Negative equity loans could revive property

NEGATIVE equity loans could kick-start the housing market at a time when 50,000 homeowners are expected to struggle to keep up mortgage payments.

Mortgage experts Karl Deeter and Iain Nash presented their research on the idea for “negative equity loans” to the Department of Finance’s expert group on mortgage arrears recently, which is made up of the main interest groups and representative bodies in finance and housing.

The loans, they said would allow people in negative equity to get out from under a large debt and service a smaller one while giving them freedom of mobility.

Mr Deeter said the fundamental idea of the loan is to let people borrow the difference (negative equity) and get out from under the loan, carrying a much smaller debt which is manageable.

“Negative equity loans (NEL) are a method that allows a person in financial difficulty to gain forbearance without giving up responsibility, as well as allowing the market to set prices accordingly between willing sellers and willing buyers,” he said.

The report’s authors estimate that the number of householders who may require external assistance in servicing their mortgage could soon be as much as 50,000. They said NELs can facilitate people who want to move, who are over-indebted and who are unable to pay.

“Currently a person in negative equity may want to sell due to labour mobility needs, or for the sake of removing the majority of their debt/risk, but they cannot do so as they are unable to clear the mortgage during the transaction,” said Mr Deeter.

The report proposes that the money for the loan would come from the Housing Finance Authority which operates a lending scheme called Home Choice Loan.

They said this scheme has not been successful to date “but they do have a lending mandate and funding lines”.

According to the ESRI 196,000 homeowners are likely to be in negative equity at the end of this year, meaning they will owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.