Nine out of 10 endowments could fail to earn enough money to pay off homes
Claire McNeilly, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk – Thursday, 4 March 2010
Thousands of home owners in Northern Ireland are facing massive mortgage payment shortfalls, financial experts have warned. Some householders who took out endowment policies when they bought their properties could even be forced to sell up because of the stock market slump.
Analysts have said that older people who are no longer working and have limited savings may be forced out of their homes after the value of policies plummeted.
It is estimated that up to 10,000 endowment polices will mature in Northern Ireland between now and 2015, with a staggering 99% of those expected to miss their target maturity payout.
Joe Maxwell, financial adviser at Belfast firm Maxwell McKeown, said householders could be facing a mortgage time-bomb.
