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PANIC CAUSES DAMAGE
Times are hard with rising petrol prices, inflation and interest rate hikes. Home owners who fall into arrears with their bond repayments so often ignore the situation hoping that problems will just miraculously go away – at the same time opening themselves up to being summonsed and having their property attached by the sheriff.
Please remember that property ownership requires proactive financial management, not only in paying your bond instalments on time, but also to make contact with your bank during times of hardship, when you are not in a position to pay your instalment in full. Most banks will set up a payment schedule for their clients to make sure that the account does not have to be handed over to the legal department. Should you ever find yourself in this situation (or know of some one in this situation), the appropriate and advised method of dealing with it is to contact the bank immediately so as to discuss alternative steps to maintain the bond repayments and therefore retain your home.
Too often, clients negate to take action, even after they have been contacted by their banks, the unfortunate result is that the property is sold in execution to defray the bank's losses.
If you are already in arrears, please do not panic! Our banks usually go a long way in assisting you in not loosing your house as it also contributes to additional work and expenses on their part.
Have a look at restructuring your home loan – consider taking your bond over 30 years instead of 20 years. The best would be to obtain financial advice from a reputable broker. Also keep notes of your dealings with your bank (calls made, dates and times and to whom you spoke, etc) until such time as your payments have been brought up to date.
No matter what you do, please be careful for seemingly attractive options. There are certain unscrupulous people out there, who have come up with schemes to separate you from your money. One such scheme is to convince you to transfer your home into a trust or cc "to be formed" you pay for them to raise a bond (they usually use a "jockey" – some one who has a good credit rating and sufficient income to maintain a bond) and you pay transfer and bond costs, they settle your bond and any other debts you have. You pay them "rent" – said to cover the instalments of the bond – until you have sorted out your finances where after you pay them back what you owe and get your house back. The balance of the proceeds is kept in an account to cover any possibility of you not being in a position to pay said "rent". Often the extra finances are plundered by these crooks and when you default on your payments, they quit paying the bond and the bank re-possesses the house. It is not necessary to confirm that such practices are considered undesirable by the banks and should they be informed of such transaction, all parties may be held liable.
You haven't fall into this predicament overnight, and will definitely not come out of it overnight. It takes discipline and hard work to reduce your debt.
Take care, take time and make the right decision.
Should you have any queries, you are welcome to contact us.
ROSCHER COETZEE NORTJE & MAMPEULE INC
sunettes@rcn-inc.co.za
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Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2008 (Archive on Monday, January 01, 0001)
Posted by host Contributed by host
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