
Retirees may be battling with ways to stop repossession rather than focusing on enjoying their golden years, according to recent reports. More pensioners may be dealing with stressful stop repossession strategies because banks are refusing to extend mortgage terms. It’s thought that 1.35 million retirees still have an average mortgage of £50,100 – that’s around one in six retired homeowners still having to pay a mortgage. For some pensioners with no fixed income, meeting mortgage payments can be a struggle. But the banks reluctance to lend means some are being left with little choice but to find ways to stop repossession orders.
It isn’t exactly the dream scenario – work hard all your life, retire, then find yourself lumbered with mortgage debt. Your retirement years are when you’re supposed to be relaxing and doing the things you really enjoy and want to do. But the reality of spending your final years in debilitating debt, financial stress and mortgage hell is not one any of us cherishes. In fact the incredible burden and stress of trying to stop repossession can make anybody’s life a misery – let alone a pensioner’s.
But news reports show that as a result of the economic climate and the recession, lenders have introduced tighter age restrictions on pensioners looking to borrow who have been unable to pay off their mortgage before reaching retirement age. Many stories from the recession have focused on first time buyers and young families who are trying to stop repossession after buying property when the market was at its peak – leaving them in unsalvageable negative equity. But there is also a substantial number of retirees who have been badly stung by the economic climate. Many have been left with a fall in investments and on going debts, but some lenders refuse to lend to anyone over the age of 65. This means retirees can’t find new or cheaper deals and are facing eviction and even repossession if they can’t find the cash to pay off their mortgages.
Pensioners have been repeatedly turned down by high street mortgage lenders, because, some politicians have argued, of their age. The shadow housing minister Grant Shapps was quoted in the press saying: “…people are now having to work longer and retire later on less money. This latest news will certainly send chills down the spines of thousands of hardworking people who had previously thought that they might be able to retire in comfort…those approaching retirement will instead be worrying about how to keep their homes. It does all seem desperately unfair.”
Call today on 01302 722 900.