The sum of mortgages with Swiss financial institutions is currently over CHF 1,000 billion. Some debtors will have asked themselves in recent months whether the corona crisis and the recession could get them into trouble in this regard. After all, mortgage interest has to be paid in spite of all circumstances and with many contracts there is also an obligation to amortize the debt. The good news is that, precisely because of the crisis, mortgage interest rates are likely to remain at their current low for a long time to come. So most homeowners shouldn’t have any problems with interest payments.
However, if there are also high amortizations to be made and the personal situation may result in further financial problems, then it could be tight for one or the other. In such a case, it is often worthwhile to inform the mortgage lender about the situation. Especially when it is foreseeable for the financial institution that the situation will improve again in the medium term, it may, as a bridging measure, waive the amortization payments for a certain period of time or add the mortgage interest owed to the mortgage. Due to the currently very low interest rates, however, the banks will tend not to agree to simply postponing interest payments. The possible risk when going to the bank: This could also use the request as an opportunity to terminate the loan.
The situation is currently more delicate for commercial real estate. Due to the Corona crisis, various companies can no longer fully service their rents. This could mean that the owners of a commercial property again find themselves in financial difficulties with their mortgage lenders. It is definitely worthwhile to talk to the relevant financial institution sooner rather than later.
