Reno Charlton, award-winning writer, shares her financial expertise as a contributing columnist for Compare Credit Card Comparison and Compare Personal Loan Comparison.
Over the past couple of years the risk of repossession has become a very real one for many homeowners and the UK, and this has been partly fuelled by the series of interest rate hikes applied to the base rate by the Bank of England. Between August 2006 and July 2007 the interest rate rose fives times, each time by 0.25%, taking the base rate to 5.75% by July 2007.
Interest rates were hiked during this time so that the government could try and keep a lid on inflation, which had spiralled out of control and exceeded the government's 2% target. However, the rate rises inevitably impacted on household finances, with many homeowners facing rocketing mortgage repayments, and this had a knock on effect on the economy as well as on consumer confidence.
In December of last year, and again in February of this year, the base rate was cut, again each time by 0.25%, taking the base rate back down to 5.25%. However, despite these rate cuts many homeowners are still struggling, as any cuts in their mortgage repayments have been counteracted by increases in other costs such as energy bills, food prices, and petrol costs.
Recent figures have shown that in 2007 the level of repossessions in the UK soared by 21%, with around 27,000 homeowners having their properties repossessed over the course of the year because they could not make repayments. A number of industry officials have predicted that this year will see the level of repossessions continue to rise as a result of strained household finances and rising costs.
However, homeowners that are struggling to keep up with repayments on their mortgage loan are advised to seek advice and help as early on as possible, and often the first line of enquiry will be the mortgage lender. Unlike unsecured finance, your mortgage loan is tied to your home, and missing repayments could result in losing your home.
One official from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that anyone struggling with mortgage repayments should contact their lender as soon as possible with a view to coming to an agreement, at least in the short term. He said: 'Lenders take their responsibilities to borrowers facing repayment difficulties very seriously, and many go to exceptional lengths to provide debt counselling, reschedule payments, extend loan terms, or in some circumstances even allow payment breaks. They will abandon repossession action right up to the last moment if they can reach a payment solution consistent with both the borrower's and the lender's interests.'
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