NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Clients experiencing difficulties making mortgage payments to the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation should visit its Recovery and Adjustment Centre before their accounts fall into arrears.

?We want our clients to know that if they are having a problem, come in to see us,? said Bahamas Mortgage Corporation Managing Director, Jerome Godfrey. ?We are here to serve the public.?

As it has policies that permit it to grant moratoriums, the Corporation is reaching out to its unemployed clients, said Mr Godrey.

Clients can receive up to a three-month moratorium, and if they are still unemployed, they can potentially receive an extension while they continue job-hunting, Mr Godfrey said.
?We have created a direct avenue for persons to be able to come in and see us and explain what their circumstances are,? he said in a BIS interview Thursday. ?We want to assist you any way we can, even if it means budget counseling.?

Opened in January 2009, the Centre was created to focus on the needs of clients in arrears. The Centre also has a program for employed persons, earning their full salary, but who fail to make their payments. Clients who can, but refuse to pay, face legal action whereby the Corporation can get ?vacant possession? of the property, Mr Godfrey warned.

Senior Loans Administration Manager Marcia Mortimer explained that officers at the Centre still have to follow due diligence and do follow-ups after persons start paying off arrears and the balance of their mortgages. ?Persons are not willing to call us and say ?I am not able to come in this month to make a payment.? We have to call them,? Ms Mortimer said. ?We go through this every month.?

Mr Godfrey confirmed that the Corporation is owed $6 million by clients in arrears, and out of some 2,883 accounts, 998 are in arrears.

The money owed can go towards financing Corporation projects, in particular, the financing of homes for first-time buyers, Mr Godfrey said.

The New Providence office is located on the Hillside Business Plaza, on top of the Hill, Thompson Boulevard, West of the Passport Office. It oversees the Family Islands accounts. There is also an office in Freeport, Grand Bahama.