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News: Mortgage possession orders on the up

Latest data from the Department for Constitutional Affairs shows 19,687 mortgage possession orders made in England & Wales in the three months to end-September. That's a 66% rise and comes as no great surprise, given increasing worries over personal debt levels.

Worth pointing out however is that the numbers of orders served - based as they are on 29,991 actions taken in County courts - do not reflect the number of properties actually taken into possession.

In fact there are a number of reasons for this, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Firstly, lenders will sometimes use court action as a way of creating the disciplined payment structure necessary to get a household in arrears back on track.

Secondly, lenders will abandon possession proceedings right up to the last minute if satisfactory payment arrangements can be reached.

Finally, lenders will sometimes return to court for a new order even if they already have a previous order, where time has elapsed between the granting of the original order and the current problems. In addition, there will typically be a lag between the time that a court order is granted and possession is actually taken. Under those terms, the parties involved can still negotiate a compromise.

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