The Council of Mortgage lenders today released the number of homes repossessed between April and June of this year, they are down compared to the first quarter of this year but well up on the same period as last year.

I have heard some experts claim, 'could this be that the worse is over for the economy? I have to say absolute poppycock.

Let's get to the point, the data is collected correctly by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) but it does not offer a true reflection of the current market conditions because of three points,

1. There is no taking into account the number of homes being sold by families to private landlords, often referred to as 'sale and rent back scheme'.
2. It can take between 6 and 12 months to have a home repossessed, therefore the figures released are based upon old data when house holders experienced difficulty up to almost a year ago.
3. The CML only collecting first charge holders, there is no record of how many second charge holders, usually secured loans,  that are repossessing homes.

Low interest rates are helping to keep mortgage payments down and some people are using redundancy payments to meet their mortgage commitments but with rising unemployment and a massive jump of 77% with those with more than 3 months of mortgage arrears, this is just a housing time bomb waiting to explode.

Not many house owners are aware that any debt you owe from the mortgage company after the repossession and subsequently sale of the property is recoverable by the lender for a period up to twelve years in the UK, this being from the date of the last payment or acknowledgement of the debt, and is applicable on any sole or joint mortgage account.

I have written an article 'out of the blue' and explain how long lenders have to pursue a borrower for a mortgage shortfall following the forced sale after the repossession. Some will be astounded by this length of time. Article can be found here.

Advice if you are struggling to meet your mortgage payments

• Contact your mortgage lender sooner rather than later.
• Visit the government website www.direct.gov.uk to see if you qualify for any of the mortgage rescue schemes.
• If you have other debts such as credit cards, personal loans and are struggling to meet these then visit our page of helpful organisations.
• Make sure you pay your priority debts first such as mortgage, council tax and utilities before your unsecured borrowings, more on our DIY debt plan
• Try our much acclaimed free budget form, designed to help you keep control of your finances.