Mid Life Musings

House....still!

2009-11-08T12:13:00.002Z

I am very shocked to have accessed my blog and read the date of my last entry.

I cannot believe almost three months on this saga is still going on. The plank pulled out of the sale again several weeks ago and it has taken a very strongly worded solicitors letter threatening court action to get him to sign a letter of authorisation.

This letter could have been sent several weeks ago, but my matrimonial solicitor for some reason closed my case, with an ongoing sale which is part of the financial settlement! I am totally bewildered by all this.

After receiving notice from the bank they were going for an eviction order- although it has been empty for a year - which would mean almost £1000 of charges being added, I galvanized the services of the solicitors working for the bank who have bent over backwards to try and get this resolved.

The estate agents have knocked a whopping £300 off their bill of almost £3,000, wow!!

They have done very little for their fee and as things stand they will be taking the shortfall from the sale. Plank has apparently contacted them to say he can only pay £10 a month on this, they wanted £50.

I am therefore waiting for somebody in this ridiculous mess to get their arse into gear get the contracts exchanged and completed!

Once it is at last over, some heads will be rolling.....

Bloody Estate Agents!!! and plank.....

2009-08-18T12:25:00.004+01:00

Well the fiasco of the so called house sale/repossession continues.

The Estate Agents are being total twats, will not consider reducing their extortionate fee, but after speaking to my solicitor dealing with the sale yesterday it appears someone has been telling big porkies, either the agents to me or the buyer to the agents. The buyers solicitors tell my solicitors that they do NOT have a mortgage approval for the purchase. I was told right from the beginning of the offer that the buyer had a mortgage in place. I have the letter in which the agent told me 16th July the buyer could move quickly and the sale would be concluded in good time. I myself spoke to the agents over three weeks ago and was told the sale would be completed within three weeks! and where are we......zilch happening.

So as today is the date the bank can legally apply for possession what will happen?

It appears plank is panicking and has been talking to the bank. I had three letters arrive last week, the only communication from them since the repossession court hearing. One asking me for all my income and expenditure to be filled in on their forms. WTF?? Two others the next day regarding complaints made to them, by whom and what about?? I have no idea. I assume plank has made the complaints. No idea what for as the papers do not inform me.

But don't worry plank is still merrily carrying on as usual....

Last week a trip to Chessington for him and his "new family" - my daughter was very upset on hearing this as she has now been frozen out of any trips and holidays. Then his sister comes up for a few days to visit, so on Saturday they all go on a trip to Great Yarmouth, all these places are several hours away, so he can't be that skint can he?

oh and the best, this weekend they are having a BBQ to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary, oh bless!! and OMG daughter and her boyfriend have been invited, but no they are not allowed to stay the night. Well it's only about 25 miles away so he is happy to do 100 miles in petrol to come and get them and take them home. Sunday he came down to visit said daughter to bring his sister to see her, but he was unable to loan her £3.50 to get to college the following day as he had no money.

Sister was taken to see other daughter on the way and her new baby. But said daughter was not allowed to go (baby is only a month old she still hasn't seen it) as he would have to come and get her and bring her "all the way back again" a total of an extra 25/30 miles - wow, he had done 100's last week taking his new family here there and everywhere but not his own daughter to meet her niece.

Is it any wonder he has alienated almost everyone!

Another week gone by....

2009-08-08T10:55:00.003+01:00

and still no further forward.

Have had no news regarding the sale of the house. Went to see the CAB on Wednesday there doesn't appear to be any way to get the fees reduced to enable to sale to go ahead. Strangely there is a news item this morning on mortgage lenders fees levied on people who have arrears, may be useful to follow that in the eventuality of claiming some money back in the future.

Spoke to the estate agent (extortioner) on my return, he will not lower the fee which works out at 3%. The solicitor says this is extortionate and to persist to try and get it lowered. I told the agent I have two choices either let the sale proceed and owe them money or withdraw and let the repossession go ahead. He was rather rattled and argued that I would still have to pay an estate agent via the lender to sell the house, maybe I said but not at your fees!!

Oh plank apparently spoke to the agent earlier and was happy with the fee!! My solicitor put him right on that and told him straight, if the fee is not reduced the sale will not complete. He replied he is on a debt management programme, well we all know he is in debt up to his eyeballs!!

Prefers to shower new wifey with expensive gifts and trips to the ballet (big laugh) rather than settle his responsibilities!!

All on credit of course!!! Way to go don't change now will you, we will all be so upset!! 30 years of this I've had with him, and it seems it will go to the wire before it all ends and I can at last have a fresh start.

Took my son to see his psychologist last week, she asked how things were with his feelings for his father - his reply- I just want him to die a slow and painful death.

I have so much to deal with because of plank and it looks like he will continue to drag me down as far as he possibly can, sodding twat!!

When Will It Ever End.........

2009-08-02T10:13:00.000+01:00

A month has gone since my last entry and still nothing has changed....

Plank being the twat he is has not paid the council tax owing on the "matrimonial" home. The council now want the full year paid and have added another £100 to the bill just to help things along. The property has been empty since I moved out last October, the council only allow a six month period of non payment before they start charging you again and seemingly the full amount!! Work that one out.

The council sent him a bill in April which he has ignored, they were then supposed to send a bill to me if he didn't pay, this they didn't and now I am tarred with the same brush as him. Why you may ask should he pay, well he has paid nowt since December 2007 on the house in any way shape or form, he is working, I am not.

The possession order on the house was granted last week even though a sale had been secured, adding another £750 onto the money coming out of the "proceeds" - the redemption charges the bank have added to pay up the mortgage have also added another £1000 to the final amount, meaning that I have now not enough out of the agreed sale price to let the sale proceed unless one of the tossers in the equation relent and reduce their fee.

The estate agents want £2600 for selling a house - that they valued at £130k when they took the sale on in September 2007 - they have eventually sold for £78000. A friend sold a property this week for £110k and has been charged over £1000 less than that, work that one out!!

Apparently these agents work on a fixed fee, not a percentage!! Well if I am having to take over £50k less than anticipated I expect a fee equivalent to that reduction to be charged.

So what do I do, allow the repossession to go ahead 18th August, bearing in mind it was a fixed fee mortgage they have been charging interest at over 5% all this time, now it seems the tide is turning and the property market is beginning to recover they decide to take it, so no doubt make more than the prices of the past 18 months, all at my expense - or fight on for a sale that's being eaten up with extortionate fess that no one appears to want to help in any way reduce!!

I am not coming out of this with debt!!!

Sick of it all, the banks, estate agents, plank being a twat, the council tax people who are stupid wanting to charge tax on an unoccupied house using NO services!!

House Prices......mmmh

2009-07-01T08:41:00.000+01:00

When my divorce was finalised the ex (plank) thought I would stay in the "marital" home, pay not one penny towards the mortgage or maintenance and when my son reached 17 come back to see it sold as is the law and take a nice cut!

I had never wanted to move into the area, it being 20 miles from our previous home of 18 years where my children had been born and almost grown up! We knew no one, I was then left totally isolated in a black hole of a place which had nothing going for it in any way shape or form, the children were all unhappy.

So I obviously did not want to stay there. I applied to the council as soon as the divorce came through and after a two year wait was finally given the flat we have now which is close to my sons school saving me 300 miles of driving a week! Bliss!!!

As there was no real money in the marriage the house sale was my settlement. I had been awarded what amounted to a 60% share of any profit - which after 25 years of a difficult marriage wasn't going to be much recompense.

I have recently reduced the price by £30k, it has been up for sale for over two and a half years, in that time less than ten viewings.

Yesterday the estate agent calls to tell me an offer had been received which was 25% less than the new asking price, £55k than the original price!! In effect much much more than the official figures telling us how much property prices have dropped. I had to decline the offer because it wouldn't even cover the cost of the mortgage let alone the estate agent and solicitor. If they come back with around £5k more I will feel obliged to accept as the house is now being repossessed by the lender.

The plank is being a total twat as per usual and is doing nothing to help with anything to finish clearing the house, me having done the majority of it with virtually no help.

So if another increased offer comes I accept it, if he doesn't we will still have to go to court next month for the repossession. I will - as I have already resigned myself - end up with nothing for the miserable marriage I endured for the best years of my life.

Michael Jackson

2009-06-27T11:29:00.000+01:00

Well this is my first blog post and yes it is about Michael Jackson. Like the death of Princess Diana this has shook me slightly. Why?? Maybe because being a similar age his music was always there throughout my life. I have some of his music and was today compelled to buy three of his albums off Amazon that I had never bought when they were released.

When the news filtered through on Thursday evening of his demise, I said to my 14 year old son, this is for you what it was like for me when Elvis died. In 1977 I had only recently begun work after leaving school. My Mum woke me up to tell me Elvis had died. I wasn't a fan of his nor were my parents but I suspect the enormity of this event made her compelled to wake and tell me as soon as the news was announced. Back then we had no 24/7 rolling news coverage and watching this past two days the depth of coverage on the news channels has been overwhelming but strangely addictive.

Last night all the major terrestrial channels had Michael Jackson documentaries showing at similar times, Sky had a programme repeated several times over Sky 1 and 2 showing.

I suspect we will have much more to come over the following weeks. RIP Michael.