Sponsored by
My mortgage arrears nightmare by worker
3,000 are on the waiting list for a new home
A homeowner today told of his despair at being on the brink of losing the home he bought with his inheritance.
Matthew Price, 24, has been forced to sell his property after losing his job and defaulting on his mortgage payments.
And if he fails to find a buyer in the next two months, his three-bedroom home in Garsdale Road, Brookfield, Preston, could be repossessed.
The former warehouseman lost his job at the end of 2009 and has been relying on the Department for Work and Pensions to help with his £55,000 mortgage repayments.
But when his lender took him to court last month he was shocked to learn he would have to sell up.
He said: “I feel awful. I was very fortunate in having a small inheritance to help me buy the house and it’s really important to me because I have no family and nowhere else to live.
“I didn’t realise I would have to sell.”
Matthew’s story is one of the thousands behind statistics due to be released today by the Council for Mortgage Lenders.
These reveal another side to the recession, showing the number of repossessions and mortgage arrears around the UK.
In Preston, people in a similar situation to Matthew turn to Preston Council’s Housing Advisory Service for help.
John Cameron, senior housing advisory officer, said the service dealt with between 15 and 30 inquiries from homeowners each month, a figure that has risen in the past two years.
He said: “The stage at which they come to us varies tremendously.
“Sometimes we see them as soon as they realise they can’t make a payment. Others turn up, literally, on the day the baillifs are due to arrive.”
Mr Cameron said that lenders were now obliged to inform the local authority when they intended to begin repossession procedings.
This allowed the service to contact the homeowner to offer support.
He said: “The earlier we intervene, the more chance we have of resolving any issues.
“We talk to the lenders and, by and large, they are co-operative in trying to keep people in the property.”
For those where there is not easy answer, Mr Cameron said they may be added to waiting list for a housing association property.
But with the list growing steadily longer, this is not a quick fix: there were 2,700 waiting for rehoming in June 2011 and that figure is now 3,019.
Statistics show that Preston was one of the more fortunate areas in the North West last year, with a 3% fall in the number of mortgage possession claims compared with the previous 12 months.
For Matthew Price, however, the figures are no consolation.
He said: “It’s tough.
“If I manage to sell I can pay off the lender, then I’ll have to go on the waiting list for a house.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Comments
There are 22 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
Xstina
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 03:13 PMCRAGG you mean irresponsible lenders! Bankers are on targets and we now live in a very sales orientated world. The banks are the ones in the wrong which is why there is so much debt. At least this man bought a house.......he didn't drink it down the drain.
duncan49
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:38 PMBT, Trust me I am no socialist mate ! This guy did have a job and made an effort to better himself rather than staying in subsidised property. Anyone can have a bout of bad luck
Crag
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 10:41 PMGardenbuddy, the banking crisis wasn't caused by irresponsible borrowers in the UK. It was working class Americans, who were incentivised and enticed into taking out unaffordable mortgages, and who then defaulted on payments, who sparked the crash. Repossessions and defaults in the UK are much lower than they were during the Thatcher Major 'negative equity' recession of the early nineties.
blue eyes1965
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 04:51 PMnot every one can blame work no one knows whats round the corner any one can loose there job these days its a shame he is going to loose his home after all these years
brookss4
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:09 PM#15 My observations was nothing to do with socialism, what I am wanting here is more responsible capitialism. I believe in home ownership, however when things go wrong there is no safety net. Every single person on this forum is one decision away from the dole queue (except those retired of course) and we should remember that when we get arrogant about being in work and being sure there are plenty out there.
brookss4
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:06 PM#15 it only covers interest, and after 6 months.
Silvio Berlusconi
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:09 AM9, 11, 12, 13 - Typical socialist. Everything is always somebody else's fault. Get real. I bought a house at the peak of the boom. Its now worth less than i paid for it. So what.. i just get on with it and your god damn right i have to make sacrifices to ensure my outgoings are less than my income but i dont whinge about it and blame the government and banks for making buy the house. Its **** all do to with political orientations its about taking some bl**** responsibility!
Provincial Backwater
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 08:17 PM@11 -brookss4: There is support and he has been receiving it for two years from the DWP in the form of mortgage repayments. It shouldn't be lifelong support otherwise there would be very little incentive for Mr Price to look for a job.
Gardenbuddy
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 07:13 PMNot the bankers to blame at all, everyone jumped on the bandwagon, encouraged to borrow more money on their property, ( My house is now worth £300 large, just borrowed another £50 large on it, we are going to Barbados, new Merc ) Sound familiar ? Everyone was a David Dickinson overnight, the balloon burst, If I pay too much for a tin of beans, then find they are cheaper at Aldi, do I blame Morrisons ? No, I blame myself.
CIIS
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 06:46 PMFact is it was the reckless bankers fault for causing the housing crash, recession and subsequent austerity we are still suffering from. The total cost to the UK taxpayer to bail the banks out is upwards of £400billion (yes billion) and still climbing. Are the bankers being made to pay for their ridiculous lending frenzy...no! Granted the last Government did not regulate this lending well enough but, to be fair, neither did governments in Europe or America.
Gardenbuddy
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 05:27 PMProbably jumped into the property market at the time we were told by Gordon, " No more boom and bust ". The remnants of his party now blame the bankers for lending people the money.
brookss4
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 04:04 PM#9 I agree this is the side face of capitalism, Maggie encouraged to go and buy houses, but when it all goes wrong there is no support. Lets face facts austerity means people lose their jobs, which leads to people losing their homes. The tensions then often lead to arguments and people then lose their families, and sometimes people take their own lifes. We need a Plan B and it is needed now.
Clayton
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 03:57 PMRent the rooms out, quick! This is a city with a booming student population and I am sure you could find someone quickly. you could charge enough to cover a £55K mortgage repayment with change to spare for utilities etc.
duncan49
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 03:50 PMThis chaps going to lose his home and the rest of you can't wait to put the boot in.
Silvio Berlusconi
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 01:38 PMThe benefits system discriminates against homeowners... Rightly so.
Page 1 of 2
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.