Catch 22 - Any finance ideas?

[Roller]

Anyone have any ideas for me on this issue I have.

I'm in arrears with my bond atm and am having some serious issues keeping my head above water with the R10k repayments.

I have managed to find a buyer for the property but the sales price is R50k short. Now I don't have R50k lying around at the moment unless I sell my car.

The bank won't assist me with a loan since my bond is in arrears. I am trying to get out of arrears by selling the property, but I can't since I can't make up the R50k shortfall unless they give me a loan that I can afford to pay off.

I would have thought they would be more sympathetic since they stand nothing to gain by repossessing the property.

Chances are that if I approach another bank, they will see that my bond is in arrears on the Credit Bureau and also decline a loan.

The only thing I can see for me to get out of this mess is to sell the property so that I can stay afloat, but I can't sell the property because I can't stay afloat.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[stoke]

Sell al your stuff to help cover 2 months, and during those 2 months advertise your property to Rent it out, and move back to your parents / a friend, and keep on paying that bond and the incoming rent money should be enough to help you get out of this crisis.

Also, approach your employer for a short-term loan.

 

[remybfg10k]

You can sell the property at a loss, let the lawyers handle it, they will draw up an Aknowledgment of Debt with the bank for the 50k+, you can then pay it off over 5 years at 15% +1 interest.

Bank will do it, trust me, they'd rather be assured of money than not.

Which bank is it?

 

[kissingmybbgoodbye]

Sounds strange, normally banks are willing to assist, specially in these times. I think you must take it further. I used to be an estate agent up to 2 weeks ago and I know of many properties being sold at a shortfall and the banks happily agreeing to that

 

[Peder]

Tell the bank you are only willing to pay them a certain amount. Like Say R7000 or something. They can't take it out of your name as long as you are paying.

 

[fivelza]

Banks will allow you to pay off the interest only for a period BUT you must discuss with them and come to some sort of an arrangement.

 

[BradDC]

Hi Roller, looking at your other post it might be worth asking your wife to start working? even if she brings in 5k a month its 5k less you have to worry about on that mortgage repayment. In terms of financial planning, suggest you budget and divide into envelopes, I know it sounds crazy but if you have 4 envelopes with the exact amount of money you have available for that week for that purpose it forces you to stick to your budget. If you have 2 cars then I suggest you get rid of the one that is costing you more. cut down as much as you can, do it for 10 months even if you have a surplus and work as much as you can on getting that mortgage back on track until you can sell and come out even.

 

[remybfg10k]

But the chances of the interest rate going up is looming even larger now, especially with the mini collapse of the markets.

Sell Sell Sell

 

[Barefoot Billionaire]

I really hope you're not forced to sell. Is there no way you can supplement your income? Do you have a degree? Now is a good time of the year to get some income from marking university or college papers.

If the bank won't give you another two months breather, you still have to solve your short-term debt crisis, though. Have you looked into personal loans through the international online lending websites, eg Prosper and P2P? I've never tried this myself, but it might be worth investigating.

 

[web]

The thing with banks is you need to be upfront with them, I was in the same predicament last year, we put the house on the market phoned ABSA and told them our whole story they gave us 6 months to sort it out. You need to do this before you start missing payments though. If you are getting into this situation you need to phone the bank BEFORE you miss your first payment not after. My only saving grace was I sold for more than I owed the bank maybe thats why they were so helpful. At the same time I was battling to pay my car and phoned them they gave me three months grace with that.

 

[Barefoot Billionaire]

Have you considered debt counselling yet? If the debt counsellor finds that you are over-indebted and agrees to help you restructure your debt, the restructuring fee will be the lesser of R3 000 and or the first instalment of the debt repayment plan. (It sounds like it will be R3 000 in your case). If the debt counsellor finds that you are not over-indebted, you pay a maximum rejection fee of only R300.

The National Credit Regulator can refer you to a registered debt counsellor. The regulator can also be a mediator between you and the bank. Their call centre nr is 0860 627 627. email: [email protected]

But after all, I think you should really try and come to an agreement with your bank directly. It will save you all the debt counselling fees (and potential legal fees if the bank rejects your debt counsellors restructered debt plan - which could be a lot and makes the counselling route pointless!).