CAB campaigns over sale and rent back schemes
November 10, 2007
Sale and rent back schemes have been at the centre of much controversy and concern over recent months. These schemes involve companies that offer to purchase the homes of homeowners – usually those that are struggling to keep up with mortgage repayments and are at risk of losing their homes – and then rent the property back to the former homeowner.
However, these companies are offering way below the market value for the properties, sometimes offering under 60% of the actual value of the property.
The Citizen’s Advice Bureau has now stepped in and raised further concerns about these scheme, branding them ‘a disaster waiting to happen’.
According to CAB officials homeowners are being paid close to just half of the actual value of the property in some cases, and are then given no guarantees that they will be able to continue renting the property once the first six or twelve month tenancy had come to an end. CAB officials recently spoke to Trevor McDonald about the situation on his ITV show ‘Tonight’.
One CAB official stated: ‘We’ve got people who are vulnerable trying to stay in their home being enticed into an industry that has no controls on it at all at the moment and that is a disaster waiting to happen. Unless something is done to bring this industry into some kind of regulation to get some sort of framework of quality and assurances for people entering into these agreements, the kind of security tenure they’re going to get, what they are paying and what protection they get against things going wrong, we could see a lot more people really finding they are losing out lots of money and still losing their homes.’
Alan Wright
10th November 2007
Recent additions:
- Good news for Northern Rock ISA victims
- Thousands could be hit with late payment charges
- Two possible interest rate cuts predicted by June 2008
- Firms being encouraged to help workers to improve financial management
- Treasury official stated housing market gradually slowing down
Related Articles
- Campaigners urge government to act on sale and rent back Campaigners in the UK are urging government officials to act on sale and rent back schemes, which have been at the centre of controversy over
- Darling answers to the Treasury Select Committee Following the recent run on stricken UK bank Northern Rock, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has responded to questions from MPS on the
- Insurance fraud detection is on the rise According to a recent report the level of insurance fraud taking place in the UK is on the rise, and many honest insurance customers are
- Sale and rent back schemes are a disaster CAB officials have expressed concern over sale and rent back schemes, stating that these schemes are a 'disaster waiting to happen'. These schemes have been at
- Level of rejected mortgage applications on the rise Over recent months the level of mortgage applications that are being rejected by lenders has rocketed, according to recent figures. In the past six months the
Comments
Got something to say?