Are You Considering Buying A Repossessed Home? You Might Want To Know How That Home Comes On The Market In The First Place

There can be many reasons that lead to house repossession, such as: divorce, credit card debt, illness, secured or unsecured debts or separation. Statistically, the figures for home repossession have risen by 45%, according to Government figures.

If the borrower does not contact them, or cannot afford to make the payments and a second payment is missed, then the lender can begin the process of home repossession. The first missed payment brings the borrower into arrears with the lender, who then have to be contacted and a payment schedule agreed. The process of repossession can legally begin when 2 payments to a lender have been missed.

The first stage of this is for the lender to state in a letter that the borrower has seven days in which to meet the payments or to agree a payment scheme. If this is not possible, then solicitors will begin court proceedings, seeking a home repossession order.

Usually the court will try and see house repossession as the last eventuality. However, if the borrower is deemed to be unable to make the necessary repayments, including arrears and penalties, then he will be served with an eviction notice and a date will be scheduled to leave the house.

The repossessed home is now the legal property of the mortgage lender. The lender can then instruct an estate agent to put the house on the property market or for it to be sold at auction.

First-time house-buyers can research these properties and they can become an affordable alternative in an increasingly expensive market.

Offers can be made on a repossessed house, but the lender may decide they want to publish a ?notice of offer? in the local press. This states that the lender will accept higher offers that are received by a certain date.

Auctions used to be mainly used by investors looking to by the property and sell it on at a profit, but now those wanting to get onto the ?property ladder? ? but may not have the necessary funds for a standard purchase ? can do so, as the properties are usually sold for less than their market value.

Other benefits include the bidding process, which is in an open forum so all bidders know the price and do not have to bid ?over the odds? to secure the sale. Also, the process is much quicker than the conventional sale process, usually taking 1 month from sale to occupation.

There are other factors involved, however. A repossessed home may be in need of repair and renovation or carry a negative credit rating associated with the address ? although this can be absolved by contacting the relevant credit reference agencies.

There are lists of auctioneers available in local directories, but it is also worth contacting estate agents and mortgage lenders who have a vested interest in the sale of any repossessed property, although mortgage lenders can be secretive about their involvement in house repossession, in terms of image-consciousness.

The Internet offers many services that can supply lists of repossessed properties, but these are likely to generate a lot of interest, due to the potential to buy a house at less than market value.

The Function Of The Student Loan Corporation

Whatever the reason or reasons, most students turn to a student loan corporation to finance the continuance of their education. The causes are myriad, ranging from low family income, through high costs of education, to too expensive tastes of the individual. The average obligation is around $19,000 but higher for graduate students ($27,000 to $100,000+.). Nowadays, few students go through college without some sort of financial assistance: about 65% of undergraduate students finish with debts owing.

A Short Simplified History

It used to be that student loans are made only by the schools as an extension of their scholarship programs. Some students don?t qualify for scholarship grants because of economic capability, but nonetheless needed some financial assistance. These students or their families thus turn to formal and non-formal lending institutions such as banks, to obtain the necessary funds.

The Higher Student Act of 1965 mandated the Guaranteed Student Loan Program, so student loans came into vogue and student loan mechanisms were established in almost all reputable schools across the country. The student loan corporation was thus formed with the unification of the school?s loan portfolio with that of the government?s and of the private financing firms, wherever available.

Unified Lending

The sources of funds for a typical student loan corporation include: private investors such as philanthropic and private financing institutions, Stafford Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Program, Stafford Loan Program (the erstwhile Guaranteed Student Loan Program) and the school student loan portfolio, if any.

The lending policies and guidelines of these sources are often streamlined and or modified to make it easier for students to apply and obtain loans from the student loan corporation.

Interest Rates

Interest rates for student loans granted by a typical student loan corporation range from 6.8 percent per annum for Stafford loans; to 8.5% for PLUS loans. However, a student loan corporation may offer interest charge discounts up to 1.5% to attract more clients.

Others offer rebates for up-to-date or prompt repayments; while still others grant additional payment deductions on systematized payments such as salary deduction schemes. Each student loan corporation has its own unique menu of options from shortened application process to repayment rebates. It thus pays to research a bit for the most favorable terms offered.

Basically, loan interest rates for a certain year are pegged July 1, largely determined by basing on the Federal loan rates, which in turn are based on the last 91-day Treasury auction rate in May and the average constant maturity Treasury yield (CMT) for that year.

The current rates projected for the School Year 2007-2008 in the United States are:

Stafford Loan (In-School Rate Projection): 6.77%
Stafford Loan (Repayment Rate Projection): 7.37%
PLUS Loan (Rate Projection): 8.17%

It?s Here To Stay

The student loan corporation is one method of achieving it year after year.