Real estate ownership is one of the greatest achievements one could have. They often save for years to be able to buy or build their dream home. Their lifelong dreams of raising a family and growing old in their home can almost become a nightmare when unforeseen circumstances make it almost impossible to make the monthly payments required to keep their home.
Unforeseen circumstances such as redundancy, divorce or separation, and death are just a few of the many things that can change a person’s financial circumstances and cost them their property if they’re not careful. As dreadful as many of these circumstances may be, they’re often not the fault of the homeowner. However, every year thousands of homeowner’s in South Africa are victims of financial circumstances causing them to have their home repossessed. On top of this, it is very difficult selling property in a depressed market.
Property owners who are at risk of losing their property should always contact the bank at the first sign of financial difficulty. Waiting too long often makes it too difficult to catch up on your own and makes the bank look negatively on you as a creditworthy customer. Banks, in spite of their reputation, are willing to help you and do not wish to repossess your property. No one wins when a bank repossesses a home.
The property owner has lost their property and all the money they’ve stuck into it so far and the bank has to spend a lot of money and time to go through the repossession process. So, contact your bank if you are having trouble making your bond payment. The bank may have many options available to help you get out of your financial mess and get you back on track. They’ll often extend the term of your bond so your payments will be smaller, lower your interest rate or even lower your entire balance.
Plenty of customers who are faced with repossession request a “holiday” period in which they aren’t required to make any monthly bond payments for 3 to 6 months. This period gives them a chance to catch up on their bond payments as well as other bills they have. If their financial problems came about as a result of a job loss, this is often enough time to find a new job. The banks are willing to help you if you contact them and they feel you are able to repay your bond in the future. This is the first thing you should actually do when attempting to stop repossession of your home.
Unfortunately, some people wait too long or their finances get so bad that they just can’t continue to make the payments. In cases like this, they often feel that repossession is their only option. That’s what they’ve been lead to believe: if they don’t make their payments, their home will be repossessed. Yet there are ways to prevent repossession.
Repossession companies, however, are available to help homeowners struggling to avoid repossession. They can help you by giving you free financial help and advice or buying your home from the bank so it doesn’t get repossessed. This is a great option for homeowners who would otherwise lose their home to repossession. Their credit history is not totally ruined from having a repossession black-listing them and keeping them from getting credit in the future.
Gavin King is the Designated Broker of Realty In Idaho.
