Repossession of a house or property is not something that anyone wants. In fact, it’s probably one of the scariest things any real estate owner could ever face. Not only is it frightening and stressful but it can negatively affect your future financial situation.

Real estate owners can fall behind on their bond payments for many different reasons including redundancy, bereavement, divorce or separation or just over-extending themselves financially. When you begin to fall behind in your payments, the bank will contact you to find out what’s going on, why the payments aren’t made and to ask when you’ll be able to make your payment. And if you’re thinking that selling property is a quick and easy task, you may be unpleasantly surprised.

Plenty of people make the mistake of avoiding the phone calls and letters they receive from the bank. They live in a sort of denial of their financial situation instead of speaking with their bank about the situation and trying to get it fixed. If banks are aware you are having financial problems they will try to assist you, but if nothing is said within a couple of months, they usually will begin the repossession process.

It isn’t that banks want to repossess your home because banks do not make money on a home they repossess. It’s given to the Sheriff to sell at a Sheriff’s auction for the amount that they are owed. They don’t want to do this but will if they are left with no other choice. If they did nothing, they would not make money and it could give them the reputation that would make other bond holders not make their payments.

Contacting the bank and keeping the communication is the first and best step you can take towards fixing your financial situation and being able to stop repossession. The bank will usually work with customers to find solutions that will work for them and help them catch up. If you’re in the position where its too late to save your property on your own and the banks can no longer help, there is another way you can prevent repossession. This alternative is a property investor.

Property investors are often also called repossession specialists. Property investors make it a habit of buying homes that are about to be repossessed. Keep in mind that they will buy your home for less than the current market value; usually offering around 70% of the market value. Although this may be a distressing and daunting thought, the positive part is that they will take care of the purchase quickly so the home is not repossessed.

Some property owners wonder why they would want a property investor to buy the property. They may think that either way they’re losing their home so what difference can it make if it’s sold or repossessed. The difference is that if it’s sold to the property investor, it will not go on your credit record that you had a home repossessed, which will help you if you want credit in the future. You do NOT want a repossession listed on your credit history. Secondly, the property investor will often allow you to either rent your house from them or purchase it back when your finances improve.

Tags: avoid repossession, prevent repossession, repossession, sell my house, selling property, stop repossession

House repossession is possibly the most distressing and scary experience a property owner can go through. There is no blow quite as devastating as knowing you’re going to lose your house. Everything you’ve saved for and dreamed about will be gone. As horrible as this sounds, hundreds of people in South Africa, as well as other parts of the world, go through this every year. Their most valuable asset, gone.

The Economy has been very hard on everyone with soaring interest ratings and inflation that just won’t seem to slow down. Homeowners that may have started their home bond paying a low interest rate are now paying a high rate, making it very difficult to keep up with the monthly payments. Some real estate owners have had to refinance and have two mortgages on their property. With the value of their home decreasing, refinancing is not an option to help them keep up because the equity is just not high enough.

Unforeseen circumstances often cause financial difficulties to homeowners as well. A well-paying job they may have had when they bought their property may no longer exist. Death in the family, divorce, separation or the high cost of living may all contribute to homeowners being unable to make their monthly bond payment. The result in many cases is a house repossession. They knew this was a risk when they signed the bond agreement with the bank but never thought they’d be in such a daunting situation.

If any of these circumstances sound familiar to you, don’t give up and feel repossession is your only choice. There are solutions to prevent repossession of any person’s house. There are several options. Contacting your bank is always the first step that should be taken. Don’t wait for them to contact you and ABOVE ALL don’t avoid talking to them. If you’re honest with them about your situation and believe there is a way that you can catch up, they’ll want to work with you. No one wins in a houe repossession and banks will only repossess a houe if there is no other choice for them to get their money back.

Many people tend to give up and feel that repossession is their only answer. They even mistakenly believe that the bank will sell their property and give them any leftover money after the bond is paid and they can start over. This isn’t how repossession works here. The bank will bid on your home at a Sheriff’s auction and will only bid as high as the amount you owe them. So, you will lose your house and any equity you may have in the house. There are however methods to stop repossession of your property. Selling property to the general public is not one of these methods when you are under time constraints with your bank.

Your credit history will also be badly damaged with a record of repossession. You’ll be black-listed and won’t be able to get credit for up to 10 years. If you thought things looked bad before you lost your house, you’ll find out they are a lot worse after repossession. Repossessions often go so quickly so you won’t really have time to try to sell your home and get a decent price for it.

If you aren’t able to work out a compromise with the bank, your best option may be to contact a repossession company to help you. They’ll quickly purchase your property from the bank so you won’t have repossession on your history. You may also be given the option of renting the home from them or buying it back when your financial situation is better. Although many consider repossession companies as a last resort, it’s often the perfect choice to stop a home repossession.

Tags: avoid repossession, prevent repossession, repossession, sell my house, selling property, stop repossession