Spanish banks have been making major moves lately to offload their non-performing loan books. This means 2019 will be a busy year for property debt collectors! If you have a Spanish mortgage, chances are you could be affected.
Just before Christmas, Bankia announced that it has agreed the sale of €3.07bn in bad real estate assets to private equity firm Lone Star. The deal will close later in the year.
Similarly, Banco Sabadell has also agreed to sell 80% of its property platform Solvia to a subsidiary of Intrum Group, one of the world’s leading debt collection companies.
What does this mean for your Spanish mortgage?
When a company buys up bad debts, they want to recover the money as quickly as possible. This could mean legal action as they typically take an aggressive approach towards recouping debt. They can also chase the debt back in the UK. However, this is actually good news for you as it means they are likely to settle the debt for a much lower amount. If you are notified that your Spanish mortgage will be sold, now is the time to act.
What can you do?
For most of us a new year means a new start and January is the perfect time to take a look at your situation and come up with a plan to tackle your debt. Here are our top tips for approaching it:
1. Set realistic goals
When people set New Year’s resolutions, often they are overly ambitious and give themselves goals that are unachievable. All this will do is make you feel negative and like you have failed when you are unable to achieve them. To avoid this, be sure to look at your financial situation thoroughly and give yourself small goals that you know you’ll be able to achieve. There’s no point in trying to pay back too much as this may even result in you getting into more debt.
2. Keep on top of your finances
One of the best ways to manage your finances is to keep track of all of your incomings and outgoings. Do this by writing everything down in a book and checking it daily. This will help you to understand your behaviour when it comes to money and will assist you when it comes to paying off property debt.
3. Seek professional help
Sometimes you need the help of someone that really knows what they are talking about when it comes to debt. If this is the case for you, get in touch with our professional team. We can help with negative equity, mortgage arrears, and repossession and will give you all the advice you need.
An example of what we can do:
A mature couple contacted us regarding a property in the well-known area of Playa Vera. This had been a holiday getaway home for them however it began to cause them undue stress and worry when the mortgage repayments increased to £700 per month. They were unable to continue with these repayments and felt trapped.
The outstanding Mortgage balance on this property was €160,000 and the estimated value of the property was just €60,000 leaving a large shortfall. This meant that the property was in negative equity.
The client had significant assets in the UK which included property and ISAS. They had concerns about the possible implications, however we managed to protect their assets.
This was a long negotiation process, as the mortgage had been sold to many companies. However, EU Property Solutions secured the voluntary surrender of the property and a complete debt write off. Needless to say, the couple were relieved as this gave them a fresh start.
If you would like professional advice regarding any aspect of your Spanish mortgage, call us today 0330 124 1230 to arrange a free initial consultation.
If you are worried about your debt being chased in the UK, you can find out more information at https://www.eupropertysolutions.com/shortfalls-debt-chased-in-uk/
