22
Dec
Lenders 'are dealing well' with homeowners in financial difficulty
Lenders have been praised for the way in which they are dealing
with homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments by one
industry expert.
Andy Pratt, chief operating officer of Alexander Hall, commented
that banks have been "sympathetic" towards borrowers facing the
possibility of repossession.
In November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) cut its
repossession forecast for 2009 to 48,000.
Last year, the CML had predicted that 75,000 people would lose
their homes in 2009.
Mr Pratt partially attributed the falling repossession figures to
the financial institutions: "They are definitely dealing with
people sympathetically during this economic period."
He explained that some lenders are allowing customers to reach 120
or 125 per cent loan-to-value on existing mortgages to help them
deal with money problems.
However, Mr Pratt pointed out that lenders will need to see a
recovery in the situation towards the second half of the year
otherwise they will run into difficulties.