How many months of mortgage arrears can you have before repossession?
The number of payments you may miss before you face repossession can vary depending on a number of different factors. Read on to find out what they are.
Struggling with your mortgage and the looming threat of repossession isn’t something that anyone wants to face. While mortgage repossession is going to be very difficult to overcome for a lot of people, the amount of time and money that you’ll have to amass in mortgage arrears before this happens is going to vary from lender to lender. Read on if you’d like to find out more.
What are the main issues?
Loads of different factors are going to influence how long you can go without making mortgage repayments before you have your home repossessed. But mainly, this is going to depend on the policies of your lender. Most lenders are more forgiving if you have missed the odd payment but can quickly change their attitude if this extends to a few months.
Like the answer to most things mortgage-related, the amount of time you can amass in mortgage arrears is ultimately going to depend on the lender that you’re with. If you’re with a lender that has a track record of low-risk mortgages, then they are much more likely to be tolerant if you’ve missed any payments. However, if your lender has a history of high-risk mortgages then the likelihood that you face mortgage repossession may be higher.
Ultimately, a lender has a duty of care to it's customers and must prove that it has taken all reasonable measures before listing for repossession. Your lender has to listen to your situation & offer a solution. They cannot look for a repossession as a quick way of solving an issue.
How can you help this?
Look, we know that might have sounded a bit doom and gloom, but you need to remember that we’re here to help! If you feel like you might be about to incur any sort of financial difficulty in the near future, make sure you go and speak to your lender to explain your situation. This can be a great way for you to detail why you may be struggling to make mortgage repayments and how you plan to make up for it.
Ultimately, building a rapport with your lender could go a long way to saving you from facing mortgage repossession. But, if you are still worried that mortgage repossession may lie on the horizon then do some research on your local housing market. This is because if your neighbourhood has a number of similar repossession cases then local authorities may struggle to process these and then carry out this action. This could be vital to buying you the time to make up for any repayments you may have missed!
The lender may be happy to add your missed payments to your outstanding loan plus allow you to reduce your monthly payments to an amount sufficient to cover the interest only eliment. This would only be a short term offer that would be reviewed. The important thing is that youi start communication, explain why the issue has occurred & what you are doing to rectify it.
How we can help at Mortgages Online:
We know that the prospect of mortgage repossession is going to seem terrifying but this why we’re here to help you out. At Mortgages Online our team of experts have a broad range of knowledge on the property market to help take the weight off of your shoulders and answer any questions you might have. So, all you need to do is either give us a ring or drop us an email! We’re completely free and easy to use!
