Thousands of UK Homeowners Faced Repossession despite Governmental Measures

According to exclusive estimates that were presented to daily Telegraph, an average of 28,000 households all across the United Kingdom faced repossession of properties despites measures taken by UK government. The Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme, which was announced by Prime Minister at the end of 2008 and which aimed to support homeowners who were on the edge of repossession was hold back as the government said it still needed to develop the scheme in detail. The scheme was not expected to come into effect until the New Year. However, 5 months have already passed and it is now evident that the scheme will be of no help to tens of thousands of UK families, which made politicians and economists describe the delay in scheme launching as "outrageous". The figures that were provided by the Council of Mortgage Lenders made Conservatives expect a further increase in property repossessions; their calculations forecast that 75,000 properties will be repossessed in 2009. Yesterday, the Government was supposed to announce the list of lenders who have signed up for the scheme that allows indebted borrowers who have lost their income to defer mortgage payments for up to 2 years. However, experts believe that the announcement has come too late for a great number of homeowners. Homeowners will be able to apply for the scheme as soon as the list of lenders is announced; to be eligible to apply for the scheme, borrowers must have bought their houses before December 2008. Also, they should have an outstanding mortgage of no more than ?400,000 and savings of no less than ?16,000.