Second charge loan repossessions tick up

There were 46 second charge mortgage repossessions between January and March, up from 25 in the same months of last year, which was also the lowest quarterly total in a decade.

The total of 46 is slightly up from the average of 37 over the final nine months of 2017.

The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) said the rate of second charge mortgage repossessions as a percentage of outstanding agreements was 0.09% in the twelve months to March 2018.

In total there were 136 and 144 repossessions in 2017 and 2016 respectively.

FLA head of consumer and mortgage finance Fiona Hoyle (pictured) said: “The increase in second charge mortgage repossessions in the first quarter of 2018 was from a low base.

“We expect the number of repossessions in this market to remain low in 2018 as a whole.

“As always, any customer worried about making payments should speak to their lender, because the sooner contact is made, the easier it is to find a solution.”