Homeowners face repossession over interest only mortgages!

It has been revealed that over a million homeowners could be in hot water and in danger of having their homes repossessed ITV news has reported.

Citizens Advice has warned that if homeowners with interest-only mortgages had not made the necessary arrangements to pay off the debt by the end of their mortgage term, they may be left with no option but to sell their homes or even have them repossessed.

ITV news reports: ‘Research by the charity found that 934,000 people had not made arrangements to pay off the debt on their interest-only mortgages at the end of the mortgage term. The new figure is much higher than city watchdog – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – previously estimated which said around 260, 000 homeowners did not have a strategy to pay their loans back. If homeowners cannot find the funds to pay the money back they may have to sell their homes – or even face having them repossessed.’

Around 3.3 million people in the UK currently have interest only mortgages and Citizens Advice is calling for lenders to do more preventative work to help prepare for the end of their mortgage.

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy has told ITV: ‘Lenders have to exhaust all other options when borrowers get into arrears. It’s time to level the playing field so that interest-only customers get the same protections when their mortgages mature. It is also important that people can get independent advice, guidance and support about how they can plan and manage their finances.‘

Millions snapped up an interest-only deal before the rules were tightened up three years ago.

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