I am currently being chased By Eversheds on behalf of Abbey National for a £10,000 shortfall from a mortgage I had with my ex-husband.

Eversheds have sent me half of an illegible survey that was carried out on the property prior to sale and I have now served a SARN on AN and am waiting to hear back from them.

Can you tell me if Lenders have to carry out a minimum number of surveys on repossessed properties prior to sale to show they have tried to obtain best market price or can they get away with just doing one?

Also the surveyor’s details have been ‘blacked out’. I asked why and they said that this is for Data Protection purposes but there is nothing left showing on the document to show that the survey was carried out by an independent surveyor. Can they withhold these details even when a SARN has been served?

Just to add a bit more complication to this, my ex-husband has declared himself as bankrupt. Does this leave me with sole liability for the shortfall?

-- Beverley Sansom (bev100@genie.co.uk), August 06, 2001

Answers

Hopefully someone can provide you will fuller answers, but here goes.

1. Lender Surveys. My experience is that they generally are obliged to get 2, but it is probably covered in the smallprint of your mortgage contract. You can ask for a clearer copy. Your point about the independence of the survey is valid, and they would have to produce the original document in court. The DPA point is crap. It is possible they have contacted the valuers and they have requested anonymity, but you can ask for their identity and write to them directly for a copy of the survey. 2. SARN on Survey. I don't think they can withhold this information from a survey but it sounds like they might try. One for someone else to deal with.

3. Sole liability. It doesn't make much difference in all likelihood as you were probably both 'jointly and severally liable' for the mortgage - meaning that they could opt to chase either or both of you for the full amount anyway. Now you're the only one in the frame, but it doesn't mean you'll end up paying the full amount. It is worth finding out what was taken into account when he declared himself bankrupt.

Good luck

-- (bluemoon@mcfc.co.uk), August 06, 2001.

With reference to your ex going bankrupt...the last poster was right in that you *must* find out if he included the mortgage in his list of debts. What the OR can do is to exclude it - he would have to have (read should have) written to you at the time your ex filed and advised you that this debt had been listed as one to be included. You would in all probability have joint and several liability and he should have asked you how this was to affect you. In my case - the OR didn't even bother to check and the Lender whacked me with the lot and continues to hound me 11 years on. My ex walked away from everything and has since been discharged!

The OR (Official Receiver) dealing with your ex's case will be attached to the Court where he filed - that should be easy enough to find. Write to him asap (recorded delivery - they are useless) and lodge an objection to the bankruptcy based on the inclusion of a joint and several liability you will be left with. You cannot split the debt - tried that one - it's an all or nothing situation.

-- Too scared to say (iwasduped@yahoo.com), August 06, 2001.

The bankruptcy points have been well covered and i will add no more to that.On the question of surveyors you have the right under the b/socs statutary requirement to have access the surveyors name.It could be questioned by yourself if they were qualified,also when any valuer make a valuation,and this is the same in todays market ,he has to provide'comparables' of 3 similar properties that have sold localy at in the same period.Methinks some is trying to conceal evidence,why, go for the throat!

-- roger watts (rwatts.homeloans@virgin.net), August 06, 2001.