Financial Times: Greeks are Losing their Homes

The Troika is expected to arrive in Greece and the government is seeking a compromise as the end of the foreclosure ban for the first homes looms, the Financial Times writes in its editorial.

The title of the article is clear, “Greece seeks compromise as end of foreclosure ban looms.”

The publication refers to the Greeks who are sunk in the recession and do not have money to pay off the loans they took out in good times, so now they are at risk of losing their homes and their second vacation homes by the sea or in the village.

Here are the main excerpts from the article:

“When interest rates tumbled following Greece’s entry to the euro, a beachfront apartment or village house with a vineyard suddenly became an affordable investment for middle-class city-dwellers.

But a second-home boom fueled by easily available mortgages turned to bust as the country collapsed into recession, leaving a trail of unfinished buildings, bankrupt local contractors and cash-strapped owners unable to keep up with monthly payments.”

“A blanket ban on foreclosures on properties whose owners owe less than €200,000 is set to expire in December. International creditors are pressing the fragile coalition government to allow banks to auction off homes and commercial premises to ease a liquidity squeeze and revive the moribund property market.”

However the auction of homes will not be easy to pass by the government, as about sixlegislators of PASOK and New Democracy have announced that they will vote against the removal of the foreclosure ban, a number which is enough to bring the government down.

The article concludes with the estimation of the Financial Times that, “The Troika of international lenders – the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – is expected to take a tough line on enforcement action during next month’s mission to monitor Greece’s progress on fiscal and structural reforms.”