Following the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ (CML) recent claim that repossessions were expected to total 30,000 this year, and as many as 45,000 in 2008 – and that 14,000 properties were repossessed during the first six months of 2007, Firstrung has called for the government to provide help for vulnerable home owners.
Firstrung said efforts had been made in the US that had encouraged the government to provide assistance for home owners who were facing repossession in light of the non-conforming crisis.
It was recently reported that the US problem had hit the city of Cleveland, Ohio hardest, where as many as one in six households had been affected.
Paul Holmes, operations director at Firstrung, said: “Some estimates put these figures at 350,000 borrowers facing mortgage hikes of perhaps 2 per cent in 2008. On an average mortgage of £150,000 this could prove catastrophic for those already balancing household finances on a knife edge.”
Simon Tyler, managing director at Chase De Vere Mortgage Management, said: “It is important for borrowers to keep up dialogue with lenders and not just rely on government. People must take responsibility for their outgoings, but unfortunately they have been lulled into a false sense of security.”
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