The citizens advice is warning that UK homeowners are “doomed to fail from the start” if they are sub-prime mortgage borrowers – i.e. those with a history of bad debt, repayments or a troubled financial past.

There are a variety of factors that, when combined, are making it more and more difficult for sub-prime borrowers in particular to get anywhere with their mortgage repayments.

The factors include a reluctance by lenders to renegotiate borrowers’ expensive home loans when it becomes apparent that they are struggling with their repayments, as well as lenders moving the cases to the courts too quickly even when they the borrower is facing only small repayment arrears. Lenders also pile on additional charges when repayments are missed and these only add to the hardships a borrower has to face.

The Citizens Advice has referred to this as a ‘hard line’ approach by lenders to get their money back but is really only exacerbating the borrowers’ problems and increasing the chances of the borrower defaulting on their loan.

Many lenders are also trying to solve the problem by forcing borrowers into more expensive remortgaging schemes or separate secured loans. This means even more cash is being taken out on the home itself and this raises the possibility of repossession down the line.

According to the research carried out by the Citizens Advice, many aspiring homeowners have been mis-sold home loans which are either unsuitable or not affordable for their individual circumstances. In many circumstances these borrowers are doomed to fail on their mortgage from the outset.