Are we home and dry when it comes to repossessions?

The UK, like many other countries, has been through a tough time over the past couple of years in terms of finances, and one of the side effects of the financial crisis has been the soaring level of repossessions that have taken place. Read more

Tags: repossession, financial crisis, personal finance, mortgage, Financial Services Authority, homeowners

Quarter 2 sees repossession levels fall

The second quarter of this year has seen repossession levels fall in the UK according to a recent report. Repossessions have been rocketing in the UK as a result of the global credit crunch and high interest rates. Read more

Tags: repossessions, Mortgages, lenders, repossession levels, repossession, high interest rates, mortgage defaults, industry

Homeowners must be wary of repossession

Over the past couple of years the world of many homeowners has been rocked because they have suddenly found themselves threatened with the loss of their home through repossession. Thousands of struggling homeowners have indeed ended up losing their homes to repossession, whilst some have taken action early and managed to avoid losing their homes. Read more

Tags: top, homeowners, anyone, afresh, Citizen's Advice Bureau, Mortgages, repossession

Repossessions increase by 92 percent in a year

According to a recent report the number of homeowners that were losing their homes through repossession in the third quarter of last year rocketed by 92 percent. Read more

Tags: council of mortgage lenders, total mortgage debt, business, Financial Services Authority, repossessions, repossession, homeowners, mortgage debt

Mortgage rescue plan gets rolled out

The government has recently decided to roll a mortgage rescue scheme designed to try and help struggling homeowners to avoid repossession out across England. Read more

Tags: rescue, repossession, consumers, mortgage rescue plan, United Kingdom, remainder

Repossession hitting many households each day

Many households in the UK are being forced out of their homes through repossession on a daily basis according to recently released figures, with around 125 families a day having had their homes taken off them. An increasing number of people have been falling into arrears with their mortgages, not just because of higher interest rates, which have now fallen considerably, but also as a result of higher living costs, increased bills, and job losses. Read more

Tags: homeowners, Mortgages, repossession, vulnerable households, repossessions, Personal property law, repossession levels

Transact: If you’re facing repossession, get advice

Homeowners who are facing the prospect of repossession need to seek advice, according to Transact, the independent network committed to promoting financial inclusion. Read more

Tags: coordinator, hearing, Business Finance, repossession, Capitalise, sand, Elliot advised people, year

Brits want fixed-rate mortgages according to research

Over half of British consumers would choose a fixed-rate mortgage if given the choice, reveals new research.

Findings from the Fairinvestment.co.uk shows that 30 per cent of these respondents said they would favour a short-term mortgage while the remainder would prefer a long-term fixed interest rate.

James Caldwell, director at Fairinvestment.co.uk, said that fixed-rate deals allow homeowners the security of knowing what their monthly repayments will be.

“The public are obviously wary of exposing themselves to the economy at large and are acting accordingly,” he stated.

Mr Caldwell indicated that consumer confidence has been affected by the uncertain economic outlook when the Council of Mortgage Lenders has announced recently that in 2007 there were 27,000 homes repossessed.

The survey also found that 23 per cent of homeowners would favour a tracker mortgage, nine per cent would opt for a discounted mortgage, eight per cent would chose a variable rate mortgage and three per cent would go for a stepped deal.

Meanwhile, according to research from the BBC, more than half of the repossession orders in the UK are brought by subprime lenders.

Tags: Fairinvestment.co.uk, new research, subprime, survey, fixed rate mortgage

Consumers advised to inflate earnings to get mortgage

A recent report has revealed that many consumers in the UK are being advised to lie about their earnings on mortgage applications forms in order to enable them to get a larger loan – one that many cannot realistically afford based on their actual earning as opposed to the inflated amount that they state they earn.

This advice is being given to those that self certify, which means that they state their own income and this is often not checked out or verified by the lender.

A number of industry professionals, such as brokers and advisers, have been found to have been advising consumers to put down that they earn far more than they actually do, and this means that they get a larger mortgage loan. However, it also means that the repayments are far higher, as the lender will have based affordability on the earnings reported on the application form.

One man told investigators that he had managed to get a mortgage for eight times his salary by stating that he earned £50,000 per year as advised to do so by his financial adviser – he was actually earning half of that amount. As a result, stated the consumers, he was left repaying a huge mortgage that takes up the vast majority of his income, and has even had to deal with the threat of repossession through difficulties with affordability.

Campaigners are now urging financial regulators to look into this practice and put a stop to it, as it could add to the problems that have spread from the sub-prime market in the United States, leaving many of those in the sub-prime sector unable to cope with their repayments. The practice came to light following an investigation conducted by the BBC.

Tom Smith
24th October 2007

Tags: huge, earnings, loan, mortgage, income, increase, extra, repossession