worriedowner

Hi all,

I am having a huge panic.

I've lost my job in the UK and I have a mortgage on my holiday home in portugal with Millennium BCP which has gone up (due to euro currency strength which I'm sure you are all aware of!)

I am defaulting on the payments and just can't raise the cash. The market looks like its completely flat and even with my property advertised at 1000 euros over the outstanding mortgage I've had no enquiries in two months.

Does anybody out there know if the millennium BCP bank has the power to come after the equity in my UK home if I default on the mortgage and the house is repossessed?
I know in the US there is a term called "jingle mail" - where the owners hand their keys back and that's the end of their liability, but in the UK the bank can still come after you for their losses on the property.

I appreciate that this is legal advice - and I'm not holding anyone to it, but someone out there might have a bit of an idea of terminology I need to use or advice.

Should I mail the keys back and run for the hills or am I risking my UK roof that currently keeps the rain off my kids heads?

I wish you and your families all the best for 2009,

Roger.

Mitzyboy

Sorry to hear of your problem

I'm guessing that they wouldn't have a hold on your UK home unless in some way you used it as a guarantee, but I'm no expert

I have heard of people giving back the keys and running, but I'm not sure how that would negate your liability. I suspect the last thing they will want to do in the current climate is end up with a house which they cant sell, so have you approached them to see if you can take a payment holiday or maybe make another arrangement?

masterbaits

get to the local ea mobs on a cheap flight asap , look for rentals on long terms in as many as possible.Hit the local shops for putting up free adverts.

If nothing else look to cover the mortgage , if worse comes to worst most of it will do just now , youll be less eposed to the holiday lets added expenses.

List it on every site going thats free for sales/renting , check out property auction companies in the uk that does eu wide props.

Worse case scenario get it on ebay , you dont have to sell at under break even , set a high reserve it costs very little if its not sold....ie its an advert.

set up a cheap webpage , cost about 50 quid max.

Magick

I am so sorry to hear of your current difficulties - I am sure this will become a more frequent problem for people with holiday homes abroad

I think I read in the news or Algarve Resident that banks WILL come after money on your UK property - I think you need to take legal advice as soon as you can.

Dont forget to contact your Portugese bank to let them know the situation and see if you can defer payments or make lower payments for the short term.

And as suggested before try to get your property rented out if possible - even if it doesnt cover the mortgage it will give you something towards it.

All the best
Magick

Mitzyboy

Theres a thread on this in Spain

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=586097

Joao

You probably don't have access to the "Get Real" paper in the East Algarve, but there is an article in there issued by DECO (consumer advice company)that has covered this point. From what they say there is a decree law 1553-A/2008 which was issued in Dec 08 and is valid till Dec 2020 which is designed to assist families who are unable to meet their mortgage repayments by offering the option to sell the property to a FIIAH at an agreed value and remain in the property under a rental contract. The value of the rent, to be agreed between the two parties, is estimated to be about 20 per cent lower than the mortgage repayment costs, and the vendor retains the option to purchase the property back at a later date.
So far only the Caixa Geral de Depositos is prepared to implement the FIIAH scheme.
You can contact DECO by e-mail [email protected] or by phoning 289 863 103 or www.deco.pt
I hope this helps, but please don't come back to me for any more info, just call DECO and get it straight from the horses mouth.
Joao

ninakula

As I am in the same position - except that I live here and this is my only property - the DECO information is interesting.

My mortgage is with Santander and I went to them when I knew I was in difficulty. They told me I could have a 2 month payment holiday - I wrote a letter of thanks and confirmation (just in case the language barrier had me mistaken) I did not hear anything in reply.

The following month they took my mortgage payment together with other charges which caused my bank to be overdrawn - they then froze my credit card.

When I called them, they told me I was mistaken and that what they said was that if I missed 3 months payments, they would put it into the hands of the Bank of Portugal for repossession. In other words, they are not interested in helping whatsoever - they won't even reduce my payments to interest only.

I am going to call DECO and see what they say..

Good luck with your bank - hope they are better than Santander!!

Martin Marigold

Hi, and I hope you have managed to sort something out. I am living in the central algarve, and am lucky enough to have recently sold a house that i developed for that purpose. I am looking for another investment, if you could send me the details, and they match what i am looking for in price and location, then we could talk further. If it does not work out for us, try marketing the house with an algarve agent that uses right move. I think that Manor Park of Almancil do, but they also want a whopping 6% commission on sales. Good Luck. [email protected]

ninakula

Not looking for somewhere in Figueira da Foz are you?

Schnappy Dog

Oh god what an awful situation, hope something works out for you.

A mate of mine runs a property listings business for the algarve and she is offering free listings for 6 months if you sign up before end of March.

If you think you are going down the road of renting while you sort this out, can ask her to post it up for you.

SD