Houses may be repossessed 'as quickly as 3 months after the first warning

The Repossessions Advice Centre (RAC) has said that properties may be repossessed as quickly as three months after the first warning.

The potential speed of the process could be bad news for many Brits - the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors recently estimated that 123 houses will be repossessed each day in 2008.

A report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders earlier this year claimed that repossessions in 2007 had risen 27,100 - up 21 per cent from the previous year.

David Warnes, director of the Repossessions Advice Centre, said: "Some people might only get given two opportunities by the court but some courts are more lenient and can give up to seven warnings.

"It depends on the court's view of how safe the loan is."

But he advised worried debtors that courts tend to side with the person being repossessed "especially if they've got a family".

"If families gets repossessed then they fall onto the council to be housed," he said.

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