Repossessions And Distressed Sales
October 17, 2007
The number of home repossessions is on the increase according to recent figures. It is a frightening prospect for anyone starting to have difficulty with mortgage repayments, and that is increasing with the five base rate rises in the last 12 months, and the extremely high likelihood of more to come before the end of the year.
Worryingly, the number of repossessions may be hiding a wider, bleaker truth. That could be that the number of forced or distressed sales is going up as people try to avoid repossession. Opinion is that for every repossession there is a forced sale, but these figures are not known or published. Read more
New Homes See A Fall In Price
October 17, 2007
The latest house price survey suggests that the price of a new home fell by 0.3% in June to settle at average pirce of £260,073. Research by SmartNewHomes.com found that the price of new property fell by £759 from May to June.
Rises were seen for semi-detached new homes, which experienced growth of two per cent in June to reach £246,554 on average, and so did terraced properties, up 0.6 per cent to reach an average of £245,488. Read more
HBOS faced with threat
October 16, 2007
The fourth largest bank in the UK. HBOS, is being threatened with a winding up order following failure to repay banks charges to some customers.
The action may be taken by a claims management company, which claims that the bank has ignored a number of orders that have been made by Cardiff County Court. According to the company a total of £45,643 is owed to ten customers by the HBOS. However, the bank has branded the claims are without merit. Read more
Savings account may exceed 7%
October 16, 2007
According to recent reports some savers can now benefit from interest rates that exceed 7%, which is the highest savings account interest rate that has been available in six years.
Although interest rate rises, the recent turmoil in the financial markets, and increased inter-bank lending rates have all had a negative impact for borrowers, savers have been able to enjoy the upside of this situation with some now able to enjoy interest rates in excess of 7%.
Experts warn tough times ahead for potential borrowers
October 16, 2007
Many experts are warning that potential borrowers in the UK are facing tough times in the coming months, with lenders being far more stringent with regards to checks and with many being far more careful about who they lend to.
Those looking for loans, mortgages, and other forms of credit could find that the process is far more complicated and long winded than they imagined, as lenders try and protect themselves against the effects of the global credit crunch. Read more
Are you carrying around a small fortune without insurance?
October 16, 2007
These days people carry many of their possessions around with them when they go to work, shopping, out with friends, or even out on a night out.
With mobile phones, expensive jewellery, handheld consoles, cool watches, and a variety of gadgets about their person, many people could find that they are actually carrying around items that amounts to hundreds of pounds in total, which could mean the potential to suffer huge losses in the event of any unfortunate incident. Read more
Northern Rock’s misery means gains for other banks
October 15, 2007
Northern Rock’s misery means gains for other banks
The recent problems that have hit Northern Rock have resulted in chaos for the stricken bank, resulting in billions of pounds worth of savings being withdrawn by many of the bank’s customers and affecting the bank’s reputation creating fears that Northern Rock, the fifth largest lender in the UK, could collapse. Read more
Drop in asking prices on properties
October 15, 2007
A recent report has shown that there was a reduction in the asking prices on properties in the UK in August, even though the actual value of the properties had not dropped.
According to recent figures there was a 2.6% drop in asking prices on properties in August, equating to around £6200 on the average property price. Industry experts are stating that the drop in asking prices is the result of the controversial Home Information Packs as well as low levels of consumer confidence in the housing market. Read more
First fall in house prices in two years
October 9, 2007
According to a recent report house prices in the UK have fallen for the first time in the last two years, indicating that the market could be softening as a result of a number of affordability issues that are affecting consumer interest in property purchasing.
According to the house price index from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors the three months leading to August resulted in the first negative reading since October of 2005.
There are a number of factors that have been affecting affordability of property purchasing in the UK, and this in turn has affected consumer interest in buying property. Read more
Which? reports on fees charged by credit card companies
October 9, 2007
The consumer campaign group, Which?, has stated that credit card companies have hiked up the cost of using credit cards by huge amounts over the past year in order to try and recoup the losses that resulted from a cap being placed on penalty fees charged to customers’ accounts.
The Office of Fair Trading brought in new regulations last year that meant credit card companies could charge no more than £12 per fee for late and missed repayments, which was a drastic reduction to the amount that some card companies had been charging. This resulted in massive financial losses for many credit card companies. Read more