In response to the global recession which has impacted severely on South African residential property, FNB has come up with a new home loan Debt Remedy Programme designed to help customers who are experiencing financial difficulties and struggling to repay their mortgage bonds.

"The FNB Quick Sell Plan (QSP)," says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, "enables distressed homeowners to sell their properties — voluntarily — in the shortest possible time and to move forward, clear of a debt burden that they can no longer service. It greatly reduces the time and expense of the usual recovery processes."

Potential homeowners who agree to the QSP are asked to sign a customer mandate to provide the chosen estate agency with relevant information on the home, to allow access to FNB’s appointed estate agents and to potential buyers. The home is then marketed and sold in the quickest possible time at the best possible price. In addition, once the a sale is secured, FNB Home Loans undertakes to execute a quick and efficient transfer of the property.

If an offer is accepted but there is a shortfall between the offer and the amount still owed to the bank on the home loan account, a repayment term of up to 20 years can be negotiated between the customer and the bank for the outstanding settlement amount.

Clarke said that FNB is confident that the QSP will prove beneficial countrywide.

"FNB has," he said, "made the QSP attractive to potential buyers by offering those who qualify up to 100 percent bonds on houses acquired through this programme and by cutting the transfer costs and registration fees by 50 percent. The system, I feel, is bound to attract qualified buyers through the wide network of FNB nominated agents. Furthermore, FNB’s legal and financial consultants will be on hand to ensure a trouble-free experience for the seller.

"I do seriously advise those in financial difficulty (which these days very often come about through no fault of their own) to consider QSP and to take quick action rather than to hang on in the hope that things will change. In our experience, this very seldom happens and the distressed mortgage payer gets himself deeper and deeper into debt. The time to take action is, almost without exception, now."

Rawsons, said Clarke, congratulate FNB’s management on this innovative initiative which, he said, will go a long way to ensuring that the credit worthiness of their clients is kept intact through these difficult times.

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