There aren’t many things in life that are more distressing and frightening than the thought of having your house repossessed and losing everything you possess. Yet many homeowners are being faced with this very daunting and devastating possibility. When property owners are threatened with losing their house because they can no longer make the bond payment each month, it’s frightening and extremely depressing.

You start getting threatening letters in the mail and it seems like your phone just won’t stop ringing from the constant debt collectors. Your first instinct is to take the phone off the hook, don’t read the mail and lie down and sob. It’s doing these things that cause many property owners to actually lose their house when there may have been answers to their problem.

The rate of home repossessions in South Africa has been very high in recent years and many homeowners may have been able to prevent losing their home if they would have been prepared and not chosen to ignore the problem. Sadly, many people do not know about the alternatives that can prevent repossession. There is help available out there. All you have to do is reach out for it. If more real estate owners in South Africa were aware of some of the possible solutions, the rate of house repossessions would fall drastically.

Many of the solutions mentioned you may have already been aware of but they are extremely important. Contacting your bank is probably the most important action you can take to prevent repossession.  If you contact them as soon as you realize you are not going to be able to make your payments, they will be much more willing to help you work out a solution to help you both. As repossessing a house is pricey to the bank, they do not want to repossess it unless it’s absolutely necessary.

There are a number of solutions the bank may offer you to help you lighten your financial load and keep your property. Many banks will offer you a “holiday” or “grace” period where you won’t have to make your bond payments. This period may be from 3 to 6 months and will give you enough time to get your finances in place, pay off other debts, and find employment or whatever needs to be done to help your financial situation.

Increasing the term of your bond may also be a great help. Most South African bond agreements are for 20 years. By extending your term to 30 years, you may be paying more interest but you’ll be paying a lower monthly bond payment. You can always revert back to the 20-year term when your finances are better.

Banks may even be willing to decrease the balance on your bond. While this may be the option the bank least likes, they may still consider it because they’re still getting money, even if it’s not as much as they would like. They still consider it a better option than having to go through the costly and time-consuming process of a home repossession.

If all else fails and you can’t work something out with your bank, don’t waste any time and contact a repossession expert. They’ll not only give you good advice buy may also buy your home from the bank with cash so it is not repossessed, a process that will destroy your credit history for years to come. As you are aware, selling property when facing repossession is usually a very worrying and overwhelming time for the real estate owner as well as their family.




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