handing keys back

i have had a disscussion with a friend who also has a property in spain he owes 180000to the bank on his mortgage and the property is worth about 140000 approx , he wants to hand back the keys and thinks the bank will not chase him for the balance  , i believe they will  , who is rigth .

From what I know the bank will sell his property for a quick knock down price NOT the 140,000 he thinks it's worth & will chase him for the difference between the 180,000 & maybe 100,000 they sell it for. If he has collateral in property in the UK he could well be in for a shock!

Just out of interest.....................does anybody know?.....................

If someone says they have handed thier keys back to the bank and have

moved out BUT ........they have been seen around the building and in the car park ( private garages )

and emptying the post box............................what do you think is happening??

The best thing your friend can do is talk to the bank the last thing they want is a long drawn out expensive for them battle to gain ownership of the property through the courts, which can take up to 3 years.

I have just handed the keys back on an apartment we bought 4 years ago we owed 100 k on the mortgage the bank valued it at 90 k but after some discussion they accepted 90 k as long as we signed it over at the Notary  within 14 days.

So we really got quite a good deal from the bank as there valuation was sky high, prob about 20% above what I thought it was worth which for once worked in our favour.

It is always better to talk to them .

Hi karensun...Could they be sleeping rough, waiting on a refund cheque from Endesa?

Don't think so................anyway it's Ibadrola here!!

Just wondered if, as they say, they handed the keys back, which gets them out of paying fees etc.........

how and why they have access to the building, garage and post box!!!!

Could be they have a spare set of keys and are still living unofficially in the building in the knowledge that it might take some time for the bank to get out and value the property etc. Or as you say trying to avoid fees.

But what to do??????????????

Only thing comes to mind is free accomodation, no mortgage, no bills etc....some people will do anything for a free meal....get some one to challenge them, ask them what they are up to.

 Karensun, the administrators should check who the owner of the flat is.

I can understand people keeping the the post box key in case more mail arrived for them after they'd left, although it is wrong to do so.

Maybe that's all it is.

Chindo, the bank does not have to accept your property, especially if it is in negative equity.  You really need to bring up the subject with them to see what their policy is.  I know the law is actually being changed so that bank HAVE to take a property back but I don't think that's been introduced yet.

Justin

Definitely try talking to the bank and coming to some arrangement.

The problem is the banks are not very commercial and trying to engage them in conversation is an uphill battle. If you don't speak the lingo then find someone who can.

I know someone who had a mortage that exceeded value of the property but she was able to agree with the bank to sell and they converted shortfall into personal loan at existing mortgage rate. This woman did not just want to walk away and she is now paying off the loan.

Maybe first of all find out if the property is at all saleable and then at what price - that will help discussions at least.

It's quite easy to sit here in Spain and file claims into UK courts. I do it and the UK courts communicate here with me in Spain. Spanish lawyers are shocked at the efficiency and the speed at which I am able to obtain judgment. I have had only one small challenge on jurisdiction.

Up until now Spanish banks have not done a great deal on chasing debt in the UK and one of the problems is they have bad records and can't find people in the UK. The other problem is the arrogance of their legal department and they will not use outsiders who know the system. And another problem is people with mortgage problems in Spain usually have similar problems in the UK so for now sit back and wait.

I have done work for one Spanish bank (2 cases) and it was NOT easy working with them - basically a lot of internal politics. If I had the time I would like to talk to other Spanish banks about UK debt recovery.

So only as a last resort throw back the keys and run especially if there is positive net worth in UK.