Property Rescue Blog

The number of people who are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments is increasing.  In February, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that there were 130,000 mortgages that were at least three months in arrears.

The figure for mortgages within what is known as the ‘sub prime’ market is even worse.  Sub prime mortgages are those given to people with poor credit histories, often at a higher rate of interest than most high street lenders are offering.  In this sector approximately one in five borrowers were in arrears with their payments over the first three months of this year.  The actual figures were 21.7% against 19.4% in the same quarter last year.  This should be viewed against the fact that sub prime lending is increasing, despite the lessons of the sub prime market collapse in the United States.

Although the housing market appears to be stagnant, there is little slow down in gross lending, with £25.5 billion being borrowed during May, only slightly down on April’s figure of £26.1 billion but a significant drop from May 2007 when £31.5 billion was lent in mortgages.

Shelter – the charity that tackles homelessness – is worried about the inability of people to pay their mortgages and the increasing rate of home repossessions.  It claims that people are turning to their credit cards to help them meet housing costs, and 2.8 million have had to resort to borrowing from friends or family to keep afloat.

Borrowers with poor credit histories are not the only ones facing problems.  Within the prime mortgage market arrears are also rising, prompting the Council of Mortgage Lenders to reiterate its prediction that we are likely to see a 50% increase in repossession levels this year. 

If you are facing problems in meeting mortgage repayments there are several steps you should consider.  Try not to use your credit card to pay off housing costs because this is an extremely expensive way of funding your borrowing.  Instead, talk to your mortgage provider and explain the difficulties you are having.  They will be more inclined to help you if you approach them early rather than burying your head in the sand until the situation is out of control.  Agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau can provide useful advice and help you set about budgeting if there is a chance your debts can be repaid.

People who have no way of repaying arrears don’t necessarily have to accept repossession as an inevitable outcome.  Property Rescue can salvage the situation by buying your home from you and either providing you with a cash lump sum – once your mortgage and loans have been repaid – with which you can start to rebuild your life, or allow you to stay in your home as a tenant under a buy and rent back scheme.

The number one rule when facing mortgage arrears is not to ignore the problem.  It won’t go away and refusing to face up to the situation will make things worse.  Contact Property Rescue for a free, informal chat with no obligation.  No one will pressure you into proceeding down a route that you don’t want to take and no salesmen will bother you.  The Property Rescue experts are waiting to take your call.