Money Worries

2009 has been one of the toughest financial years we have ever seen. Many people have been left with money worries, bills and in some cases debts that are threatening their homes.

Facing repossession, mounting bills and job insecurity can make you want to hide under the duvet and never come out. However, this has rarely improved situations. There are several options that may be available to you. First of all take a real, honest look at your finances; what comes in each month, what goes out, can anything be lived without? (ie, sky tv, extra phone line)

Banks restricted on mortgages 

All the banks and buildings societies hands are tied when it come to new mortgages, hence why they are being so cautious/fussy on who they lend money to at the moment.

Chelsea Building Society announces fraudulent mortgages.

It was announced today that the Chelsea Building Society has been a victim of a huge number of fraudulent cases and has lost somewhere in the region of £41 million. The fraudulent cases have resulted in the building society remaining in the red with a recorded loss of £26 million overall loss in the half of this year, this is on top of a loss of £39 million last year.

Is the credit crunch over?

Some mortgage brokers are predicting that the mortgage lenders (banks/buildings societies) may start to lend money, this is due to the fact that the bank of England deciding to pump a further £50 billion into the economy.

The bank of England have said that this will make it easier for mortgage lenders to lend money because they are able to obtain the money at a lower cost to them, therefore being able to provide more mortgages.

Is this going to happen?

Repossessions are on the downturn consider sell and rent back!
 

It was announced that the number of repossessions were on the downturn but then it was also stated that the number of repossessions are also up to just over 24,000 so far this year. This is equivalent to 130-135 homes being repossessed a day. However this is still a 14% increase from last year!

Is the worst of the recession over?

There are a variety of articles being released commenting that the worst of the recession could be over, but the latest figures show the number of shops, retail outlets, public houses, etc, etc, closing is increasing, the number of people being made redundant is increasing and also the number of people trying to stop repossession is increasing. So is the worst of the recession actually over?

Doorstep lenders overcharge whilst people try to stop repossession

It was revealed today that there are some doorstep lenders charging in excess of 500% apr on loans. Lender’s like Provident Financial, who is probably the largest doorstep lender, commented by saying it is “a fair and transparent lender”.

Barnardo’s, the children’s charity, have called for these doorstep lenders to be regulated in the hope that the extortionate interest rates can be a thing of the past.

Mortgage approvals are down but mortgage arrears and repossessions increase

Although that there seems to be activity in the market place with new buyers, the banks are being very cautious on who they lend money to. Most if not all lenders are now requesting large deposits from borrowers, giving the banks more security. The biggest problem that this makes is that first time buyers are finding it hard to get on the first run of the property ladder.

Are house prices falling, stabilising or increasing?

It has been reported by various sources as of late that house prices are falling, stabilising and increasing, but who is right?

House prices fell again in June!

Although the Halifax had announced an increase in the property prices as of late, they also announced that in June house prices fell by 0.5%. They have said that this year house prices house prices had not fallen as dramatically as last year and that the market has stabilised slightly. There are some many predictions being made by so many of the property professionals i.e. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), but none of these predictions are accurate.