The Irish Bankers Federation has produced a guide for people who may be having difficulty in servicing their mortgage. This is a timely publication and relevant to many consumers. We previously published our Repossession Guide in early 2009 but it doesn’t cover the new Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears 2010 and the IBF one does.

Ultimately much of the information is common sense with some of the Code of Conduct being applied, having said that, it is vital to understand and utilise the information contained in the guide if you find yourself in difficulty, as this may be the only thing standing between you and a pointless repossession. Losing your home is one thing, doing it unnecessarily is another.

There is a wider question in Ireland about how we are going to solve our mortgage mess, the figures of houses in serious arrears continue to increase and forbearance cannot become a long term solution.

If you find yourself in financial difficulty then call MABS or talk to a private debt negotiator, the main this is to ensure that you deal with any issues directly, failure to do so may remove the protection that the new codes offer the borrower.