Times Of Swaziland: COVID-19: NEW PROPERTIES GOING UNDER HAMMER

COVID-19: NEW PROPERTIES GOING UNDER HAMMER
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BY ASHMOND NZIMA on 12/04/2021 07:41:00


MBABANE – Challenging times.
Repossession and auction of assets that include; fresh cars, farms and houses
for both businesses and individuals seem to be increasing rapidly these days.
Just this past week,   ‘fresh’ cars from years ranging between 2014 and 2019
went under the hammer after being repossessed from owners by a bank. A sheriff,
on condition of anonymity, told this publication that he equally noted the
increase in attached property, saying auctions were no longer mainly about
getting rid of old assets but they were literally shutting down most businesses.
Cases
He said in most cases, they were attaching the entire furniture of a business,
which was rare in the past. He attributed the developments to the distress
caused by COVID-19, saying most businesses, especially the small ones were in
rent arrears, as others closed during the hard lockdown. One of the well-known
salons in the capital city also had its property attached in the past week. This
industry suffered greatly during the lockdown due to suspension of business to
curtail the spread of COVID-19. “We sometimes have to attach property up to
three times a day,” said the sheriff. Some of the country’s auctioneers
confirmed that some of the cars they were selling were repossessed from
defaulting clients.
In one of the prominent groups on social media discussing mainly financial
matters, the issue of the cars being repossessed at an alarming rate was
discussed in hushed tones, with the message being that it was a serious cause
for concern. It was felt that the failure to service the loans could have been
caused by salary cuts and layoffs. It was stressed that living within your means
was of utmost importance in these times, with an advice to avoid buying things
that depreciate, especially cars, unless there was a serious need.
Payments
The increase in property being repossessed comes at a time when some banks are
also recording a surge in non-performing loan (NPL). A NPL is one in which the
borrower is in default and has not made any scheduled payments of principal or
interest for some time. In most banks, commercial loans are considered
non-performing if the borrower is 90 days past due.