(1888PressRelease)
May 09, 2007 - The threat of repossession has been mounting in Northumberland, figures from the Department for Constitutional Affairs show, as 498 homeowners in the area faced the prospect of repossession in 2006 compared with just 385 in 2005 - an increase of 29 per cent.
Julian King from National Homebuyers says: "We find that it is irresponsible that mortgage lenders have increased their margin by offering such huge mortgages to people on which they are confident they will default.
"People in Northumberland are being exposed to huge financial risks which in turn will cause untold damage to the property market in the North-east. We already have the highest number of repossessions since the early nineties and this will increase dramatically."
King is Managing Director of National Homebuyers, the UK's leading fast purchase property company that has been solving many peoples' financial problems by purchasing their houses before they are repossessed.
Jennifer Welch, northern operations director for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), believes this threat is set to heighten given that an interest rate rise is widely tipped to be announced next week.
"Repossessions in the UK have been rising since the second half of 2004 and we believe the increases will continue in 2007," Ms Welch told Hexham Courant.
"Although the North-east has some of the most competitively priced starter homes in the UK, we also suffer generally from lower wage rates.
"Young people who have overstretched themselves to get onto the first rung of the property ladder are clearly at greatest risk from increases in mortgage rates."
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