Victims of negative equity

It wasn’t difficult to get swept up in the mortgage and property boom of the early and mid 2000’s. With buy-to-let’s, re-mortgages, speculative property investments and the rest, many mortgage borrowers felt that the appreciation in their property value insulated them against any repayment issues that might arise in the future. Obtaining credit was easy and whole property cycle became a ‘money go-round’, especially for those who got out before prices started to tumble.

For those left in the market and committed to properties that had fallen in value the only thing they had to look forward to was negative equity. Trapped in properties worth less than they’d cost, victims of negative equity have either had to sit tight and wait for the market to recover or sell up at a loss. Record low interest rates and the early signs of economic recovery have stimulated the market a little over recent months but still many home owners are left owing more to their lender than their property is currently worth.