The current “recession” has created its fair share of sensationalism. We are struggling to understand the truth anymore with everything dished up to us in sound bites designed to grab our attention, not give us the truth!
There is no doubt that lots of people are struggling with big mortgages and higher interest rates. A couple of our clients have also been caught out buying and then not being able to sell.
The thing that we admire most about these clients is how they have fronted up and looked for solutions. (They have had more than one strategy.)
I recently read an interview with someone going through a mortgagee sale. The article left the reader with a clear inference that it related to the terrible state of the housing market. They had been given easy credit, renovated their home, and were now in trouble. A few paragraphs in we learn that the husband had been ill and unable to work for two years!
I sincerely feel the pain for people that have to go through a mortgagee sale. It must be a truly humbling experience.
From our experience most mortgagee sales relate to illness, redundancy or failed businesses. For example, you’ve got a 25% chance of a major trauma (cancer, heart attack …) during your working life. These are things that you can easily protect yourself from. So the real issue is that people take on big financial commitments and then don’t think beyond tomorrow. They don’t have a strategy for if something goes wrong. Everyone should have a strategy for their worst case scenario.
Here is mine:
I’ve already executed 1-5. Luckily it looks like that was enough to weather the biggest housing slowdown in 17 years!
What is your strategy? If you are thinking about committing yourself to a mortgage or a business then you need to have a strategy. That’s another area where we can help. Call us on 0800 212230.
