If you’ve deferred your home or business loan then it’s likely your bank will reach out to you in the coming weeks. Here’s what to expect and what options are available to you.
As the initial wave of six-month loan payment deferrals comes to an end, banks have started contacting customers to discuss the next step, which could include further support, assistance or deferral.
Of the more than 900,000 loans which have been deferred during the pandemic, at least 450,000 borrowers will be contacted as they approach the end of their loan deferral in September and October.
That includes 260,000 mortgages and more than 105,000 business loan deferrals to small and medium businesses that will be assessed.
The important thing to know is this: you have options
No one likes to be caught flat-footed. And if you’ve deferred your loan, the last six months have understandably been quite a stressful period.
Rest assured, however, that there are a range of options we can help you consider before the bank phones to see if you can resume your pre-covid loan repayments.
Those options include:
– switching to interest-only repayments for a period of time
– renegotiating your rate with your current lender
– refinancing to another lender
– debt consolidation, or
– a combination of these and other measures.
And if none of the above options are feasible right now you can seek a further four-month deferral with your lender – but at least you’ll know that you’ve fully explored the other potential avenues first.
