outstanding mortgage sum is.
Assuming that there is some equity in it, you will always do better by selling up yourself - not merely chucking the towel in and leaving it for the bank/building society. They will run up selling costs more than if you DIY and merely take those costs off anything you might have got returned to you.
You could lose a lot of money that way, as well as adversely affect your credit rating. The mortgage company will have to get a repossession through the court - there is no such thing as 'cancelling a mortgage'.
So there will be court fees and other admin charges. The mortgge company will sell as quickly as possible, and if they don't raise enough money to cover your mortgage and all the charges, you will have to pay the difference.

If they sell it for more, you will be the excess profit.

Why not sell the house in the normal manner?
Be very careful if you decide to 'cancel' the mortgage! Some mortgages have a horrendous termination clause in them lately. If the mortgage still has a few years to run it might make sense to rent the house out until such time as it may become feasible to sell. But this may clash with your council's asset limitations to qualify for a council dwelling.

Whatever, do not abandon the property. As has been said above; you will lose many thousands of pounds as the mortgagor will sell at any price as long as it covers their interest.

You may be well advised to seek the opinion of a reputable real estate broker. In your situation with a sick spouse to care for, they may offer to do all dealings once you move out so you won't have to worry about the house.
Can you afford to rent the house out and carry on paying the mortgage so when the inevitable happens then at least you still have the house to fall back on....

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