Property Rescue Blog

We’ve all heard the regulatory statement that by law has to be read out at the end of commercials or added to newspapers ads….”your home may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other loans secured upon it”.

It’s pretty obvious that your home will be under threat if you fail to make mortgage payments but it’s the last six words of the statement that people often overlook. Unsecured loans are easy to get but the credit card cycle of running up debt and escalating interest charges means that those who want a loan often turn to their home as collateral. Using bricks and mortar to secure a loan is not necessarily a bad thing, but if for any reason you find yourself unable to make the repayments you might be in for a shock!

The HSBC has recently declared that it’s had to take a hit of £5.5 billion in the US due to secured-loan defaulters, and the forecast is that home repossessions in the UK will rise during 2007 and 2008. The message here is beware of securing debt on your home and if you are facing the threat of repossession for any reason, act quickly. Property Rescue has the ability to stop repossession in its tracks – just check out the details on the repossession pages of this site for information.

There has been much in the media about the effect of interest rate increases on mortgages and, combined with ever inflating house prices, the fact that repossession numbers are expected to increase over the coming months.

Commentators and analysts anticipate a further interest rate rise soon, putting the poor mortgage payer under strain, but it’s clear that not everyone is feeling the pinch.  High street spending continues to be buoyant and without any sign of the interest rate rises impacting the shopper, the Bank of England will continue its attempts to keep inflation figures under control.

Perhaps the problem is that people who have mortgages that are a relatively small percentage of the overall value of their home ‘feel’ wealthy because of the high asset value tied up in their property.  But for those whose mortgages are high, or who have recently got on to the property ladder, the effect of interest rate rises will be more intense whilst the feeling of sitting on a small fortune in bricks and mortar is non-existent.  It’s these people who are, perhaps, most at risk of repossession.  Mortgage payments go up, finances become stretched, personal borrowing is at the limit and arrears start to accumulate.

Property Rescue can help you if you are in this situation.  They guarantee to buy your home and can complete a sale within a few days, alleviating your stress, sorting out your finances and even allowing you to remain in your home as a tenant if that’s what you choose to do.  If you are facing mortgage arrears or the possibility of repossession, contact Property Rescue to see how they can help.  All calls are in strict confidence and without any obligation.

In a market where interest rates are consistently rising (there have been five rate increases from the Bank of England in the past twelve months) opting for a fixed rate mortgage is an attractive proposition in the battle to control household outgoings. 

At present, many lenders are offering fixed rates but they are almost all on a short term basis.  Whereas a few years back you could choose to fix your mortgage interest over a period of three, four, five, or even seven years, now the emphasis is very much on the shorter term.  The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that almost 90% of first time buyers opted for a short term fixed rate mortgage and that the average first time buyer now borrows a record 3.37 times their income.

The problem with fixed rates can be that when they come to an end people face a big hike in their mortgage payments because interest rates have risen in the intervening period.  Some financial commentators are expecting this to amount to a crisis for cash-strapped families and expect to see a subsequent rise in the number of repossessions taking place.  Of course, for the lucky ones whose salary has kept ahead of inflation then there is no problem but for those whose income has not risen, or perhaps has dropped because they have started a family and one partner’s earnings capacity is reduced, the end of the fixed rate period can have dire consequences.

Repossession is one of the most traumatic things that can happen to a family, but it can be avoided if you seek help when problems arise.  Even if you are at a late stage in repossession proceedings, Property Rescue will make a guarantee to buy your home, thus avoiding the need to surrender it back to the mortgage lender. 

All Property Rescue’s contact is without pressure or obligation and will be done in a very discreet manner.  Contact them to discuss your situation and see how they can help.