HOMEOWNERS in Johannesburg continue to struggle to meet mortgage repayments because of the prevailing credit crunch. The FNB residential property barometer, a survey of the property market based on data from local estate agents, indicates that in the fourth quarter of last year most homes were put up for sale by homeowners trying to downscale due to financial pressure.

The survey revealed that a total of 26% of homeowners across all income brackets were opting to sell because mortgage repayments were becoming too difficult to meet.

The recent interest-rate cut is good news and will provide at least some relief to over-burdened homeowners.

However, there are ways of easing the stress of bond repayments. Mark Beckett, CEO of Bond Choice, says: “Approach your bank as soon as you realise you are in financial difficulty. The banks want to assist clients and consider it a last resort to repossess homes. “Running away from the responsibility only compounds the problem in the future.” He says that extending the home- loan period from 20 to 25 or even 30 years will help to reduce the monthly instalment amount.

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