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Homeowners who are behind on their bond repayments too often take the
head-in-the-sand approach and leave their number-one asset exposed to
repossession.
Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group
says: Home ownership requires proactive financial management even
when the payments are on time, but even after the bank contacts delinquent
owners about late payments, many of them simply refuse to acknowledge
the problem and go on to lose their homes with barely a protest.
In fact, what borrowers should do at the first sign of trouble
is contact their lender themselves, and ask about repayment alternatives
that will enable them to reduce instalments and keep their home.
And if you do get a phone call or a letter from the bank about
missed payments, you should not ignore it, but act on it right away.
If you cant make payments you need help, so ask for it.
On the other hand, he says, you shouldnt panic. Banks will generally
go to great lengths not to repossess your home as this means much more
work and expense for them.
Also, you should know what late really means when
it comes to your instalment. It may be late if its not paid on
the due date but most lenders will offer a grace period of a week or
two before any bells go off and at least a month before reporting you
to the credit bureau and contacting you.
At this stage, says Everitt, you may want to consider restructuring
or refinancing your home loan but not to borrow more money. If
you have lots of debts, you should do the sums to see if debt consolidation
will help, and if you should perhaps extend the life of your home loan
from 15 back to 20 years, or perhaps from 20 to 30 years.
Your best bet is to get qualified financial advice, and to keep
your lender fully informed until you can get your repayments up to date.
You should also keep written records of all your contacts with the bank
and any agreement as regards your debt repayment plans.
And above all, avoid quick-fix scams. When your bank balance
is skinny, youre at your most vulnerable to debt reduction come-ons,
but you probably didnt get into trouble overnight, so you shouldnt
expect to get out instantly either. Debt reduction requires discipline.

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