This Christmas many of us will have been concerned that this year money isn’t quite in abundance as it has been in previous years and obviously many people will be struggling this Christmas.
Families are especially hard hit at Christmas having to spend more money on food for the rest of the family coming round as well as the plethora of presents, this year though we’ve got the added burden of the credit crunch that has effectively stripped away many people’s safety net: loans and credit cards.
Whilst many banks are taking a much more reserved stance on lending in the past few months most homeowners will also have mortgage repayments to deal with as well as the added Christmas expenses, well apart from one bank’s select few customers that is.
The bank in question was able to give mortgage payment breaks to 500 customers for January with the total being $861,513.25, or $1,700 per household. This is obviously a welcome move by the bank which selects the worthy customers through an essay contest. The funds for the payments had been gathered by staff opting not to have Christmas parties so that those hardest hit by the credit crisis could have a decent holiday season.
The selection process was particularly odd where the company heads wanted to hear their customer’s stories, customers already in the foreclosure process were not selected as winners but instead they opted to choose those with the most compelling stories.
One woman when told that her January payments were being covered began to cry and was able to afford a trip to her eldest son’s graduation in Florida because of the prize. Another winner wrote an interesting letter where he asked the bank to reward a responsible borrower as he had lived within his means, never borrowed irresponsibly and never missed a payment.
Obviously mortgages are a risky expense where they are tied into your home and many people who struggle to meet payments face terrible consequences such as foreclosure sales and evictions. It’s important to make sure you stay on top of your mortgage or remortgage options as not every bank is as generous as the bank mentioned in this article!
