PROPERTY CRISIS: Ritchie vows to support struggling homeowners
SOME homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage and facing repossession will be rescued by government, the Social Development Minister has revealed.
Speaking to the News Letter, Margaret Ritchie said that her scheme to save homeowners from repossession would go further than similar schemes in Great Britain and the Republic.
However, property investors or those with access to other help will not be eligible for the rescue package.
Informed speculation is that repossessions will soar in coming weeks as the courts return from the summer holiday and banks become increasingly desperate to recoup their money amid growing global financial uncertainty.
It is not clear how much the scheme will cost but Ms Ritchie said that she believed the government had an obligation to help homeowners struggling to pay mortgages because it had encouraged them onto the 'housing ladder' in the first place.
"If we are to encourage people onto the housing ladder, we need to support them when there is a danger of them falling off it through no fault of their own," she said.
"I will shortly be launching a consultation document on the proposed mortgage rescue scheme.
"It is aimed at helping homeowners, to prevent them from having their homes repossessed. It aims to help people who have been unable to keep up with repayments on their homes.
"We will be doing that through both preventative action and direct intervention."
The scheme will also include funding for more housing advice for homeowners but the key measure will involve the use of public money to pay off individual mortgages.
"The central point of the measure would allow DSD, through the Housing Rights Association, to support people who cannot find enough money each month to pay their mortgage and are at risk of becoming homeless as a result," the minister said.
Ms Ritchie stressed that the intervention to help homeowners pay their mortgage would not be for those who had other means of help – or for properties in negative equity.
"There will be two options – flexible tenure and mortgage-to-rent. Under flexible tenure, the applicant will be offered an equity sharing option based on the amount that they can afford to retain.
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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