MoneyExpert: Almost 750,000 Homeowners Missing Mortgage Payments Warns Report
September 14th, 2006
Nearly three quarters of a million people have missed one or more mortgage payment over the past year, new research from Citizens Advice has shown.
The organisation said that many homeowners were taking out additional credit on top of their home loans and then struggling to juggle payments.
It called on lenders to take greater account of existing mortgage commitments before they approved applications for new lending.
“We are very concerned about the numbers of people who are missing payments,” said Citizens Advice chief executive David Harker.
“Missing payments on mortgages or secured loans could lead to arrears and possibly repossession.
“There is a clear need for more information and advice about the consequences of taking on financial commitments, particularly for younger adults.”
More than one in eight homeowners aged between 21 and 24 have missed one or more payments in the past year as they stretch their finances to the limit to get on the property ladder.
While the best rate mortgage deals can help bridge the affordability gap, Citizens Advice also warned that the situation was compounded by ignorance about the loans market.
More than one in ten respondents thought that a homeowner loan would allow them to miss payments without risk to their homes.
Another ten per cent said that they believed that they would be allowed to pay back as much or as little as they liked each month.
This article: © Moneyexpert Ltd.
Categories: Loans, Mortgages, Property
