FEBRUARY 10, 2015 \ BRIMBANK.STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Let’s be neighbourly
(Kristian Scott)
Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours … So says Brimbank council, which is encouraging residents to get to know their neighbours in the lead-up to Neighbour Day on March 29. The council is offering 20 grants of up to $250 to residents who organise a neighbourhood activity – such as a barbecue or sport in a local park – that will bring people out of their homes to spend time together. Neighbour Day was founded by Andrew Heslop in 2003 as a reminder to check on elderly neighbours after the remains of Melbourne woman Elsie Brown were found in her home two years after she had died. While Mr Heslop did not know Mrs Brown, he was appalled to discover that neighbours had watched piles of mail, store catalogues and newspapers build up at her front door without taking any action. Today, the annual event reminds people to look out for one another, especially the elderly, at the local level. Applications for Neighbour Day grants close on Friday, February 20. To apply, go to www.brimbank.vic.gov. au/grants NEIGHBOURS REETA VERMA, STELLA ZITO-CINITI, ATHINA BAKIRTZIDIS SINGH AND BABY HARRISON
Charlene Macaulay
Mortgage stress mounts
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Services joined forces to start up a Melton Mortgage Wellbeing Service to provide legal and financial advice in a bid to reduce mortgage and financial stress across the region. More than 26 per cent of Melton residents are in mortgage stress, according to the service. It defines that ‘stress’ as occurring when a household spends more than 30 per cent of its total income on mortgage repayments. Natasha Vojvodic, Fitch Ratings’ head of Australian Structured Finance, said last week’s rate cut was unlikely to lessen the mortgage burden for those struggling to make repayments. “Interest rates are already at low levels, while household finances have improved following
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lower petrol prices, both of which mean that now is one of the least likely times for borrowers who remain employed to be unable to pay,” Ms Vojvodic said. “Fitch is of the view that a 25-base-point cut in rates will have no impact on mortgage performance. Any defaults in the current environment will be due to other key factors, such as sickness, business bankruptcy and divorce, which are unaffected by interest rates.” Although the number of Melton residents declaring bankruptcy has remained stable, the figure jumped by 36 per cent for the 3037 postcode, which covers Taylors Hill, Sydenham, Delahey, Calder Park and Hillside.
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High unemployment and depressed local economies are key factors behind rising mortgage defaults in Melbourne’s outer north and west, with Delahey, Hillside, Sydenham and Taylors Hill cited as the worst-hit in Victoria. Bankruptcies in these areas also jumped 36 per cent in the past financial year. The latest Fitch Ratings Mortgage Delinquency report pinpoints postcode 3037 suburbs as the worst for falling behind on mortgage repayments, with 1.73 per cent of home mortgages at least 30 days in arrears. The report, which analysed about 256,000 Victorian mortgages, found a higher
concentration of arrears across Melbourne’s outer west and north, where the unemployment rate was also higher than average. “Fitch expects these regions to continue to perform poorly relative to other locations, as their performance is driven by socio-economic variables and the local economies,” the report states. Further, recent Australian Financial Security Authority figures reveal the western suburbs had the state’s highest rate of bankruptcies in the past financial year, with unemployment still the leading cause. The figures come three months after the Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre, Community West and Djerriwarrh Health
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By Charlene Macaulay