The Mortgage Rescue Scheme has been criticised by the National Audit Office (NAO) for missing targets. The Scheme was established by the Labour Government in late 2008 to help struggling homeowners in England facing repossession and allowed people to sell their property to a local authority or housing association but stay on as a tenant. [...]
A report from the homeless charity, Shelter, has revealed that in the last year, 2.6 million Britons have paid their mortgage or rent on their credit card. The figure represents a rise of 50% on the previous year and reveals the extraordinary lengths some are going to in order to keep a roof over their [...]
According to housing charity, Shelter, there has been an increase in the number of mortgage holders who are struggling to meet their monthly repayments. A survey carried out by YouGov shows that three million people are struggling each month with their mortgage repayments – a staggering increase of 80% compared with a year ago. Worryingly, [...]
The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a mother under threat of repossession. Jayne Hewett was party to a remortgage of the family home to pay off her husband’s credit card debts. However, unbeknown to her, Mr Hewett was having an affair at the time the loan was arranged. He subsequently moved out, [...]
New research from Shelter suggests that in the past year, up to one million UK households have used credit cards to pay the mortgage or rent. According to the housing charity, the findings present a disturbing picture of up to a million people taking “desperate measures” to keep the roofs over their heads. The highest [...]
Following a period of consultation, the Government has announced plans to tighten up the law so that no mortgage borrower can have their home repossessed without their lender first obtaining a possession order. The proposed changes address the outcome of the case of Horsham Properties Limited v Clark and Beech, when borrowers in arrears had [...]
Courts Minister Bridget Prentice has announced that the Government intends to publish a consultation by the end of the year on tightening up the law so that no lender can sell the home a borrower lives in against their wishes, without first going through the court process. The consultation follows a particular case in 2008, [...]
One of the UK’s leading sub-prime mortgage lenders has been fined £2.8 million by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for not treating its customers fairly. GMAC-RFC has also agreed to repay up to £7.7 million in total, plus interest, to over 46,000 of its mortgage customers. The FSA says the case sets a precedent in [...]
Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR) has published its latest UK distress index, showing a surge in the number of distressed home sellers in major cities in the Midlands and the North. In the three months to the end of September, the index rose by 60% in these regions, compared with the same period of 2008. According [...]
New research from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) puts the number of homes in repossession in the three months to the end of June at 13,610, representing a 9% fall on the previous quarter. However, the figure is 23% up on the same period of 2008, although the regulator says the sharp rise in repossessions [...]
Research from the Building Societies Association (BSA) claims that over the last two years, the majority of borrowers who have fallen into arrears with their mortgage repayments have either caught up, or are in the process of catching up. According to the BSA, 97% of borrowers in financial difficulties have avoided repossession with thirty-three per [...]
The Government is to target areas of England with high levels of repossession with a new advertising campaign, the BBC has reported. Hotspots include: Barking and Dagenham, Corby, Knowsley, Salford, Newham, Walsall, Redditch, Halton, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Bolton, Reading, Swindon, Northampton, and Cannock Chase. Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sunderland, Wigan, and Kingston-upon-Hull are some of the [...]
A new government website launched to help people facing repossession was welcomed this week by an industry expert. Chris Jenkins, co-owner of the Homeowner’s Advice Centre, said the new site is a “positive step”. The “easily accessible format” of the site helps people find the advice they need with minimum effort, he added. The website [...]
Homeowners under threat of repossession and tenants on the brink of eviction have a new resource available at www.direct.gov.uk. The site now contains articles and videos prepared by the Ministry of Justice, aimed at informing people with both mortgage and rent arrears. The advice addresses a wide range of problems and is suitable for those [...]
In its latest commentary on the UK housing market, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) describes the recovery seen in recent weeks as “fragile” and warns of a “modest dip” towards the end of the year, reflecting seasonal factors. More positively, second quarter data for arrears and repossessions suggest that fewer borrowers are struggling financially [...]
Only six families have been helped by the government’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme, housing minister John Healey admitted yesterday. Set up in January, the £200 million initiative aims to help vulnerable families at risk of having their home repossessed. Participants in the scheme can choose to have their home bought by the local authorities then rented [...]
A Government scheme to aid families in England under threat of repossession has helped only two households since its launch in January. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the £285 million package of measures is “designed to prevent some of the most vulnerable families losing their homes and experiencing the trauma [...]
The Guardian has reported on a case in which the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has ruled that a previous homeowner, whose property has been repossessed by their lender, was mis-sold their mortgage in the first place. According to the newspaper, the ruling could set a precedent that would prevent repossession where it can be shown [...]
Northern Rock has reported that its home repossessions rose by 63% last year to 3,620. Arrears also soared with 17,264 borrowers three months or more behind with their repayments at the end of 2008, up from 3,492 at the close of 2007. The rise takes the percentage of the bank’s total mortgage book in arrears [...]
Northern Rock, which was nationalised in February of last year, has paid almost all of its 4,500 employees a 10% bonus – an average of £2,000 each. The bonus fund, which amounts to £8.8 million, has sparked outrage among politicians with Lib-Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, describing the action as extraordinary since millions of people [...]
3.19% five-year fixed mortgage launched
Chelsea Building Society has launched a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.19 per cent. The deal is available on a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 70% with a fee of £1,495. The building society’s product manager Jemma Smith said the product “is the lowest five-year fixed-rate mortgage ever to come to the market which is great for [...]
Fewer people declared bankrupt in 2011
The number of people declared insolvent in 2011 in England and Wales declined to 119,850, the lowest level for three years and a fall of 11.3 per cent from a record high in 2010. There was a sharp decline at the end of 2011, when personal insolvencies fell by 5.6% compared with the last three [...]
Government finds land for 80,000 homes
The Government launches its NewBuy mortgage guarantee scheme in March, which will help house buyers by underwriting 95% mortgages on new-build properties up to £500,000 in value. The scheme depends on having sufficient sites available to house builders and housing minister Grant Shapps revealed today that sufficient land for 80,000 properties has already been identified. [...]
Volcanic ash insurance claims to go ahead
Travellers whose flights were disrupted by the Icelandic volcanic eruption in 2010 can now go ahead with insurance claims. Following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April and May 2010, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) ruled that the resulting volcanic ash cloud, which led to airspace being closed, could be considered a “poor weather [...]
The UK economy needs a fiscal boost of £10 billion to £20 billion in order to avoid another recession, a leading think tank said today. In its annual Green Budget, The Institute for Fiscal Studies calls for Chancellor George Osborne to include a short-term fiscal stimulus in his budget. This would buffer the UK economy [...]
Former RBS chief executive loses knighthood
Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has been stripped of his knighthood for his role in the bank’s collapse during the 2008 credit crunch. The Queen formally approved the annulment of the honour yesterday, after it was decided Mr Goodwin’s award brought the honours system into disrepute. The [...]
ABI calls for action on flood insurance
The Association of British Insurers has warned that time is running out to ensure that UK home owners in areas at risk of flooding can afford to insure their properties in the future. A voluntary flood agreement between the government and the insurance industry expires in June 2013. Under the current agreement, which started in [...]
Personal debt falls by £377 million
Economic uncertainty and the threat of another recession is causing consumers to take charge of their finances and cut back on debt according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. Personal debt, excluding mortgages, fell by £377 million in December, the biggest fall since records began. Howard Archer an economist at Global Insight [...]
Downing Street won’t micro-manage bonuses
Speaking to the BBC after the Royal Bank of Scotland’s chief executive announced his decision to forgo his bonus this year, the government has said that it will not block bonuses to the bank’s other executives. RBS chief executive Stephen Hester was awarded £963,000 in shares but following pressure from public opinion and MPs he [...]
House prices fell 1.3% last year
The latest figures from the Land Registry show that house prices fell by 1.3 per cent in England and Wales in 2011, with the average property costing £160,384 in December. Prices remained stable at the end of the year, with no change between November and December 2011. The only place in England and Wales where [...]
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