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Three a day lose homes
THE number of homeowners facing eviction for failing to meet mortgage payments in Sheffield has jumped by more than half to almost three a day, shock statistics today reveal.
Sheffield County Court judges made 247 possession orders between April and June - up by 51 per cent on the second quarter of last year.
The Ministry of Justice figures provide worrying evidence about the credit crunch's impact on the poorest households.
Over the same period, mortgage possession orders in Barnsley also soared by 47 per cent to 154, and the number rose by 40 per cent to 316 in Doncaster.
Sheffield Debt Support Unit, which has advised many of the affected households, said most cases involved greedy sub-prime lenders offering mortgages to people who would not normally be able to afford them, and charging high interest rates.
Adviser Alexa Walker said: "In Sheffield, sub-prime mortgages make up just seven per cent of the total but last year accounted for 75 per cent of repossession cases at court. Fifteen years ago, bank managers would only have offered mortgages people could afford to repay unless something went horribly wrong.
"What we've seen over the past two or three years, however, is certain sections of the market lending to people who would not have previously been able to access a mortgage.
"It did not matter to some if the customers could not afford repayments. The lenders have an awful lot to answer for." Sheffield Brightside MP David Blunkett, who represents one of South Yorkshire's poorest areas, called the new statistics "deeply disturbing".
Although he said some families should have taken care not to build up debts alongside mortgages, Mr Blunkett believes financial institutions should take most of the blame.
"The primary responsibility lies with the companies which lent so irresponsibly. They are now being ultra cautious and unwilling to give people leeway with repayments due to the credit crunch," he said.
"There could be ways people could hold on to their homes if institutions were willing to reschedule payments."
Mr Blunkett has called for 800 million of Government funds, which each year provide hardship payments, to be used instead for a programme to provide low-cost credit for Britain's poorest people. The Government is considering whether to adopt his idea.
Attercliffe MP Clive Betts said he was also "concerned" and urged people in difficulty with repayments to seek advice.
"Some people whose homes have been repossessed had problems when their low-interest mortgage deal came to an end and they were unable to afford higher repayments," he said.
"If they get into difficulties they should contact their lender straight away to renegotiate payments or see if they can temporarily just pay the interest."
A mortgage repossession order is granted by a court and entitles the claimant - usually a lender - to apply to have the occupier evicted.
Not all orders result in properties actually being repossessed because homeowners and lenders can still negotiate a compromise.
Total mortgage possession claims - the first stage of the repossession process - have also increased in Sheffield by six per cent, with 304 in the second quarter of 2008. Claims jumped by 40 percent in Barnsley, 35 per cent in Rotherham and nine per cent in Doncaster.
Housing Minister and Don Valley MP Caroline Flint said: "While we are not seeing repossessions on the same scale as the early 1990s, we are making sure the right advice and support is available."
In a further worrying development, the British Chamber of Commerce predicted the economic slump will force unemployment to soar by between 250,000 and 300,000 in the next two to three years.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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