Govt. urged to help with mortgage debt
The new Government has been urged to take immediate action to help people who are running the risk of losing their homes.
Together, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and housing and homelessness charity Shelter have written to the new Chancellor and Business Secretary (George Osborne and Vince Cable), asking them to extend the measures helping people who are really struggling with their mortgage debt. Citizens Advice and the Building Societies Association signed the letter too.
Chief executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, said: “Hundreds of thousands of homeowners desperately need the new Government to continue the help that enables them to keep their homes.
“Current support schemes in place are set to wind up at the end of the year but could be pulled at any time, which will leave many people with no safety net and facing the real possibility of repossession.
“These schemes are directly helping homeowners every day and there is no question they are making a real difference. If the funding for these schemes is not urgently reconfirmed the new Government are likely to see a huge number of people losing their home by the end of the year.”
Millions of people simply aren’t ready to cope with an increase in the cost of repaying their mortgage debt – a survey by Shelter has shown that 29% of people with mortgages are ‘unprepared for the increase in mortgage payments when interest rates inevitably rise’.
According to Mr Robb, that means there are 5.4 million people who “haven’t even thought” about what they would do if interest rates – and the cost of servicing their mortgage debt – went up.
If you are worried about mortgage debt or any personal debt you might have, here are some useful resources -
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/scotland/
http://www.dacscotland.co.uk/
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/index.htm