Mortgage News
BSA review carries repossession warning
The UK Housing Review published by the Building Societies Association (BSA) and the Chartered Institute of Housing has identified the importance of government initiatives to protect homeowners at risk of repossession.
The guide has called for the extension of the SMI scheme to ensure that repossessions do not continue to rise in 2010 with growing unemployment.
The number of repossessions will be lower in 2009 than the peak of 76,000 in 1992, but the outlook for 2010 is still uncertain.
Research published by the BSA has shown that the sooner a borrower contacts their lender or obtains free independent money advice the greater the chances of them staying in their home.
The research found that 97% of borrowers who fell into arrears during the last two years have remained in their homes, demonstrating the effectiveness of the approaches taken by the vast majority of lenders.
Paul Broadhead, BSA head of mortgage policy, said: “Falling into mortgage arrears is always a worrying experience for the individuals involves and every repossession represents a great personal tragedy. We have long suspected, and research no proves that if a borrower contacts their lender as soon as they realise that they may face difficulties, the overwhelming majority manage to repay their arrears and stay in their homes.”
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