New statistics were published on 14 August 2009 by the Council of Mortgage Lenders on mortgage arrears and possessions. 

Today's figures show that there were 11,400 cases of possession (equivalent to one mortgage in 1,000) in the second quarter of 2009, 10% fewer than the 12,700 in the first quarter of the year but 14% more than the 10,000 cases of possession in the second quarter of last year.

Today's figures mean that the total number of possessions in the first half of 2009 stands at 24,100, compared with our forecast for the whole year of 65,000

There are 11.1 million mortgages in the UK, with loans worth over £1.2 trillion.

Source Council of Mortgage Lenders

DebtWizard Comment

Although the data is collected correctly by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) it does not offer a true reflection of the current market conditions, these figures are misleading as 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'.

Many of these sales under 'sale and rent back' are conducted to prevent the home being repossessed and the seller then usually remains in the property, albeit being owned by someone else, and pays rent, so in effect becomes a tenant.

It is estimated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) that some 50,000 of these homes have been sold under this scheme over the past 'few' years and it is estimated that about 20,000 to 25,000 of these have been sold during 2008 alone. I believe that because 'sale and rent back' was not an option back in 1991 when 76,000 homes were repossessed then the true figure for this year without 'sale and rent back' would be around 80,000 - 85,000 homes, this would then make it higher than those figures back in 1991.

Another point that can not be challenged is that it takes 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.

With unemployment expected to reach 3 million by the end of the year then this will only add to the repossession figures. Sale and rent back schemes together with the CML only collecting first charge holders is distorting the true state of the housing market. 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 the length of time they can chase the debt.

To view the article click here

You can see Mike commenting on this on the BBC News Channel by clicking here - then look under 20 Feb 2009.

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.