Budget to stop repossession

Alistair Darling is expected to announce a £1bn package to boost the UK housing market in Wednesday's Budged by building thousands of new council houses. In addition to an extension to the stamp duty holidays, the Home owners Mortgage Support (HMS) scheme will come into force on the eve of the Budget to help stop repossession in the UK.

HMS to stop repossession

The Homeowners Mortgage Support (HMS)scheme is designed to help recession-hit families avoid having their homes repossessed. The scheme will allow eligible, struggling families to reduce monthly mortgage payments for up to two years. However to qualify you will have to have a regular monthly income and can't have missed a mortgage payment for the past five months.

I doubt many of the property owners most in need will fall into this category. To qualify, you must also live in the property (does not apply for buy-to-let or investment properties), have bought it before December 2008 (I doubt many people will have bought after last December), owe less than £400,000 on the mortgage (most home owners in the UK) and have savings of less than £16,000 (not sure why you would not be able to pay your mortgage if you got savings above £16k).

Will the scheme stop repossessions.

80% of the banks and building societies have agreed to take part in the scheme. However I doubt this scheme will stop house repossession as the property owners in need are the ones without any income, no savings and in many cases no hope.