Serious Debt Problem Faces Many Basildon and Thurrock Homeowners.

Stephen Metcalfe, prospective Conservative Member of Parliament for South Basildon and East Thurrock, this week expressed his concern at new figures which warn that 5 million families across Britain could be at risk of defaulting on mortgage payments and losing their homes as the effects of the credit crunch and rising mortgage interest rates start to bite.

An analysis, conducted by The Spectator magazine using data from credit agencies, shows that nearly 20,000 households in Basildon & Thurrock have a ‘sub-prime loan exposure’, and may now be struggling with debt.

This comes as the latest official Government figures show that nearly 18,000 homes across the South East were hit with reposssesion orders last year, with 1056 orders being issued by Basildon County Court.

The Bank of England has also warned that banks and building societies are planning to cut back their lending further in coming months. The crisis in the credit market is reducing the availablity of cheap loans and mortgages, hitting people on the housing ladder and those not yet on it.

This year, 1.4 million mortgages will come to the end of their fixed rate periods. As interest rates are higher now than they were two years ago, this could add £200 to the average monthly mortgage bill, placing yet more pressure on severely stretched family budgets.

Mr Metcalfe is calling on mortgage lenders to do more to help these families by contacting home owners 3-6 months before the end of their fixed rate mortgage period, offering free financial advice and not imposing sudden hikes in repayments.

First time buyers are suffering from the credit crunch too, as mortgage lenders are demanding larger deposits. In response, Mr Metcalfe and the Tories are calling for stamp duty to be abolished for first time buyers for homes up to £250,000.

The following list shows the number of mortgage possession orders made in County Courts in 2007 in the South East of England. It is taken from Ministy of Justice statistics, 3 April 2008.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mortgatelandlordpossession.htm Note the surprisingly large number from Basildon.
Aylesbury 196
Banbury 145
Basildon 1,056
Brighton 353
Cambridge 355
Canterbury 397
Chelmsford 383
Chichester 243
Colchester 776
Dartford 928
Guildford 242
Haywards Heath 127
Ipswich 328
Lewes 93
Luton 820
Maidstone 332
Medway 1,068
Milton Keynes 662
Norwich 429
Oxford 404
Peterborough 602
Reading 525
Slough 469
Southend 609
Watford 506
Other South East 5,783
South East total 17,831