The credit crunch has been with us for over two years now, and it has caused many families to struggle with family income which has gone down due to various factors, including that most awful of human conditions, and that is redundancy.

It is not only the employed who have been affected over the course of the last two years. Even self employed people who ran lucrative business have been similarly affected.

Some of these directors were so well heeled that they owned second homes abroad in Europe.Due to the down turn in their incomes many have been forced to give up their homes in the sun and sell them at prices well below their market value.Those who fell behind with their foreign mortgage payments have had their properties repossessed, and the mortgage lenders are selling them even more cheaply than the second home owners were.

Many people dream of owning a second home in the sun, but usually it stays in their heads as an unobtainable dream that they cannot afford. It may surprise many of them to realize that there are so many great foreign property buys and it is worth moving on this now.

There are mortgage lenders who lend on properties abroad, and in fact it is what they specialise in.The drawback is that the maximum mortgage available is 70% LTV.

If you are a homeowner, a good way to buy a second home at home or away is by arranging a remortgage or secured loan on your current property. These are both forms of homeowner loans which release equity on your property which can be used for almost any purpose, including the purchase of a second home.

Secured loans , before the credit crunch, were available up to as much as 250,000. However now secured loans are restricted to a maximum of 100,000 which is still more than enough to give you a fair choice of properties.

However if you want to buy a more expensive property a remortgage could be the way forward. Currently remortgages are available up to 90% LTV.

Buying a dream home abroad to give you wonderful holidays forever is a great use of a secured loan or a remortgage.

Learn more about mortgages. Stop by Champion Finance’s site where you can find out all about remortgages and what it can do for you.They offer excellent friendly service.