A recent article in the press announced that house repossessions are up 79% on last years figures. This is a very worrying statistic.

Lenders have to follow a fairly strict code of conduct when it comes to taking possession of a property under the MCOB (mortgage conduct of business rules) and they have to demonstrate that they Treat their Customers Fairly “TCF”. This is all very good; however its just more lip service to paper.

In effect, if you do not make your monthly mortgage repayment, the lender simply has to show that they have written to you a few times, told you the consequence of not paying and given you a chance to pay or demonstrate that you have the means settle any arrears within a reasonable timeframe.

Lenders are not charities, and if the courts were that sympathetic to non payers, allowing ridiculous underpayments or extensions to the term of the loan; the lenders would simply not lend.

There are three main causes of repossessions:

Relationship breakdown
Inability to work due to accident and sickness
Redundancy

Well, relationship breakdowns have not increased significantly enough to cause a 79% increase in repossessions; that would simply be ridiculous.

Has the incidence of morbidity increased that much? No, although a serious cause of repossession, figures remain largely static.

The answer is obvious, the downturn in the economy. So what can you do to protect yourself?

The answer is simple, for less the cost of the average monthly satellite TV subscription, you can purchase an MPPI policy (Mortgage Payment Protection insurance Policy).

Mortgage Payment Protection Policies, will meet the monthly cost of your mortgage (some will give you money on top, to cover insurance policies etc), for up to 12 months, should you be unable to work through Accident, Sickness or Redundancy.