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Cheap mortgage could solve hidden debt

Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006

Many couples are not sharing their financial problems and therefore could be putting their house at risk, according to a new study.

Research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Debt Free Direct discovered that seven out of ten partners are struggling to hide their debt problems from their other half.

However, such hidden debt levels could lead to joint problems because many people fail to realise that debts in their sole name can affect their partner's credit rating or the ability to find the most competitive cheap mortgage deal.

Andrew Redmond, director of Debt Free Direct, explained: "A property owned by a bankrupt will probably be sold to pay off creditors, meaning the loss of the family home.

"Partners also share liability for any debts in joint names, such as credit agreements or shared overdrafts even if they were unaware of the scale of the problem."

Mr Redmond said that many people are afraid to come clean about their debts because they are too scared. However, he added that the best way to reveal the extent of debt was to accompany it with a realistic proposal of getting out of debt.

Shopping around for a cheap mortgage deal could enable many couples to free up more income to spend on repaying outstanding loans or credit cards and move towards debt freedom.


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