/24-7PressRelease/ - LONDON, UK, February 24, 2008 - These days the mainstream media are awash with reports of evil companies taking advantage of people affected by debt problems. The media paint a dark picture of companies pressurising vulnerable homeowners into unfavourable deals to sell their properties. There are indeed some companies that behave in an unethical manner but the truth is they are a minority in an industry that otherwise successfully helps distressed sellers to avoid worse things to come.
How often do we hear of greedy and unsympathetic banks forcing people out of their property? How often are we told when well-known high street banks sell properties at ridiculously low prices at auctions? Yet this has now become a common scenario amongst British high street lenders. The credit crunch and the liquidity problems faced by lenders have brought about a sea change in attitude. Lenders have increasingly become unsympathetic towards their customers' needs and banks are now mainly concerned with keeping nice clean balance sheets and removing unprofitable homeowners from their books.
Ethical cash buyers do matter because all too often distressed property owners have nowhere else to turn for help and support. As Berend Rah, MD of HyperSaver points out, "The first advice we give is always to talk to the lender since inaction is the worst thing one can do. But in many cases the situation has become so bad that lenders will not listen and start repossession proceedings. An ethical cash buyer is in a position to stop repossession at any point and help the property owner to stay on in the property if they wish to."
Ethical cash buyers buy property at a discount to the market price but the money realised from the sale should enable the vendor to cover the outstanding debt and mortgage and regain their financial freedom. The discount is usually anywhere between 20 -25 % whereas banks are known to have sold properties at auctions for up to 40 % below the fair market price. A cash buyer will act fast and swiftly, avoiding any further delay in selling the property as otherwise the vendor would incur additional charges, fees and interests. There is no guarantee that the homeowner can sell the property on the open market, particularly if repair works are required, and repossession might still be the final outcome unless a cash buyer can intervene and stop repossession.
There has been ill-informed controversy about rent-backs as well. Yet, it is easily forgotten that the owner will have to leave for good if the property is repossessed by the bank. They cannot stay on. Full stop. Rent-backs are the only way to enable people to stay in a place they once called their home. Ethical cash buyers will charge the tenant a fair and realistic rent in line with the market. Quite often the rental outgoings are substantially lower than the previous mortgage payments. Most rent-backs are based on assured shorthold tenancy agreements. This gives the landlord the best level of protection in the rare case that the tenant defaults on rental payments. But the matter of fact is that people who choose rentback agreements are much less likely to default than ordinary tenants and the new landlord will actually see this as an advantage and very much prefer them to stay on as they have an emotional attachment to the property and care better for the property.
A few bad apples have given this segment of the property industry a tarnished reputation but little attention has been paid so far to the increasingly less sympathetic behaviour of lenders. Meanwhile, the call for industry regulation has become louder. Ethical cash buyers already subscribe to a code of conduct and over time this will become more formalised and may eventually ebb the way for formal legislation. Ethical cash buyer will explain the procedure honestly to the vendor and give them an informed choice free of pressure. They will offer a reasonable price and often pay for the cost of the solicitors and act as good friendly and professional landlords in situations where the former homeowner chooses to stay in the property as a tenant. In some cases aggreements can be drawn up to allow the former owner to repurchase the property in the future for an agreed price close to the below market value price paid originally.
Ethical cash buyers matter since they play an important role in a market in crisis. A strict code of conduct and transparency about the procedures involved should help the industry improve relationships with the public and gain the trust of vulnerable homeowners.
About HyperSaver
HyperSaver is a company providing ethical solutions to homeowners in financial difficulties. HyperSaver helps to stop repossessions and provides information to the general public. HyperSaver works with a team of associates to find ethical cash buyers for property owners who need to sell quickly and discreetly.
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com# # #
- arrears, buyer, card, cash, cost, credit, debt, difficulty, ethical, facing, fast, financial, fuel, house, living, market, poverty, problem, property, quick, quickly, repossession, rising, sale, sell, stop, what
Read more Press Releases from Berend Rah:Other Press Release Headlines:
