Brits missing monthly mortgage payments
Published on : 09/07/2007
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Interest raises are putting pressure on mortgage customers, with 460,000 missing monthly payments in the past six months, new research has shown.
It is thought that 77,000 mortgage payments are being missed every month, and the number could rise with the recent 0.25 per cent hike in interest rates by the Bank of England (BoE).
The figure represents a considerable increase from several months ago when 36,000 homeowners a month were defaulting on their mortgage payments throughout 2006.
And according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, a substantial number are not likely to be paid quickly, as by the end of last year 59,000 mortgages were three to six months in arrears.
Since August of last year, the BoE's base rate has been increased by 1.25 per cent to the current level of 5.75 per cent, with some analysts predicting even more rate rises in the near future.
Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert, thought the figures were worrying although still far from alarming.
"We are a long way from the dark days of the late 1980s and early 1990s when more than a million lost their homes but many are feeling the strain. Anyone who has missed a mortgage payment should for a start be talking to their lender and letting them know what is going on," he said.
