Imagine it, you’ve landed your first graduate job, just got your foot on the property ladder and have an exciting future ahead – so why are you worrying you can’t stop house repossession?

It sounds extreme – if you’re a graduate, have a healthy first salary and have managed to find a dream home, life should be rosy. But the reality is, more and more first-time buyers are vulnerable to house repossession. Even if you’re on a higher than average wage, you could still find yourself in the position where you’re unable to stop house repossession.

Many first time buyers are forced to take out 100% mortgages, the past decade has seen lenders throwing money at people, even if they had poor credit or debt. Credit cards, consolidation loans, career loans, store cards…and what’s the result of all this easy borrowing? A nasty financial hangover. The headache only intensified in 2007 as interest rates went up five times in an attempt by the Bank of England to dampen down lending. As the property market looks set to slump, relying on homes to release the much needed equity is no longer a reliable option leaving many no choice but to opt for a quick house sale to stop house repossession.

Recent graduates tend to be more at risk at being unable to stop house repossession because:

• Many graduates can be saddled with massive student debts ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands, taking decades to pay off.
• Because of the massive debt, monthly incomes are drastically reduced making housing affordability hard.
• As well as increased debt, property prices have inflated over the past decade resulting in many new buyers over borrowing to get their foot on the ladder.
• Over borrowing or taking out the maximum you can afford leaves very little flexibility for financial emergencies or even the smallest of financial hiccups like a broken down boiler or if your car needs extra repairs.
• More people struggling with affordability can find home ownership only makes matters worse – a fast house sale could be one way to stop house repossession.

If you are worried you can’t stop house repossession and have high debt and simply not enough income, you should sit down and write a clear budget of income and outgoings. Prioritise bills, cut out what you don’t need and see if there are debts you can defer. But if you can’t get the sums to add up, you may have to sell property fast to stop house repossession.