‘Scary time’ for struggling homeowners

Almost a third of mortgages are in arrears, according to research by the comparison site Finder, which surveyed 446 home loan customers. If this is representative of all mortgagees, that’s equivalent to 899,000 home loans that are behind on repayments.

The research also found that a fifth of mortgages are in arrears by 30 days or more, while 5% are “seriously delinquent” at 90 days or more behind.

“Some people are stillwithout work or underemployed and aren’t earning enough to cover their monthly living expenses, including their mortgage,” says Finder home loans expert Sarah Megginson.

“Many people are also concerned about what will happen to their finances once the JobKeeper subsidy is wound back at the end of March. With some homeowners now only a few missed mortgage payments away from potentially having their homes repossessed, this is no doubt a scary time.”

South Australia has the greatest number of mortgages in arrears (41%), while men (59%) are much more likely to be in arrears than women (80%). Getting in touch with the loan provider as soon as possible is the best move for those falling behind. “Contact your bank or lender and talk through your financial hardship options – all home loan providers have customer support teams ready and waiting to help,” says Megginson.

“You might be able to switch to interest-only payments for a set period of timeor defer your loan for a number of months while you catch up.”