Mortgage lenders have warned however, that the plan to offer struggling homeowners a holiday for up to two years from paying their interest repayments is unworkable and will result in new applications being turned down. In response to a consultation by Communities and Local Government over the plan, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that
Following a sell-off in the government bond markets, banks are likely to face increasing pressure to put up fixed mortgage rates. Yields on five-year gilts have risen to their highest level since the end of February, and a rise in yields tends to force banks and building societies to increase their fixed rate mortgages because
Conservative housing spokesperson Grant Shapps warned that up to 10,000 tenants in privately rented homes could face eviction this year because their landlords miss mortgage payments. He is calling on the government to introduce new protection for tenants, including having the government introduce an extended notice period of 5 to 7 weeks for repossession hearings;
Moody’s the ratings agency backed Lord Turner’s comments, reporting that tens of thousands of buy-to-let landlords are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments. In the first quarter of the year 3.55 per cent of landlords were at least three months behind with their payments, compared with 0.95 per cent for the same period a year
The (RLA) is warning buy-to-let investors that lenders may try to change their borrowing rates as property values fall. The RLA says some mortgage agreements allow lenders to alter their rates if the loan to value (LTV) changes significantly. Alan Ward of the RLA said lenders may look for large repayments of capital as well
Meanwhile Abbey National, the country’s second-largest mortgage lender, has announced that it will relax lending criteria on its most popular loans tomorrow. It is lowering the minimum deposit required for its best fixed rate deal from 40 to 30 per cent. The move comes as the Bank of England said that recovery in the economy
Mortgage lenders predict the recession will lead to a huge rise in arrears among borrowers in 2009, and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says the number of households more than three months behind with their repayments would reach half a million. The CML’s latest figures show that gross mortgage lending in November fell by
The government is to announce up to £500 million to help struggling homeowners keep their homes. It is expected that the homeowners mortgage support scheme will allow borrowers with mortgages up to £400,000 to take a payment holiday if they suffer an ‘income shock’. It will also allow borrowers to defer payment on up to
A fifth of households are struggling or falling behind on their mortgage repayments, according to research by Shelter. In a survey of sub-prime borrowers, 5 per cent expect to be repossessed in the next six months, with more than 36 per cent saying they would be unable to meet mortgage payments in full if their
Moves by banks and building societies to tighten up mortgage deals and raise interest rates is hampering borrowers’ ability to re-enter the housing market. Brokers have reported a higher number of mortgage applications being turned down – as many as 30 per cent being rejected against 20 per cent a year ago. In the past