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Repossession figures have been released to show a 12% increase in the number of repossessions during the past three months, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Worryingly this means that 125 families a day are having their homes seized by mortgage lenders, due to higher mortgage costs, falling house prices and a shrinking disposable income. The number of UK borrowers facing mortgage arrears went up by 8% over the same period.

Although mortgage lenders say that repossession is always as a last resort, the CML predict that 45,000 families will face repossession this year alone, a rise of 72% from 2007. These figures are not expected to get any brighter during 2009, as fears about a worsening economic crises and a rise in unemployment may take hold.

What to do when facing Repossession:

If you are falling behind in your mortgage payments or you are worried about how you can afford the next mortgage payment, it is essential that you get in touch with your mortgage lender as soon as possible. Explain your current situation and they will be able to offer you advice.

One Advice are also here to help. We can help get your repossession stopped! For further details about how we can do this, please call us on freephone 0800 048 1752.

A third of tenants have missed rent payments which could be partly responsible for the rise in repossession cases, according to he National Landlords Association (NLA). Tenants struggling with rent arrears could mean that landlords are forced to miss mortgage payments.

Worryingly 44% of landlords have reported cases of missed rental payments from tenants over the last six months. Yet only half take legal action to cover lost earnings which means many could struggle to meet mortgage payments and be forced to live under the threat of having their property repossessed.

NLA chairman, David Salusbury, calls for improved communications so landlords can be notified if their tenant is having debt problems. “Paying the rent has to be right at the top of tenants’ priorities as even one month’s arrears, in this climate, could be the straw which breaks the camel’s back.”

Falling house prices and an unstable housing market means that up to 2 million borrowers could be facing negative equity by 2010, according to predictions by analysts Standard & Poor.

There are currently 335,000 home owners who owe more on the secured debts against their home, such as a mortgage, over the value of the property. This figure is four times that of just four months ago.

These latest figures coincide with new reports that certain mortgage lenders are aggressively pushing forward with repossession orders, even for homeowners who are just a few hundred pounds behind on their mortgage payments.

The CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders) report that almost 19,000 homes were repossessed in the first half of 2008 alone. They predict that this figure will hit 26,000 in the second half of the year.

The number of homeowners seeking help with repaying their mortgage has soared by 35% in the last year. Research by the Citizens Advice Bureau suggests that more and more households are struggling to meet the basic costs of living, leading to fear over an increase in the number of repossessions.

This figure reflects recent research by The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) who estimate that there will be an average of 123 homes reposed everyday as people struggle with their payments.

Increases in the cost of fuel, household bills and mortgage payments are stretching people to the limit, with 215,000 new debt problems being reported in the first two months of 2008 alone.

Mortgage Help From One Advice

If you find that you are struggling with your mortgage payments then it is important that you seek expert advice as soon as possible. One Advice can offer you free advice on your finances and try and help you get your debt in order, as there are ways to reduce your monthly outgoings without risking losing your home as a consequence of missing mortgage payments.

If you have multiple debts which you are struggling to make payments to, it is important that you know which ones to tackle first, as the creditor which may shout the loudest should not always be the one which you pay. Debt Management for Prority Debt is one of the most important things.

Priority debts are debts which have serious consequences if they are not paid. For example, your mortgage payment classes as a mortgage payment as failure to pay means that you could risk losing your home to repossession. As you can see, it is important that priority debts are given this priority status over your other debts, as it is essential that you keep a roof over your head and electicity in your home.

If you are struggling to afford your priority debts because you are paying too much to your unsecured debt, including credit cards, store cards and overdrafts, One Advice can help assist you with debt management which will help you to meet your priority debt payment.

Priority Debt Guide

One Advice have put together a priority debt guide which goes through all the key aspects of ways to deal with your priority debt. Here you will find a wealth of information about a range of priority debts, including: (more…)

If you are at risk of repossession, because you have mortgage arrears, you may feel as if there are no alternatives left. But if you know how to stop repossession , you can start to take back control of your financial circumstances.

It is important that, if you haven’t done so already, that you get in touch with your mortgage lender as soon as you start struggling with your finances. Explain to them how your financial circumstances have changed and how you plan to stop repossession by how you can afford to pay your mortgage payments in the future and how you are going to repay the mortgage arrears.

If you think that you cannot make payments to your mortgage, then you might be tempted to hand back your keys to the lender. Always try and sell the home yourself, as mortgage lenders will charge you for the service, and they often get a lower asking price as the property will be left empty.

Free Advice on How to Stop Repossession

One Advice have put together a guide which contains more information about how to deal with your arrears, click the following link to access this information: Arrears.

There you will find a wealth of information about how to stop repossession, including: (more…)

A bleak 2009 could be on the horizon for many homeowners, as homeless charity Crisis predict that more will have to face the possibility of repossession.

The charity has warned that nearly 10% of homeowners are struggling to keep up with their mortgage or rent payments, and this figure is set for an increase if unemployment figures continue to rise. According to their research, a third said that facing repossession could be a possibility within as little as three months after losing their job.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis said: “These figures are a stark warning for 2009… Many are struggling to keep their homes. The situation is only made worse by pressure on jobs, with unemployment levels set to reach two million by the end of the year.”

Missing payment to your credit card debts may not worry you, even if you have letters from your creditors which are demanding payment; the fear of repossession could be the furthest thing from your mind as the debt is not secured on your house – But Newcastle Building Society have released figures which show 28% of all its repossessions have been triggered by second charge lenders.

Many people think that as long as they make payment to their priority debts, such as mortgage or utility bills, that they are free of the risk of repossession. But according to an article by This Is Money, an incresing number of lenders are using little-know law to convert unsecured debts into a debt which is secured against your home. This means homeowners could potentially be facing repossession, even if they have not missed one payment to their mortgage, which is why it is important that you get expert debt advice if you are struggling with your credit card debt.

The Financial Services Authority have issued a warning to all mortgage lenders who are too quick to trigger the repossession process, and there is now Government repossession help in the form of a new £1 billion scheme which aims to give mortgage help to those who are struggling due to a temporary loss of income.

If you have taken out a debt consolidation loan then you should check whether or not it is secured against your home. A majority of debt consolidation loans secure the debt onto your home, but there are also unsecured debt consolidation loans. If you are unsure then check with your lender.

However it is not just a debt consolidation loan which means that your original credit card debt could lead to repossession. Your lender could apply to the courts for a charging order to placed on your home, which turns the debts into secured loans. This means that the debt is logged at the Land Registry against your property as a ’second charge’, meaning that if your home is repossessed then they are in the second in line to be paid after your mortgage lender. (more…)

There is going to be additional Government help with mortgage arrears, as plans for Government help with mortgage arrears are announced. The Government hope that their new plans will help families who are struggling to meet their mortgage commitments, are falling into mortgage arrears and could potentially face losing their home to repossession.

So far eight of the major High Street mortgage lenders have signed up to the £1 billion government scheme, which allows struggling homeowners who are sufferig from a temporarily lose ofincome to defer mortgage interest payments for up to two years.

The Government help with mortgage arrears will be available from early next year, and this move is mainly targeted at middle earners and will be available on mortgages worth up to about £400,000.

Worried about repossession? One Advice might be able to stop your repossession and could provide help with your mortgage arrears, call today and find out how or see our repossession FAQs.

The number of repossessions during 2008 has been increasing month on month, and the  Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) report for the thrid quarter of 2008 shows that there has been a total of 30,200 house repossessions so far this year.

The figures detailed in the CML document becomes increasingly shocking when it is compared to the 8,200 house repossession during the whole of 2004.

It seems that the sharp rise in the number of house repossessions  is set to continue. Although the 2009 predictions report has not been finalised, the CML believe that there could be as many as 75,000 homes repossessed in 2009, as more people fall into unmanageable mortgage arrears. This number would be almost as many as during the peak of the 1991 recession.

Almost 1.2 million UK homeowners could be facing negative equity if house prices continue to fall at the rate they are currently doing.

UK mortgage borrowers are facing the risk of negative equity and higher mortgage payments. The Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report (FSR) reports one in 10 homeowners could be left with their mortgage debt being more than the value of the home, due to the decrease in house prices.

About 3% of homeowners are currently in negative equity. But if house prices drop by another 15% from their record high in October 2007, this figure could sharply increase. Those who are most at risk of negative equity are first-time buyers who have recently purchased their first home.

This new change to repossession law, contained in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, could allow creditors to speed up the repossession process. As this change will cut the time needed for creditors to pursue a repossession claim against a borrower who finds themselves with mortgage arrears and debt problems.

The current repossession law means that creditors can only apply for a charging order, which will secure unsecured debt against an asset, after the debtor has had a CCJ issued against them, and has further fallen behind on payments. The new repossession law,  would allow the lender to secure the debt when the first CCJ is issued, speeding up the process.

More than a million CCJs were issued in 2006, meaning that the change in the repossession law could lead to a huge increase in the number of applications for charging orders which could, in turn, lead to a rise in the number of debtors who face repossession.

Those people who try to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ could be facing a middle class repossession risk, as those living in wealthy parts of the country are finding increasing financial pressure due to large amount of debt which has been borrowed to keep up with their peers.

Chairman of the east Kent branch of the National Association of Estate Agents, John Oakley, told YourCanterbury.co.uk that those who live in affluent areas are struggling with their debt levels due to past spending habits, and believes that the number of repossessions could increase before the end of the year.

Oakley comments: “There’s a pressure to ‘keep up with the Joneses’. These people bought into the good lifestyle, they go out to the wine bars and restaurants and are perhaps living beyond their means, which is putting pressure on their disposable income.”