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Judgement Mortgages

This is a long-term way of securing payment if other options have failed. If the debtor owns a house, even jointly with a spouse or someone else, the judgement can be registered as a Mortgage against the house. We do not need consent to do this and it does not matter if the house is a family home or not.

A Judgement Mortgage is valid for twelve years (provided it is re-registered every five years) from the date of judgement and if in that time the debtor sells his property or re-finances his Mortgage he will have to pay it off with statutory interest (currently 8%) and costs. It is surprising the number of houses that do change hands within twelve years, particularly where the debtor has other financial problems. A creditor who has registered a Judgement Mortgage has the option of applying for an Order for Sale of the property.