Mortgage Initiative a Failure?
According to the Irish Times today, it looks as though as few as eight families have benefitted from a government “mortgage to rent” initiative launched a year ago.
The project was designed to help those in “serious mortgage distress” by allowing them to surrender their homes to a housing agency who in turn rent it to the original owners, however if recent figures are anything to go by it doesn’t seem to be as successful as first hoped. So far, sales have been agreed on just 20 properties, of which 8 have been completed.
Furthermore, the amount of people falling behind on their mortgages has continued to rise, with the Central read more »
Co-op to sell Life Insurance and Pensions Branch for £219 Million
Customers of the Co-op will no doubt have felt their ears prick up today as the firm revealed plans to sell the life insurance and pensions arm of its business to Royal London, the country’s largest mutual life and pensions company, in a deal expected to boost the possibility of it landing more than 600 Lloyds branches.
The move will be of interest to over 2 million life and savings customers, which it has acquired since its formation in 1867. Subsidiaries which will be transferred across to Royal London include CIS Unit Managers, a unit trust business.
The Co-op is also speculated to be considering other asset sales, including its read more »
Wonga to Double the Size of Small Business Loans
Wonga, the online finance payday lender best known for its prominent advertising and high interest rates, is expected to increase its maximum loan amount from £15,000 to £30,000 in an attempt to bridge a growing finance gap for companies. The new increased loans are set to be introduced in the coming weeks, however maximum repayments terms will still be fixed at 52 weeks.
Part of the reason behind the change is said to be due to customer feedback. Users have apparently shared their thoughts that the £15,000 limit is not enough to solve short term financing needs.
The small business loans offered by Wonga are available at an annual read more »
Increased borrowing to push up mortgages and bills?
It has been warned today that dramatically increasing borrowing to fund infrastructure projects could push up mortgages as well as increase bills for families.
The news comes following comments from Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, who called on the Government to borrow more to “fund capital spending” in an attempt to try and recover the UK’s economy. He believes that the danger of show growth may now be even greater than the loss of market confidence through increased borrowing.
Nick Clegg however has downplayed the comments, stating that following the suggestions is likely to add to the financial pressure that many families are read more »
HSBC to Slash Pensions
It’s fair to say that bankers are rarely popular at the best of times, but those in charge of HSBC have come under direct attack today as the company announces its decision to slash pensions- whilst also announcing profits of £13.7 billion.
HSBC’s Chiefs plan to close down HSBC’s salary pension scheme as part of a larger plan to increase their profits even higher. The decision means that those who have spent a lifetime working for the firm will now have to face potential poverty.
Needless to say the decision hasn’t been popular, however, it has also been made worse by the decision to cut sick pay and take away 2 days holiday from read more »
Bank of Ireland UK Customers Could See Mortgage Costs Triple
UK customers of the Bank of Ireland are likely to be rueing their decision to take out a mortgage with the company as it has been reported in the Guardian that thousands of unhappy homeowners are likely to see their monthly payments increase as a result of terms of base rate tracker deals are changed, due to `special conditions`.
It has been estimated that the change will affect as many as 13,000 residential and buy to let customers, with the latter expected to be the bigger category. The company have stated that the increase will be applied in two stages.
A spokeswoman explained the firm’s decision to implement the changes, stating that read more »
Property Sales See Winter Lift
Figures published by HM Revenue and Customs have shown that property sales in the UK were slightly higher in January than during the same month a year earlier.
There were 64,490 completed sales during the month, up over 65,000 in January 2012.
Obviously good news for home owners looking to sell -but what about potential buyers?
It seems like it is good news for them too due to the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme which has started to increase the flow of mortgage funds and reduce their price too. Although still difficult for first time buyers there has been a small break for the relentless difficulties young, first time read more »
A Cost Guide to Payday Loans – Are They Right For You?
Sometimes the unexpected can hit – whether it is an unplanned bill or home emergency, and in most cases your allocated money for the month fails to cover this. This is when payday loans can be perfect. This type of loan is designed to cover short periods of time and must only be taken if at the beginning of the next month you have the money to pay it back.
Do not take out this type of loan if you will not have the money at the end of the month as rolling payments onto the next month can quickly become very expensive.
How much can I lend?
Loans are available from £100 to £1000 and can be used for purposes other than bridging the gap read more »
Banks Set to Increase Speed of Pending Payments
Bank customers are being forced to wait up to nine days for pending payments. Research carried out by Money Mail has discovered that millions of routine transactions such as cashing cheques, transfers before customers and pending payments are taking days to process. The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has raised awareness and concern about the delay promising to banish waiting times with a new improved system.
Currently if you pay a cheque into an account on a Monday - it will not be your money until the following Tuesday and if you pay using card in smaller stores transactions will not appear or funds will not leave your account read more »
Nationwide Axes Interest-Only Mortgages
Nationwide building society has announced that it will no longer offer mortgages on an interest-only basis. The new scheme will come into effect from 11th October in an attempt to reduce the number of people taking out loans that they can’t afford.
Following many other lenders, Nationwide had already reduced the amount it would lend on interest-only mortgages by only allowing loans up to 50% of the property’s value.
A spokeswoman for Nationwide said: “It is increasingly a niche product so we had to ask is it right for Nationwide to be offering read more »
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